Elfen Lied 1. The Testimony Of The New Order

Here we are, the 3rd story in my Elfen Lied "Lifeline" series. This is sequel to the original "Pinpoint Lifeline" and thus it is assumed that anyone who has started this story has at least read that. I will be also continue to work on the prequel of Lifeline "Pinpoint Zero" but I really wanted to get a start on this story. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as the first story and I say, without further ado, please enjoy.

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 1: The Testimony Of The New Order**

There was a faint air of something, the kind of thing that can't be given a physical description. In fact there was a faint air of many incorporeal things, types of emotions that wafted through the air and clashed against one another. In a small room of a normal hospital, the faint air something was being rushed around like a hurricane, an emotional hurricane. There three representations of the faintness, the emotionless impact in that room that could almost be felt and could definitely be heard.

On one section was joy, too much joy for one emotion to be given. It was entirely happy, jovial, in which even pure innocence is soiled in comparison to it. The expression of happiness, fervent smiles and congratulations. The faint air of perfect joy.

On another section was confusion and intelligence, explanation and the force of calming that seemed to go nowhere. It was the air the hospital was use to giving, expressing without qualm the necessities of reason. The problem here, the third faint air of something was against it.

Anger, not one of madness but just disappointment. The air of something that needed to express that it was right but could not understand the fact that it was wrong. And if one entered the room that these faint airs of something were currently washing around in, then what a scene they might have found.

"You are an idiot, I can't be pregnant!" Elrya was obstinate in telling this man who claimed to know so much that it was impossible for her to be having a baby. Beside her, her bright and angelic face beaming, Miriana continuously congratulated her with nods of her head. The doctor was at wits end, more so when she started pointing at her horns and explaining at best as she could to the dull minded idiot. "I can't be pregnant, it's not a matter if I want to be, I can't! I'm a freaking Sipilet, you know what that means?" She doubted it really, she was sure the only thing he knew about her was that she was a Diclonius and that she was pregnant. He may also have been under the impression that she was going to attack him with her strange powers and needless to say, she was coming close to laying the back of one of her corporeal hands against his head.

"…I…I…" She wasn't sure what to say anymore because it went against everything she knew. Elrya Alya Sandersas was a Diclonius, a young girl of 16 years old who had spent a good majority of her time trapped within the walls of one of the Diclonius Research Facilities located in Tokyo, Japan. She was told, almost explicitly that she was a Sipilet. It meant that she could not reproduce and she always believed it, there was no reason not to after all. Any other girl would've seen their growing belly and even if they refused to believe it at first they would've eventually accepted it. For the young girl, this was impossible at first because again, it violated what she had originally told herself. Now a new stream of emotions so complex it threatened to break out of her heart.

Fear!

Shock!

Amazement!

Pride!

Joy!

Sorrow!

Confusion!

"Excuse me, can I have a moment with my friend?" Miriana politely asked the young doctor who fervently nodded and left, wiping beads of sweat from his brow. For him personally, he thought he may have narrowly escaped death. Elrya sat on the hospital bed, her hand rubbing her soft belly tenderly while expression a gaze of uncertainty. She was glad that the doctor had left, it was a little bit easier to talk to Miriana, her closest friend. She could still remember the first time she had met Miriana, that sweet human girl who nearly defined the term "Perfect Innocence."

Long ago, she had been utterly hateful of humanity, her desires to kill them strong and voracious. Then she had hit her head against something, a wall or bar, it was hard to remember now a days. She had a friend with her and thought that she had lost her and Miriana, despite being human, diligently tried to help her. The poor girl was rather in a nervous breakdown at first, not just trying to help, she desperately wanted to be friends. Elrya couldn't comprehend it at first, of why this human girl would want to be friend with her. But the girl had been through a lot also, something terrible and demeaning. Miriana's body, though covered by her clothing, was covered in burn marks and scars, an accident that had taken the lives of her mother and father. She had grown up somewhere, an orphanage and was ridiculed by the children there. What kind of monsters would sneer at such a poor girl as her? Even with notice of the scars, Miriana was a very cute girl in her own right as if the scars themselves were a way of keeping the girl from being to pristine.

"I don't know what do Miriana, this is beyond me." Elrya said slowly. "I grew up, being told that I could never get pregnant. I thought I was getting…fat." She uttered the last word embarrassingly. It wasn't a written rule, but it was true that Diclonius were often described as being very pretty, sometimes beautiful, cute, or at least in some term of sexual. It wasn't like she admired her own body, she just took it for granted and thanks to the changes in the world, she was finally able to live a more prosperous life.

"But aren't you happy? I think this is an amazing thing for you." The multi-haired girl spoke with a smile, placing her head against her friend's own to comfort her. Elrya enjoyed that, be it from a male or female, to feel the warmth of something familiar and comfortable was nice to her. The answer to that was simple and it wasn't just the possibility of motherhood either.

"I am, I'm actually very happy right now. Shocked yes, I can't believe it still, but I am very happy. This baby inside of me…" She whispered, holding it with her hands and against caressing it. "This is the mark of the love Yin I had."

Yin Sandersas, a 20 year old human and perhaps one of the youngest doctors. Like Miriana she could hardly believe that this man could ever feel anything but contempt for her, see her horns as nothing but disgust. How wrong she was, how wrong she had been that first time. Their adventures, their time together, she could still remember with vivid detail, their very first kiss. Their very first caress that time in the hotel and when their towels dropped from their bodies, it was the first time she knew what both emotional and sexual love was like. There was just something about the time there, lips caressing, tongues licking and the sensation of pleasant fire running through her entire body to the core. She could even remember the very moans they made, her nude wet body finding comfort with Yin's own. Every touch, every caress every lick of the tongue was burned into her head because it represented the culmination of their love together.

The night she had sex with Yin, was the night she had felt most happy.

But tears started to drip from her eyes, tears that Miriana knew about and she put a small finger under the pink haired girl's lid to catch it.

She loved that man, if only for the short amount of time they had gotten to know each other, she had loved him with a passion. But that passion had been violently broken by something she hated more than anything in her heart. There were two people that Elrya hated, utterly disliked without any sort of composure whatsoever. But one of these people was beyond salvation, an utter sickening in her stomach that tied in knots every time she thought about it. Nightmares would come to her, especially at first when she would cry and Miriana would have to hold her as if she were a mother trying to comfort her child. The girl was great like that, especially because Miriana had gone through the hell too, with that most hated of men.

Elrya often thought that if she wasn't sexually attracted to Yin, she might have been attracted to Miriana, their genders meant nothing really to her and she had no qualm nor really care of what the world might have thought. Yet she was proud with Yin, even to the end and she still loved Miriana as her one of her closest friends.

Elrya continued to talk. "I loved Yin, so much, and I still love him even though he's not here. This child is his, I would like nothing more than to see it. But what do I do, I don't know how to take care of a baby. I don't know how to handle something like this at all. Had I know I could get pregnant, I would've at least told Yin about it. When we made love, it wasn't like I knew this was going to happen."

"I'll help you, besides even if you don't know you can always learn. Besides I'm sure Roy may help." Miriana meant well but Elrya had to scoff humorously. "I don't think he'd be very willing."

"What about Bando?"

Elrya really did laugh at that. "Firstly we don't even know where he is right now and, do I really have to explain that one?" Miriana had to admit she might have been too assuming on that last one. For the girl though, the prospect of life was an important thing, more importantly it was to show love and peace to everything though during her trials she found it hard to love some things.

"What do you want to do?" The black and golden haired girl finally asked as the silence threaten to overtake them.

"Will you help me Miriana? I can't do this alone. You'll help me right?" With a look of pleading in her eyes, Elrya asked her friend the question. The smile on Miriana's face was always pleasant for the young Diclonius. "Of course, I'll always help you no matter what."

The door creaked open, the doctor's voice broke out. "Are you ready, or are you still adamant on not believing the facts?"

Elrya gave him a small disdainful look but beckoned him inside. "I've accepted it, not like I have much of a choice though. Shocking is all it is really, just purely shocking." The rest of the time went by fast, talk of things that Elrya certainly never would've imagined being told to her but almost boring after it started. She and Miriana were outside with their scarfs around their necks and the Diclonius becoming relatively aware of her body again. At least afterwards she could get back to her more pristine, fit self. She didn't want to be the laughing stock of the Diclonius community, the only fat horned girl in the world. It was kind of funny in regards, though her belly was round, it was not robust and the rest of her form was slender. Especially as she wore a thick coat for the winter, it was hard to recognize her as even being pregnant. A thought did occur to her, one she wanted to explain to Miriana as soon as possible.

"Please don't tell any other of my kind about this."

"You mean other Diclonius? Why?" She questioned curiously.

"Well you see, I don't like making a big deal of things. But if the other girls found out I was pregnant, then they'd know I was also a Queen." She paused, to call herself that made her feel strange inside. It was the contradiction again, of what the truth really was and what she had always believed in her mind. She didn't care about being a Queen, in fact it might take a while before she'd stop referring to herself as a Sipilet. Although a small part of her, a part that had taken a brutal beating a long time ago, did want to rub it in Lucy's smug face.

"I don't want people making a fuss and I'll tell you they'll start making a fuss about it. We Diclonius take great pride in our Queens, well some of us do." She couldn't say she hated Lucy anymore though she certainly wasn't on her top 10 list of people to sit down and have chat with. It had little do with the woman's smug attitude, something she herself probably had but refused to admit, but mostly because their first meeting and ended with her getting the crap kicked out of her. Not in the terms of a fight she couldn't win, oh she fought back, she just happened to get the short end of the stick and such memories were hard to forget.

"I won't tell them, though at some point they're bound to know."

"That's fine, I'll deal with it later." It was true, the Diclonius were bound to find out eventually.

* * *

Diclonius, a group of advance humans, or so was assumed scientifically. There were major differences though to them. Firstly almost all of them were female with one very rare exception. Secondly they all had colorful hair, ranging from dark purple, to light pink though some had aspects of other colors as well, the reddish pink formula was most common. Thirdly, they had pair of horns sticking out of each side of their head and was the main point of recognizing one.

Lastly, Diclonius had vectors. Invisible to the human eye arms that could stretch many meters or longer for some and the number of arms also different for each girl. Powerful things, hands capable of cutting through anything, able to stop certain bullets and things that the girls took great pride in.

There was another thing that the Diclonius were also known for, something thankfully was being dealt with. Diclonius had, both a rational and irrational hatred for humans. They hated them, both from what they had put them through but also biologically as well. It was true, too true to be ignored, Diclonius had a deep, unrelenting hatred for humans that may have gone into a state of war if it wasn't for them having to join together under one cause. The relationship between humans and the horned ones was still strict, even Elrya being one could understand why humans were so fearful of them. Kamakura had been wasted by a single girl named Mariko after the poor child had gone into a frenzy. People were right to be frightened, if one girl could do that, would could an entire group do? Another rhetorical question that didn't need direct answering, a lot of damage was only a part of it. But things were getting better, in the city of Osaka, Japan which was also the place where the new educational institution for Diclonius was being built, humans and Diclonius had a very strong and healthy relationship with one another. They talked, they laughed, and there were even tales of human and Diclonius having romantic relationships. Because they needed it, they needed this mutual understanding, as the two species shared the world together.

* * *

Tokyo was always bustling even in the Winter as snow caked the streets and people walked on with their daily lives. Nothing had changed in it with the exception that people were now very aware of a new neighbor. There may have been more Diclonius in the city than what people knew but the young girls kept hidden for most of the part. As the winter was getting along, seeing people wearing wool hats or some kind of head ware was not uncommon, thus it was hard to tell if anybody had a certain white structure atop their skull or not. It was also now that people became very aware, much more so now than before, of a single three story building.

The Tokyo Diclonius Research Facility had always remained behind a false and secret outlook. Until recently people had no idea that experimentations of horror had been going on inside, of the world of pain and misery that the girls had to endure. Such things didn't go on in there now, as the establishment under negotiations was required to release its prisoners and send them to Osaka.

Standing tall with the same look of indifferences that always plastered his face, Garder F. Morotisan stood by the large ornate window that overlooked the city, his brown coat stiff and motionless as was his blind white eyes. For whatever reason he continued to wear his glasses, thin black spectacles that perched at the end of his nose. It wasn't even to hide his blindness, the whites of his eyes, the ghosts of slits that were once black pupils could easily be seen through the lens. His black hair was cut short, covering his entire head but graying on the edges as one would expect from a man in his late sixties. He was powerfully built, strong muscles and a figure that held numerous scars from his time in the war as well as the cold memories that served inside of his head.

He couldn't see the city, but he could certainly hear it, even inside that room, he could hear the unintelligible sounds of people chatting, like a low lawn mower that might have been louder if not for the sirens, the calls and cries of the cars, the frozen wind blowing against the window. Garder was a man who lost his sights, yet attained perfection in hearing. He could hear things that people would never have even thought.

"Greetings Morotisan, how much longer do you plan to gaze out at the window?" The old man turned his head as the door of his office opened up, a young man stepping out and bowing his head respectfully. He was a young man, in his mid-20s, sporting simple clothes of a white shirt and a black vest for starters. On top of that he also wore a thick fur coated red vest and a wide brimmed brown had, obscuring most of his face and definitely the thick waves pink hair and white horns that covered his head. The only thing that could be seen was a single red eye starring through the haze of dark pink and shadows.

"Aye, what do you have to report, Julius?"

Julius Javel, former Second Cent, The Zero Point and the only known male Diclonius in the world. His eyes were similar to his bosses own, indifferent, almost bored but still had their color in it. It was nothing to say that unlike his kin, Julius had a far better respect for the ex-General.

"Continuation for the educational institution for the Diclonius in Osaka should be nearing completion in about 2 months. Synth has already given me direct reports via message on how it's coming along."

Nodding curtly, the Director's head turned slightly at the sound of his door opening up again. The footsteps were lighter and he could tell who this was one too, the only other Diclonius that worked for him.

Victoria Javel, her last name taken from her respect and love for Julius stepped inside with a tray of hot coffee, two of them, one for Garder and one for the male Diclonius who took it with a quick thanks. Though quick, the 18 year old woman blushed heavily, trying to stifle her own smile in the presence of the two. It was no secret to either of them that Victoria was deeply infatuated with Julius whom, though even feeling the same admiration for the woman, could not help but wish Victoria would be sterner like the rest of them. It was as he said, the woman was very close to him, but she also very annoying at times too. She did help to lighten the mood though sometimes, plus again, he had no qualms against her, she was after all his woman.

Of course he only meant that in a filial sense, Victoria whose attachment to the young man was much greater, always hoped to gain a bit more. Add to the annoyance when they were alone especially in a room together and she would try to instigate something from them. It got to the point where he was concerned that she would forget about her duties and one day, picking up packages for Garder when she seemed hell-bent on getting some action, Julius decided he needed to do something. At least before the woman decided to take her clothes off and attack him in the storage room.

There had only been two times when he had kissed her. The first time had been during the battle with Kakuzawa, a low press of the lips, a breath of air and that was it. But for her, it was astounding, to feel anything, even the warm air from his mouth. The second time had been right there, he grasped the back of her head, catching her off guard and pressing his lips tightly against her own. It was definitely deeper than before, but it was also simple as well. He didn't move, he didn't move his mouth, just kissed her straightly until she finally relaxed into his arms and finally broke away for air. It at least stifled her urges as she hadn't tried to come onto him so abruptly since then. Was this same for the other female Diclonius? Julius never had sex before, he knew what it was, he knew how it went but he never found much reason to go into it. He wasn't afraid of it, but he always took his duty over his personal life and though he did care for Victoria, working for Garder did come first. He was sure Victoria was still in the mood, though she did well to keep it hidden, the love she had for him did not go past his mind.

"Is there anything else we can do for you, sir?" Asked Julius.

"Not right now, I will call you two in if there is anything else."

They both nodded once then left, closing the door behind them while Garder returned back to gazing out the window.

"Victoria, I want you to continue working on the reports. We need them finished by the end of the week." She pouted at that, though not necessarily frustrated. It definitely didn't go past him though, as Julius replied strictly. "There shouldn't be a problem, I have taught you enjoy on how to use the laptop." As a Diclonius, Victoria had little contact with the outside world until now and definitely had little contact with things like electronics. In a few months Julius had taught her these things, allowing her to at least become knowledgeable on basic documentation typing.

"I know, I just don't like it."

"Of course, but try to at least finish it. It won't be hard for you either way."

She could only agree but then with her eyes narrowing seductively she released her vectors and pulled him close to her body. Was it that time again? He was neither startled nor angry, his face impassive as before when the woman brought her face up to his. "I'm not letting you go this time, lover." Her whisper was almost erotic, certainly a sound any other man would want to hear. Needless to say, Julius was not like other men, oh he certainly had the biological urges for her, he would have had no qualms in having sex with her. But as before, he held his duty in higher regard. Like always, he was never angry with her just annoyed, but her tenacity was also something he respected most about her as well. Lifting his hand, the tip of his index finger became transparent, before slipping it inside the woman's forehead.

"Ah!" Instantly her vectors disappeared, releasing Julius from their tight grip as he calmly waked away. "N-No fair Julius!" She wanted to give him another talk, or at least a simple smack on the head. But no luck, the man turned to the very wall and his body disappeared into the very wall itself, vanishing from her views. As was the nature of his abilities after all. Julius didn't have normal vectors like the rest of the Diclonius, instead his entire body was one, allowing him to move through solid objects like had just done. Alone again, Victoria had no other option but to head to the compute room and continue on the report she despised.

* * *

"Aye, get it steady…" The low voice broke out, machines and though unseen by the humans, sets of hands helping to put the steel bars together for the outskirt of the building. A man of 27 years old leaned casually against the wall of another building, surveying the construction and giving out orders every so often. He was a strange lad, one who wasn't from the country of Japan and yet it would've been shocked to know where he was from because he lacked the accent, though his dialect sure gave it away. He was well built, wearing a thick coat and black jeans, his blue hair quite out of place. He had to remind many of them that his hair was indeed real, and that it wasn't dyed. But the most remarkable thing about him was the fact that he had no arms. The sleeves of his coat dangled uselessly, his limbs a lost reminder of a past he cared to forget about.

Roy Synth, former member Fifth Cent, The Sniper. The young Australian man had become somewhat of a beacon of hope for the Diclonius, as he had helped rescue many of them from the facilities around Japan.

"Girls, be careful there, 2 tons of steel isn't something that hands can stop easily." He warned to the girls who were perched without wires or safety equipment upon the structure. Not that they needed any, their hands held their support and if for whatever reason they fell, they just stopped themselves with their vectors. That's what most of them did anyways, instead of using some pulley or likewise of equipment to get down, they would just hop down and then catch their fall with their vectors, landing like a feather.

One them finally got down, her body landing as smoothly as an angel down to the ground 400 200 meters away. She like Roy, was definitely from somewhere beyond Japan. She had the usual traits of the Diclonius, dark pink hair, red eyes, vivid white horns, but her skin was fair and tan, much darker than the light skin people of the country she was in now. She had a unique orange double crescent shaped mark under her left eye and an circular object that had the appearance of some sort of clock wrapped around her neck in the form of a necklace.

"Looks like you've been getting quite a bit of work done Caren. Taking a break now?"

For some reason, the Turkish Diclonius frowned deeply. "I told you not to call me that." She angrily retorted, turning her head. "My name's Carentorzulan, not Caren." Roy only shrugged his shoulders indifferently, not about to change his habits. It wasn't just him, everyone called the 15 year old Diclonius Caren, it was shorter, easier to say and yet for whatever reason she had, the girl insisted that people call her by her full name.

"Fine then, say whatever you want…Nirlinya."

Now she really through a fit, she didn't like when people shortened her name to Caren though it wasn't like she ever did anything about it. But in this case, Roy tensed up from the glare the girl gave him, almost about to produce his own weapons by how vicious Caren was looking at him.

"Alright Sheila, settle down. I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that." Caren's full name was Carentorzulan Zeruda, she was the younger sister of the former Third Cent (ranked to Fourth under her own choice) Orlana Zeruda, The Clock Stopper. The young woman of about 25 had died during the war, tragically killed by her own employer. Caren had loved her sister, more than any other person in the world and though she like the rest had hated humans, she always felt tender care for her older sister. It the reason she still carried her sister's specialized object, the Clocks topper, an item with illusionary and hypnotic capabilities. While not nearly as good as Orlana had been with it, Caren was still a sight to behold and could still use the object with fair use.

But at one time in her life she had been captured and sent to the facility, her older sister joining the assassin group of Cents in the hope of one day saving her. Her years in captivity had changed her, made her weak minded and prone to feeling insecure. Just hearing Kakuzawa giving her praise made her believe at first that the man truly was a savior for her. He gave her the name of Nirlinya which stuck until later. Now a days, the only person who dared mention it was Roy in a sheer joking manner and even he knew when to draw the line with it too.

"I've spoken to Julius, the entire place should be ready in about two months. Thanks to you girls we got this completed in a jiffy. Are you ready Carentorzulan, this is the place where you will live and learn for the first four years of your life."

"Yeah…w-wait! What do you mean I have to stay here?"

Roy popped her a fleeting look. "What Sheila, did you not think you weren't heading here? All the Diclonius in Japan are required to head here, that includes you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Old man's orders, it's the only compromise we could make. As it's been said, you all need to prove that you can control your urges and besides that, most of you don't have much of an education."

"Tsk, what an annoyance." She articulated.

"Get used to it Caren. The other men and women working here know what to do, but I'm putting you in charge of the other Diclonius. I have to go and meet up with some people."

* * *

Opening the door, Elrya greeted the blue haired man with a sardonic "Hello Roy, need a hand?" And then got herself a straight boot to her face which sent her back into the house. "Smartass." The man uttered coldly, stepping inside as Miriana rushed inside. "Oh no, please don't do that Roy, Elrya is tender right now." She exclaimed, rubbing Elrya's cheek with a wet rag. It wasn't the pain that bothered her, it was just the action itself and Elrya surely had a dark look in her eyes and her voice changed abruptly.

"What the hell was that for!"

"Oh, long time no see too, Alya."

Alya Sandersas, the secondary personality of Elrya Sandersas. She was the biological voice of Elrya, the main construct that had such a brutal hatred for humanity. Due to love, Alya had calmed down a lot, no longer seeing humans as the vile creatures she once thought. After all, she felt nothing but bliss the first time with Yin as well. Though both personalities were assertive, Alya was definitely sterner and more robust.

"Wow you've gotten fat girl, it's only been a few months." Roy muttered.

Alya turned away, her face going red. "I'm not fat…" She whined. Roy had to chuckle. "You can deny it girl, but you certainly put on some weight." Again she blushed with cute anger, not able or not wanting to tell the truth. Good luck for her because Miriana, bless her, just couldn't wait to tell him.

"Elrya Alya is pregnant with a baby."

"…Hahahaha! Hahahahaha!" Now that was a laugh, if he had hands, he'd be holding his gut right now. Roy laughed loudly, trying to catch his breath while Alya continued to look away.

"Stop laughing Roy, it's true, Elrya Alya is pregnant. Here's the paper work for it too." Miriana cried out, running into the other room and brining a sheet with her. Still laughing, Roy stepped over to inspect the clear joke.

"Hahaha! Haha…ha…haha…ah…" And he finally read it, his mouth closing and turning upside down. He gazed at it, then at the Diclonius, back at the page, then back at Alya who finally turned around with her hands on her belly.

"…I'm sorry, did I miss something?" Roy said strangely. "You've been a Queen this entire time and you never told us?"

"I didn't know it either, they told me I was a Sipilet." Alya moaned.

"Well then, ummm, congratulations I guess. I remember the Orasami got pregnant with Kuroh." Roy, before becoming a member of Cents, had worked for his father's company in which he did a lot of traveling. He had met a pretty Japanese woman named Orasami and had gotten to know her. Though he traveled a lot, he kept in touch with, and as soon enough, they were married and had a child. A small boy named Kuroh Synth.

But tragedy struck, his wife was killed and his son fell into sickness, having multiple cancers. He had joined Cents in the hope that he could earn enough money to pay for the operation needed for his son, but to no avail. His son had died, hating his father. Roy was able to let go of the past, he knew it was pointless to weep about memories and he now met some very interesting people in his life, some he even considered to be friends. But there was definitely that part in his heart that sometimes wept for his deceased wife and son.

"What was it like for her?" Alya's voice changed, Elrya having taken control.

"Oh she screamed, it was painful for her."

"Ehhh, is that true?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't know myself, you know, being a man, but there's probably something about a baby erupting from your body with blood spurting and screaming that just doesn't seem pleasant."

Poor Elrya went white as a sheet.

* * *

Author's Note: The first chapter finished and I do hope you all enjoyed it. Pleae R&R, feedback and criticism is always welcomed.


	2. Speech To The Crowd

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 2: Speech To The Crowd**

"I need to sit down, this is beyond me." Roy muttered loudly, finding a chair and plopping down on it, leaning back to give himself a sense of balance. His blue eyes trailed the room of the house, small but well kept. Their old home, or rather Yin's old home had been unfortunately demolished when he had fought Elrya Alya a while back. Yin's father, Karoly, had provided the funds needed for this house in which Elrya and Miriana now lived in. He could feel the sensation of peace in it, the dab of love and the echo of tranquility all around. Even the wallpaper was a vivid color of peace, somewhat light blue, as if the color of the sky. In short, it was obvious that Miriana lived here because he knew the Diclonius wouldn't have had such knowledge on things like decoration. It actually reminded him of his late wife Orasami, whom while not nearly on the same level of kindness as Miriana, was still a very generous woman.

"Let me get this straight because I never got this memo, you are pregnant?"

Elrya looked away, embarrassed and then nodded.

"…How?" Roy asked.

"How should I know? I mean everyone else said I was a Sipilet and I just took it for granted. Why else would I need to think about it? Hell, even Garder said I…" She paused, eyes dilating mercilessly before crying out. "That son of a bitch!" Miriana cringed, obviously not enjoying hearing her friend use such harsh words. "Garder lied to me! That son of a bitch lied to me I know it! He's been working at the fucking place for years, there's no way he'd make a mistake like that." She despised the old man, her very Uncle though she herself did not realize that. The relationship between her and the Tokyo Director had never been subtle, and it definitely didn't help that Garder had attempted to have her murdered which also lead to the death of her would-be husband, Yin Sandersas. Then the bastard, knowing all the things he did, even refused to at least apologize. Quite frankly, Elrya wanted to feel some sort of contempt for the man who made her life a living hell.

"I wouldn't know Elrya." Roy replied apologetically. "When I was drafted into the member of Cents, I was never told about your point of being a Sipilet." Yet it did raise some very odd questions. Why would Garder refuse to register Elrya Alya as a Queen? Wasn't that one of the most important aspects of the facilities in the first place? After all, there was only one other known Queen, Lucy.

"So what are you going to do?" He finally asked.

"I don't really have any choice. Even if I didn't want to give birth, it's far too late to have any sort of operation or abortion." Elrya said.

"I see, decided on a name for it?"

"You're rather interested in my own kid aren't you?" Alya uttered, popping up as she usually did inside the front of the mind to take control for a few minutes. Roy shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "I was a father too girl, so I know what it's like. I know what it's like when a woman is pregnant, the things she goes through and the things I have to be prepared for. For Orasami and I, we both knew she would be having a boy after the ultrasonic and she had always wanted to name him Kuroh. But it's up to you to decide now. Of course just because you have to give birth doesn't mean you have to raise it. Obviously you did not anticipate this so nobody would hold it against you. You could always give it up to adoption."

"No way!" Alya yelled, apparently hurt by those words.

"Don't get a vector tied in knot girl, I'm only making suggestion. Raising a kid isn't easy. It requires a lot patients and understanding. But the thing is, you'll be at the educational institution anyways, which means you won't be able to take care of it."

"Oh…that's…bad." Alya uttered.

"Of course, I guess if she's willing, Miriana could always take care of the baby."

This time, Miriana felt slightly crestfallen. "I wouldn't mind, truly, but I was hoping to stay with my friend at the institution." This time Roy perked his head up at her. "The place is designed as an educational place for Diclonius, as well as a way for them to cope with their natural urges. I'm going to be perfectly honest with you girl, it's not a very safe place for you."

"That's alright, I want to support Elrya Alya as best as I can." The multi-haired girl exclaimed. "I already know the risks and I'm willing to take them."

"Tsk, no point in arguing with you then. Once Elrya gives birth…wow that still startles me…I'll see what I can do. Obviously I won't just let the child off on its own and will have to be raised but our soon to be mother won't be allowed to leave the place."

"That will be fine, I'll help raise her when Elrya Alya is learning and then when she comes back she can take care of her." Miriana said. "Plus I'll take care of anything during the night since I know Elrya Alya will need a lot of rest for the next day."

Roy nodded solemnly. "You're putting a lot of work on yourself girl. You act nice but I'm seriously wondering if you know how hard it is to raise a child. Besides, if you do stay with Elrya, you will be staying in a room with one or two other girls. You can't exactly put a baby in there. It's something that will have to be dealt with when the time comes, I can only give out small ideas until then. On to the more important things right now." Roy turned his body around, lifting his right leg up so that he sat at slightly lopsided crossed legged manner.

"Two months from now, you will be required to head over to the educational institution where you will stay for four years. Family and friends of course would be allowed to visit but you would not be allowed to leave unless under specific guidelines."

Elrya muttered darkly. "I guess that's more bullshit that Garder put up."

"Maybe so, maybe so. Different people will be there to act as teachers, myself included. Most of them will probably be people from the government, and also, unlike me, have little knowledge of the Diclonius outside of what they hear or see. Needless to say, they probably don't know a lot of good things about you girls. As mentioned before, this place is a way to give you all an education, considering you yourself can't even read." Elrya gave him a tired look, feeling that Roy was making fun of her almost but continued to listen.

"But…and listen well to this, especially you Alya because it will mean the difference between now and later. You must learn to control your urges and live peacefully with humans. The incident with Number 35, Kurama Mariko in Kamakura has put a deep wound in people's minds. You should understand why people are worried. You must do your best to quell these fears and show them that you can change. Not just now but all of you, for the better."

His words were deep and insightful, no witty remarks at all. They were words that both Elrya and Alya knew had to take very seriously. A lot more will be explained when you arrive, so until then do not worry. We will also be supplying any materials that you might need. At two months you will be required to appear at the institution where you will be officially drafted in. I will also give out this fair warning that Garder gave me. Once the location has officially opened, you are to appear there within at least three weeks of that given time. Any Diclonius who is found outside of the facility that does not have a good reason for doing so…will be dealt with."

She jumped up, feeling indignation pouring through every pore in her skin. "That son of a bitch can't do that! What the hell does Garder think he is, putting such harsh guidelines on us?" Elrya screamed, slamming the ground with one of her vectors and leaving a small hole in it. Miriana shook her head while her friend continued to rant. "He's just doing this to piss us off, I know it! He just wants to put us all back in the facility again, and he's only using this stupid term like education to make it sound reasonable. That bastard needs to lay off and stay the hell out of our lives!" Livid as hell, the Diclonius clenched her fist tightly while her hands swirled around her, unseen but certainly felt by the two humans in the room. It was like a force of nature, compacted into a single girl that might suddenly erupt at any moment.

"…Elrya Alya, I am only speaking about what I have been told. Please understand that despite what Garder might feel about you all, you do need this. An education is good for you and you do need to control yourself. Even now you look like your about to lose it completely." His words seem to have an impact on her because she suddenly stopped as if startled by something then gazed at her own physical left hand before releasing her tight grip. Elrya spoke to herself, talking to Alya so that only they could hear. "I don't want to hurt the people I care about. I do want to learn too."

"Yes, so do I." Alya answered simply.

Sighing, Elrya's face took on a more wearied gaze. "Alright then, I understand."

"Good." Roy replied, standing back up and heading to the door. "Enjoy your time here, when the time comes I'll be picking you both up. Miriana, I doubt I'll change your mind on anything but do think about this. Well, later Sheilas." With parting words, Roy left the house, kicking the door open and then kicking it close. For anyone else it would've been considered rudeness, for Roy, it was the only way.

* * *

Caren lived, as many of the now recently released Diclonius, in a large hotel in Osaka. As many of them had no direct homes they could go to, the people of Osaka were more than willing to provide them shelters and as they obviously couldn't pay, were only required to provide services around the buildings. It was something that Caren had no issues with and was currently out in the building's back garden watering plants along with three other unknown horned girls. She waved her hands at the civilians passing by and feeling a sense of purpose she had not since felt since Kakuzawa had released her.

The further away from that memory, the better. She often felt disgusted with herself, the notion of respect and almost love she had for him. When she had been captured years ago, had her mind ravaged by the facility, she had lost her hope in life and her purpose. She lived only as a robot, her body working only on its most basic functions to the point where she almost forgot herself completely. But it was different now, the world was different and she was different.

Clutching her older sister's Clock Stopper, she found herself starring up into the sky. "I wish you could see this, Orlana Onee, how much I've grown up." Carentorzulan found a deep sense of pride in her sister, hearing from Roy that the thing she cherished most of all, was her little sister. It made her heart burn with most sadness and joy that Orlana had never once stopped trying to save her. Roy had told her of how they had all had specific desires, like himself who wanted to save his own son. Orlana had always cared, even if she couldn't get to her, it was joyous to know that until the end, she had always cared.

She didn't want to cry, it felt like something weak. She especially didn't want to do it in front of the other Diclonius. Holding up the watch, she hugged it close to her chest and sniffed, blinking and moving her head obscenely as if thinking she could drain the tears back into her head.

"Crying are we?"

"N-No!" Turning around, she quickly rubbing her face and pouting before her face went into a more surreal look. "Oh…ummm, hello Victoria."

Garder would've had personal issues speaking to the Diclonius in the first place and Julius was busy with other things. Therefore, Victoria was the most commonly seen person associated with the old facility that the Diclonius in Osaka saw. Victoria wore a long grey coat, her bright colored hair pulled back in a thick pony while wearing long black jeans. To end it, she wore a set of blue heavy boots, their color giving off a nice sheen as if they had been polished or at least recently bought.

"Hello Caren!"

"It's Carentorzulan!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. How are you this morning?"

The conversation was simple but obviously Victoria was here for more important matters than menial talk so she got down to business. "Director Morotisan is having a mandatory meeting for the Diclonius a week before the educational institution is supposed to officially open. Because people in Osaka are much more accepting of us, and you're rather well known here too, we were hoping you could get every ready on that day."

"Oh, well of course. I don't know how much everyone's going to like having to go listen to him though." Caren mumbled at the end of her breath, looking away. "That's a nice outfit you have, is it new?"

"Oh?" Suddenly Victoria's once impassive face became far brighter as she beamed appreciatively. "Y-Yes, Julius got it for me. It was such a surprise, I was just doing some work and he came around he gave it to me. He said it really matched my eyes and hair." Caren had to give her a fleeting look, mainly because the Diclonius all had shades of pink in their hair and definitely all of them had red irises. Victoria also failed to grasp that Julius had gotten it for her mostly as a need for her to keep warm, not so much as a sign of affection. But she wasn't going to listen to that kind of logic, for her, it was brilliant gift from a lover.

"I keep wishing he would ask me." She suddenly mumbled, caressing her fingers and starting to blush. "I love that man so much, it's almost like…" She stopped, unable to put the right words together which for the most part, Caren was glad. She felt out of her game, hearing tales of love from adults which she herself was only 16 years old and having never felt any sort of romantic interest with anyone. She was a loner, highly independent and the idea of having a romantic or intimate relationship with anyone had never crossed her mind. It might have been her issues with so called admiration before and how it had clouded her judgment

"Is there…anything else?" She finally asked, hoping to snap Victoria out of her stupor.

"Huh? Oh no! I just needed to tell you that. Ummm, have a good day." Blushing again, Victoria left and Caren realized that crying wouldn't have been so embarrassing now.

* * *

Elrya face was awfully miffed as she sat in the back seat while Karoly, Yin's father, drove her and Miriana to Osaka where the meeting was taking place. "Cheer up Elrya, there's no need to be so upset." Karoly spoke in his slightly strained voice. As a native of Hungary, while he could understand and speak Japanese, it was clearly his second language. His voice would strain on certain words and the accent was as clear as day. The death of his son yin had hit him hard, it might have even put him into a similar state that Kurama had felt when Mariko had died before him as well. Luckily, both Elrya and Miriana gave him a reason to keep going and knowing the girl before him had loved his son, he felt the very need to take care of her.

Elrya was thankful for that, after all as brave and independent as she was, or as she thought she was, she was still a young girl, new to the world around her. Even Miriana could only do so much, and an adult would've been needed to work things about. Karoly didn't live with them though, not that either would've minded, but lived somewhere else in town and would periodically visit them. Elrya would also talk to the old man about Yin, learning new things about her deceased husband that she never got around to asking in the past. It was sentimental, knowing these things about Yin. Of how as a child he was sent to live with his relatives in Japan during the war, of how he grown up to be a doctor, and how all the things that Elrya could only have imagined. It made her happy, that she could learn more things about the young man and she felt the urge that when she gave birth, she too would tell her child about the great things her father did.

How he always protected her mother. How he was always by her side, taking care of her.

But during the last visit, a new conversation has sprung up. Of course the horned girl could feel nothing but contempt with having to go to Osaka to listen to the elderly man start yapping his mouth to all of them. "I don't want to…" Needless to say, Elrya put a real fight, and by fight, a real childish tantrum when she crossed her arms and point blank refused to go. "He's only going to say stupid things like he always do, the bastard."

"Now Elrya, please don't be like that. It's a mandatory meeting, we don't want anything to happen to you."

"Besides…" Miriana piped in. "It should last too long and then we'll leave. Maybe we'll even get something to eat. Have you been craving anything?" Miriana knew that pregnant girls had different changes in their bodies and would often crave specific types of food. Though being a Diclonius, it was unknown if this was going to be different for Elrya.

"I still don't want to go, it's boring. I don't want to!"

"Please…" Miriana whispered.

"No…"

"Please…"

"I said…I don't…it's…fine!" Giving up because she knew she was going to lose anyways, Elrya Alya finally went to the car with the two, her sour mood not changing at all. Arriving at the location, the girl was stunned by what she saw. The educational institution was not just a single building, but a multi-complex stretching six city blocks and spreading out into different locations. A large gate, was opened for them, many cars and people both humans but most horned girls stepping in, some curious, some disappointed but none with joy in their eyes. Like Elrya, it was less about being here and more about having to listen to the speech Garder would be giving them. It was hard to feel sympathy for a man who systematically murdered many of them before.

"Hey, something's weird about you."

Elrya gave one girl a strange look, raising her eyebrow questioningly. "What do you mean?" She was afraid of this, most of the girls even while wearing heavy coats, still looked relatively normal. She wanted to cover her extended belly and waited for the answer. The girl, probably around 17 years of age tilted her head to the side and then muttered. "I can't sense you. Are you really a Diclonius?" Ah so that's what this had been about. To keep other Diclonius from finding her, an operation on her had been done that kept Diclonius from sensing her and vise versa, she from sensing others as well. "Don't let it bother you, it's not a problem."

"Oh, alright…" Before she turned away, the other girl said unpleasantly. "…You should lose some weight also, it makes the rest of us look bad."

"Yeah…w-well maybe I just like the way I am, stupid!"

"Elrya's not heavy, she's preg…mfffhgh!" Elrya hastily latched her hand over Miriana's mouth. "Poor girl, always yapping her mouth when she ISN"T SUPPOSE TO…" she said with major emphasis on the words to the girl while leaning her head down and whispering to her. "What did I tell you Miriana? Please don't go around yelling that to everyone, it's going to cause too many problems. I'll deal with it when the time comes."

"But Elrya, wouldn't it be better to tell them now?" Miriana asked. "You can't just keep running away from this, better to tell them now then later.

"I can't, I can't take the pressure." The poor horned girl finally admitted, noticing that a crowd had started to appear around her. Was she really attracting that much attention. "What's going on? What is it because you can't sense me? I had a little operation done on me, nothing bad."

"It's not that, why are you so…fat?" One questioned.

Anger was getting the better of her and Alya finally stepped in, unable to take it either. "Listen, don't judge me or anything. I'm just a little heavy that's all."

"…Fat…"

"Listen you, don't talk about what you don't know!" Alya yelled, her ire rising even more. Miriana stood worriedly, holding her hands together. "Please don't fight, fighting is wrong especially among all of you."

"Oh be quiet human, like you'd understand."

This time Elrya took control, refusing to have her best friend talked to that way. "Shut it, this human has done a lot more for me and the world than any of you I'm sure. Don't speak to my friend like that." A fight was beginning to brew, unseen by the humans but noticeable by all those with horns, vectors began to emerge circling around as Elrya stood in front of Miriana, attempting to protect her. The girl who had insulted Miriana laughed cruelly and secretly, Miriana herself wondered if this girl had been one of the few Diclonius outside of Osaka, and thus one with few positive remarks for humanity. "You know, I think I remember you, when we were fighting that old man. You popped out of nowhere with the Queen. You aren't all that."

This time, Elrya smirked back. "Really? Because you know if we fought, I could kick your sorry ass all across this lot! Trust me I've taken on opponents a shit load more powerful than you."

"Please stop fighting, both of you!" Miriana cried out miserably. She didn't like fighting, she didn't like violence one bit. Suddenly Elrya began to notice the tears streaming down the black and yellow haired girl's face, her lips trembling while she squeezed her hands tightly. "Please stop Elrya Alya, I don't want you to fight." Something clutched at her, an emotion of regret of having made her best friend cry. She knew that Miriana hated such things as violence, had gone through one of the worst hells in her live and here she was, about to start a fight right in front of her. Calming herself down, she removed her vectors ,letting them dissipate quietly into the air.

"What's up, scared?" The girl antagonized her.

"No, I just don't have a reason to fight you. I won't make my best friend cry over my actions." Elrya muttered sternly, holding Miriana who choked, but ultimately glad that Elrya had made the right choice.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What the hell's going on here!" Another voice had broken the turmoil as Caren stepped in. "Enough of this, what are you all yelling about? Oh?" She paused, looking at Elrya carefully. "Aren't you the one who showed up before? Yes, you looked familiar…put on some weight haven't you? Oh sorry…" She realized that saying that made the other girl uncomfortable and quickly tried to retract her statement. "I just meant you were wearing a heavy coat, and I got the wrong idea…sorry." She repeated again, crestfallenly. Her temper went back up she turned to the other girl who had been causing the most trouble.

"Lilian, why do you always have to be like this? I told you, we have to be good even to the humans. It's the only way we'll be able to become accepted." The girl, named Lilian, turned her head away and snorted. "What do I care, it won't matter anyway. This is just a clever ruse to get us all together and lock us back up." Elrya would have grudgingly agreed if not for her ire at the girl previously.

Caren shook her head swiftly. "That's not true, we all know we need this. I don't want to be a girl who can't control my urges. My older sister was human and I loved her more than any other person in the world. We already beat Kakuzawa the one who first started all this and we got the people here in Osaka to befriend us. I think that's a good start right?"

Again Lilian snorted rudely. "That's stupid, don't make me laugh Caren."

Maybe it was the typical use of her shortened name, but the Turkish Diclonius' response was now less friendly. "Well that's fine, feel however you want but don't ruin it for the rest of us. I don't want to back to the way I was living before, in a cage without any clothes, constantly being experimented on. If you can't handle it, fine, but don't you dare ruin it for the rest of us." Lilian got aggressive now, her eyes flashing dangerous but whereas Elrya had lost her cool easily, Caren still kept a calm, if not somewhat stern gaze upon the other girl.

"Don't talk to me as if I can't handle myself. You little bitch." Clearly trying to antagonize her, Caren continued to keep her cool. "Alright then, so I'm a little bitch then. Stop making trouble Lilian, you did this the first time too when you came here. If I hadn't gotten you to calm down you might have even caused some serious problems. The humans here aren't our enemies, especially the ones in Osaka. I told you, I won't have you ruin our chance because you can't take it."

"…Tsk…whatever." Lilian growled before turning away, walking off. Caren quickly got the rest of the group to disperse then turned back to Elrya and Miriana. First speaking to the young human girl, she bowed her head apologetically. "Please forgive her, I'm sure Lilian has been through a lot, like the rest of us. Please don't her words hurt you, most of us really do want to coexist with you humans."

Miriana shook her head. "Please don't apologize, you don't have to. I believe that everyone is capable of doing good…or well…ehhhh…mostly everyone. My names Miriana. Miriana Kusoku.

"Elrya Alya Sandersas…." Her friend mentioned.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Carentorzulan Zeruda."

"That's a strange name." Alya said, now visibly startling Caren. "Whoa! What happened to your voice?"

"Nothing happened." Alya interjected. "My name is Alya, I'm Elrya's second personality. We both share the same body but we have different wavelengths. We just like to switch around every so often, it makes things easier for the both of us. We can even combine our wavelengths as well though it puts a huge toll on our mind and body."

"Ah? That's….strange."

"Now as strange as your name. Is that even Japanese?"

"No, I'm from Turkey, the same as my sister and mother. I was captured a long time ago when we were visiting this country and so I eventually began to learn the language here as I was locked away in here."

"I see, such a long name. Can I just call you Caren for short?"

When Carentorzulan began to furrow her eyebrows, Alya began wondering if she had somehow insulted the girl's honor or pride. Heck, she was wondering if she had accidently insulted something. "Everyone calls me that and I just take it because I know it's easier for people to say. But I always liked my name, it was the one my mother gave me and even my sister called me it. I have a great deal of pride in my name, it makes me feel special."

Another outburst from the crowd finally caught Caren's attention. Quickly turning around, she gave an exasperated sigh. "Oh great, now what's going on?" She rushed forward, peaking her head forward. "Oh, this is interesting, I was wondering when she would show up?" Curious as well now, Elrya stepped over, looking at the breaking crowd and who had entered. Her eyes narrowed and she had to stop herself from moaning.

"Why did we have to come here?" Lucy moaned darkly, uncaring about the attention she was getting. Her makeshift family, Kouta, Yuka, Nozomi, Mayu and Nana, the latter also having to come for being a Diclonius, were all, besides Nana who expected this treatment, intrigued at how the other girls were treating Lucy. "We had to Kaede, you know that." Kouta said firmly, holding Yuka's hand. After the battle with Kakuzawa, Lucy had returned to Maple Inn, her heart stinging at what she thought was going to happen. At best, she expected to be shunned away, at worst, she expected Kouta to attempt to kill her, and quite honestly, she'd probably have let him. But instead, though he never forgave her, he was willing to give her a chance. After knowing the horrors that happened not only to her but her entire species, even though he could never forget or forgive her about murdering his father and Kanae, he still had it in him to give her a second chance. He was also the only other person who used her real name, though she told it to all of them. Yuka, Mayu and Nozomi had become too accustomed in calling her Nyu as had Nana in calling her Lucy.

And it also pained her to know that her love for Kouta would never be romantically matched by himself. He clearly had deep feelings for his cousin that, in the past she wished she could've attained. But she didn't let it get to her often, because even she couldn't hate Yuka at all. Sometimes annoying and loud, the young woman had offered her a home as well, even taking care of her when she used to be in her Nyu persona.

*TOK* *TOK* *TOK*

Silence fell the room as the heavy shoes hit the ground. Elrya glared at the so called "guest of honor" her teeth grinding hatefully in her jaw. Garder's face was impassive, on his side were the two Diclonius, Julius and Victoria, the latter appearing perhaps the most stern she had ever felt before. The silence was like a wave, whenever Garder passed by the girls, they quelled their breaths as he went to the podium and pushed his horned rimmed spectacles up his nose, his white eyes staring cold up front. Nobody made a sound, not even a snarl or a groan could be heard. In fact, as much as many of them hated him, they listened well.

"Good afternoon…Diclonius. For those who know me this introduction is pointless, for those who don't, I shall begin. My name is Garder F. Morotisan. I am now the current Head Director of the Diclonius Research Facility in Tokyo, Japan. This educational institution has been created for your benefit in both offering you a proper education and keeping you to control your powers and urges. Nearly a year ago, a girl laid waste to the city of Kamakura.

I do not want that. It is up to you to decide if you are truly capable of making the adjustments and coexisting with us humans. I gave this warning the first time and now you will listen to it again. I have full responsibility for whatever happens with all of you. Mess up, even once, and I will send you all back to the facilities. This is not an argument, there is not a debate, mess up, just one of you and commit the same act as Kurama Mariko, you will all be back in cages. I do not care about your pleas, or your formalities.

The rules of this educational institution will be as followed.

Unless given specific authorization, you are not allowed to leave this place except for a few distinctive times. Anyone who is found without specific authorization outside of this facility will be dealt with. This entire institution has been made to provide you with the things you need. A home, place to sleep, food to eat, all of it will be provided to you. You can also act freely while you are in this institution. Specific guidelines and agendas as far as the education will be given to you all. You are required to stay here for four years of which after that, a test will be given to denote if you are truly ready for the outside world.

"Your homes will be as followed, set into groups of three and four you will live together in homes specially designed for all you. All the necessities as I have mentioned will be provided.

It is up to you to decide what choice you want to make.

…Diclonius…" His voice dropped, low and foreboding but loud enough for everyone to hear clearly. "I am giving you only one chance. I am only giving you this one option, out of the pure goodness in my heart. I will not give you any second chances, mess up just once, and I will cancel out all freedom that you'd ever hope to have.

...Let us see, just how well you cope." Garder left, nobody said anything, nobody was going to cheer that's for sure but nobody made any comment rude or otherwise. That was until…

"Ha! What a load of bullshit!" Garder paused, easily recognizing the voice and turning his head towards Elrya. "Stop acting like you know us, you fucking bastard." She didn't care, not one bit, she'd insult him right here and right now. "You're nothing but a coward Garder, a stupid coward who can't do things on his own. Why don't you tell them the truth then, Garder F. Morotisan! Tell them what you really want to do, what you did to me and my family and lover? Tell them what the real you is like! You don't care, the only reason you haven't killed any of us is because you don't have the courage or even the necessities to do it. We don't matter to you at all!"

"…"

"Listen up Morotisan, I'm not entering into this place because you commanded it. I've heard you were some sort of general back in the day, well that's bullshit to me! I don't listen to you, I don't care what you say and I don't give a fuck what you think!"

Still Garder said nothing.

"…But we Diclonius do have issues, problems, even I admit it. I don't want to go around, hurting people that I care about by accident. That's why I'm going in, why I'm willing to do this. It sure as hell isn't because you ordered it, liar! Don't think I've forgotten Garder, what you did to me. I'd like nothing more than to cut your head off right here."

"…Elrya Alya…"

He said the name as a dark whisper. "…How long have you been waiting to sprout that speech at me?"

"Tsk, far sooner than now I'll say, but it certainly felt like a good time here."

"I see." That was it, nothing else. The Diclonius wanted some sort of retort, just to keep the argument going, but Garder turned away. He walked off with his two consorts, the other Diclonius first looking at Elrya then at Garder then began to disperse and the crowd broke into voice.

* * *

"Oh…why did you have to say that?" Miriana whimpered, still holding onto Elrya's shoulders. "I can't help it Miriana, you know I hate that man. He's the reason I lived in that facility for most of my life, having to feel pain constantly. He's the reason Yin's not here too, even if he didn't kill him directly. He won't even say so much as an apology." Something came to her head, a question she needed to ask him personally though it disgusted her. Breaking free from Miriana's grip, she raced down the road, cutting through a bunch of people before yelling at the back of the elderly ex-General.

"Garder! Stop!"

"…What is it now, Elrya Alya?" He asked, not turning around.

Her voice became steadier, trying not to be too loud so as not to be overheard by the other Diclonius. "I have a question, and don't you dare lie to me either. Actually…" She glanced at Julius and Victoria. "I want to speak to Garder alone."

"Victoria, leave for the moment." Julius ordered.

"No, both of you." Elrya said strictly.

"There is no need for me to leave, I already know what you want to ask Morotisan. Please leave Victoria."

"Alright, Julius I will."

Waiting for the woman to leave, Elrya finally spoke. "Guess what Morotisan? It seems I'll be having a baby." She let the words sink in for him. "You knew I could get pregnant, I was never a Sipilet. Why did you lie to me about that? What was the point of saying something like that? Was it because you just didn't want more Diclonius around? You didn't want more of us so called 'freaks' running around? What is the truth, Garder!"

"It does no matter, my decision was my own under my own personal choice."

She growled under her breath. "A usual, you give me nothing but a stupid answer in response. Forget it, talking to you is like talking to a brick wall!"

"So we are done here? I have important business to take care and I have no time to speak to children."

Elrya again wanted to retort back but kept her mouth shut. She knew this would happen, Garder never gave her straight or true answers anyways so why would this be any different. As far as she was concerned, he refused to tell her because he didn't want her propagating new Diclonius. Returning back to Miriana they went back with Karoly.

* * *

Author's Note: Another chapter for the third story of the Pinpoint seires is now finished. What will happen next on "Pinpoint Conviction?" Please R&R and on another note, if anyone is interested in beta reading the story, please PM me. Besides the usual spell check, I most likely won't be going around looking for grammatical mistakes and such.


	3. Brand Settings Deny Shame

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 3: Brand Settings Deny Shame**

Getting up on that bright morning hardly put Elrya in a bright mood. Today she was required to head to the educational institution, or prison as she referred to it. Despite multiple complaints, Karoly and Miriana with some difficulty, much of which consisted of dragging her, finally managed to get her into the car before they drove off. As expected, many vehicles were along the road as well, all heading to the same direction to drop a girl or four off at the same place. Most likely the Diclonius managed to hitch rides with many of the Osaka residents who were kind enough to give them a lift. Still wishing to hide her secret, Elrya kept her large winter coat tightly around her, the bulge of her belly so obvious that she might as well have kept the coat unzipped. It would have at least been more comfortable.

"How much longer until we get there." The young girl moaned, lying down in the back seat with her feet propped against the window. She had been like the first time so she never got around to seeing the surroundings. At one point she even fell asleep, too bored and hardly anxious to get to her destination.

"In about 20 minutes Elrya." Karoly replied.

Moaning sickeningly, she propped herself back up, hunched over and sighing deeply. "This is stupid, I swear we don't need…ahhhh, forget it." She knew that her angst was probably getting on her friend and father-in-law's nerves so she smartly decided to just stop. There was no point in groaning again, nothing would change. Instead she found herself wondering exactly how life would be like in the educational institution, beyond a prison as she so firmly established it. She knew that because she was taken to the facility at a very young age, she never got the chance to get a proper education. A reminder every time they passed a sign and she often had to ask Miriana what they said.

If Yin was still alive, he would have taught her these things. Even during the short time they knew each other, he had indeed taught her many new things both intelligently and emotionally. Like how a human could love and respect a horned girl and the tender way he always spoke to her. Would Yin, like Miriana, have come with her also to stay in this place? She half way imagined that he would help by acting as the doctor of the place, helping the other girls who got hurt. More importantly, he would be around to see their child and help raise her. More questions appeared in her head, questions such as how Yin would've reacted knowing that he was going to be a father.

Would he have been happy? Elrya most certainly liked to think so but she could also see her having to apologize a few times before. After all, she had been the one who rather instigated the night of passion under the idea that she could never get pregnant. If either of them had known, Yin might have been more discreet at making love to her.

It hadn't even been a year and she suddenly realized then and there that as much as she loved him and wanted to be loved by him, she never really got to know him that well. If only he was still there, caressing her, kissing her gently, always kind but confident. A small part of her laughed when she thought of how much he tried to discredit being good enough for her, especially the age difference. There was nearly a five year difference between them, she who at first was only 15 years old and he was a young man at the age of 20. For her personally, age had not meant much but for Yin, that had always been an underlying issue.

He sometimes had to take two different roles, one as her romantic interest and one as an almost father figure when her immaturity got out of hand. She was young and inexperienced and she knew that it often made Yin uncomfortable in dealing with their romantic aspects because he feared he was doing something wrong or even perverse.

If he was alive now, what would they do? Would they discuss how to raise the child? What would they name it? There were so many things she wanted to do with him, talk to him, hug him, kiss him, tell her hopes, her dreams, regrets, antics. Alya wanted to confide to him her secrets, her lusts, her hate, her visions. He was the first man that she ever had a true connection with, one that made her see the goodness that humans had.

The man didn't deserve what happened to him. Both of them, Elrya and Alya, the two personalities desperately wished for a better future, where their lover and husband would survive and be with them to the end of their lives. Elrya took to the recesses of her mind, letting Alya who was more emotionally sound relax so that Elrya could silently cry within her thoughts. Alya didn't mind let her friend and very self weep for her loss, their loss in fact. She could hear it in her head, the psychological crying that even she went through because Alya didn't want the others to see her in such a state.

"Elrya…?"

"…Y-Yes Alya." Her thoughts answered back to her.

"I miss him too, please don't cry. I don't want to see my friend cry."

Elrya sniffed mentally, trying to collect herself. "I know, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry Elrya." Alya comforted.

"I want to hold him again, I want to kiss him again. I want to be loved and touched by him again just like before. I want him to speak to me, listen to me, everything. I can't though because…" She couldn't say it, she couldn't admit the truth of his death right now. Passing over that part she continued confiding in her secondary self-conscious. "I want tell our child all the good things about its father. I want to tell it, all the great things he did to help me. Alya I was thinking about something a moment ago, what should we name our baby? We can probably be sure it'll be a girl so, what should we name her?"

"Hm? I never thought about that until now." Neither Elrya nor Alya would have thought of being mothers, not like this anyways and naming was definitely one of the last things on Alya's mind until Elrya mentioned it. There didn't seem to be any close connections with using Yin's name in some way. She couldn't remember her own mother's name either, though she knew that her mother hadn't been Japanese and thus her name was something else. What was it? Hadn't she heard it before as a child, maybe when her father who she could also barley remember, speak her name before? It didn't matter now; thinking about that past was too much even for Alya who knew she was responsible for killing Elrya's and by default, her very own mother.

When Alya still didn't answer it, Elrya let the question slide off. It was a curious one at that, no need to think about it too much right now and Alya clearly didn't have an answer at the ready.

"Elrya Alya!"

"Huh?" Alya snapped awake, having dozed off for a few minutes by Miriana's soft voice. "We're here, please wake up." She couldn't have been asleep for more than five minutes so the sudden wakefulness made her head throb painfully for a few seconds. She gazed out the window, repressing a sigh as she saw the huge building as it was before, multiple Diclonius already stationed around, chatting aimlessly with one another. A parking place for those now entering was provided on the left side corner of the front gate where Karoly went and dropped Elrya and Miriana off before stepping up and embracing the horned girl in a fatherly hug. A bit embarrassed, Elrya Alya nevertheless returned the hug. "I can't stay unfortunately, my dear daughter-in-law, so I want to wish you luck here. Please be good, I wouldn't want the wife of my son to end up doing anything regretful. Miriana, be well also, and keep close to your friend."

Bowing respectfully, Miriana said jovially. "I will Karoly-san!" It might not be too late, she could jump on the car and let Karoly drive off but no such actions took place. Elrya waved goodbye as the car went off, leaving her and Miriana in the midst of the pack.

"Ah, it's you two." A male voice carried over, familiar to them both though not heard in a few months.

"Oh! Greetings Kurama!" Miriana piped in happily. Ex-Chief Kurama of the Diclonius Research Facility and now specialized member of the Diclonius Medical Center hadn't changed much since they had last seen him. His hair was kept in its usual form, clean and well kept, his suit fresh and tidy. He kept his glasses up his nose, the glare of the sun casting a gleam on them. The only different was the short hairs under his chin, either indicating that he was attempting to grow a beard or just hadn't shaved in the past few days. He was good man, one of the people that Elrya had some profound respect for as he did help her when she was terribly injured.

"What are you doing here? Or are you working here?" Elrya asked politely.

"No, I actually want to Nana when she gets here. I haven't seen or spoken to her for a long time and I believe it will be a nice treat for her to see me." The spectacled man explained.

"Who is Nana to you?" Miriana asked curiously.

Kurama pushed his glasses up his nose casually before replying. "As you two should know my biological daughter was Mariko. When I was working for the facility, before I defected I went around and euthanized many horned children." He gave a fleeting, apologetic look to Elrya as if believing that he owed her some sort of reasoning for his actions. "I can't say I'm proud of what I did, but I killed dozens of children all in the name of the facility and what I thought was right. At one point I was infected by another Diclonius. We didn't know how the vector virus transferred then so I had no idea that I was now infected. When my wife, Hiromi gave birth to Mariko, I was horrified.

…I tried killing her the moment I saw her, choked her while my wife screamed at me."

It was clear that talking about this was hard on Kurama, the glare of his gasses hiding his eyes as he spoke. Elrya and Miriana both kept their heads bowed low, trying to be respectful.

"Mariko was put in extensive care as was my wife. But when I tried to go into the nursery to kill my child, my wife came, begging me to spare her and subsequently died because of her wounds. I could kill other children without so much as batting an eye but I couldn't kill my own daughter. Kakuzawa used that as a leash, threatening to use my daughter if I decided to disobey him. I couldn't be the father that Mariko needed but years later I made an attachment with Nana. Ever since then she's been attached to me as well as being the daughter I never had."

He stopped, finishing his story and waiting for the response. Miriana cast a look of almost shame while Elrya pondered aimlessly. "I'm…sorry about that." She finally muttered.

"Papa!"

Speaking of which, a shrill cry broke the dark silence before a figure jumped into Kurama's body. Nana, happy tears in her eyes, wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Papa's here! Nana has missed you so much!" The bright purpled haired girl continued to cry in her adopted father's chest, forcing a smile that could not be hidden from Miriana's face. Kurama gently pushed Nana off, attempting to give some room for them so that they could talk.

"It's good to see you too Nana, I knew you would be coming so I wanted to see you. I hope you've been living well with your new family." He knew that Nana now lived at Maple Inn and Nana was more than glad to express that. "It's been great Papa, Nana has a place where she's accepted and has many friends. Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, Nozomi even…" She stopped, unsure if she should continue. It didn't go past Kurama who also knew the other resident of Maple Inn. He calmly looked over Nana's shoulder, starring at her makeshift family and finding the aloof pink hair situated between Mayu and Nozomi.

"Papa, you aren't…" Nana began nervously.

"I won't create any problems, I promise." Kurama insisted. "…But I would like to talk to her."

* * *

Elrya wasn't the only one who disliked the idea of coming to this place. Kaede tried to keep herself distant, her head low and having herself bunched up between Mayu and Nozomi while hoping nobody saw her. She didn't like school anyways, mainly because she didn't exactly have fond memories of education before. Even if she thought about it and realized that her peers would actually be far more accepting and respectful of her then the kids at that dreaded orphanage, it still didn't make her feel good. If anything, she merely didn't want to bother with such things as this place which she considered stupid. But there was no way she would ignore her family and Kouta not only insisted that she go, he outright demanded it. Besides even if she didn't want to go, she wouldn't put her family in danger because of it. As long as she could see them, she'd go regardless of her own personal opinion.

"Lucy."

The use of her facility name caught her attention. "Hm? Oh…it's you…" She whispered trying to hide her disappointment. Kurama wasn't surprised as he walked up to them, the other members of Maple Inn greeting him. "Don't call me that either, Kurama. I have a real name, Kaede."

"Oh, so that's your real name then is it, Kaede?" Kurama asked rhetorically.

"Excuse me, is there something you want form Kaede?" Kouta asked. He meant neither harm nor disrespect but he also knew that Kaede and Kurama had a rather touchy past together. Shaking his head, Kurama explained. "I mean no harm but I wanted to talk to her. There has been a lot of bad blood between us, hasn't there Lu…Kaede." He corrected himself at the end. Kaede swallowed deeply, turning her head but still kept her eyes locked on him.

"The only thing I wanted was to be accepted. You took a lot away from me."

Kurama nodded. "Yes I did, I took a lot away from a lot of people. But you also took a lot away from a lot of people also, didn't you?"

She couldn't deny that either. Her eyes traveled sadly to Kouta, who she was glad was not looking at her, she wasn't sure if she could keep his gaze. "…No, I suppose not. I…hurt a lot of people. Not just those who hurt me but those who also had nothing to do with me. I hurt a lot of innocent people and it's something that to this day I've regretted.

I only wanted people to stop treating me like an animal. When they didn't, I lashed out at people, lashed out people that were actually trying to help me and…" She once again looked at Kouta who this time did catch her gaze. She was about to turn away, as if merely looking at him would cause her great pain but she kept firm, keeping her eyes on him for just a few more seconds before turning back to Kurama. "…I hurt them, hurt the people I cared about. I caused them great pains and suffering.

…You too went through a lot didn't you?" She finally asked him.

"Yes, I did. But I also did a lot of harm to other people too, to innocent lives."

Neither of them had had such a discussion before. In past nothing but hated revulsion had come between Kaede and Kurama, neither of them realizing the terrible implication of each other's lives until now. For Kaede who had finally been accepted and able to recognize her own mistakes, while somewhat hard for her to say, it did at least bring up a heavy feeling off of her chest. "It may be a little late for me to say this, but I'm…sorry for the trouble and pain I caused you."

Kurama said nothing for a moment; perhaps he was surprised that the woman whom he knew as nothing but a cold blooded killer could say something so drastic. He was about to express his own apology as well before Roy's voice broke out over a loud speaker. Lucy along with the others turned around, seeing the limbless man upon a podium at the doorway to the facility. There were several other men and women with him, none of which Lucy recognized though Kurama could tell a few. Those he did identify, while not directly working for the old facilities did have some connections with it. Knowing that the educational facility was also supposed to provide ways for Diclonius to control themselves, he figured those he knew at the front would provide those resources. He also had to admit that he wondered how well they could even do that. The best people to help Diclonius were those who actually worked with them.

"Girls listen up because I don't feel like repeating myself." Roy exclaimed over the microphone, his voice echoing loudly for all to hear. "Firstly I hope you all are excited to be here. That was a rhetorical question please don't answer it. For those who don't know what rhetorical means that will be explained in your language class. On to more important details though.

You have already been given the direct rules by Morotisan regarding your actions. Along with those rules, secondary rules for this place are also in line. These are basic rules, mostly to keep you in line and safe. Once we're ready you will all follow me into the main structure where you will be separated into your groups. Look over to your right." A turn of heads did as he was told; gazing over at three fairly large six story buildings off in the corner, the Japanese flag hovering over the top of each one. "Those are the corridors where you will be sleeping. Along with the normal settings such as beds, or futons if that's how you like it are already provided. There also specialized areas in there, cooking, entertainment, all that good stuff. On a note for that also, if you cannot cook please do not try without proper training. If you burn down something we can't easily fix it.

The education around this place is provided in many locations. If you have trouble finding some place, only ask for one of the educators or Alpha Diclonius."

A strange murmur went amongst the group.

"Oh sorry, I should explain that. Alpha Diclonius are those who have been hand selected to help you along in the facility. They also have to go through the education but they also have enough knowledge to at least help you all. Quite honestly to explain everything else right now would take too long, so let's just this out of the way. In short, you'll learn as you come along. Any friends or families of the girls can come with me though after this you will be required to leave the grounds. We will give you information as well on when you can see your girls too.

Let's not waste any more time." Jumping off the podium, Roy was firstly followed by the educators then the Diclonius through the wide open doors. Even if they didn't like to be here, all the Diclonius couldn't deny that the inside place was stunning. It was a huge room, reaching up to a dome at the top. Two sets of stairs lead up from right the right and left and merged to the center where another large doorway was in which Roy and the others followed. Through that door, they entered into an even more extravagant auditorium, hundreds upon hundreds of chairs stated in an arc not only on the first floor but also on the second as the balcony overlooked the entire area.

"Every, please be seated. Any seats not available down here, there is a doorway to your left. Follow the steps there to reach the top." Roy calmly waited for everyone to take their seats before he continued.

"The first rule that I think should be given is this. The use of vectors is strictly prohibited within the presence of the educators here. That means vectors are also strictly prohibited in class, unless otherwise stated. As far as being in your corridors or in specialized areas that do not involve the educators, the uses of vectors are allowed. In these cases it will be the job of the Alpha Diclonius to keep the rest in line and in check.

Second rule. All educators have been given specialize pistols capable of incapacitating Diclonius. Unless a serious threat is given, they are forbidden to use them.

Third rule. All Diclonius are required to be in their corridors at a specific time. All those who are found outside of that time will be given punishments."

He licked his lips, making sure his words were understood by the horned girls.

"Fourth rule. You are required to attend all of your classes, though if health or some other issue arise we can make exceptions. As you know after four years you will be required to take a specific test indicating if you are ready for the outside world or not. Both educationally and emotionally. We allow you one chance here, so listen well please. Firstly the most important grade you will receive is based upon your emotional area, in which we decide if you are truly ready for the outside world. While education is important, we also understand that because many of you have not had such a thing, it would be stupid to force you to work on such things in such a short time.

Really, we only hope that educationally you at least learn the basics and then at that point we help you along the way with whatever you need. More importantly is how well you work outside of this facility. How well you can control yourselves. Any Diclonius who fails to show up to their class a total of ten times within each semester, will automatically be expelled and required to head back to Morotisan's facility."

Elrya kept her mouth shut though her teeth did clench so tightly that Miriana could hear the faint scraping of them herself. She placed a gentle handle on Elrya's own, comforting and calming her down.

"If you fail your examination after four years, you will be allowed to attend another two years. But if you fail to pass then, you will be sent back to Morotisan's facility and only he will decide if you are capable of coming back or not."

"THAT'S STUPID!" Bursting out angrily, Elrya stood up, catching everyone's attention much as she did when she yelled angrily at Garder. "What if some girls aren't ready by then! We can't all expect to be at the same level right, some of us are very young too what gives Garder the right to decide when we're ready or not!"

"Elrya…" Roy said plainly. "…I am only following orders. If it makes you happy, Garder must also give regular reports to people of his facility. He is also not allowed to keep Diclonius imprisoned or utilize experimentation on them though their freedom is of course far less secured."

"Tsk…not good enough for me." Elrya said darkly.

Roy sighed heavily. "Please don't make this hard Elrya Alya. Will you let me finish now?"

She didn't answer but he took it as a "yes."

"There will be other more specific and lighter rules as well though it will be easy for those to be explained later on. That is all that I have to say to you now. Educators will be outside at your corridors to give you directions to your home. For now, the first three days will allow you to rest, explore the area and get to know your roommates as well as other as your classes if you so wish. Everyone else, say your goodbyes now to the girls and kindly leave the same way you entered."

* * *

There was a scurry of movement, handshakes, waves, even a few hugs for the Diclonius who had attained personal friendships with some of their makeshift human families. Nana was crying incessantly in Kurama's chest while Kaede gave a quiet but heartfelt goodbyes to her family, promising them that this time, she'd make a better life than what she had been living before. Thus when the room cleared out, other than Roy, the only other human left was Miriana who skipped up to the front of the auditorium to meet him.

"G'day Miriana, hope you didn't get too bored with all that." Roy moaned, stretching his shoulders to get the cramps out of them as well as his neck.

"Oh no, you did a wonderful job." Miriana exclaimed.

"Tsk, a joyful as always aren't you little angel? You've been given special permission to stay with the Diclonius corridor with Elrya Alya so don't worry about that either. Because you aren't required to go through the educational process, please feel free to help out with the place. Another thing, please be careful to Miriana."

She nodded. "I will, I promise. Actually is there anything I can help you with right now?" He took the offer almost instantly. "Actually yes there is, some of the educators are living here at the facility and I've got a few packages I need to bring up to my area. As you can probably guess, having no arms makes that a bit difficult."

"Certainly! I'd be glad to help! Ehhh, Elrya?"

The horned girl raised her hand for Miriana to stop. "Don't worry about me, I'll head over to the corridors and wait in my room. I'll be waiting for you to come by whenever you're ready."

Elrya Alya found that she would be living on the top floor of the first building in which she as well as many Diclonius took the stairs leading to it. The corridors were fairly large, much more in fact than she had originally expected. For each place, at the bottom floor were six separate places for cooking though she herself wouldn't be doing too much of that. Elrya half wondered if any of the girls could do such things as cook but let the thought slide over as it wasn't very important to her. Because she couldn't read she was given a piece of parchment with three numbers on it, indicating he room number. Besides given an approximate location of where that room is, she could only base the numbers on the door with the numbers on the parchment. Which of course meant that she was forced to look at each door before she finally got to the right one. At least she assumed, making several glances between it and the parchment before ultimately deciding that the numbers matched. Pushing the door open, she stepped into the room.

She was the first one here apparently as the entire room remained completely unchanged. It was much like the entire place, much larger than she had originally anticipated with enough room for everyone to spread out. Four beds, two on either side of the room and spaced out accordingly were laid pristinely, the covers even slightly pulled down on each one. She didn't use futons often but she noticed them in a small closest which helped to explain the some of the large open spaces of the room. If some of the girls didn't use the beds, she was sure there might be a way to move them to make even more room. A cabinet stood at the far end, a semi-large television situated on top, the screen blank. With the floors padded with soft fibers, the last thing that finished the room were four small cabinets in which the girls could keep their belongings in.

If it wasn't for her personal grudge, she would've thought the place spectacular. They had done an exquisite job with everything and when she hopped on to the bed, almost as if hoping something would go wrong and for her to criticize, she found even it a major comfort. She had to admit it, despite her first feelings, it was better than what she expected. Elrya pushed her coat off, heading to the closet and hanging it up before heading back to the soft bed where she lay out with her arms on her extended belly.

"So what do you think Alya? This is where will be spending most of our time now for the next four years." Elrya whispered inside of her head.

Alya agreed mentally. "It sure is, it's not as bad as I thought. Oh, it seems we've got a visitor." Elrya knew that, along with Miriana, she would have two more roommates.

"Ah! Elrya!"

Who else but Carentorzulan walked in, wearing a small but comfortable silver sweater and tan jeans with heavy boots as she walked over to one of the other beds and kicked her boots off, brushing strands of her pink hair out of her eye. "Well I'm glad at least someone with some common sense is here. Do you know who are other two roommates are?" She questioned.

"My friend Miriana, the one with the gold and yellow hair is going to be staying with me. Since she isn't required to attend the classes she's going to be helping out around this place. She's human you know but please treat her kindly."

"I don't know why she would be here but even if she's human that's fine. My older sister was human too anyways. Let's just hope our last roommate thinks the same. Even if she doesn't, I'll make sure your friend Miriana is treated with respect by everyone on this floor." She smiled brightly, holding up a small pin with a picture of what was clearly supposed to be a Diclonius head, though entirely in shadows. "I've been made an Alpha for this section."

"Congratulations." Alya complimented. Caren was getting use to the sudden change with Elrya and Alya's personalities but even now it caught her by surprise.

"You should…get some exercise too. Not that I'm trying to insult you, please nothing like that but I mean…you look like you'd be quite stunning in a lean figure." Elrya knew this kind of conversation would come up.

"I ate a lot in the past months." Elrya tried to state in a matter of fact manner, though it came out pathetically.

"That much? I mean I'm not trying to criticize you, please don't think that but…I mean…" She didn't get to finish, thankfully because the last girl had finally arrived. Unfortunately any good feeling that Elrya had was instantly dispelled when that person stepped in.

"Huh? Oh you have to be kidding me!" Lilian groaned loudly, placing a small bag on the bed furthest away from the two. "You mean I have to spend four years with all of you, this is terrible."

Elrya snorted. "Speak for yourself, it's not like I'm happy with this arrangement with you."

Lilian's cold red eyes flashed dangerously, rising up from her bed Elrya could feel the threat even before the vectors emerged. "You should learn your place girl; I'm not as lenient as you might think. I especially don't think you want to get on my bad side, especially not some fat little girl like you."

Elrya only grinned back at her, displaying full confidence. "Trust me, my weight isn't going to be a problem when I've kicked your sorry ass."

"Both of you quit it." Caren ordered bringing out her badge. Again Lilian moaned loudly, clearly thinking the world was against her. "Cry all you want Lilian but I am in charge here. Do anything out of order and I'll make sure your put out. Elrya, I know you haven't done anything but the same goes for you. I don't want to have my friends get in trouble but I will if I have to, understood?" The pregnant Diclonius nodded, relaxing herself even if Lilian didn't, her vectors still poised to strike.

"Put them away, now Lilian." Another sterner order and Lilian finally did, perhaps understanding the risk was too great right now. "Not that it would matter though." She responded folding her arms and flinging herself on the bed.

"Stupid bitch." Alya thought before she rose out of her bed. "I'm going to wash, Caren where is the…"

"Once you head out here, take a right and then go down the hallway. There are two very large doors leading to the bath area. Even if you can't read the signs you can't miss it at all. They've even got towels and wash cloths for you as well so don't worry about that."

"Thank you." Elrya acknowledged, about to give Lilian one last look of loathing before deciding against it. It definitely concerned her though, of how Miriana would be treated when she arrived. What she feared most though was that Miriana would one day be alone with Lilian and the heinous little girl would actually try to hurt her best friend.

The bath was easy to find, just as Carentorzulan had said and as she went inside she was greeted by a vast white room area. Marble walls glistening with potted flowers an aroma of some something she did not know wafted through her nostrils. Something like strawberries heavy enough to smell but light enough so that it wasn't choking. In short, it was a splendid place, designed for comfort. Right as she entered she could see a rack with several towels of different colors hanging. Taking one, her eyes glanced around the room, eying the area and its accommodations.

On her left were stalls, each containing a showerhead. The right side of the room which also branched off into two sections revealed ten baths, as white as the room itself. She had to move over to see where the branched off area and found the source of the strawberry-like aroma. A semi large circle hot tub was at the corner. It was as if they were trying to make her like the place and she had to admit it, right there, it was fantastic.

Many girls were already inside, uncaring of their nudity as such things had become pointless with their lives in the facility. But not her, Elrya wouldn't have cared either, if it wasn't for the fact that she was pregnant and she suddenly felt somewhat ashamed of her own body. Many of the girls did spot her, easily noticing her girth as her face became embarrassed. She was sure many of them were thinking the same thing, of her looks, the horrible way she must be even if they didn't know the truth. Dark gazes, pitiful shakes of their heads and she could tell a few were mumbling to their friends about her.

And worst of all, she couldn't tell them truth, not without having even more problems. Was this how Miriana had felt when people had ridiculed her for her looks. She almost felt ashamed in her own self, at least Miriana had a reason for being upset. Her body was covered in scars, she herself was just a little large. It wasn't even like her whole body had gotten fat, just the extended belly and once she gave birth, as well as a little work out here and there, she'd go back to the way she was before.

"Ignore it, what do they know." Alya thought angrily.

How stupid of her, to be ashamed of her own body when it something none of these girls would ever be able to realize. To be ashamed of her body would be to be ashamed of her own child. If she was ashamed of her own child, then subsequently she would be ashamed of her love for Yin and she dare not insult his precious memory in such a way. Then and there, she vowed to keep her head up high, ignoring what people said about her though she'd still keep the main truth a secret.

Peeling her clothes off, she hung them over the shower curtain and stepped in, closing it and then turning the water on her. So began her first day at the educational institution, in which many new things would be given to her.

…And as the water trickled down her nude body, she silently wondered when she would give birth and how much it would affect her life afterwards.

* * *

Aurelius Denotos sat with five other men in a single helicopter that soared above the large fields of Hungary. He was average in height, his short black hair slicked backwards and given a rather greasy look to it. He wore a black coat, the tail end split into two long parts as well as wearing a pair of thick blue jeans. He had a gaze of authority, one that dared to question him. It was also cocky and relentless, confidence that didn't come from himself but from being surrounded by others.

In short, Aurelius would never fight someone on his own, he would have others do the work for him and only when he knew that he had a direct advantage would he ever get in the middle of things personally.

"Looks like a goddamn war zone down there, fucking shit man!" The pilot muttered disgustingly, the other men including Aurelius staring down at the battle field. The blood had long since dried up, but the bodies remained, torn to pieces in grotesque manners. The terrible citadel that had once stood was now a shell of its former self, the large spires fallen, the walls destroyed and the place broken in pieces. Hovering down to the ground, the chopper landed, the men jumping out with Aurelius coming out last to check the area out.

The stench of death made him hold his breath and breathe through his nose. "Once this is done, we're going to get this place cleaned up. I can't believe they still have all these dead bodies here right now, stupid people." He kicked a few bodies and parts out of the way, heading towards the broken citadel before stopping at another much more obscured body before him. The form broken, arms, legs and spine shattered as the figure la on its back. Its face a shattered mess, clearly destroyed by a high caliber weapon and the body torn up.

The man quickly spat near the corpse. "What a pitiful man you were, eh, Vladimir Cents? People said you were some sort of terrible and powerful man but the only thing I see is some weak bastard who got the short end of the stick. I must say though, that's a nice look for you." He kicked the corpse again, and walked on, heading inside the citadel, or what was left of it along with his other men.

"Weak people like you, don't deserve to have such toys." Aurelius growled eyeing the room before him. For the most part it was completely dark, all electrical outlets having been either destroyed or used up a long time ago. Only a few rays of the sun setting for dusk cast any sort of light in the area. Specifically he saw the remnants of a broken throne like chair at the front of the room two areas, the doors having been torn off lead to the right and left side of that destroyed seat.

"Get me a light." He ordered, the bright beacon flashing before him as someone held a squared shape land, granting much view for the man and others to see.

"We should be careful, this place looks like it could collapse at any moment." One man said.

Aurelius retorted. "Do what you were ordered to do, split up and start searching for some good data. This insane bastard had some sort of knowledge on these horned bitches, or so I've heard." He began mumbling under his breath again, expressing his distaste. "People feared this man, for all the wrong reasons. I swear some people are just stupid, they'll believe anything without question. These girls to, these…whatever the hell they call them, they aren't special either.

"I'll show them, what a true master is like."

* * *

Author's Note: Chapter 3 finally finished and I've hope you've all been enjoying the story. Elrya finally starts her new life at the educational facility and needless to say its already become intersting. But as she settles down at her new home, new faces begin to emerge. Just what does this new guy, Aurelius, plan to do? Check out the next chapter of "Pinpoint Conviction."

Please R&R.


	4. Lilian's Secret

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 4: Lilian's Secret**

Wanting an argument to start just to satisfy her own spite though smart enough to keep her thoughts to herself for the meantime, Lilian quietly unpacked whatever belongings she had and set them into her dresser. Purposely refusing to make eye contact with Caren who casually laid on her bed with her arms outstretched above he her head, Lilian finally pulled out a small picture frame and set it delicately on top of the dresser. Catching her attention, Caren didn't move her head but allowed her eyes to roam over to what the picture had shown. Therefore she was surprised to see that the picture was of a young woman with short amber hair holding the hand of what was clearly a much younger and far happier Lilian than the one sitting on the bed. Though she knew that Lilian had been in the facility much like everyone else, she didn't know that she had a family before then. Part of Caren wanted to ask about it but discarded the thought, believing that now was perhaps not the right time to discuss it. More than likely Lilian would only see her question as an attack.

As for herself, Caren hadn't seen her own mother in a long time and had no idea if she was still living in the same place as before or if she was even alive right now. It had after all been several years since she'd seen her and unless Orlana had somehow managed to contact her, the last time she would have seen her two daughters was right before Orlana took her to live with. Then again, even if Orlana did manage to contact their mother, it wasn't like she could express good news to her.

The picture only showed the woman so it made the Turkish Diclonius think of Lilian's own father and the kind of person he was. For herself, her father had left before she was born and her mother had refused to remarry after that, finding better joy in raising her two daughters. The more she thought of these questions, the more curious she became but still opted to cease any inquiries until later.

Having finished unpacking, Lilian finally brought out a small object and flipped it carelessly though always managed to grasp it no matter how much it nearly slipped out of her fingers. Her face took on a more passive expression, as if she could become lost in merely turning the small object around her fingers without a care. It was nothing special from what Caren could see out of the corner of her eyes, and by the time she went to get a better look at it, Lilian had already put it in the dresser. With the silence getting to her, Caren jumped up and found the remote, turning on the television and then propping her head against her pillows. To be honest, even before she was captured, she had never watched much of television outside those in other establishments. Her family never had a television, not that they weren't capable of getting one in the first place though.

She thumbed through the channels carelessly, not even sure what she'd assume would be good to watch. Once she passed over the whole list twice, there only being about 80 channels total, she threw the remote over to Lilian's bed, the girl whom gave her a quick glare but still took up the remote to flip through the channels again. Lilian had seen television before as a very little girl before she was captured but much like Caren, she too found it relatively boring when compared to real life. Plus, fake entertainment sometimes became inadequate when one had multiple hands for their own amusement. She stopped on the first channel, a specialized one in which the broadcast was directly related to the happenings of the educational facility. Words passed over the screens, simple things like the rules as a computerized voice spoke, obviously for those who could not read. It was awfully monotonous and boring and so she decided to flip to the next channel and keep it there regardless of whatever it was.

Hearing the door open, the two girls perked their heads over, expecting Elrya but instead Miriana walked in, her face a little red from blushing about being in such a place and bringing her bag inside. As Carentorzulan already knew that Miriana would be staying with them, her appearance didn't surprise her. But she knew that Lilian was going to bring up something so she pushed herself up and sat at the end of the bed.

"What are you doing here? Bringing Elrya more of her stuff?" Lilian asked coldly. Miriana shook her head.

"Actually, I'm staying here with you."

Clearly having misunderstood, Lilian shook her head this time and asked for clarification. "What exactly are you talking about?" Caren answered in Miriana's stead.

"Miriana…that is right?" She asked quickly to make sure she got the name right whom the young multi-haired girl nodded politely. "…Is going to be staying with us in our dorm while helping out with facility." Much as Caren expected, Lilian threw an unnecessary fit over this.

"That's stupid! We don't need her in here!"

Clearly crestfallen, Miriana lowered her head shamefully. "I don't mean to be a burden, and I promise I won't do anything to upset you. I just want to help my friend Elrya Alya and help out here whenever I can." Her hands folded in front of her, she walked over to the last bed which was roughly pushed by Lilian's invisible hands further away from her. Still feeling as if she had done something wrong, Miriana continued to apologize much to Caren's annoyance as she knew the girl had no reason to be sorry. She threw a retort at Lilian for her behavior.

"What's your problem Lilian? Miriana hasn't done a single thing to you and you should stop treating her like that."

"Why should I, she's just a…"

"What!" Caren articulated though not enough so that she was yelling, merely a strong rise of her voice. "Human? What about that picture then over there, of that woman?"

Once mentioned, Miriana looked up at the photograph situated on her roommate's dresser. "That woman is very beautiful, who is she?" Lilian glowered at her but answered nonetheless. "..She's my mother alright! It's the only picture I have of her."

"Oh? If I may ask, what about your father?"

This time Lilian looked away, facing the wall. "Who cares about him, he left me and my mother when I was only three years old anyway. The only thing he left was this little thing." The object she had placed in the dresser was taken out, holding it out in her outstretched palm. "Stupid little thing really, but my mother said I should hold onto it so I have, just for her."

"May I see it?" Because Lilian didn't have much pride in the object as she did her photograph, she used her vector to pass it over to Miriana's outstretched hand and dropped it lazily in her palm.

"AH!" Her suddenly outcry caught both Lilian and Caren off guard as Miriana dropped the object on the floor and hastily picked it up. "S-Sorry about that I just…" Lilian, only imagining that the girl had done something stupid ignored her and turned her head back around. Caren meanwhile noticed that Miriana's face had gone strangely white, as if fear had gripped her, a sudden realization that passed through her veins and left her shaking. Having to be of support for everyone, she quietly asked Miriana if something was the matter.

"I'm fine it's just…ummm, Lilian. What's your…surname?"

"Surname?" She asked.

"It means last name." Caren said monotonously.

"I know what it means, stupid. It's…" She didn't finish, the door opened up as Elrya stepped in, happily hugging her best friend once she saw her. "Miriana! I'm glad you're here now. You look a little pale, is something wrong?" The black and yellow haired girl held her palm out for Elrya to see who jumped back though not as much as Miriana had done.

"Isn't that…" How could she not have known what it was, she had seen it more than once before, a minute silver coin. It was mostly unmarked, even its edges undented and the only symbol was of a strange insignia that showed two circles overtop each other as two lines struck between them horizontally on both sides of the coin. But it was certainly the same type of coin that she had seen used many times in the past, the dangerous trump cards used by the Assassins.

"What are you people getting so worried about? It's only a little coin that my father gave me." She explained, still finding the seriousness of the situation deplorable.

"Hey, girl…ummm, Lilian right? Who was your father?" Elrya asked nervously. Perhaps it was just coincidence and this coin merely looked like one. Lilian moaned but answered nonetheless. "I don't know…" She mumbled untruthfully as if she just didn't feel like saying it though continued on anyways. "He never visited around much even after I was born but my mother kept on saying how good he and how he had provided many of the goods for us. He looked big, even if I was young and he always smiled. Stupid amount of blonde hair on him also, don't know how he even saw through it all."

!

This time, true nervousness did pass through Elrya and Miriana.

"My mother insisted I have his last name also. It wasn't even a good last name either, simple really…Cents." She finally answered, spitting the name out and then rolling back so that she laid on her back, looking up at the ceiling while Elrya and Miriana stood their transfixed. Miriana kept giving her best friend passing glances, perhaps hoping she'd have an answer to this while inside her head, Alya exclaimed.

"Are you telling me, she's…?" She couldn't even finish it and Elrya was as stumped as the others were. But unless there was a huge coincidence here, then there was no denying it. The name, the coin, the very description, it all lead to the same place. And that same place was so impossibly unlikely that it even now she wasn't sure if it was true. But again, she couldn't deny what was given to her.

Elrya was looking over at the one and only daughter of Vladimir Cents.

This time Miriana posed another question. "Excuse me Lilian, what kind of person was your father?"

"Gah! More questions huh? I already told you I didn't know him that much though for some reason my mother always told me how much she loved him. He provided a lot of things for us I know, food and other necessities but then the last the last day I saw him was when I was three years old. I can't remember much of it, I was young after all. Only that he left this coin with me and that my mother said he loved me very much. He didn't even spend a lot of time with me, he wouldn't even be home for months at a time but still. I at least loved my mother and it's the only reason I keep this with me.

And after he left, that's when things went to hell. Those facility bastards came in, my mother didn't even put up a fight and well, that's the end of that tale. Please tell me there's nothing else I need to talk about.

The pregnant Diclonius had to insist to herself that Lilian was talking about a completely different person at this point. The Vladimir she and Miriana knew was a cold hearted, murderous individual who found nothing but pure glee in making others suffer. She still had nightmares after all about Yin's death because of that sick bastard. The idea of Cents loving anything other than himself and his own cruel intentions was beyond her. There was absolutely no way that same man who made hundreds of thousands suffer for his own sick amusement could possibly have ever done anything kind?

"Let me have my coin back." Lilian demanded but Elrya held it tightly. She knew how dangerous these things could be and with her point blank refusing that Vladimir could be anything but nice; she wanted to get this thing checked out. "This thing might be dangerous, let me…"

"Dangerous? Are you dumb or something? It's just a stupid little coin, give it to me."

"No, you don't understand, Cents was a monster." Elrya began.

"Oh get off of your high horse! My father was a bastard I'm sure, not even being there when we needed him the most. But I trust my mother and if she said she loved him then I see no reason why he would be a monster. My mother would lie to me after all! Now give my coin back, it belongs to me!"

Still Elrya held it back. "You don't get it at all do you, your father didn't love you nor did he love your mother! I know that for a fact!" The tension, already high before the conversation had started, had hit a new boiling point when Lilian jumped up from her bed and tried to snatch the coin away which Elrya quickly swung her hand back, forcing Lilian to catch stale air instead. Caren got up as well, trying to quell the situation.

"Both of you, stop this right now!" But Lilian was far too furious to listen to Carentorzulan.

"You little bitch, what the hell do you know about me or my family? Don't act like you know me or my mother, I trust her with everything I had. What the hell do you even know about my father anyways? It sounds like you're just a stuck up girl who doesn't know when to shut up."

Stamping her foot down, Elrya laughed mirthlessly. "I can't believe how stupid you are! Vladimir Cents was a bona-fide monster from the day he was born. The only thing you are to him was probably some pitiful rape victim."

This time, Lilian was positively seething. "My mother was not raped, you sick little bitch! I already told you my father might have been a bastard but he certainly never raped my mother! I'm not that kind of girl you insolent little…" Again Elrya laughed coldly, still unable to believe that Lilian could believe all these lies. Cents was after all the master of such deceit.

"You truly are an ironclad fool I swear. Your father probably raped your mother and then put all those screwed up lies inside your head. That monster knew nothing but how to make people suffer! He tortured my best friend and then he went and the utter nerve to kill my lover right in front of my eyes! The fucking bastard laughed too, he didn't love anyone, not your mother and he certainly didn't love you!"

***BASH!***

Having hit the breaking point, Lilian lashed out with her vectors, hitting Elrya so hard she slammed into the wall and dented it, earning a few yells from the girls at the other end. "E-Elrya!" Miriana shrieked, coming to her friend's aid before Caren released her vectors, attempting to deal with Lilian. The girl however didn't attack them but walked up, grabbed her coin and put it inside her pocket. She hatefully scowled at the fallen Elrya before grabbing head over to the shower room as well.

"Like you know anything about me!" She said as the door closed behind her.

Hurt but mostly confused, Miriana helped her friend up while Elrya looked over at the door, trying to find out where she had gone wrong. Caren, retracting her vectors came over to them. "Please try not to make this a daily thing Elrya, you were both out of line right there and I'm still in charge of keeping things steady in this place. Still, what was with you and the girl's father? Did you know him or something?"

Alya came in, letting the startled personality of her friend regress back into her mind so that she could take charge. "You have no idea. You should be shocked as well too after all. Vladimir Cents after all was the one who killed your older sister." This time Caren did express her surprise at that comment. Alya brushed herself off, then said, "That man knew nothing but how to be evil in his life. He kidnapped Miriana and made her go through terrible things just to amuse himself. He had this horrible fixation on me as well, always blathering on about desires and then he killed Yin."

"Yin?" Caren inquired.

"I was released outside of the facility under the impression that if I found Lucy, I would be released. Instead Garder, the bastard who ran the place, only let me out as a way for others to kill me instead so he didn't have to dirty his own hands. He's the reason Cents came after me in the first place. At some point I met a young human man who treated me far differently than any other human did, along with Miriana. We grew so close together and we're even going to get married until the dreaded day. I saw his own brains get blasted out of his skull and the monster that did it, laughed. Even Roy could vouch for me on this one, there's no way that girl knows anything about her father."

But Carentorzulan wasn't thinking about that, even at the beginning she had always thought that Elrya's weight issue seemed oddly strange. At the mention that she had once had a lover, it made her think though of course that couldn't be it. But still, she gave a half exasperated comment that she expected to be laughed at. "I can understand, the man you loved must have been very special. There are times if I didn't know any better, I'd actually say you were pregnant Elrya Alya." She waited for the snickering, but instead Alya lowered her head so that her hair obscured her eyes and her lips remained pursed.

"Ummm, did I say something wrong? I didn't mean it as an insult I was…just…" Caren tried to apologize.

"Well, yeah about that…" Alya whispered, now growing very red in the face. Carentorzulan blinked twice then gave a small look at Miriana who likewise looked at Miriana as if to make sure it was alright then nodded her head once. The look on the Turkish Diclonius' face was priceless, eyes wide, mouth slightly agape with bottom lip quivering. She kept looking over at Alya whose head still remained bowed and Miriana who only smiled with both innocence and nervousness.

"Are you telling me…" She began slowly. "That you're…actually…you know…like…pregnant?" She finally ended.

"…Can you keep a secret, I mean don't tell anyone else?" Alya asked, turning around so that her side was facing Caren.

"I guess…" It was Caren's only answer and not exactly the kind Alya wanted to hear but she replied. "Well apparently I'm also a Queen. I didn't even know it myself, nobody said anything about it so I was just as shocked as you were. Anyways a few months ago I found I was, you know…" She pointed at her rotund belly with a strained little smile. "…and that I'm probably going to be giving birth at least in the next three months or so. Once I do, Roy is going to help take care of my child while I'm learning here. Please don't tell anyone, people will never shut up."

Caren still seemed to be lost on the first fact that she was now living in the same dorm as a Queen Diclonius. "What about Lilian then? Should I tell her?"

"No!" She exclaimed wildly. "She doesn't even like me anyways, the stupid girl. Imagine what she'd think if she knew. Hell she'd start blathering to everyone. Besides she's the one who needs to get her priorities straight." Alya spat, crossing her arms indignantly.

"Actually, I think you should go and talk to Lilian and you know, maybe even apologize to her." Miriana finally said in a quivering voice.

"Excuse me?" Alya's reply was dumbfounded. "Why should I have to apologize to her? We're talking about the same man Miriana, we both know there's no way in hell that murdering bastard could ever have been a good person to her. She's the one who needs to wake up and get a grip on herself."

Her best friend looked away, her eyes expressing a deeply saddened look. "I know that, I know just as well as you do the kind of man he was. But for Lilian, for some reason that's not the same. She doesn't have that same view we do and I think you really hurt her feelings back there. Please, for me, talk to her."

"Bah, I won't like it, but I'll do it for you Miriana." Alya finally gave in, getting up and heading to the door. "But if she hits me again, I'm throwing her out the building." She added closing the door behind her and leaving the human and Diclonius alone.

* * *

Lilian grabbed the towel and stepped into the furthest stall, hoping the rushing water and conversation from other girls around would drown out her sorrow. She glowered angrily at the floor as warm water and tears dripped down her face, plopping quickly to the wet floor only to be replaced by more tears. Softly she sniffed, frustration and sadness gripping at her as she leaned against the wall and gripped her body as if afraid she would fall into a million pieces.

What did they possibly know about her or her life? They didn't know her! They didn't know her mother or her father! Hell she was sure she knew more about them then any of those fools! The very thought of her father raping her mother was sickening to her, especially with how much her mother had praised her father.

"_Please remember this, my dear Lilian-chan. Daddy may not always be here. But he's always loved you and he'll do anything to make sure your life is happy." _Even when she was being taken away and her mother did nothing, she whispered into her ear with the warmth of a true mother.

"_Lilian-chan, I don't know if I'll ever see you again. I want you to take this; it belonged to your father. Hold on to it with care and never lose it." _ Here hand gripped the small coin, remembering the day she got it as well as the last day she ever saw her mother. Her fingers caressed the edges, finding a small amount of joy in the neat little symbol that had no other meaning to her besides apparent love. At this point she didn't want to head back to that room, not with all of them smearing her family's good name around like that. Would she be able to get a new room, she definitely hoped so but probably wouldn't be able to until at least tomorrow. She'd rather sleep in this stall than have to back in there. Once again, her sorrow over took her and she covered her mouth to block out the whimpers, not wanting the others to hear her saddening gasps.

"…Ummm, is that you…Lilian?"

That voice, was that girl going to besmirch her even more? Lilian growled under her breath. "Wh-What are you doing here anyways? G-Going to keep insulting me and my family a-are you?" Elrya stood outside the stall, hands folded against her front with her head leaning against the door. She made no mention of it of course, but knew that the girl had been crying. It made her have an oddly different disposition of the girl.

"…Actually, about that. I may have been a…bit out of line back there." Lilian tilted her head up but said nothing, instead opting to cover her tear filled chokes that Elrya could already here. "I shouldn't have said those things about you, your mother…or your father." She added the last ones with a bit of a strain in her voice.

"…Wh-Why would you say those things then?" Lilian inquired directly.

Elrya had to think for a moment on how to answer this question. Clearly as Miriana said, Lilian's own perception of her father was vastly different than their own. It didn't even make sense to Elrya that the man who was renowned as a world-wide mass murderer and responsible for creating a devastating war was actually a loving father.

"Lilian, you said you didn't know your father that much. When he was around, what did you think?"

"…He smiled, a lot. It was warm and fatherly. I know he would lift me up and put me on his shoulders and since he was so large it felt so high to me. Sometimes on nights when he was around, he'd tuck me in bed and tell me stories. I may not have known him much, but he certainly wasn't the kind of person you said he was." It certainly didn't sound like the same Vladimir Cents that Elrya knew. It sounded like a completely different person, one even she would have enjoyed meeting. In short, everything that Lilian said described Vladimir perfectly with the exception that at no point did she make a point of her father being cruel.

"What was your father's full name?"

"...V-Vladimir Cents. My mother s-said he was from a far off country in the west."

Sure enough, Elrya had hoped that maybe all that Lilian said was merely coincidence. But with the full name said there was now no doubt that Lilian was definitely talking about the infamous man himself.

"I see. I'm…sorry for what I said." What right did she have tell this girl how to feel. What if someone told her that Yin had actually killed thousands of people in his life and even gave irrefutable proof of it? She'd certainly despise them for the same reason that Lilian despised her for speaking ill of her family. As much as she hated to admit it, the Vladimir Cents that Lilian knew was completely different from the one she knew.

"…Thanks…" It was just barely loud enough for Elrya to hear. Again, it gave her a different impression of the bossy girl from before.

"Y-Yeah. Another thing, could you be a little nicer to Miriana. Even though she's human, she's the first real friend I ever had. She's really innocent, practically too innocent really, hates violence and stuff like that. She had an accident a long time ago that severely burned her body and because of that, many people made fun of her and pushed her away. You wouldn't believe how desperately she wanted to be friends with me, I don't think she even knew I had horns the first time she saw me.

I owe a lot to her, so, please treat her a little more kindly."

…"Alright…" After a few seconds, just as before the small whisper which was barely audible reached Elrya's ears. With nothing left to say, Elrya left, leaving Lilian to soak in the water for the next few minutes.

"Elrya, how did it go?" Miriana questioned, waiting outside in the hallways for her friend. She gave a shrug of her shoulders and answered. "Better than I thought I guess. You were right Miriana, I should have apologized. Hopefully she'll be in a better mood when she comes back."

"That's good to hear. Still, it makes you wonder doesn't it?" Miriana said in her soft voice.

"…Yeah. I'm going to sleep, I need to rest." Elrya moaned, shaking her head and yawning deeply. There was still more she wanted to know but with her mindset, it would be best to ask such things later.

Miriana nodded solemnly. "I'm going to get a quick bath myself." Elrya too bowed her head. "That's fine, be careful in their also, since the other Diclonius I'm sure don't know about you either." Then again, it wouldn't surprise her if Miriana attempted to befriend many of them herself. That was just the kind of person he best friend was after all. Yawning, Elrya left for her room as Miriana took to the stalls, grabbing a towel and entering just as Lilian left her own and returned to her room. Elrya was already on her bed, covered raised and her head resting on her pillow with her eyes closed. Carentorzulan was away, most likely on duty with the other Alpha Diclonius and Miriana was also gone. She looked over at the latter's bed which she had violently pushed out of the way. Of course not asleep, Elrya heard the scrapping of Miriana's bed as Lilian pulled it back to its original position.

* * *

**Character Bios:**

**Elrya Sandersas: **The main heroine of the "Pinpoint" series, Elrya is a young 16 year old Diclonius and, though much to her own shock, a secondary Queen Diclonius. Having once lived her live in misery at the facility, her life went into a spiral until she at last found the peace she had always wanted. She is currently pregnant with her child and thus, is still trying to keep it a secret from most of the people around her.

**Alya Sandersas: **Elrya's main Diclonius personality and best friend after Miriana. Because of her biology, Alya has the innate desires to kill humans but due to the love of them, has managed to suppress her own urges. Often cocky, she still cares greatly for her friends and family.

**Carentorzulan Zeruda: **A young Diclonius from Turkey, Carentorzulan is the youngest sister of former Cents member "Orlana Zeruda" of whom she had a deep connection with. Having been captured right in front of her sister, Caren was broken both physically and mentally, even going as far as to loyally serve Director Kakuzawa until she snapped out of it. Incredibly gifted and intelligent, she utilizes the same Clock Stopper that her sister used. She has a particular dislike in people shortening her name to "Caren" not that it stops most people.

**Miriana Kusoku: **A human girl who suffered under a tragic accident that scarred most of her body, she is the best friend of Elrya Alya Sandersas. She has a deep sense of peace and friendship, hardly even able to grasp the idea of violence and feeling sick when around such things. As one of the nicest people around, Miriana is willing to befriend anyone.

**Lilian Cents: **Lilian is a young 17, going on 18 year old Diclonius living together with Elrya/Alya, Caren and Miriana at the educational facility. She originally comes off as rude and cruel, criticizing others and having little regard for Miriana herself although deep down she holds a much more emotional viewpoint. She is the estranged daughter of the infamous Vladimir Cents whom for some reason, does not view her father the same way other people do. In fact, she may be the only person who has ever viewed Cents in a positive light.

* * *

Author's Note: Another chapter done as we learn a rather surprising secret about the girl Lilian which only adds to more questions of her past and that which surrounds her. So what will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

As usual, keep reading, feel free to leave a review or even add some critique if you feel like it and most of all, I hope those who are reading it are enjoying the story.


	5. Checkup For The Insecurities

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 5: Checkup For The Insecurities**

Unlike the others, Caren didn't have the luxury of sleeping in and was required along with the other Alpha Diclonius to report to duty every morning and get checked up on the day's happenings. As classes didn't start until another two days, she found this to be an utter waste of time. It was to be expected though and it was something she had to accept with the added privileges she had while as an Alpha. The morning sun cast a low gleam on the snowy ground, winter's cold grip having yet to release. The other girls who had arrived were also still in the midst of trying to wake up, yawning and most certainly wondering if being an Alpha was really worth it. Come to think of it, she hadn't even been awoken this early when inside the facility, not that it added a positive aspect to it.

They arrived at the center area of the far left field, situated on a stunningly large fountain that of course, being winter, was shut off and unfilled. For the most part, she didn't know any of the girls there except for the one situated somewhat away from the others as if she was being shunned. Plopping down next to her, Caren began to converse with her.

"Did you have a good morning, Nana?"

Nana, the one most people knew as Number Seven kicked her legs aimlessly but still gave Caren a cheerful smile. "Nana had a good morning, even though she had a lot of trouble with the other girls last night. They kept making such a mess and whenever I told them to settle down, they wouldn't listen. I'm not sure if I'm right for this kind of thing."

Shrugging her shoulders, Caren added. "You just have to learn to take charge sometimes Nana, tell them who the boss is. You're in charge of your floor and it's your responsibility to keep that place in order."

"You're right Caren…"

"Don't call me that…"

"Sorry, Carentor…Caren-torzu…Sorry Zeruda." Nana finally said with hastily. Still annoyed, Caren couldn't exactly begrudge someone for saying her last name, as long as they pronounced it correctly. One of the other girls hearing the conversation gave a stark retort. "Why would they even make you an Alpha, Number Seven? Kind of foolish don't you think?"

"Oh that's not true…" Nana tried to interject. "I may have a lot to learn but Nana always tries hard."

"The only reason you're here is because you probably have that Kurama guy backing you up. I know you were really close to him." The other girl replied callously folding her arms and leaning back against the stone edge of the fountain. Nana's face became downcast before mumbling almost incomprehensibly. "Please don't talk about Papa like that; he's very special to Nana."

There was a snort of indignation from the girl, which Caren expected had little to do with Kurama and more along the fact that she just didn't like Number Seven in general. The Sipilet was an outcast to some of the girls, brandishing her a traitor to some even though such things were foolish to begin with. "Eh, Kurama was a moron…" The comment was waved almost half-heartedly as if expecting Nana to just accept such a clear fact. For her that wasn't the case and Carentorzulan only caught a glimpse of the body moving in front of her.

***CRASH!***

"Holy shit!"

True words enough from one of the girls who watched the entire thing unfold. Nana, with her eyes in sharp contrast to their usual kindness and got up, rushed over and without so much as a warning, slammed her fist so hard against the other girl's face she had easily broken her nose and drawn blood. Knocked to the floor, the Diclonius couldn't even blink in shock before Nana picked her up by the collar of her coat and brought her face to face with her. There was no sign of compassion in those red eyes now.

"You know what? Nana takes a lot of crap from you people and for no good reasons at all. But that's fine; Nana will take it because Nana knows she's better than that. But you will never talk about Papa like that! Do you understand me!" She yelled the last words, earning a quick shake of fear form the other's head before going in. "Good! Because the next time you do, Nana will break your arm off!" Then slammed the girl back down, leaving the others most certainly mortified and sat back down next to Caren with a huff.

"Phew! Wow Zeruda, that did feel good."

"…See now that's what I'm talking about Nana. Seriously where the hell did all that come from?"

"Oh, Nana is sorry, she doesn't mind people picking on her, she's used to that. But Nana doesn't like it when they talk bad about Papa."

Caren laughed despite herself. "Well you should have that attitude more often with people who don't listen to you. Seriously, you were like a completely different person there. Also, you should stop using third person so often, start saying 'I' instead." Nana agreed, their conversation short as Roy stepped in, yawning like many of them had and then clearing his throat. "Well girls, good morning, I hope you're just as happy as I am to be up at this time. I assume all of you are here so here's what we'll be doing. I'm going to show you around the entire place today and I want all of you to get to know it. That way when classes start and someone gets lost, you can lead them to the right location."

"Couldn't we have done this later?" One girl moaned.

"Yeah, I could be sleeping right now but that's not the case. All of you follow me." Roy moved his shoulders up in down then briskly walked off as the other girls followed her, explaining in a short detail of the locations of the places. He gave a passing glance over at the girls, noticing how some of them were making notable distances between themselves and Nana, all while wearing gloomy expressions. If he wasn't still half asleep himself, he'd have bothered to check that out.

There were four main class room buildings situated on each corner of the institution, each one with an emblem of ether an "A", "B", "C" or "D" and each one contained four floors and a total of 25 rooms each in which he told them they would be expected to know these rooms as well. It added a lot of stress, and Caren couldn't help but think this was to weed out the unworthy which she had to admit, was working fairly well. But she held strong, ready to show that she was ready to take action and mostly because every time she thought of the negatives of being an Alpha, she told herself the positives would outweigh them. How else was she supposed to remain in charge and tell people what to do?

"And over here we have the field, you know, where you girls can just hang out when you aren't in class." Roy tilted his head over to the far end where a large open field situated with a few accessories like benches were sprawled out, the kind of place where everyone would get together and chat. It was also an ideal place for special outings which Caren knew there may be a few especially for the holidays.

"And here…" Roy went on. "Is the market." He indicated to a semi-large structure that held both food and other entertainment values. He explained that any money the girls earned, be it from actually working somewhere in the institution or given to them outside could be used in these places. The main building where they ate was actually located much closer to the dormitories. Most of the Diclonius would get money, if any, from outside sources such as human friends they had made in Osaka. Caren actually got lucky here as she actually earned a hefty amount of money from her deceased sister whom Roy had been obligated to hold for her. Thus, she could ask him for any money that she might need.

It was easy to say that going to these places would be far more entertaining then be told about them as even Roy was slouching from the boredom of it all. Even after they spent an entire hour and half circling the place, they still had to head to each class building and get acquainted with the locations there. Roy allowed the girls a proper break at this point, telling them that they would return back to the same place, the fountain, later in the afternoon. Those who had woken up fully decided to head to the dining hall while Caren went back to the dorms to get some sleep.

* * *

"Ahhh!" Miriana yawned, squinting her eyes from the gleam of the sun hitting her eyes and pushing herself out of bed. Smacking her lips, she got up, went over to the mirror and brushed her straggly black and golden hair until it was returned to its usual long sheen. Caren was gone, knowing she had duties of her so she wasn't surprised to see her bed empty.

Elrya was laying on her side, her mouth partly open and a trail of saliva falling from the right side of her mouth. Miriana repressed a giggle and then looked over at Lilian's bed. The Diclonius girl was sprawled out on her belly, holding her pillow close to her face that was also wet with saliva as well. Did she ever do that when she slept? Out of curiosity, Miriana checked her own pillow and sheets, found that none of them were wet and concluded that some people just knew how to keep their mouths clothes when sleeping. Careful not to wake them, she took her clothes and went to change in the bathroom stalls.

Usually, they'd have done it in the room themselves. Nudity wasn't exactly a sin to them as they had been nude for most of their life anyways. It was the same reason why many of them conversed in the baths. Unfortunately Miriana was still very conscious of her own body and feared the repercussions of others seeing her mutilated body. The shower room was empty, not that she expected many people before going into one of the stalls. Undressing, she looked at herself in the insignificant mirror, her face going red. In retrospect, her body was not at all disgusting her sickening. She had an ample body, shapely curves and moderately sized breasts. But her eyes constantly looked over at the scars on her body.

Two ones traced themselves around her belly and ended somewhere near her back. A third slid up her left side and a fourth, a particularly heinous gash, formed near the base of her left breast. Two more scars were situated on her lower back, finishing up the stich work of the accident that had taken her parent's lives. These scars had been a bane of her life, both painful and the terrible memories and implications they brought. When she was in the orphanage, she was ridiculed constantly for them, saw as ugly and yet forced herself to remain adamant in the belief of goodness. That was the same thing her father had always taught her, to believe in the good of the world.

Part of her was actually quite jealous of Elrya and the other Diclonius though never in the sense that she hated them. She felt shame in herself though that she could never be as stunning, beautiful or as exotic as those girls. No wonder Yin fell in love with Elrya Alya, she was an extremely beautiful looking girl. They all were, Lilian and Caren whose foreign appearance gave her an additional bonus.

Yet herself, not only was she ugly, she was plain as well. She didn't have those cool abilities like the rest of them. Even regular people like Bando and Roy had more to offer than she ever did. The poor girl covered her arms across her bare chest and looked away, ashamed of herself. Come to think of it, she had never been of any good to them in the first place. Everyone had some sort of skill that was useful but her; she was just a little girl who just happened to know these people. If she hadn't been so weak, she wouldn't have been captured. If she had been stronger, then Yin might not have died. Suddenly it dawned on her, in her twisted anguish, that she was now partly responsible for the death of somebody.

"Nuu…" Because of her own feelings, an inability to grasp evil, the very though tore at the poor girl's heart as she clutched her chest painfully. Was she not only physically ugly, but also soulless as well? Miriana tumbled against the side of the stall, unable to breathe due to the claustrophobic sensation of the area before pushing herself out in a rush. Outside, her vulnerability was amplified in the thought of someone seeing her. That couldn't happen; she had to get dressed quickly.

Fully clothed Miriana pulled back her tears and put on the same smile she always wore, every day, all the time. The same smile that everyone adored yet never knowing what truly hid behind it. Returning back to her room, Caren was back though by the looks of her even if she wasn't asleep it was clear she didn't want to be bothered. Elrya too had not moved from her spot, though the pool saliva had gotten larger. The only one awake was Lilian who was already fully dressed and stretching her body to get the cramps out. Noticing her, Lilian firstly averted her eyes then mumbled sheepishly.

"G-Good morning, Miriana…"

Pleasantly surprised, Miriana smiled back. "Good morning Lilian, up already?"

"Y-Yeah. Where were you? I didn't see you around when I got up."

The girl shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Nothing, I was getting dressed in the stalls."

"Really? You know you can dress here, none of us care about you being unclothed since we were all naked in the facilities ourselves." Lilian answered. Miriana again only shrugged her shoulders, of course not going to tell her why she had been in the stalls in the first place. Yawning to fully awaken herself, Lilian asked the human girl, "The others still want to sleep I guess. Do you maybe…you know…want to get something eat?"

Miriana's face broke open in a huge smile. "Certainly. I'd be glad to do so." Miriana went to the door first, waited and saw Lilian first place the picture of her mother close against her chest then set it back down and then brought the silver coin with her and placed it in her pockets. At that point Miriana felt an a shiver down her spine, not from the coin itself but merely from knowing its creation point. Elrya had been right about one thing, it would be wise to get that thing checked out. Once they ate, she'd ask Lilian to let Roy have a look at it, since she knew he was aware of the coins also. If everything was alright then no harm done but if it was, then she wasn't sure what she would say to Lilian. Exactly the same as Elrya Alya had felt, Miriana couldn't feel anything but pure contempt for Vladimir Cents. He had pushed her so cruelly that there was even a time where she had wished for the death of someone. It had made her vomit on the inside, that total feeling of disgust burned her and she hated it every last millisecond of it. What would Lilian think, if she was told those same things about a man whom she clearly had the opposite views about?

* * *

Walking into the dining hall, the noise overcame them. The Diclonius chatted away, walking away with trays filled with food that some of them could only have dreamed of eating. Therefore it wasn't too surprising to see some with more than their fair share of items on. The entire room was split into three areas. To large ones further away from the area where the food was being ordered and an upper area where she could see a bright chandelier hanging up. There was a visible television at on the wall at the bottom floor and though she couldn't see it, there was another one on the top floor. It was the same channel that broadcasted the daily happenings with the educational institution and if a voice was playing, it was being drowned out by the rest of the crowd.

Gazing now over at the place where the food was being ordered, Miriana noticed several lines at different locations at the side of the walls where food was already placed. Unsure but somewhat certain that people in the back were providing the food and setting them out for the girls to take.

Both she and Lilian, now inside the room, smelled the delicious aroma of cooked goods, noticing an array of both eastern and western breakfasts that she was certain looked like cuisines to some of the Diclonius.

"Hey! Who are you?" The voice came from a girl, around 14 years of age who carried herself a bit more haughtily than a girl her age should have, especially when talking to someone who clearly her senior. Of course, not to be rude, Miriana introduced herself politely. "My name is Miriana Kusoku, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hm? Are you…a human?"

"Well yes, you see I…" But before she could finish, Lilian interrupted. "She's living with me in the dormitory. Since we're supposed to learn how to control ourselves around other humans she's here to let us learn that. So you better treat her nicely." The girl apparently believed it and while baffled a bit, wasn't insulted and just took it as a truth.

"Oh, well I see. Have a good morning…" The compliment may have been half true. If anything it was a smart move as even the girl knew that she was supposed to be nice to people, it was their an entire point of being here in the first place.

"Thank you Lilian but you didn't have to stand up for me." It was true, Miriana was more than willing to tell the girl why she was here. She might have shame in a few things but explaining why she was here was not something she felt bad about. Even though Lilian didn't know this, she did at the same time provide a clever way for Miriana to finally be accepted by the other Diclonius.

The two ordered their food, sitting down at a small squared table Miriana posed the question. "Lilian, you know that coin you carry around? Do you mind if you show it to Roy?"

The Diclonius swallowed her first bite then responded. "The one my father gave me? Why is that?" Her voice was both casual and somewhat stern, seemingly knowing that Miriana was still uneasy with her father and the coin she kept around. Miriana herself knew she had to persuade Lilian in a way that didn't make her feel as if she was trying to force anything on her. After all, the two had only just now become friends, or at least closer acquaintances. Lilian took four more bites, enjoying the food greatly.

"Well Lilian, it's only that…well…" How was she going to put this? "Maybe your father was completely different from the person we're thinking about. It might just be coincidence that they share the same name. I only think that…"

"Why do you feel so uneasy about my father? I already told you he wasn't around a lot, but whenever he was I certainly didn't do anything bad. It was quite terrible with what your friend Elrya said about him." Miriana gave the girl an apologetic look, turning away she spoke softly but this time without hesitation.

"Let me just say that the Vladimir we knew, was nothing like the one you've talked about. The man we knew was a terrible person who did horrible things. He killed thousands of people, including Elrya's lover Yin Sandersas and tortured me. He carried around those silver coins as well which had special properties. I never knew a more horrible man in my entire life."

Something shattered as Lilian threw her plate across the table where it broke upon contact on the ground. Her eyes lit up with fury, mouth twisted in an obscured frown. "I can't believe you're still saying that! I already told you my father wasn't that kind of person!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The action had caught the attention of the other Diclonius while Miriana tried to calm Lilian down. "I won't bring it up anymore; I didn't want our time to together to be like this." She apologized eating quietly without looking up at Lilian did the same. A few minutes passed without questions, Miriana clearly only wanting to get Lilian back in her good mood again. When she didn't think Lilian was ever going to speak again, the young horned girl spoke back. "You aren't required to attend classes right? What are you going to do when we're away again?"

"I might go to a few classes, just to see what they're like. But mostly I'll be helping the facility out and most likely be working with Roy." She was glad that Lilian was talking to her again, but at the same time this was serious. As much as Lilian might deny her own father's true nature, not getting that coin checked out could possibly put everyone in danger. Knowing the kind of man that Cents was, at least to Miriana, that coin could very well blow up the entire city just because it would be a laughing joke to Cents. Frankly, she could at least have Caren and Elrya force themselves to take it from her but that would destroy any friendship that they had and her innocent nature would never allow that to happen.

"Could you at least…show Roy that coin? If there's no problem then no harm done right? Please, it just worries us that's all, we've seen something similar to it and it caused a lot of problems before. It would make us feel much better if you had Roy looked at it."

The Diclonius ate quickly, almost as if she refused to speak to her. Again, Miriana felt she had said too much or the wrong thing and now she had lost a potential friend. Yet after finishing her meal in silence, Lilian uttered back, "I'll have Roy look at it and when he tells you all that nothing is wrong with it then you better have some way to pay back for not trusting me." At those words Miriana's smile split into a huge grin, nodding fervently.

"I will!" It was a win-win situation, or somewhat depending on how things went. If the coin wasn't bad then she'd easily apologize and do whatever Lilian wanted her to do to make up for not trusting her. If there was an issue with the coin though Lilian would undoubtedly have to re-think her views she could at least have more trust in her own friends.

"Ah, look who's here!" The two were greeted by their other roommate Elrya, dressed in her usual thick coat and holding a tray before sitting down. She was glad that Lilian and Miriana were eating together, it really hadn't taken long for the other Diclonius to become more accepting of her friend. On her on part Miriana didn't bring up the subject of the coin herself but let Lilian do it. Hearing it, Elrya agreed, promising to help out with whatever Lilian wanted for at least a week for not trusting her.

"Caren still asleep?" Lilian questioned monotonously, now casually moving the crumbs of her food with her fork and playing with the chopsticks she had not used yet.

"She was awake when I got up but told me she would be sleeping longer. She'll probably meet up with us at lunch." The rest of the meal went by without problem, short conversations as both Elrya and Miriana refused to bring up anything about Lilian's past unless she personally brought it up herself. After finishing their meal, they went back outside where far more commotion was now going on than at the beginning of the morning. Girls walked in and out, chatting away, bundling their winter clothes tightly around them and sloshing through the thin snow to random destinations. Elrya couldn't help but see that Lucy somewhere in the corner was being followed by a group of ardent followers, much to her annoyance. That was exactly what she didn't want either, a bunch of people following her just because she was slightly special from the others.

"What time is Miriana?" The pregnant Diclonius asked. Near their dorms was a clock tower situated at front side of Dorm 'A' but of course she couldn't tell time. Lilian also couldn't though her pride probably wouldn't have let her say such a thing.

"It's 9:42." Her friend thanked her for the answer. "Lilian, let's go talk to Roy about your coin." Though she clearly felt her roommates should have more trust in her, Lilian had agreed to go to Roy. The blue haired man apparently lived in a special location directly on site. More to say it was like a little cottage outside of the facility itself near the parking lot where the others knew the educators would come from. As Lilian nor Elrya were allowed outside of the facility unless under proper orders, Miriana left them both to get Roy. Returning a few minutes later, Roy returned, his face clean shaven very much awake from when he had last stepped outside.

Elrya had to wonder how a man could do so much with no arms. How did he even put his shirt on?

"Morning girls, Miriana said you wanted to show me something?" He said firmly.

"These girls don't trust me for some reason, but here." She pulled out her small coin and put it up to Roy's face obviously as he couldn't exactly hold it and look at it himself. Roy didn't display the same shock that the others had but his face did become far sterner than before. He looked at it carefully, then said in a low voice. "What's your name?"

"Lilian Cents." Roy acknowledged the answer. "Lilian I'd like you to come with me, you both can my orders." So they followed him back to the cottage. Inside his cozy room, Roy told Lilian to come with him as he went over to a box which after ordering her to open it, pulled out two small halves of Roy's 5th Cent coin. Lilian put the two sides together, definitely noticing the similarities between her coin and the other, not that it meant much anyways. "However…" Roy said quickly. "Though it does look similar, there is a specific difference between regular coins and coins like this…" He made the simple notion of his head to his own broken coin. These coins are meant to be broken, their sturdy enough to keep from falling apart, but still soft enough to break easily. Judging from your coin, it's made of regular metalwork.

"Which means…?" Lilian asked, her eyebrows raising.

"Well firstly I'd like to do a little more tests on it, put it back on the table. Moving to a new part of the room, Roy brought, via his teeth, a microscope and set it down, telling Lilian to place the coin underneath it. As he leaned down, he searched diligently for anything strange before finally concluding. "Well Lilian, as far as I can tell this coin is just a regular coin."

"Told you so!" She articulated loudly to both girls who much to their disbelief had to agree with her. "We're sorry for not believing you Lilian, it was wrong to not trust a friend." Miriana replied.

Roy wasn't done yet. "The coin is fine, as far as I can tell but I would like to ask you a few questions Lilian. Please sit down because I don't know how long this is going to take. Obliging, Lilian, Miriana and Elrya sat down together on the large couch. Lilian in the middle, folded her hands across her lap while holding her silver coin in her palms.

"You're last name is Cents right? Could be coincidence but what was your father's name?" Roy asked calmly. She kind of felt a sense of déjà vu but said as before. "His name was Vladimir Cents. I didn't know him too long since he left when I was three years old. But what I do know is that he was a very large man, not fat or anything just bulky. He had very thick blonde hair and he was from somewhere in Europe though I don't know where exactly. My mother who I have a picture of, loved him very much and she told me that he loved me very much too. This coin was the last thing he gave me and my mother told me to always hold on to it to remember him.

Everyone keeps saying my father was some terribly bad person! That's stupid, my father might not have been around much but he certainly wasn't the kind of man who would go around, killing people or you know…raping my mother." That last one had clearly gotten to her when Elrya Alya mentioned it.

"Lilian, clearly the image that you have of your father is much different than the ones we have. Vladimir Cents, the one that we know, was a man with the twisted agenda in making the world fall into perfect suffering. There was a war a long time ago in which Cents amassed his own army and conquered much of the European countries before being soundly defeated. Though he had lost the war, he didn't lose his intentions of creating that world he wanted. Desires he would call it, and he never once gave up on them. He began to get people together skilled in abilities as his own personal assassins, I was one of them myself. Former member Fifth Cent, The Sniper. He also murdered my wife though I didn't know about that until much later.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Lilian nervously enquired. "My father…"

"As much as you might want to deny it, Vladimir Cents was far from a pleasant guy. He murdered thousands and had little regard for the live of any, including his very own. During the war, people lived a hellish life under his regime, a dreaded tyrant who abused his powers for the purpose of his own amusement. Even his code name signified his own perversion, First Cent, the Incorrigible. He killed my wife, murdered Caren's sister Orlana who was also a member as well as Vorono Girikuson who Elrya knew quite well. Plus he also killed her lover Yin as I believe they've told you about too."

It was clear that Lilian had definitely not be expecting to hear this and she kept trying, and failing hard to stop her tears of frustration. "Th-That's not true! My father wasn't like that! There's no way my mother would ever get together with someone like that!"

"I speak only the truth Lilian but it is interesting. If you truly are talking about the same Vladimir Cents that we know, then you may be one of the very few people to have known a side that we didn't. Now days, if you look up anything on that man, I can promise you it won't be kind. I know what you're hearing may be hard for you, but it's the truth. I don't want to turn you in my enemy Lilian but it's only wise that you do know the truth.

But…" He added. "Even if that's the case, you are your own person. The last thing I want you to do is feel sorry for your own self just because of what I told you. When I worked for Cents, I made the mistake of distancing myself away from my son, Kuroh. He was suffering from multiple cancers and I had joined Cents to earn money through assassinations and pay for his operation which I unfortunately could not afford on my own. That never happened though, not only did he die, he died knowing his own father was a murderer and hating him forever. That isn't something I want to relive again. Therefore, you still have pride in yourself and the truths that you did believe. Honestly I find it kind of hard that the image you have of Cents is hard, you have to understand Vladimir was not a man of good virtue, not to us at least. But if your mother believes it and you believe it yourself who are we to talk.

More importantly, it is up to you to decide your own fate as well. You may be his daughter but that doesn't mean you have to follow in his footsteps. Well then, if there's anything else you'd like to ask, go on ahead." But there was nothing and it did make Lilian feel much better about herself than before. Roy brought them back to the facility and let them out, Miriana following Lilian back to their dorm. Elrya although stopped Roy before she could leave.

"Hey Roy. Was there really nothing wrong with that coin or were you just trying to be nice to Lilian?"

"I know how you feel Elrya, but I saw nothing with the coin. No special designs, no particular openings, nothing that would cause any sort of problem. It really is only a simple coin and I see no reason to be worried about it. Vladimir Cents is dead girl, you made sure of that. It's time we stop living in the past and started living for the future."

"Do you really think she's…his daughter?" She questioned curiously.

"Well unless we had some sort of blood samples to go by, we could only hazard a guess, but she's was fairly spot on in describing him, physically at least. Are you nervous about her?"

Elrya shook her head. "Not really, it's not her I'm worried about, it's only…"

"You can't comprehend that Vladimir could be anything more than a wretched monster who cares for nobody right?" her silence was answer enough for him. "Regardless of how we feel, trying to force our beliefs on her would be wrong. For her, Vladimir Cents was apparently a doting father figure who apparently had a great amount of love for her and her mother. I'm as surprised as you were Sheila, but I don't think you should think about it too much. Unlike Lilian, she hasn't been through the hell he created and if you keep thinking about this, it's going to bring up bad memories."

"Of course, thanks Roy." She ran off, leaving the blue haired man to his own thoughts as she met up with Lilian and Miriana.

* * *

Author's Notes: What's this, another chapter finished? Indeed it is. I recently finished my online university classes which means I'm now completely free to keep writing which means that unless something comes up you can expect chapters far sooner.

on a lesser note that really has nothing to do with the story. In January 2012 Lynn Okamoto (The creator of the Elfen Lied manga) started on his newest series Kiwaguro No Brynhildir (Sp) which takes a lot of inspiration from his original manga "Elfen Lied" I highly suggest anyone to give it a read.


	6. Timeless Friendship And Chaotic Impulses

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 6: Timeless Friendship And Chaotic Impulses**

"Well I guess we were both wrong. Sorry for not believing you Lilian." Elrya muttered though with good intentions still in her voice. Miriana expressed the same, Lilian looking at them with a gaze of both arrogance and pride. The three girls headed to their dorm, the bright morning sun still hanging overhead and though hardly doing anything to the frigid air, was still a beautiful sight that made the snow glisten prettily. Elrya didn't like to be wrong but once she was, she liked to make things better and she had made a promise to Lilian that if the coin wasn't a problem that would make it up to her.

"There's only one thing I want you to do for me." Lilian said seriously. "The next time I tell you to trust me; I want you to trust me."

"That sounds good." Miriana cheerfully voiced, Elrya only nodding in agreement but heartily glad that Lilian didn't force some abusive claim on them. As the two arrived to their room, Caren was still asleep in her bed, snuggled up under the covers with only the light airy snore being the sound in the room.

"She's been asleep for a long time, must be very tired." The human girl whispered as not to wake the sleeping girl. It was true, Carentorzulan had been asleep for a long time though it was merely just the way she was, and because she had specific duties that they didn't, she also had to be up earlier and stay up later than the others had. Then again, she really had been sleeping for a very long time. After today there was only going to be one more day of freedom before the so called classes started, something Elrya certainly wasn't looking forward to. She wondered how classes would be; having once asked Yin about such things the idea of sitting in a large room with a bunch of people and listened to some teacher lecture on had not been exactly exciting to her.

The television switched on before Lilian turned the sound down just enough so that she could hear it though she didn't exactly pay attention to the screen itself. Instead she plopped on her bed, arms and legs outstretched and took her silver coin out, placing it back in her dresser and starring up at the ceiling. The channel was the same one that broadcasted what was going on in the educational facility, the same monotonous robotic voice of a woman playing every so often. It was boring to say the least and merely to hear something new, Lilian turned the channel again. It wasn't the visual nature of the television that made her turn it on, but the audio nature to give the room something new. The only person who actually paid attention to the small black box was Miriana and even that was only for a few minutes.

"Ah!" The low sound came from Caren's bed as dark skinned girl rose up, rubbing her eyes and tracing her eyes to the sound of the television before giving a shaky "Morning…" to the other three. Her thick shade of reddish hair was straggly and unkempt falling over her eyes as she blew it out of her face with a few huffs of her breath. "I guess you all have gotten breakfast?" Caren questioned sleepily, still yawning herself awake.

"Yes, sorry for not bringing you but you were asleep." Miriana answered.

"That's fine." She yawned again, getting up and stretching her body as to completely wake herself up. Miriana had brought a digital clock with and looking over at it on her pedestal she knew that she'd have to meet Roy with the other Alphas in the next four hours. She casually pulled her clothes off, the others thinking nothing of it except Miriana who both nervously and with understandable politeness turned away as if she had been the one to foolishly walk in on the obscene. Pulling a blue sweater over her head and pulling up her thick jeans, Caren gave her a quizzical gaze. "You don't have to be embarrassed Miriana, we're all use to seeing each other nude."

"I told her the same thing." Lilian interjected.

Still flustered, Miriana managed to reply in a coarse voice. "I kn-know, but I'm not use to it. I don't want to act like I'm doing something inappropriate or more importantly, something that will make you feel bad."

Caren laughed at her. "There's no need to feel embarrassed."

Lilian chuckled, her own being a more mischievous one as she snuck up behind Miriana and with a quick grab, wrapped her arms tightly around Miriana's chest. The poor thing shrieked as the others laughed with good hearted intentions as Miriana's face turned red. "Seriously, I can't believe you're like this especially with how nice a body you have." There was another round of laughter, even Miriana joining in despite the antics being used against her. An embarrassing laugh for sure, but one that understood the situation to be playful. But that changed instantly when Lilian's hand gripped the hem of her shirt, still smirking as Miriana finally realized what was going to happen.

"Lilian, wait!" Understanding too, Elrya tried to stop her roommate, too late though, what Lilian merely though was a playful act in getting Miriana to be more assertive of herself, she pulled her friend's shirt up. Miriana who had before understood the situation to be good and that they meant no harm to her, suddenly felt her body go cold while her eyes grew wide with fear and desperation. Caren stopped laughing immediately, feeling a sense of revulsion and then self-hatred for the very thought while Lilian who hadn't yet noticed the problem finally looked down. Seeing the marks of scars traveling around her back, she jumped back and fell against the bed before looking away. Miriana's hair covered her face, making it unreadable as she pulled her shirt down quickly.

"…Miriana?" Elrya began. Her friend abandoned them, leaving the room in a violent rush without making a sound, the door slamming behind them. The joy that had been so prevalent in the room vanished, leaving the place awfully loathsome. Lilian who had been the one to instigate the problem though of course not intentionally was the first one to break the silence.

"…So that's why…she didn't want to change around here." She felt bad about herself now, terribly actually.

Elrya didn't look at them, feeling just as bad as before. She of course knew about Miriana's predicament and the feeling she had about herself and her body. Even she hadn't shown her how terrible her body had been burned the first time they met, only showing enough for her to get the idea. "I'm not sure what happened exactly, but Miriana had a very bad accident a long time ago. She was ridiculed by other people because of it and before she met me, she didn't really have any friends. You know what she's like, usually she's very happy, cheerful a perfect girl. But she's always been very self-conscious about herself and body."

"I didn't know that…" Carentorzulan answered.

"So I'm the one…who hurt her?" Lilian finally questioned in a quivering voice. Elrya shook her head, still refusing to look at them. "It's like I said, Miriana has always had low esteem because of her body." Still Lilian felt as if she purposely done something awful, apparently realizing that she knew little of her roommate and new friend than she thought. Rising up, the 17 year old Diclonius went to the door before her hand was caught gently by Elrya's vector and pulled back. "I'll go talk to her and see if I can bring her back here. I'm her best friend so she'll probably listen to me better than you." Understanding completely, Lilian agreed and pulled back, letting Elrya leave to find her saddened friend.

* * *

There was only one place Miriana would be, the only place she could truly be alone in the building. Huddled on her lap with her knees up to her chest, the door to the stall closed as the shower still wet from its last use dripped carelessly on her silky hair. What a disgusting person she was, to ruin their happiness and fun with her own self-deluded thoughts. They were having so much fun before, even she at the end of the joke couldn't help but laugh knowing that her friends cared about her deeply but she couldn't handle the situation after. Her mind had broken down completely and she rushed to the vacant stall and burst into a sobbing wreck that was only quelled when she covered her mouth frantically. She didn't want the others to see her and definitely not hear her.

What an ugly person she was, horribly, disgustingly ugly. Nobody would ever want to look at a filthy girl such as her, burned and desecrated. A cast aside past object that should have died in that car accident many years ago with her parents. What kind of purpose did she have being with these exotic girls when she herself was a plague? Her body tensed up, sniffing loudly despite her protests which easily gave her location to Elrya away.

"Miriana. Are you alright?"

"Go away!" A timid and scared voice, broken and fearful. She didn't want to talk to her, she wasn't worth being her friend. Elrya was too good for her, she was just a pathetic girl who only got people hurt wherever she went. "Miriana, Lilian didn't know any better. Please come out."

"No! Go away! I can't…" She hated herself, her body and her lack of confidence. Roy had been right long ago, she had no skills or abilities to help them. There wasn't a single damn thing she'd ever done that was helpful, not one single little thing. "I'm not good enough to be your friend! All I ever do is make things worse than they already are."

Elrya interpolated quickly. "Don't say that Miriana, you know that isn't true. Miriana, you're my best friend in the whole world and you know that. Please come out it's kind of embarrassing for me to be talking to a stall. I think people are starting to stare." Miriana knew her friend was trying to put in some humor to make her feel better, not that it helped in the slightest. Regardless though, she stood up and pushed the door open, Elrya noticing her face splotched with tears as she kept her head low. The girl saying nothing followed Elrya outside and to their room but refused to come inside, keeping her feet firmly planted even when the Diclonius gently pushed her.

"I'm not good enough. An ugly girl like me, isn't good enough to be around such cute people like you and the others."

"Miriana, how can you say that? You're an incredibly beautiful person with a wonderful body. You can't treat yourself like this just because you have a few wounds. Trust me I had a lot of wounds too." Her friend knew she would bring that up and retorted back. "But you're wounds heal, mine don't."

She had to agree on that one despite herself. As a Diclonius Elrya Alya's body was able to heal any wound on its own that wasn't life threatening though particularly nasty ones often too longer. It was the reason why she could take such brutal beatings from Lucy and Vladimir despite in the latter's case being impaled multiple times and even having her own mouth slit. But just as Miriana had retorted back, so did Elrya have one of her own. "That might be true for me, but look at Roy. The man's got no arms and he doesn't let it slow him down. Bando lost one of his arms and his eyes; maniac is probably even more dangerous now than we he actually had them."

The timid girl sniffed then answered. "That's another thing, they actually have things I don't. Good abilities that actually help others."

"What are you getting at?" The Diclonius asked curiously. Miriana sniffed again, her breath coming now ragged. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Elrya knew that now, Miriana was struggling with herself before the girl said in a low sobbing voice. "I can't do anything. I've never done anything good to help my friends even though they do everything for me. I can't fight, I can't defend anyone all I do is get people hurt." Her heart was breaking, her tears gushing down her face before she let it loose in one shrill scream.

"I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE ALIVE RIGHT NOW! IF I WASN'T HERE, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE LOST YIN! IF I WASN'T SO WEAK, CENTS WOULDN'T HAVE CAPTURED ME! I DO NOTHING BUT HURT PEOPLE AROUND ME!"

***SMACK***

Alya having heard enough though her face expressed the same amount of shock as Elrya had before she took control came forward and placed the palm of her left hand straight across her friend's cheek and then held it back as if realizing the implication of what she had done and the horror of it all. She did stop Miriana's dreaded rant who now looked at her with a combination of pitiful sadness and utter confusion.

"Is that what you've thought this entire time?" Alya finally mange to voice, her own heart feeling weak too, feeling so weak for not even knowing her friend's true sensations. "How can you even think that Miriana? How could you blame yourself for that? Yin didn't die because of you and it would be an insult to me and him for you to even believe that for a second.

…Please listen to me, Miriana. You may not have the same kind of skills and powers I or the others do. But you're still a very important person to me whose kindness has kept me from lashing out humanity. I hated people; I hated humanity so much until you came around and showed me the difference between the good ones and the bad ones. You have no idea how much you've helped us and you can't blame yourself for what happened with Yin. There hasn't been a single point in my life where I have once even thought of blaming you for anything. The only thing I blame myself is for not being able to protect both him and you."

Her friend's eyes growing subsequently brighter only smiled as she continued to sniff less and less.

"Besides!" Elrya's more cheerful voice sprang up. "You're scars aren't nearly as bad as you think they are." Honestly the last one was a bit of a lie, Miriana's body was dreadfully torn up and this was in consideration that her wounds had healed over the time. But what kind of friend would she be if she actually said that? There were times when telling the truth was not important and if this lie made Miriana happier, then it was well worth it. Her next words of encouragement however were definitely true from the bottom of her heart.

"Have you even looked at yourself lately? You've got a great body and an even better personality to match. Really I can't even believe you'd even think such horrible things about yourself. You shouldn't blame yourself for what's happened, because I certainly don't blame you for a single thing. Are you feeling better now, Miriana?"

She nodded at her, wiping away the tears from her eyes.

"Good, let's go see the others they're probably getting worried about you now."

Again Miriana nodded, finishing off her last bit of weeping she suddenly realized that another horned girl was staring at her intensely. Thinking she might have been standing in the way, she quietly moved over to the wall, smiling sweetly as to let her pass. The girl, around 15 years of age give or take, did not keep going on, but instead continued to look at the girl with the same intensity as before. Miriana assumed she was just curious about her and explained. "You must be wondering why I'm here even though I'm human. It's alright, I'm supposed to be here to help out with the educational facility. The others must not have told you about me yet." But her words apparently were not having an impact on the horned girl, her red eyes digging into Miriana's black ones with something akin to ferocity now. It was then that Alya felt a particularly gruesome sensation inside her thoughts, the kind of sensation only she could realize as the biological voice of a Diclonius.

"Something's wrong…" She thought to Elrya who perked her head up. "What do you…?"

"That girl, something's not right, I can tell." Looking at her, Elrya understood what her secondary personality meant. The pink haired Diclonius looking at Miriana seemed oddly sick looking, her face pale and her eyes turned into dangerous looking slits. She was also breathing heavily, clutching her hands tightly and her mouth opening and closely constantly as if she was anxious about something. She didn't even speak, almost as if she was incapable of such things and Miriana was clearly beginning to worry that she was doing something to provoke her. The intensity of the situation hit an all new boiling point when Elrya saw the slim corporeal hand emerge from the girls back, its fingers outstretched and focusing on Miriana's head. It was right there that the pregnant girl knew what was going to happen.

"MIRIANA GET DOWN!" She knew Miriana wouldn't have had time to react but she screamed it out nevertheless and rushed forward. Knowing she wouldn't be quick enough without her vectors, Miriana felt a strange and harsh push against her shoulders, forcing her knees to give as she collapsed to the ground. The wall behind her was torn open in a violent display of ripped tapestry, the hand breaking through the metal and woodwork and leaving a nasty gash across it.

"Miriana are you alright?" Her friend immediately questioned and after making sure she was fine, turned back to the girl, her ire rising with every second. "What the hell is your problem! Why would you even do something like that, moron!" She couldn't even believe what she saw and she certainly wasn't going to let that girl merely walk away without repentance. The girl upon seeing Elrya scoffed at her. "Why do you even care about her anyways? She's just a stupid human nothing more! Can't you hear it, the voice inside our head, telling us to kill them?"

Exactly! Just as Alya had predicted, the girl had given into the murderous intentions of her second personality. The commotion was brining other girls out of their rooms, bringing a cluster of them together as did Lilian and Caren who quite obvious considering a massive gash in their wall had appeared, nearly taking a few bits of skin off Caren's back as well. "What the hell is going on in here?" She demanded, attempting to express her authority as an Alpha. Lilian firstly stared at the ripped hole in their wall, knowing full well there was only one thing currently in the room that could do it and they all possessed that one thing too. The next thing she saw and much more important than some slashed wall was Miriana on the ground.

"Ah! Are you hurt Miriana!"

Before she could answer, Elrya roughly pushed her towards Lilian. "Keep Miriana away from here, please." Turning back to the assailant, her hands emerged, poised to strike with deadly intentions for revenge and for protection. Clearly a fight was about to break out and the other girls stood with baited breaths, unsure of how it would end. "Why do you care so much about her? Are you really that in love with some human freak?" There was something about this girl, a Diclonius, calling Miriana, a human, a freak that truly put Elrya on the edge. Perhaps it was because of their recent conversation and how she had insisted with all of her soul that the ugliness that her best friend felt about herself was all in her head. Taking this stupid bitch down, would be as easy as cutting butter with a knife. Unsure of what was to happen but knowing that Miriana would be in danger if she stayed around, the girl brought her back to their room.

"Everyone please break it up right now. This is an order, listen to me." Some of the Diclonius obliged, pulling away while others stayed not so much in the intent to disobey her but merely to curious on what was going on to properly pay attention. "Elrya! Yeretti! Both of you need to stop this right now before you do something stupid. Listen to me right now Yeretti, I don't know what problem you had with Miriana but you're going to quit this nonsense right now."

The girl who had antagonized them, the one named Yeretti laughed darkly at her. Her intentions didn't seem to have changed one bit. "It's amazing how stupid you are! I'll do whatever the hell I want and that includes killing that human bitch!" Anymore words were out of the question, Yeretti clearly did not intend to speak anymore nor did she intend to change her ways. At this point she attacked chaotically, lashing her hands out and leaving the others to defend themselves when necessary. Now things had truly gotten out of hand, far more than Caren had ever expected them to be much less on her second day in the school. Elrya Alya of course wasn't want to be daunted by such a weak threat but before her vectors could attack, she found herself violently being thrown back by one of Caren's outstretched ghostly hands. "Elrya, fighting now will only…" She quickly deflected an incoming vector to her head, enraged at the idea that someone was trying to kill her. "…Get you in trouble also. There's an alarm on the end of each hall, red in color you can't miss it."

Though she still wanted to fight, Elrya knew that Carentorzulan was right and that she'd only be adding more harm to herself than help. Lilian had already taken Miriana away so she was safe, for now at least. With a curt nod, she ran off, heading to the end of the hallway where sure enough a large glass window with a red button was located. In her fit of anxiety instead of merely opening up the glass window, her hand came out and smashed into it. Her ears were greeted by the a shrieking siren that clearly resonated throughout the entire building and maybe even through the other ones themselves.

Caren roared at the others. "All of you, head outside right now. The other Alpha's know what to do when the siren goes off too." She again dodged another attack, swallowing deeply and now keeping her focus directly on Yeretti. She could kill her, quite easily too as she had longer range, more hands and far more skills than her opponent did. But due to the situation she had to try and reason with the girl. Caren silently cursed herself for leaving her Clock Stopper in the room. What was wrong with the girl anyways? What caused her to snap so suddenly that she would go and attack without hesitation? It was obvious she didn't even care for the consequences that would emerge from her actions.

The door of their room opened up, Caren lashing out and closing it, not caring if it was Lilian or Miriana. "Stay in there, don't open the door unless I tell you to do so! Lilian, please keep Miriana in there!"

"Got it!" Lilian answered.

Caren might have asked Lilian to get her watch out, she knew where it was and it wasn't like Lilian could miss it. Yet she didn't want to risk it. The next important thing was to get Yeretti away from Miriana. Focusing her abilities, the Turkish Diclonius released a furious but also passive assault against her attacker, pushing her back through the hallways and hoping that help would arrive. It took another three minutes but one did come, in the form a Number Seven who skidded to a halt at the top of the steps. "Zeruda!" From what she could see she knew what had happened, her hands coming forth to intercept Yeretti's attacks. "Everyone in the building has gotten out!"

Caren could only cough out a quick "good!" before she found herself this time on the receiving end of a brutal attack, her body moving in and out of harm's way. "Yeretti you're making a big mistake here!"

"Mistake! The only mistake I ever made was not killing people before! This facility is just a way for the humans to keep us locked up!"

There really was no point trying to reason with her. Caren could bring up an entire video of why the girl was wrong and it still wouldn't make a difference. She had hoped it wouldn't come down to this, but if Yeretti refused to cooperate and acted this way, she would have to be put down. She had killed before, the hands that now formed were ready to strike, the head or the heart whichever came first and tear the girl's life to shreds. But Nana had another idea and firmly got in the way of her. "I'll handle it, just watch my back." Nana was a girl with quite a personality, one moment cheerful, the next moment chaotic. Though she sometimes acted foolish, Caren knew the girl was smarter than she looked, otherwise she wouldn't have been made an Alpha in the first place. Nana already knew what to do, rushing forward her hands began to outstretch, Caren helping her along the way by deflecting any hands that Nana might miss. Yeretti, in a tight spot cursed the two, before something much to her shock slammed dead center into her face.

Finding the right moment, Nana had taken the initiative, swinging her arm out and with a resounding pop, her arm flew off at high speeds towards Yeretti. Unable to defend in time, she found herself blown backwards several meters, skidding against the floor. Tumbling twice before catching herself, she managed to lift her head right as Nana's fingers pierced directly into her forehead. A final pinch and the girl shrieked, her head bursting with a short but terrible amount of pain then lashing out at Nana, ripping the poor thing in a violent display of guts and brain matter. Of course that's what she had hoped for, instead her hands didn't come out leaving her speechless. "Y-You little bitch! What did you do to me?"

"I hit the gland that allows you to use your vectors. You won't be able to use them right now."

Caren was impressed, that was something she'd never seen done before. "That's a fairly good skill you have Nana." The foreign Diclonius turned to her room, calling out to her two friends. "Lilian, Miriana, everything is alright now. You can come out." The door opened up, the Diclonius and human stepping out before Miriana flinched when she saw Yeretti snarl at her, even moving forward but restrained quickly by Nana and Caren's vectors.

"Don't worry, she can't hurt you right now." Caren said. "Head outside with the others, I'm sure Roy will be there momentarily."

* * *

"What's going on right now? Why did the alarms go off?" One bright haired girl asked, standing outside with the others as the noise of conversation filled the air. Besides those who had seen the fight, everyone else was left in confusion. Some of them may have even have thought this was some sort of drill. There were times in the research facilities where they were forced to undergo specific drills for possible issues that might occur.

"You know the human girl that's living in the upper floor?"

"Yes! I was told she was there to help us get used to living with humans."

"One of the other Diclonius tried to attack her."

Her friend expressed a clear gasp of shock. "Are you kidding me? Is that fool trying to get us all locked back up again?" Another Diclonius came in with a firm question. "I've seen the girl before, the one with the black and yellow hair. She wasn't hurt was she?"

"No, they saved her thankfully."

While the conversations went on, Roy stomped forward, whistling loudly for all of them to hear him. "Seriously…" He thought to himself, sighing when he saw all the girls outside of their dorms. "…Why do problems have to occur so soon?" Once he knew all the girls were paying attention to him, he began. "What exactly has happened here? I would've thought you could keep trouble out for at least a few months."

"Yeretti attacked that human girl on the top floor. Caren and Nana went to deal with her."

"Damn it Miriana, this is why I was against you being here." Roy cursed at himself, glad nevertheless to see Lilian and Miriana step out of the building unharmed who was then followed by Nana and Caren restraining Yeretti. Roy ordered the other Diclonius to remain where they were then came over to the detainee and two Alphas. He stopped just short of the girl until Nana told him that her vectors had been temporarily cut off. A gaze of stern vindictiveness showed in the blue haired man's eyes, the kind of look that an assassin would carry. "You're name is Yeretti, correct?"

"…"

"No answer huh? Do you realize the kind of trouble you've caused? The entire point of being here is to become tame with your urges to kill humans." He narrowed his eyes, Yeretti having turned her head and rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'm joking with you girl? How many times have you ever gotten the chance to make a new life for yourself? You still aren't listening to me."

"Tsk! Why should I listen to a fucking human like you."

"So you won't listen then? That's fine, I won't force you to listen to what I have to say. You will be taken back to Tokyo Research Facility and be dealt with there as Morotisan sees fit."

"Like hell I'll be doing that." She articulated angrily.

Roy only shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "You don't have a choice in the matter, girl. This was your chance to live a normal life and you screwed it up. You still have a chance though, if you're willing to listen and work on controlling your urges though. What about it Yeretti, will you calm down and listen to me?"

She spat at him. "No! I don't have to listen to anything you say! In fact…" Off guard, neither Nana nor Caren knew that Yeretti's vectors were back before blows to their guts sent them to their knees. "Little shit…!" Caren coughed, wiping the trail of blood on her mouth. With the voice of her instincts instructing her to kill, she made something of a mad dash to Miriana, Elrya about to cut in the way and intercept her attack before.

***BLAM!***

The first shot went through her torso, knocking her forward and off of her feet.

***BANG!***

The second shot passed through her jugular, spurting a trail of red on to the concrete ground.

***BAM!***

The third went through her heart, dead center and the blood sprayed from her chest. Her eyes were still wide before the last bullet drilled into the back of her skull and out of her forehead. She was dead before she even hit the ground, splattering on the floor in a bloody display, a puppet with its strings cut. Roy's face was immensely dark now; his specialized bullets hovering around him like a swarm of deadly hornets. The bullets he had fired returned back to him, hovering around his head before returned to a special pocket on his jeans. There was silence, a very unnerving one at that in which the girls all looked at the body then back at Roy with their faces low. Even Elrya who knew of Roy's abilities was left unnerved as well.

"Alphas…" Roy started. "Thank you for following your orders and getting everyone out of here safely. I am especially thankful for you Carentorzulan and you Nana for acting rashly in such a situation. I want everyone to listen up and I swear if even one of you tries to back talk me…" There was no point in saying that, only a complete moron would think of doing anything against Roy right now. But with what had happened, Synth had to make his point known right then and there.

"The reason you are here in this school is to prevent things like this. If you want to live in the outside world, you have to learn to control you emotions and urges against humans. Do you all want to head back to the research facilities? Do you want to return back to your pitiful lives, locked up like caged animals? I certainly don't think so. I want this to be a very good reminder to all of you, the consequences that can happen if you don't learn to control your emotions. I know you can do it, because I've seen Diclonius have self-control before.

Honestly there was a time where I actually expected this though I didn't think it would happen so soon. Alphas, I want you to stay here until I'm finished with everything else because I'm taking you to the education buildings afterwards. We might as well get that over with after all." He let the other Diclonius do as they please, many of them heading back to their dorms while others merely went off in other direction. At first everything was silent, as if the girls thought that making noise would somehow lead to trouble. Eventually talk did break out and then things finally managed to settle down. One of the girls who had seen the fight walked up Miriana and said in a low but clearly apologetic voice.

"Um…y-you're that human girl who was attacked right? Well the thing is…please don't think we're all like that girl." She didn't really know what else to say but Miriana's smile of encouragement seemed to put her at ease. But it was now that Roy finally came up to her, shaking his head and explaining his issues with her.

"This is what I warned you about Miriana, it can be very dangerous for you here. I would prefer if you were to leave the educational facility."

Miriana frantically shook her head. "I won't do that Roy. I know something bad happened to day but I can't just leave."

"Actually Miriana, I think Roy might be right this time." Elrya stated. "You were almost killed today and if I wasn't around, that could have happened. I don't know what I would do if I lost you, please don't put yourself in danger like this again. You should really head back home with Karoly."

"I won't do that Elrya Alya. I'm not going to leave just because of this incident." Her voice, though determined was also shaky.

"Miriana, I highly suggest you think this over." Roy began but Miriana cut him off. "I've already thought about it, I'm staying here."

"Tsk! You're obstinate girl, you know that?"

The human girl turned red but countered. "If I do leave, who'll take care of Elrya's child while she's in class and you're teaching?"

"I'd have the other professors look after the child."

"Hmph! I'm still not leaving." Miriana stated as if that settled the matter. Roy sighed again, feeling the stress getting the better of him. It was times like this he wished he had hands because he wanted to wipe the sweat from his brows desperately. "I don't think you understand Miriana, the only thing you're doing is putting yourself and others in danger. Elrya can handle herself, you on the other hand have this tendency to get into deep trouble." His words impacted her hard, causing her to look crestfallen. But despite feeling down she said in the same shaky determined voice as before.

"I'm not leaving, that's final."

"Gah! You're an impossible child. Arguing with you is giving me a headache and I still need to show the Alpha's around the four educational buildings. You want to stay here, that's fine but on one regard. I want you to come with me for a moment, no questions." The girl agreed, following Roy to his cottage after he told the other Alpha's to wait for him. Elrya didn't know how long they would be and thought there was no point in coming with them in the first place. She opted to head back to her room and lay down, the day having exhausted her.

* * *

"Here Miriana, take this." She went over to the desk, flinching when she saw that he intended for her to take a small silver pistol. "That is the same gun used by the rest of the faculty for self-protection against Diclonius. They fire a specialized bullet that induces severe pain in a Diclonius' body while also negating vectors. The bullets themselves are a special kind and outfitted with a specialized metallic fiber."

"Oh…I'm not sure if I…" Miriana started fretfully.

"You want to stay here, then you will be provided the same defensive measures as every other human in this place. The gun is capable of holding seven shots though only one is needed to take down an opponent." He quick explained the trigger functions and reload to the shocked girl, twice in fact. "As far as killing potentials, it's very weak. But its purpose isn't meant as a weapon of death, it's meant as a defensive mechanism.

Take it…" He ordered. She half-heartedly did, holding it unsteadily while Roy told her the correct way to handle it. It was the second time she'd ever held a gun, not counting the little tranquilizer she had used before and only that was briefly. The cold metal object seemed to freeze against her hand, making her want to drop the weapon and rub her hands over a warm fire. Despite knowing that it couldn't kill a person, it felt inhuman, deadly and despicable. It was that dirty feeling of everything that could be wrong was wrong, all wrapped up in a metallic silver package.

"Y-You're positive it won't kill anyone right?"

"Of course Miriana. It will cause the other person pain but it will not kill them."

"Alright then…" She said unconvinced. She would make sure that another situation like before didn't occur so that there was no reason to use the weapon. As polite as ever, she bowed respectfully to Roy and left as did The Sniper who had business to deal with the Alphas.

* * *

Author's Notes: Another day another chapter. We get a real close look into Miriana's mentality, realizing just how much she's not only hated her own body but even to go as far as to blame herself for the pains of her friends and family. With deep words of encouragement, Elrya Alya seems to have gotten her spirits back up. But with a vicious assault from one of the other horned girls, Miriana is forced by Roy to take up defensive measures if she wants to stay. What will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

R&R


	7. Bothersome Formalities For The Queen

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 7: Bothersome Formalities For The Queen**

The morning sun was annoyingly bright to Aurelius but he pushed himself out of the Inn's bed. Pitiful kind of place really, wasn't worth his time though he didn't have said time to really bother. The excavation of the broken citadel did at least give some enjoyable findings; thankfully not everything was destroyed in the wreckage. Most importantly were special files on the Diclonius race including weapons and serums that Cents obviously had been doing tests on, most likely himself. He had also discovered a file on some girl named Mellissa, young thing at the time though obviously would have been older.

Diclonius, the very thought of these things being given rights was utterly disgusting. Did dogs ever have rights? Did mere animals ever get to have rights? Then what made these obnoxious creatures any better than a feral animal? Hell they were even less than animals, at least a dog knew who its master is. Aurelius wanted to spit merely to express his spite but kept his cool, leaving the Inn and walking outside where the cold wind blew against his face. He pushed the scarf tighter around his neck; a small black car was already waiting for him at the parking lot.

"Good morning sir, did you sleep well." The driver, a balding man from Italy said with a clear but understandable accent. There was no need to answer nor did the driver expect one either, it was only a form of politeness on his part. Instead Denotos uttered, "What's happening at that…educational place for those freaks?"

"Apparently one of the girls tried to attack another person, a human girl if I remember correctly. The human girl survived and the horned girl was subsequently killed."

Aurelius clicked his tongue and nodded. "Good, the only good horned girl is a dead one after all. That old fool Kakuzawa was at least smart enough to keep them locked up, should've been smart enough to keep it that way too. Can you believe some of thing things they're saying about these freaks? They're the advanced evolution of the human race." He laughed mirthlessly, perhaps one of the few times he ever did laugh while he stretched his arms out and folded them behind his head, pushing the seat back as to be more comfortable. "Those things, an advanced race? Since when did bitches become an advanced race, they'll make anything an advanced race now a days. Back in my days, monsters like these were put down with a bullet. Why hasn't anyone done that now?"

"Well sir, some people say they've got strange abilities."

The black haired man sighed before saying harshly. "Listen to me right now, all the things they say about those bitches is nothing but lies. What kind of bullshit excuse are invisible hands?" Again he laughed harshly, one that was both sardonic and sadistic. His hands behind his head, he gripped his fingers and pulled, feeling the light pops of his bones echoing in his ears. He had a tendency to do that a lot and for no clearer reasons than for his own enjoyment. His thumbs moved, also popping the bones lightly in each one then speaking back to his driver. "This is all a lie, because it's absolutely impossible. All the stories you've heard about these bitches is a lie to make people forget what they truly are, dogs. Obviously Japan doesn't want people to know that they can handle their own goddamn weapons, maybe if they did Kamakura wouldn't have been blown off the map. Let me explain something to you, Diclonius don't have special powers. They are less than animals and have tricked people into believing they can do these things without proof. Follow me, and I will always lead you through the correct path, because this isn't an opinion my friend, this is fact.

I am the greatest person in the world. I was born into royalty and therefore I am better than anyone else. Too long I've sat back and let other people walk their lives without ever knowing proper respect for their master, the very messiah that God envisioned. Follow me and I will always lead you to salvation and away from these sinning creatures.

Come…praise my name."

"You are my messiah Aurelius Denotos." The driver mumbled as if in true prayer but of course keeping his eyes on the road. "You are the greatest, most perfect man to ever exist. You are the only one that I must obey, the only one that I should seek."

The man smiled, tilting his head back again and speaking. "Praise my name! Praise it again!"

Again the drive repeated with same tone of endearment as before and it continued on until they got to their destination.

* * *

Yawning herself awake, Elrya pushed the covers off of her, rising up and smacking lips to get the morning taste out of it. The first thing her mind registered was this was the last day for freedom before they had to attend classes, so today needed to be extra special. She made a mental note almost humorously in making sure that extra special didn't mean something stupid like yesterday was going to happen. Miriana's special gun was on her dresser, pushed far away and the muzzle facing the wall and the only reason she didn't put it in her dresser was because there was currently no room for it in there. She knew how much she hated using weapons but if it kept her protected than Elrya was more than content. If she had it her way she'd have sent Miriana home with Karoly but her human friend's obstinate was not to be trifled with. She quickly dressed, taking notice that Caren's bed was already made up and the Turkish Diclonius nowhere in sight.

"Good morning Elrya." Lilian called over from her bed, the television was one though the sound was off, for whatever reason she had become accustomed to turning it on even if she did barely pay attention to it. For the most part Lilian had been awake for a while and unable to get back to sleep, she had turned the television on, turned the volume down and just waited for the others to wake up. "Caren already left, said she had some things to do with the other Alphas." That explained Caren's absence, not that Elrya was surprised or anything. Because neither she nor Lilian could tell time, and thus couldn't read Miriana's clock, they could tell it was most likely mid-morning. Hunger started to overwhelm her as she held he extended belly, a strange desire for eggs, fish and bread coming over her. From what Miriana had told her, before they came to the educational facility, pregnant girls and women often got cravings for particular foods. It at least made her feel more comfortable about herself when the idea of eating fried eel actually seemed tasty.

Lilian spoke quietly over to her. "Also, you know you talk in your sleep right?"

"Huh? No I don't…" Elrya said adamantly.

"Speak for yourself, you kept moaning over there last night. "Mommy is going to take good care of you, my little darling."

The poor girl went white then blushed and turned away. "You must have…been hearing things." She had started rubbing her belly last night, speaking in a motherly voice to her unborn child without knowing that others could hear her as well. "I mean…hahahaha…" She laughed nervously, wiping the bead of sweat from her brow. "…Silly me just, talking to myself…"

"I guess, but you know it's kind of strange, the way you were talking, it sounded like you had a baby."

Again Elrya laughed nervously. "That's just silly Lilian, I'm only a Sipilet."

"And the weight on you, it's actually kind off…"

And then the girl's eyes widened, the kind of widening that could only be associated with one who realized Elrya Alya's truth. "What are you looking at me like that for?" The pregnant Diclonius asked, raising her eyebrow suspiciously as Lilian gazed at her from head to toe. "It's not what you think Lilian, I'm not…stop it!" There was no answer from the girl yet, apparently she still hadn't gotten over the shock of the whole thing.

"Lilian, you listen to me right now. This isn't what you…."

"You're a Queen Elrya?"

Again the girl looked away, fumbling with her fingers and deciding not to answer. Therefore her lack of answer was as good enough for Lilian who was now struck nearly dumb with the realization that she was living in the same room as a Queen Diclonius. "You are, you really are a Queen aren't you Elrya Alya? I thought it was strange that you'd look like this, but now your weight makes sense. What you said last night also makes sense too. I can't even believe it, I've been in the same room with a Queen Diclonius. Wh-Why didn't you tell us, do the others know?"

"…Am I really that easy to read?" Elrya asked rhetorically. "Well, Miriana was the first person to know since she brought me to the hospital. Caren figured it out later and now I guess you did too. The thing is, I never knew I was a Queen, not at all. I've always been told I was a Sipilet so I had no idea this would happen."

"How did it happen? I mean I know how…I guess, I mean who…" Lilian stammered.

"There was a young man named Yin Sandersas who I met a few months ago. He was one of the first humans who ever treated me as a normal person. Though it was short, we really got to know each other and I soon fell in love with him. He was a smart and gentle man who always looked out for me and always loved me no matter what. I hated people so much and until I met him and Miriana I think the only other human I had any sort of respect for was the head guard at the facility I was in, Vorono. It made such a difference in my life meeting him and even though he was…"

She stopped herself then refrained from mentioning again the unfortunate fact that Lilian's father had been the one to kill her lover and would be husband.

"…Even though he isn't here anymore, I always remember him and the good times we had together. I never knew I was going to have a baby, as I said I was told from day one that I was a Sipilet. I thought I was gaining weight or something until I went to the doctors a few months ago. I couldn't believe that I had been carrying a child for so long and I didn't even notice, I must have looked pretty stupid then."

Lilian listened intently then said, "That's a nice story, you know I wasn't too fond of humans either, besides my mother and father of course, but meeting Miriana and you guys, it's made me happier. Still I don't understand, you should be proud to be a Queen Elrya, why would you want to keep it a secret?"

"Eh, I don't really like all the publicity that goes with it. I mean if people found out, they'd never leave us alone. The last thing I need is a bunch of idiots following me around and nagging me day in and day out. I don't want people to think of me as anything other than Elrya Alya Sandersas, just a normal Diclonius and nothing special. I'm sure people already know about me when we fought Kakuzawa. Plus I'm probably not exactly well liked in Europe right now."

Her friend cocked her head curiously. "Really? What happened there?"

Elrya chided herself for speaking too much. "Let's just say that some things happened and talking about it would only make you angry."

"Are you…still talking about my father?"

There was a long silence, the only sound coming from Miriana's body that moved slightly in her sleep but did not stir afterwards.

"Lilian, I want you to imagine something. Let's take your mother for example because you loved her very much right? Probably more than any other person in the entire world?" The girl nodded. "Then imagine if you were forced to watch as somebody put a gun to her head and blew her brains out right in front of you. There was not a damn thing you could do about it, you were forced to watch as the last thing she ever saw was your horrified face. Then imagine that the person who did it just laughed, didn't care and mocked you the entire way. That's exactly what happened with Yin, no mattered how much I begged or cried, I was forced to watch as he was murdered right in front of me.

It was…the most horrible thing I had ever had to deal with in my entire life. Just watching, unable to reach him, unable to do anything and then, it was all over. I never felt so furious in my life before, I lost it completely. I still can't see what you possibly saw in that man Lilian, you heard Roy too about it. Vladimir Cents was a bona fide monster who got his kicks off of murdering people. If there's any person that I hate with all of my being, it would be him without a doubt."

The pregnant girl sighed deeply then added. "I don't want to keep talking about it, even now it's very painful for me and I'm sure you don't want me to keep talking about your father like this either.

…Hey Miriana?" She spoke out to her sleeping friend who moved her body and moaned. "Wh-What is it Elrya?"

"Lilian and I are up, she knows I'm pregnant, guess I'm not really good at keeping secrets. You want to get some breakfast or do you still want to sleep?"

The human girl yawned and pushed herself up, her blonde and black hair a straggly mess and her eyes half way open. "N-No that's fine, hold on…" She clumsily picked herself up, looking at herself in the mirror and yawning again to wake herself up. Her eyes traveled to the gun situated at the very end of the dresser and quickly averted her eyes. Grabbing a clean set of clothes she was about to leave before Elrya stopped her. "Miriana, I told you there's no need to feel bad about your body. None of us care one bit about it, so please, trust us."

"…I'm not sure…"

"Miriana…please." Elrya said again.

"…Al-Alright, but don't stare." She demanded hastily, removing her night clothes, pausing when she took of her bra and panties though feeling less embarrassment about her own nudity and more about her scars of course. Then with haste she put on her winter clothes and breathed a sigh of relief. It had been easier than she thought, and now that she was no longer worried, she sprouted the joyous smile she was so well known for.

"Alright, I'm ready!"

"See?" Lilian replied happily. "It wasn't that hard and nobody cares how you look. Come on, let's get going, I'm starving."

* * *

"Eh, Elrya...ummm?" Lilian muttered, raising her eyebrow as she slowly put down her fork and starred at the other Diclonius. Casually taking another slurp of her food, Elrya gave her a quizzical gaze. "What is it Lilian?"

"Does that…actually taste good?"

Elrya again took another bite of her breakfast, one that included a combination of miso soup, mixed with ketchup a side of Natto and fish that was then mixed with mustard, mayonnaise and a cold omelet on the side, it too having had radishes and vinegar put into it. For Elrya, she gobbled it down as if she hadn't eaten in days while he two friends remained skeptical at her actions. Even Miriana was getting a bit worried with her friend's new tastes. It was one thing to have cravings but she wasn't sure if this was even healthy or not.

"It tastes good to me, I don't tell you how to eat." She exclaimed, digging in more.

The other two decided to ignore it and Miriana assumed that Diclonius had different tastes than humans when pregnant. Instead she opted to change the subject of food because though she would never say it out loud, watching her friend eat was putting her appetite off. "Tomorrow you two start your classes, are you ready?"

"No." Alya said with a mouthful of food.

"I guess…" Lilian muttered nonchalantly, putting food in her mouth and chewing it slowly.

"It really isn't that hard, well I don't know how it'll be with all of you. I was in private school in the orphanage I lived in when I was a child but I'm sure I'll be able to help you if you need it." The two gave simultaneous gratifications to the young girl before something loud echoed inside the dining hall. Though it wasn't the first time they had heard one before, it was the first time the Diclonius had heard the intercom come on in the educational facility and perhaps due to the fact that most of them knew it as something that meant you needed to be quiet for, a hush suddenly overcame the room. A voice that was recognizable as Roy's own spoke firmly out of it. It was also played upon the other intercoms throughout the facility.

"Kaede please report to the front of the facility. I repeat, Kaede please report to the front of the facility."

* * *

Heads looked around where Kaede gazed up from her table, unsure of why she would be getting called out. The others who sat with her, some of who may call themselves her friends, she herself referred to them as the annoying crowd that wouldn't leave her alone stared questionably at her. "What's up Kaede, did something happen?" She shook her head, getting up then saying in a low voice. "Don't follow me, I can get there by myself." It was somewhat ironic, as a child she had a terrible time making friends and was bullied constantly, all of course which lead to the horrific life she once had to live. Now when people actually did want to talk with her, she found herself pushing them away, and for the most part just being outright annoyed with them. Really, she had an awful time getting together with people. She quickly hurried away from the dining hall, exiting outside and pulling the scarf around her neck as the frigid air overtook her.

There font of the facility was about four blocks away, her boots stomping heavily on the snowy ground as she came to it. A brief tension overcame her as she saw a group of armored vehicles and guards standing there, causing her fists to clench. There should be no reason for them to take her away, well cut that there were reasons for them to take her away but if that was the case they'd have done that before and not after she spent the last two days in the educational facility. Still she never actually had good times with the police force before as it reminded both of her times in hiding as well as the time her second friend had been shot trying to save her. The young girl who wanted to be an artist and in the end, the time where she was captured and sent to the hell hole of Kakuzawa's Research facility.

The blue haired Australian called out to her. "There you are Kaede, stop getting so tense, you aren't in trouble."

"I shouldn't have been. Why did you call me out here, what's with all the guards or is just paranoia?"

"Actually there is someone here I want you to meet." Moving to the side, Kaede saw a young boy with think pink hair about the age of six or seven staring wide eyed at her with his finger to his mouth. Something was on his forehead, a small circular device that was familiar to Kaede in some way. It was similar to the same object that Julius Javel had on his forehead minus the fact that it wasn't a silver coin. "Who's the kid?" She asked sardonically hoping there was a better reason she was called out.

"Don't be like that Kaede, you should be happy to see your little brother." Roy said with a smirk, clearly showing arrogance for his own personal reasons. Kaede paused, looked at the blue haired man, then at the child who smiled brightly at her then at everyone else as if wondering if they knew she had a terrible time with jokes and probably took things far too seriously than even she should.

"On contraire Queenie, this little guy is your brother. Of course don't take our word for it, why don't you ask him." Moving to the side, Kaede now understood why police and guards were situated there this whole time. It wasn't for their protection; it was to keep the man currently sitting at the back of the armored vehicle, his arms tied behind his back, in line.

Ex-Director Kakuzawa has thinned out greatly now that he was no longer able to live the luxurious life he once had before. His face, set into what might have been a permanent scowl appeared to have more lines of aging on them and a short stubbly beard was also growing under his chin. Right there it was easy to see the resemblance he had with his eldest son, the late Professor Kakuzawa. He also didn't wear his toupee, whether because he personally didn't or because he wasn't allowed to. Seeing the woman he wanted so badly to use to propagate a world of Diclonius, Kakuzawa buried his eyes into her face menacingly without blinking as if he had to show some sort of authority in his pathetic state. Kaede did look back, but did not gave the same hardened look that the ex-Director did, instead it was more of gaze of unimportance. She didn't say anything yet and when Kakuzawa refused to speak to, Roy had to urge him on.

"Are you going to tell her or not? You owe her at least this much."

"…Lucy…"

"Don't call me that." She said seriously. "I have a name, it's Kaede and you'd damned well better use it. I won't be called what your sick facility decided to name me."

"..Very well then, Kaede." His voice was low, somewhat cracked as well most likely done from the sheer amount of screaming he had done before. "This boy is the only pure male Diclonius in the world. That is to say, he is the only Diclonius who has the inner reproductive organs. He is the son that I had with your mother." She didn't want to show it, but shock crossed her face. "My mother? What are you talking about? My mother is still alive and what would she be doing with you?"

"Your mother is dead." Kakuzawa expressed darkly. "She committed suicide after she gave birth to the boy. I had hoped to use her organs to birth more pure Diclonius, but that didn't happen. All that was born was a single child right here. That of course means that we truly aren't unrelated, Kaede." The Queen Diclonius gave the man a terrible look of loathing and spat back at him. "Don't get ahead of yourself Kakuzawa, we are not related in anyway." She turned to Roy and articulated "Really, why did you even call me out here? The last thing I wanted to do is talk to this old bastard. Even if this little kid is my younger brother, so what? It's not like I can do anything about it."

"Again, wrong." Roy said simply. "When looking over Kakuzawa's old research facility we found this boy. Kakuzawa had planned to use him and you to get his Diclonius master plan up and running. Luckily that never happened due to his timely defeat. Since He-Who-Breaks-Sound Barrier-With-Voice is unfit to keep this child, you're the only other living relative he has. Which means you're going to be taking care of him."

Kaede gave a single firm "No."

"You don't have a choice Queenie."

"Bullshit! Don't talk to me as if I have to take care of this brat. Send him somewhere else."

Roy chuckled. "But this place is an educational facility for Diclonius. He just happens to be a bit younger than the others wouldn't you say? Details have already been put in place. A separate room in your dorm will be placed for him that way he won't bother the other Diclonius. It will be your responsibility to watch out for him and keep tabs on him at all times. Your class schedule has also been changed so that you will all have the same ones. Think of this as a special project for you, a way to concentrate on your emotions and take care of others. Besides, look at how happy he is to see you." The young Diclonius child happily went over to his older sister, gazing up wide eyed at her before giving a joyous "Onee-tama!" and hugging her tightly around her leg. She fervently tried to shake him off, still glaring at everyone else.

The Queen of the Diclonius felt like she was being played, this was some sick joke right?

"Can't you let Nana take care of him?"

"Sorry, can't do that. The mind is made up Sheila, you'll be responsible for him. Oh and if you fail to do that, we'll send you back to the facility for negligence."

"YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE!" It wasn't often she raised her voice, but Kaede had all but completely lost it. She again had to force the boy off of her who was adamant in attaching itself to her. "Gah! I swear I will make you all pay for this somehow." Roy only smiled back at her, a jerk kind of smile that clearly said that yes, there were other options, but doing this to her was too much fun to ignore.

There was nothing else to say even though Kaede had a long list of insults she was yearning to spit out. Kakuzawa no longer looked at her nor at his son though the child did turn his head to his biological father. Unlike Kaede who had nothing but hate for the man, the small boy's only expression was of curious wonder. The guards made sure all the locks were firmly on Kakuzawa, then pushed him back into the vehicle where the doors closed behind him. He mumbled something under his breath, a curse perhaps, whatever it was nobody really head no cared about. The vehicle drove off, leaving Kaede with her new family member who smiled brightly up at her. The look the child gave her was not returned by his older sister.

"Well, now that this is over, I have one thing to say." Kaede still highly pissed, did gave keener ears to Roy when he became much more serious. "The thing on his forehead, make sure it doesn't come off. Apparently it's a special device that keeps his Diclonius desires to kill underwhelmed. When they found him they tried to removing it, it was damn lucky they got it back on before he could kill all of them in that facility. We're hoping as he stays here, he'll learn to control himself on his own and one day we can remove it without fear of another assault.

Well that's it, go and bond with your new family, hahahahahaha."

"…You owe me." She growled.

"I don't owe you shit." The Australian replied back. "…But I will say this, I am putting this responsibility as a special project for you. Think of it as a way for you to better yourself at dealing with people. There is another person I want you to meet though." Someone stepped up to them, a young girl perhaps in her 20s with thick shoulder length hair. Though somewhat obscured by the thick hair, Kaede could see the very tips of her white horns. Yet despite them, Kaede couldn't sense the unique signature that a Diclonius should have given off. The girl gave her a look neither friendly nor one of animosity though it certainly leaned closer to the latter.

Kaede tilted her head. "Do I know you?" She asked, not really curious but tired of being stared at.

"…No, but I know you.

…My name is Anna Kakuzawa."

* * *

Author's Notes: Another chapter finished! Yeah, Aurelius is kind of an arrogant self-deluded jackass. While our heroines eat, everyone's favorite ex-psychotic mass murderer gets called out to the font gate and finds out she's got some new family. Needless to say, Kaede isn't too happy in having to look after her young brother, especially considering she didn't even know she had one. Not to mention that Anna is still alive, though anyone who has read the manga shouldn't be that surprised about it. What will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

R&R


	8. Outcome From Resurrection

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 8: Outcome From Resurrection**

Anna Kakuzawa, the youngest and only daughter of the man who had nearly wiped out the world due to his own selfish want for power and authority. Though of course having never seen her before, Kaede wouldn't have had a clue that the person she was looking at was once an embodiment of eldritch intelligence who fervently followed through with her father's dreams despite knowing that he was just as human as the people he hated so much. Even her vast knowledge of the future could not have predicted the outcome of her last fight, the penetration of Julius' hand into her skull, piercing her brain and sending her into the state of blackness that most certainly should've been death. She had expected it, the moment she felt the hot pierce seconds before blood gushed out of her swollen cranium that death had followed and taken her into its macabre grasp.

Thus a shock to her when she, in her human form plopped out of her shell like a newborn child, shaking, naked and most of all, shocked at the turn of events. The first thing to leave her mouth, something she hadn't had in a long time either and uttered a shrill cry of pain from landing on her back. She was alive that was enough to register on her mind even if it was sudden and unexpected, she picked herself up and went on her knees, eyes wide while the waves of the grotto splashed calmly around her. "I'm alive…?" She muttered softly to herself, looking at he own hands, clean pale hands, not the swollen things that she had been so accustomed to seeing. She actually jumped when she felt something wet slide down her back, only to notice that her thick silky black hair, wet from water and whatever else composed her old shell, was flowing down it.

"…What happened, did father not really modify Anna? Did you really not do this?" There was no one to answer her but she asked it aloud. She questioned herself how long she had been here, checking he mental data that would show he such simplistic knowledge and discovered that she didn't have a clue. The stream of information that had once filled her bloated brain was gone, leaving her with just a human mind and human feelings. She even tried to do some simple mathematics and quickly discovered that she couldn't even do that. Though hardly dumb, she realized then and there that the god-like powers of her mind had vanished. She was, in basic terms, very human.

Anna was glad her father wasn't around then, because she let out one excited cry, clasping her hands over her face and jumping around with joy that was both unlike her as a super computer and even unlike her today. It was such because she had never felt happier in her entire life and a lot of happy things had happened all at once too. She was firstly alive, beautifully, brilliantly alive. She was back to her old self, no longer forced to the collections of the future that pounded into her brain incessantly. She was human again, full body and moving legs that could now run and jump and swing with delight. She loved doing that, it was the next thing she did, to use her newly acquired legs and run around the Lebensborn Cavern while enjoying her fresh new life. No longer forced to stay in the pool due to the lack of calcium in her bones, she was now free to enjoy the splendors of life that she never had before. It again dawned on her if her father had actually planned this all along. Even her powerful mind could not predict everything and most importantly she could not predict that about herself which would go beyond the power of prediction. When she was young and amazingly foolish though carelessly happy, her father insisted that she go through an operation that would make her smarter. No matter how much her father might get loathed and despised by others, she would always love him to the very end. For her, she would do anything to please him, even if it meant giving up something she cherished as well.

Some might have seen it as coincidence, a mere flaw in the transformation.

Others would have seen it as the fail safe in case she decided to rebel. In all honesty there wasn't much her father could've done if she thought of doing things her way. She may not be able to leave the bowels of the caverns but she could giving any false information to her father and practically have him dancing on her own palm. But she didn't, because she loved him and thus the third option of her return as a human came.

He had loved her. Despite being a megalomaniac, even the demented Director Kakuzawa had at least some amount of affection of his youngest daughter. The rest of her family had always shunned, called her stupid and wondered how such a mistake ever got into such a superior family. Yet her father always praised her, was certain that she only grew slower and never put her down. She liked to think that this change was due to a love nobody else could possibly see but herself.

Rising back up, she brushed the tears away, multitude of emotions flooding out of her eyes. There was no telling what was going on with the world above her until she went there herself. Quite unfortunate that she spent the next hour walking around the entire cavern because she couldn't remember where the exit was until she finally noticed the massive door before her. The two kilometer elevator raised her to the main section of the island facility where when the doors opened; she was greeted by stream of people not associated directly with the facility. Dressed in black suits, she could only imagine where they were from and suddenly found herself covering her chest in embarrassment. There were so many emotions she hadn't felt in a long time that she had nearly forgotten about them until now.

"We've got another, how is she?" Nobody came near her, her horns though mostly obscured by her thick hair was still visible enough and she knew these people had to have had a clue on what Diclonius were. "I'm not a Diclonius, my name is Anna. What are you doing in here, who are you people?"

Three people came over to her, one clearly a Diclonius girl about 18 years of age, her shoulder length pink hair currently tied up in a short pony tail. She wore a thin turquoise shirt and matching blue jacket while sporting a pair of thin silver jeans. Compared to the other people who kept up a more business like feature to their actions, she looked out of place. She didn't act curious but she held her body far less strictly not because of choice but because she just wasn't use to the lie of strictness in such places. She was trying that was for sure and she also kept a reasonable distance away from the other men and women which might have been for her own personal use. Nobody else was worried that there was clearly a Diclonius around them so she was definitely here on her own. The woman though was definitely familiar and she understood that this was the same woman who been with the man who had 'almost' killed her. Her name was Victoria if she could remember correctly.

The second person was an elderly man in his late sixties, his thick black hair greying along the edges and running down the back of his neck. He wore a thick brown coat, where he kept his hands pocketed. Wearing a pair of thin spectacles, she could see the slits of his white eyes travel over to her, emotionless but the one who answered was the third one.

"You are still alive?" She wouldn't have recognized him until he pulled off the wide-brimmed brown hat.

"You?" There was little animosity in her voice surprisingly when she saw Julius Javel, instead only surprised.

"You know her Javel?" Garder asked without looking.

His second in command didn't answer immediately; instead he called for one of the men to give him his jacket which she casually threw to Anna who only barely managed to catch it. "Put it on, clearly you are feeling ashamed right now." She did, though only to reluctantly cover herself. Back to Garder, Julius finally got to answering the old man's previous question.

"She is Anna Kakuzawa, I assume?" He had to ask, of course Julius had only seen her as a floating mass of brain matter, and he had to make sure the person he was addressing was indeed that same creature. Anna, despite herself said "Yeah…" and let Julius continue. Maybe because Julius was not expressing any enmity for her, she was not expressing any for herself. Truth be told she had probably lost her anger with him long ago; right now he was merely another man she knew.

"Then you are Director Kakuzawa's daughter." Garder replied slowly, looking over his shoulders to see what the other men were doing. "To answer your other questions, the Main Diclonius Research Facility is being refurbished for other uses."

"Where is my father?"

"So you don't know then? Director Kakuzawa's plan has been stopped and is currently in the custody of local authorities. He is to be tried and sentence for treason against Japan and for the attacks on humanity itself. He will most certainly face the death penalty when this is all over."

"No!" She blurted it out quickly. "I won't have father killed, you can't do that." She was angry that was certain though as much as she hated to admit it, somewhat understandable. Her father was a man with a terrible record and if his plan had indeed failed, which she was sure it had, then there was no other choice for him. Still she desperately pleaded with Garder. "Please, I know the kind of man my father was, but I'll do anything for him to live."

"Even if that were the case, there is little I could do. His fate is out of my hands. However…" Apparently something did cross his mind. "…Though I cannot guarantee his fate, I can guarantee this. As the new Head Director of the Diclonius Research Facility and Ex-General of the South American Army, I do have some measure of influence. You are also partly responsible for this mess Anna Kakuzawa, thus I could have you condemned as well. But the way I see it, you may be less of a threat and more of a liability right now. If you are willing to help us, I would be willing to see about lowering Kakuzawa's punishment to at least life in prison, though I can do no more than that, and I can't promise that will happen either."

Anna agreed. "I understand, I'll help with whatever you need, as long as my father stays alive. There is also another thing I want."

"You press yourself girl, but what is it?" Morotisan inquired.

"You let me visit my father, even if it is in prison."

"I have no control over that, but in short I see no issue with it myself."

She felt her heart relieve some of its tension, at least right now her father was definitely alive and if this man could keep to his word, she would be happy to work for him for the very sake of her father's survival. But now she had to ask more pressing questions, like what on earth was happening right now.

"It's been about three days since Kakuzawa was defeated Anna, and the Diclonius from the other facilities including mine had been set free. A special educational institution in currently being created in Osaka where the Diclonius will go to see if they can control their violent urges. You probably already know what happened in Kamakura involving Number 35. I am trying to make sure that doesn't happen and am giving the Diclonius this one option to change themselves. Right now my facility is the only to remain open in full operation as the one in Kobe was destroyed by Julius and Victoria and the others like this one are being refurbished. Most of the Diclonius are now in Osaka which apparently has better relationship with them then other places, which is why the educational institution is being built there as well.

Now then…" He continued on, explaining to Anna all that happened and what was planned to happen before. She only listened carefully, nodding her head every once in a while.

"Yo! All the Diclonius are outside." A newcomer, a man with a short spiky blue hair and…" Anna had to do a double take then realized the man had no arms.

"Alright then Synth. Anna, I want you to go with Roy and do whatever he wants, it is on my orders."

Roy looked up at the black haired girl, noticing her horns. "Oh, another Diclonius? Never seen one without bright hair."

"I'm not one, my name is Anna Kakuzawa and…" Roy was quickly updated. The man shrugged his shoulders indifferently. Unlike Garder, Roy was definitely more laid back, the kind of man whom, if he had arms, would've been leaning against the wall with them behind his head. Roy skeptically observed Garder on his issue with letting Director Kakuzawa live even if Anna agreed to help her. He may have given it more thought but decided it would be too hypocritical of him to do so. Garder had his own reasons for doing things and while they may not have gotten on the best sides sometimes, he was still a very competent Director who knew what he was doing. Secondly, the one closer to the hypocrite side, what right did he have to judge a person's fate when he was responsible for several assassinations all due to the purpose of earning a little cash. All which lead to nothing but a disgusted son with his own father. He didn't like Kakuzawa, but he had done enough things in his past to earn a few executions himself. Though, if only to make himself feel a bit better, he at least made compensations for his mistakes.

Roy brought her outside of the facility, giving a half exasperated apology for the lack of clothes before heading to a small group of Diclonius, horribly malnourished and huddled together. Curiously they glanced over at Anna, easily noticing her horns and then the complete lack of anything else that made her a Diclonius. Her lack of clothing felt like a small matter when all the other girls there were nude and more important paid no attention to it. They're expressions were different, some angry which might have been a permanent look regardless of how nicely they were treated afterwards. Some were frightened, mostly the younger ones who having known only misery for most of their lives, may have been skeptical of this newfound freedom and lack of pain. Others were oddly serene though morbidly blank in the eyes, the kind of look those who had given up long ago had. Some of the girls had bored looks, color in the eyes but a disdainful gaze that was clearly neither anger nor happiness. These were the ones who had been in the facility the longest and thus had long ago stopped caring. Some, the rare ones, while not displaying direct happiness, were clearly far more excited than their other kin. These had bright color in their eyes, curiously looking at their surroundings and testing out their new arms and legs which had been cramped up and chained to walls for several years. Especially after it was certain that these men were helping them, those Diclonius were far more ready to listen to Roy.

"The man in the brown coat said something about an educational facility being built?" Anna questioned the Australian.

"Aye, in agreement for letting the girls free of the facility, we're started on the creation of a school for Diclonius to learn to control themselves. Many of the Diclonius have good standings with the people of Osaka which again is why it's being created there. Of course Garder has full control of what he wants to do with the girls, so really it's up to them if they want to live with humans or not.

All of you…!" He called out to the girls, their heads perking up to his direction. "Food and water is going to be here in about fifteen minutes so please hold out a little longer. I'd say sorry for what you've been through but I'm afraid you might get pissed off at me for bringing up the subject. My name is Roy Synth, and right now I'm going to be watching over you until we take you to Osaka. Don't worry, you aren't being transported to another facility, not like this one at least. Many of you horned girls are already over there so do not fret, you won't be alone or put into more pain. I do want to say though that you shouldn't do anything rash, you will be put back in the facilities if you create problems so if you don't think you can handle being around humans, try not to put yourself in a situation where you are. The people of Osaka are a lot more accepting of you, so at least that's good."

There was a murmur of agreement from the girls, somewhat half exasperated which in light of the situation was understandable. When good things started happening, then they might give a little more damn about things.

Anna had little to say and the same could be said for the blue haired man who merely watched the girls to make sure everything was alright. It was only after another ten minutes that a new problem arose. Both of them turned to a sudden scream from inside the facility, a dreaded cry that could only be associated with terror. "What's up?" Roy asked, mostly to himself. "Hey Anna, mind checking that out, I can't exactly leave these girls unattended."

"I can, but you are confident by yourself." Anna stated in a low tone. Roy shrugged his shoulders, turning his attention back to the young girls who curious gazed at the open door to the facility. "You'd be surprised what I can do. You'd be surprised what humans could do, something your father failed to understand." There was a part of her that wanted to lash out at the man for speaking of her father like that but held her composure. Returning back to the entrance, one of the men, drenched in sweat and blood though not of his own was sitting against the wall while Julius tended to his wounds.

"What happened?"

"I sent some of the men down into the Lebensborn Cavern, they met someone there, a small boy that attacked them."

It dawned instantly on her of who they were talking about. Her father a few years after they had captured Lucy and imprisoned her, found the whereabouts of her mother. Taking the woman, her father forced the woman to have a child, the only pure male Diclonius known in the world. The only male Diclonius with internal sexual organs and therefore, the hope that he and Lucy would help create a new world of Diclonius as the boy got older. She knew that a special device had been implanted on his forehead, keeping him docile just as it had been done with the clones of Number 35. She didn't know what happened but to hazard a guess, one of the men must have found the boy and accidently removed the device. Judging from the trembling man on the wall, all hell had broken loose.

"Julius, go deal with the situation." Garder ordered.

"Aye sir." The male Diclonius answered sternly. When the elevator returned, the survivors rushed out and then the elevator went back down again. It returned this time with Julius and the small boy, the device firmly planted on his head and a look of curious wonder on his face. "There are quite a few causalities down there, but they managed to get the device on his forehead, it seems to have made him docile."

"You…" Garder pointed to Anna. "…Explain."

"He's my younger half-brother. He was born when my father found Lucy's mother and forced her to have a child…" She continued on, explaining his part of her father's master plan that never came to fruition.

"Anna, head back out with Roy, Julius take the boy with her give him to Roy, make sure you tell him about the device. Before you go Anna, is there anything else we should know about this place?"

She shook her head. "There isn't, besides the device my father used to create vectors, this was the only other thing besides myself. My outer shell is still down there as well." Julius who had been down there himself did agree with Anna on that point. Knowing that there was nothing else to worry about, Garder could handle the rest of the things on his own. "Julius, there's nothing else I need you here for the moment, take Victoria back to my facility. Afterwards I have a special assignment for you, get a piece of paper and pen from one of the cars. I have directions in Europe to give you." Victoria was curious at this though of course said nothing, only envious that Julius would be leaving her once he took her back to the facility. His right hand man went outside along with Anna and her brother and brought them to Roy, then going to one of the vehicles got the items Garder instructed. Returning back, Garder quickly explained.

"There's a location in Hungary that I need you to check out." Garder gave the information, one that could easily be put into the jets navigation systems. "Elrya said that she killed Vladimir Cents and destroyed Armata Lui Dracul. I need you to verify this statement as soon as possible, the last thing I need right now is to have more problems from that man. Return back here as soon as possible once you've done that."

"Sir? Are you sure I shouldn't come along? I can help Julius?"

"No Victoria, I can do this alone." She frowned deeply when she heard Julius. Garder heard them leave, then when the other men had relaxed, he ordered them down to the caverns to clean up the mess that had been started.

This was how Anna's new life rolled out.

* * *

"In agreement on letting her father live; Anna is going to be one of the teachers here in this place. She does have some good knowledge on Diclonius and even if she isn't one herself directly, having horns may put some of the girls at ease. I'm sure Anna will be glad to help you with the boy, right?" Anna could only agree, not that she had much choice though not entirely against it either. Part of her was oddly surprised that she didn't have much hatred for Lucy though this could be due to the point that she barely even knew the woman. It was hard to hate someone you didn't know and for her, as long as they kept their vow in keeping her father alive, even locked up forever, was good enough for her.

"If this boy is so dangerous, why keep him here anyways?" Kaede asked arrogantly.

Roy responded, "I already told you, teach him to control his urges. It's the same reason we keep your psychotic self in here." Kaede was sure a vein was appearing on her head now. Again she tried to push the boy off her then mumbled under her breath. "One of these days, I swear I will make you all pay."

"I'm hungry…" Lucy's brother cried out, tugging on his sister's shirt. The woman contemplated if she could slice his head off somewhere and make it look like an accident. There wasn't much she could do however, as much as it irked her to no end. She already had her fill at breakfast but if it go the boy to calm down she might as well take him over there. Anything to get away from Roy in case he decided she needed to go defuse a bomb, which still would've been more interesting than taking care of this brat. "Hey kid, have a name?" She asked, mostly because she didn't feel like saying "Hey you" all the time to call him. The child wondered then shook his head rapidly.

"You mean you don't have one?"

Again he shook his head.

"Great, first your bastard father rapes my mother…" The part really got to her and if she found that out while meeting Kakuzawa, the amount of body parts would have been astounding. "…But now you have no name? Kah, fine then I'll call you…" If she gave time, much less a damn, she might have given him a good name. Instead the first name that came to her was "Kouta" and thus to make things easier, she changed one letter and from that point on she called him "Routa." She hoped it wasn't an insult to the man she once loved but the boy, clearly not knowing, happily giggled and followed his older sister to the cafeteria.

Perhaps the only reason everyone didn't stare at her was the complete look of hatred radiating in her crimson eyes that would've scarred even some of the most hardened soldiers. Elrya having finished her meal looked over at Kaede's table and much like everyone else was utterly perplexed when she saw the small boy with her. "Isn't that a male Diclonius?" Lilian asked, looking at the boy too. That if anything was what caught most of the girls' attention, since the only other male Diclonius that Elrya knew was Garder's right hand man, Julius Javel and even he was an enigma in and on itself.

"Hey Lucy!"

"My name's Kaede, and what?" Elrya rolled her eyes but continued. "Who's the kid?"

"My name Routa!" The kid delightfully spoke, running up to Elrya and starring, much to her annoyance, right up at her face. "That's Onee-tama."

"I didn't know you had a little brother Kaede?" Someone asked. Kaede furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah…neither did I."

Elrya gently pushed the boy back who was getting far too into her personal space for comfort. "He sure is a cute fellow." Miriana said, rising up from her seat and kneeling down so she was head level with the boy. His bright eyes widened as he looked at her, then pointed out, "You don't have horns?" Miriana smiled at him. "That's true, I'm not a Diclonius like the others, but I'm trying to be helpful around here."

"What's that on his forehead?" Lilian said. Elrya got up from her seat, coming closer to the boy's face and putting her finger on the round metal object. "It looks like it's stuck in there, hold on get me a fork I'll get it out."

"DON"T TOUCH IT!" Kaede screamed at her, scaring the living hell out of Elrya who jumped back and slammed into her chair. "Oh god, sorry! Damn Kaede, fine then don't get your vectors tied in knot, gah!" She rubbed the back of her throbbing head, silently cursing Kaede and the chair behind her before angrily kicking it out of the way then after Miriana gave her a disproving look, she caught the chair with her vector and brought it back.

"Routa, you're hungry right? Get back over here and stop being a pest." Kaede ordered. The boy said goodbye to the others and returned back to his sister as if nothing had happened. "You know what else is strange?" Lilian spoke, still gazing at the kid with her eyes narrowing. "I can't seem to be able to sense anything from the kid. You know, like a Diclonius signature." Because they were all packed together in the cafeteria with multitude of other Diclonius, trying to sense a particular one was rather hard. Lilian had clearly been focusing on the boy for a while because Elrya hadn't noticed a thing until she mentioned it. Still whatever her explanation was would only have been an opinion and Lilian quietly let the subject go, not being of too much importance to her.

Elrya began to finish off the last specks of food, if one could call what she concocted on her plate food, picking up the crumbs and chewing them mildly as if she had nothing better to do. Conversing with her two friends, she casually put her hand out to the side, letting it wave in the air while still holding a piece of apple between her fingers. "Oh! Morning Caren!" Their last roommate, having finished with whatever her assignment was at the time finally arrived, scowling at the use of her shortened name and sitting together with the other three, her plate filled with breakfast delicacies. "Hope you all won't leave now that I just arrived." She exclaimed jokingly, finding her attention gravitating to Routa who apparently was still looking at them.

She turned her head to the side then uttered, "Who's the boy over there? I see his horns is he a Diclonius as well?"

"Apparently." Alya muttered. "It seems he's Kaede's brother or something, never knew she had one in the first place. I was surprised to know there was more male Diclonius though it wasn't impossible."

"There's something on his forehead…" The Turkish Diclonius whispered, trying to get a closer look.

"Yeah, Kaede got all pissed when I tried to get it off."

"Ah I remember!" Caren finally exclaimed while the others looked at her. "I thought it looked familiar, it was used on the clones of Mariko when I was working for Kakuzawa…can't believe I had to bring that up again." The others, still confused, waited for her to continue. "It was when Kakuzawa got me out of the facility, when I was going under that foolish name of Nirlinya. There was some weird guy, some doctor for the facility who ate chocolate a lot. I think his name was Nousou or something. Anyways those things on their forehead gave him some measure of control over them."

Alya replied, "Well Kaede was called over by Roy and she came back with her." He turned her attention away from him, no longer concerned with the child. "Either way forget about him, we've got one more day before classes start and I'm really not looking forward to it. We need to do something fun before…GAAAAH!" Screaming shrilly Alya brought her hand up, her forefinger and middle red with tiny puncture wounds on them. "What happened!" Miriana called out as Alya sucked on her two fingers then turned around to see Routa smiling at her with the piece of apple now in his mouth.

"That little bastard bit me! Ahh! Damn that hurt!" She continued to hold her fingers, checking them to see if blood was drawn and sure enough she could actually see a trickle running down her fingers. "Ow! Ow! Hey Kaede, mind keeping your brother away from here so he doesn't eat me! Ahhhh! I'm going to beat the living hell out of him I swear!"

"Hey! Don't speak about our Queen's brother like that."

"Do not start with me!" Alya growled at the random girl, still holding her fingers before Miriana decided to take a look at it. "If I get some disease from that kid I'll seriously murder him. Ow! Ow! Ahh! Th-Thanks Miriana. Guh! Stupid kid!"

The girl, a short person with her hair cut short again yelled back at her. "That's no way to speak to the Queen's brother. You should have a little more respect for your royalty."

"Oh just shut up! Forget this I'm not hungry anymore." Alya said angrily, picking herself up from her seat and still holding her fingers. "I'm heading back to the dorm, going to get washed up. Come when you're ready.

Ow!

Seriously, he bit me! Who the hell even does that?"

* * *

Author's Note: Another chapter finished as we continue along with our story. What will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

Please R&R

The next chapter may take a little while as I need to finish up the prequel "Pinpoint Zero." Besides that, please keep reading and hopefully enjoying the story.


	9. The Twisted Relic

**Chapter 9: The Twisted Relic**

"Does this look infected to you?" Elrya asked, showing her bitten fingers to Miriana as they sat on her bed. The human girl held the fingers gently, adding some ointment and then bandaging them. "You should be fine Elrya; it's only a little nibble. He didn't mean it I'm sure."

The pregnant Diclonius gave Miriana a disproving look. "A little nibble? The kid almost bit my fingers off! The next time I see him or Lucy I'm going to give them a piece of my mind." Elrya growled, though nevertheless thanking Miriana for helping her. She flopped upon her bed, stretching her arms and legs out and finding her eyes gravitating to the mechanical clock Miriana had, unable to tell the time though feeling such a thing was quite short even if the afternoon hadn't even arrived yet. The other girls also sat around, their expressions bored and uninterested and Caren had even closed her eyes, her arms folded behind her head lazily. "Miriana, what time is it?" she asked, too bored to look at it herself.

"It's 10:23…"

"Ah, well then…" She pushed herself back up and sitting at the edge of her bed. "I wanted to sleep a bit longer but that's out of the question. I should probably tell you all now; something is about to happen in the next thirty minutes, so try not to get to comfortable. Roy said they were going to have some sort of fire drill for us Diclonius."

Lilian perked her head curiously, softly speaking, "What's a…fire drill? I've never heard of that before." Likewise Elrya too lifted her head up to listen, this also be new and intriguing to her. The only person not surprised obviously was Miriana who would have known and gone through such things as a child in the orphanage she grew up in. She didn't say it either but she also had a profound and well justified fear of these drills due to the accident that scarred her. Due to time and thanks to the support of her friends, she probably wouldn't have any sort of nervous breakdown going through one now. She was though glad that Miriana brought it up, she would at least be prepared for it.

"That's right; they never did anything like that in the facilities. Guess they never though it would blow up." Caren said sardonically. Well either way you already know about this kind of stuff right Miriana?" The human girl nodded her agreement before Carentorzulan continued uninterrupted. "Well for schools like these, they're going to have certain drills in case an accident happens, you know, a fire if you will and what we're supposed to do when it happens. The alpha Diclonius are supposed to help the others when it happens."

"Sounds stupid…" Alya muttered.

"No it isn't, it's meant to keep you safe Alya." Miriana proclaimed.

"We can stop bullets and even bomb blasts if we want Miriana, a little fire isn't going to stop us."

The black and golden haired girl shook her head disappointingly. "It's not just the fire Alya; it's about the location, the smoke, things like that. If you don't know how to handle yourself in these kinds of situations you could do something really dangerous. It's a good thing their teaching you about this kind of stuff."

"She's right…" Caren added. "It's not about the fire itself; we Diclonius can handle that easily with her vectors. But what we can't handle is if were in a burning building that's about to collapse. If we're stuck in a small room filled with smoke, our vectors can't push it all away; we'll choke to death if that happens. It's not something we'll have to do often anyways, just listen to me and you'll do fine." Caren ended, sighing and checking the clock again, she'd rather get this over and done with.

"So…" Lilian said when the room became quiet for a few seconds. "…How's the little bundle of joy there Elrya…or Alya…who are you?" Lilian finally asked, having yet been able to decipher who was who in the girl's body. "I'm Alya; my voice is lower than Elrya's…." The girl said then blushed and turned away, having been caressing her belly fondly while murmuring softly to it. She opened her mouth to speak but apparently embarrassment kept her from saying anything. The baby was expected to be born in a very few short months, and as the time ticked away, her motherly instincts had started to take control and made her much more anxious about the birth itself. Assuming it was a girl, and she was 95% sure it would be, she still hadn't though up of any sort of names for it. The girl had wanted to name it somehow after Yin Sandersas, in loving memory of him but couldn't really think of any sort of name that fit, not without it sounding stupid at least.

"Actually, I have a question for you all, about my baby…" Alya finally asked shakily. "I haven't really, thought of any sort of name for it. It's kind of embarrassing to ask, but do you have any good ones?"

"What about Elexiavarata?" Caren suggested. Her friends gave her a long look of uncertainty. "How about a name that doesn't require me to strain myself." Alya muttered firmly.

Lilian thought for a moment and tried, "How does Viriani sound?"

"Better, but let's keep thinking…" Alya said.

This time Miriana suggested, "How about Takakami?"

"I wouldn't mind so much but since Yin wasn't Japanese I really wanted to give the name something unique. I can't believe it's this hard to actually name a child; it's got to be easier than this.

Then…someone else said something.

"**Having some difficulties…Diclonius?"**

"Yeah…it's so…GUAH!" It hurt, something beyond immeasurable pain shot through her skull as she collapsed out of her bed, vomiting wildly onto the floor as she clutched her head in agony. Her friends gasped in horror as Alya screamed, her eyes shaking wildly before Elrya took control but continued to moan loudly into the floor, pushing her mouth against her sleeve then forcing it away as she vomited suddenly again, the sickening stench of her digested food now filling the room. "Elrya! Alya! What's going on! What's wrong!" Caren cried out, trying to help her friend who violently smacked her hand away. The girl pushed herself up, shuddered and tripped against the wall, sweat pouring profusely from her face while her mouth tasted of bile. "Ahh! Guah! I have to…don't touch me…don't come near…oragh...!" One more she felt her stomach growing tight and she retched onto the floor, tears now gushing from her eyes.

Elrya slammed against the door, her vision going in and out and her stomach searing with unbearable pain. She didn't bother explaining anything to her friends, she had no time to explain it, she had to get out of there and get the bathroom and hopefully stop herself from doing something terrible. The door slammed behind her, perhaps as a way to deter her friends from following her. Lilian, mouth still agape, finally managed a squeaky, "Wh-What was that about?"

"…Miriana?" Caren finally asked, assuming the girl's best friend would understand the situation better than anyone. Miriana had never seen her friend act like that before, and she understood that being pregnant could lead to sicknesses but this was far beyond that. The poor Diclonius had been in torrential anguish and seemed determined to get out of the room at all cost. Plus the vomiting and screaming, no pregnancy should ever do that to a person. "I'll go find her and see what's wrong." She finally managed to say rushing outside the room to find her best friend. The others, faces taut with apprehension could only wait silently until their return. Lilian unable to keep her mind to her own, blurted out to the Turkish Diclonius, "Do you have any idea on what just happened back there?"

Shaking her head gloomily, Caren muttered, "I really don't know. What happened with her, she looked to be, miserable almost."

"Is that what being pregnant is like?"

"No." Caren replied sharply. "I'm not going to act like I know a lot about pregnancy but I know it's nothing like that. Something else was bothering Alya there."

Lilian only agreed silently inside her head.

* * *

It was a feeling of horror, a sensation of desperation that forced Elrya out of the room and into the hallways of her dormitory. Her mouth tasted of bile of which she constantly spat on the floor to hopefully get the horrendous palate out. Vision blurred she slammed her head into the side of the wall, catching the attention of the other girls who gazed at her worriedly. "Hey, Elrya you don't look so good." One with her hair split into two ends down her neck said, offering a helping hand which the girl violently smacked out of the way.

"Don't touch me!"

"Fine!" The girl cried, pulling her hand back while looking affronted.

"Please…don't come…need…out…don't follow…" She whispered, her words incoherent almost while she stumbled through the hallways. She could see door heading to the stairs but thought better of it, in her state she could easily fall down and break her neck. There was an elevator nearby and she stumbled her way towards it, pressing the button and falling to her knees. The door opened two other girls about to get off paused and like the one before, tried to offer their assistance. "What happened to you? Are you alright?" Her vector slashed at the ground, frightening them while their own emerged in self-defense.

She gave a deafening roar of, "Get out right now!" Then quickly covered her mouth and gagged, vomit splattering against her hands. The two Diclonius in the elevator looked both disgusted and concerned; rushing outside Elrya didn't bother talking to them. She pushed herself inside and closed the door.

"Hello! You haven't seen Elrya have you?" Miriana ran around the hallway, calling to the three girls over there.

"She just went down the elevator, started vomiting on the floor. She looked terrible Miriana." Stricken with grief, she didn't have the patience to wait for the elevator. Running down the stairs, she jumped every other two steps, trying to hurry down before her friend could escape her again. As she broke into a run down the first floor hallway, she could hear more commotions and angry yells from the other Diclonius. Miriana turned the corner, seeing her friend like a pitiful child huddled against the wall, clutching her head while the other girls kept a good distance away from her. "Please move!" Desperately she called out to the other girls, trying to push them out of the way so she could finally reach her friend who was hurting so much.

"Elrya, what's wrong? Please tell me I'm here to help you."

"No! Miriana…don't come here…please!" Elrya choked.

"All of you, please move back so I can speak to her." Miriana said, waving her hands for the other Diclonius to pull away from her. "You need to be careful, she could…" One began before being sharply cut off by the human girl. "Don't concern yourself with me, I know what I'm doing…I hope…" She added as an afterthought.

Elrya still holding herself tightly was now crying profusely, her anguished sobs only cut short when she felt her best friend warmly embrace her. The warmth of friend's arms calmed her shaking down as Miriana gently rested her head against the Diclonius' own, caressing her fingers through her hair. "It's going to be alright Elrya, you don't have to be afraid." Her friend's voice, soft and comforting to the 16 year olds fragile mind, the Diclonius instinctively pushed her head against her chest. The other Diclonius clearly concerned and definitely confused waited with baited breaths while keeping their distance as Miriana had asked for.

"What's wrong Elrya, this isn't like you at all. Please tell me, I'm your friend you know." Miriana asked, still tracing her fingers through the girl's thick hair.

"…Please…get away…until I can get control…" Elrya uttered her voice cracked though no longer pain filled. Instead it sounded determined, serious and almost dark. There was the air of menace to it, a very murderous intention escaping her lips. It was the kind of sound that made Miriana Kusoku shudder as if ice was running down her back. "I won't leave you Elrya, I won't hurt you so trust me."

"Guh! It's not that Miriana…it's him…"

"Eh?"

Miriana raised her head.

"…It's Vladimir Cents…" The girl finally said with complete revulsion in her voice. Miriana gave a short gasp, giving Elrya enough time to lightly push her away. "He's trying to take control again, I need to help Alya push him back down!" This time Miriana's face contorted into true fear and desperation. Her eyes once filled with light now contained nothing but sheer horror, vile memories of the past spilling into her angelic heart. Even now, was that sick man still torturing her best friend? What was it going to take to finally stop him?

She wouldn't lose, not again, not ever again. She would never lose again to the monster who tried so hard to force her into damnation. She had almost lost Alya that day, had almost lost herself and even Miriana. She had already lost Yin, she wouldn't dare lost anyone else again. Her conviction, the greatest thing she had about herself fought and won against this monster. Never again would she ever lose again, because she had too much to live for to ever lose. "Get out of my head Cents...!" Alya growled hatefully inside her mental realm.

"**Afraid I can't do that, Alya. I already told you, I'm mentally connected to your brain waves, a rather unique side effect of my death. As long as you exist Alya, I will also exist. You've done well though, to keep me suppressed for so long, I praise your determination."**

"I told you…to get out of my head. Go away, get back, go now. You stupid desires are dead, your foolish thoughts are dead! NOW!" With a mental push she violently pushed Cents's mind back into the depths.

"**Ugah! Kah! Hehehehehe! You are indeed the most quaint little girl I have ever met. Convictions, what a remarkable little ideology, but I can't give up my own desires. I thought death would be the end, but no, until I fully cease to exist, I will fruitlessly follow through to it to the end."**

Elrya came in, both her mind and Alya's now joining together as they had done during their final battle with this madman. "You killed Yin Sandersas, my lover, the man I adored. You will never win against me, I swear it!" Another violent push of mental prowess, doubled from the combined efforts of both Elrya and Alya which forced itself cents further down into the depths of whatever black hole in her mind he remained. She knew as much as she hated to think of it, that Cents mind had been a part of her for a while. She didn't forget it, how she had been forced to kill Cents and ultimately thought to have destroyed Alya in the process. Instead Alya had not been killed but Vladimir who had used his specialized pistol to incorporate his own mentality into her and had unknowingly kept himself in there. Needless to say, the very thought that the man who killed Yin Sandersas was currently existing inside her head was a terrible though indeed.

A push, stronger than before Cents with his single mind though powerful in its own right could not fully with stand the combined pressure of the two personalities. His echoing voice, horribly maddened and sadistically fluent had become lighter. **"Hehehehehe! Never once do you disappointment Elrya Alya. But you know I can't give up, never can I stop until I'm completely finished. You could kill Alya though, as far as I know that would get rid of me, but you don't have the nerve to kill your closest friend, eh Elrya? That's because your weak! A weak little girl who does nothing but dream! COME ON ELRYA, GO ON AND KILL HER!" **

Pain! Cents in a moment of brutality forced his mind against them, and for her it felt as if someone had punched her straight in the face.

"**I desire nothing more than complete suffering, I don't care if I end up fully dying without hope of return! From the very start I have lived this world of pain and agony, for over 15 years I sought the end of my desires! Do you really think I'll stop now! Certainly you haven't forgotten what I've told you…**

**At some point…you'll have to wake up…"**

"SHUT UP!" They screamed mentally at him, forcing him down again. More and more they struck without pause, his mind crumbling underneath their own. "I will not listen to your bullshit! BEGONE FROM MY MIND! BE GONE FROM MY SOUL! BEGONE! BEGONE! BEGONE!"

More! More! More! Her body shook uncontrollably while sweat dripped from her face.

"Elrya! Alya! What's going on!" Lilian called out followed closely by Carentorzulan. Elrya Alya seeing the girl quickly articulated. "Wait Vladimir, do you see that girl over there?"

"**Oh ho? What are we now going to have pleasant conversations?"**

"Be quiet, that girl over there, do you know who she is?"

Cent's chuckled darkly. **"I cannot remember all those who I have met, silly child."**

"Well here's something you should remember, take a good long look at her! That girl over there, her name is Lilian Cents! Do you understand Vladimir!"

Suddenly, The Twisted Relic became unnaturally quiet. "Lilian!" Elrya Alya called over to her friend. "Do you have your coin with you?" Confused by her question, Lilian answered with a shaky "…Y-Yeah…"

"Show it! Show it to me!"

She didn't have a clue on what her friend was talking about but nevertheless she pulled out the small silver coin and showed it to the fallen girl who stared determinedly at it. "Do you understand now, Vladimir Cents?" She thought heavily, making sure her eyes was directly concentrated on it, she wanted him to get a good long look at it. It looks pretty damn familiar now doesn't it? I don't know how a bastard like you could ever be anything more than a monster but for some reason, she doesn't believe that."

"…**Girl…her…daughter…"**

It was a first for both Elrya and Alya, to hear such timid uncertainty from the tyrant. Cents overwhelming force which had been pushing down on them now began to edge away calmly. His last words fading into a long echo.

"…**Lilian…Cents…"**

* * *

"Are you…" Miriana began fearfully, trying to walk over to her fallen friend who much to her happiness, picked herself up, wiping what was left of the bile on her mouth. Cents might have left for now but the sickening taste of vomit was still on her, she needed to wash her mouth out badly after that ordeal. Still it surprised her that Cents would give in that easily once she introduced Lilian to him. During their last confrontation inside her mind, he had not only reduced Elrya to a quivering mess, child-like and afraid, but he had even forced his own will against her, forcing her vectors into a chaotic state of upheaval. One look at the girl, one look at the coin in her hand and he had suddenly fallen apart, refusing to continue his demented design. "Are you alright, Alya?" Elrya asked, their minds breaking apart as she took control.

"…I think so Elrya. I'm throbbing a little but besides that, I feel fine. What happened though Elrya, Cents has never stopped so suddenly like that before?" She regretted doing it, but Alya couldn't help herself but mentally call out, "Cents." There was no answer, no force against her mind, no polluted will trying to corrupt her. If she hadn't been so damn sure he was still inside her she'd have assumed he had completely left her. That was impossible though, he was a part of her as he so sickeningly reminded her. She didn't bother calling out again, not wanting to risk having another episode.

Lilian cried out to her. "Can you please explain what that was all about?" Her friend, unable to look at her gave a false smile and mumbled, "…just a…stomach ache…" Lilian already hated it when people talked about her father in a negative way, who knows what she'd think if she told her that her father was literally living inside her head. There was no way to tell them the truth partly because of their reaction and partly because it wasn't even believable. How do you explain that a madman, or in Lilian's case, a doting father, was inside your head and for a good while too. There was no way she could tell them the truth and when she gave Miriana a hardened look, clearly stating that she wasn't supposed to say anything. She apparently understood because she nodded lightly and kept her mouth shut. Holding out her hand, Lilian assisted Elrya in getting up, clearly unable to believe that her episode was due to stomach pains alone.

Caren herself began to call the other Diclonius away, giving Elrya breathing room and to break up the crowd that had formed. "There's nothing else to see here, we just had a little issue but it's been resolved. Come on, get going, there's nothing to see here do here. Besides this is the last day until your classes start, you should make the best of it." Once she had gotten the girls away, she returned back to Elrya, her face plainly concerned but perhaps being smart enough to know that Elrya didn't feel like talking about it, she refused to ask about it. "The alarm should be going off soon, you three should stay out here instead of wasting your time heading back to the room only to leave shortly after. I need to go there and explain things though to the other Diclonius once it starts." Caren said simply leaving the others. It was, as she said, shortly after that a nerve wracking buzzing echoed shrilly inside the dormitories. Even outside it was loud and so Elrya could only imagine what it must have sounded like inside. Walking out, the girls wore a variety of expressions. Some looked bored, perhaps like Caren having once lived normal lives before were used to these kinds of things. Others more commonly were startled, the alarm new to them and its purpose and even confused, perhaps expecting a fire alarm automatically meant that an actual fire was around. More so, many of them seemed annoyed, no kidding as they had more than likely just got into their rooms only to have their ears blasted out and forced outside.

"Elrya, Miriana, Lilian." The three girls turned, seeing Roy step towards them. "…You look a little pale there Elrya, something up?" He questioned, raising his eye brows when he saw the girl's gaunt face.

"You could say that, nothing I want to talk about though." She muttered.

Roy shrugged indifferently. "Whatever you say girl." It was his only response and once the girls were all outside he called out in a business like tone. "That was, for most of you, your first fire drill. No there was not actually a fire, but if there was, your alphas should have told you what to do. Remain calm and collected and basically don't freak the hell out because…" And then he suddenly went into a loud rant of, "OH SHIT THE PLACE IS ON FIRE, EVERYTHING'S BURNING AROUND ME! TOO MUCH SMOKE, CAN'T BREATHE, FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! Before you start jumping out windows." He ended on a calm note. "Well you all enjoy yourselves, remember classes start tomorrow.

…You sure don't need any help girl? You seriously look terrible." He again asked the pregnant Diclonius.

"I'm fine, really."

"Terrible liar, but whatever. There is a clinic on this location though, the people there have been specifically instructed on Diclonius though besides a few differences here and there isn't much of a difference between you and humans, biologically speaking at least. You should at least go there and get some medicine, have Caren take you she knows where it is." He was right, she still felt slightly sick to her stomach and looking at Caren who lead the way. Lilian and Miriana went somewhere else, deciding to meet up with the others later. Walking away and making sure nobody else was around, Carentorzulan had to ask in a soft tone, "What exactly happened there with you Elrya, that was utterly insane. That wasn't just some stomach ache you were clutching your head and screaming. Then when you were on the ground outside, you were concentrating incredibly hard about something even mumbling. At some point, I couldn't tell for sure but it almost seemed like…well…" Caren thought unable to truly explain it and then decided on, "…Well it sounded like you and your other self, Alya, were talking simultaneously, well not like that. But your voices were different, as if it was both you and Alya."

The horned girl bit her bottom lip nervously, clearly trying to think a way to get out of this mess without having to explain anything. "I…" She began looking away and then refusing to speak, perhaps hoping that Caren would just ignore her and go on. "I'm your friend, and I would appreciate it if you told me. It's my job to look after the other Diclonius and that includes you, besides anything that's wrong with you could affect your pregnancy."

How true, she had nearly forgotten about it. She now feared for herself and her unborn child which with the essence of motherhood coming across her, had grown incredibly attached to it. Did Vladimir had any sort of effect on her child? Was his mental awareness also capable of breaking through to her own child and ultimately corrupting it? Suddenly a horrible realization came over her, something terrible and disgusting that almost made her gag. What if she gave birth to something that was not wholesome but an abomination of hellish proportions?

"Don't tell Lilian, please. You might as well wait because this is going to take a while to explain." Pausing, Caren waited, listening intently at Elrya who realized again that she failed at keeping secrets. "You remember what we went for Roy, about Lilian's coin?"

"Yes, something about her father Vladimir Cents right? The man my mother apparently worked for as an assassin until he killed her." There was revulsion in her voice on the last part, rightly fully so, all those tormented by The Twisted Relic should feel nothing but hatred. If Miriana a girl who breathed pure innocence could hate him, then it was clearly impossible for him not to be hated. She decided to ignore Lilian on that matter though who was a rare seed amongst the grain.

"…Vladimir Cents, is currently…existing inside my head."

"…" Caren didn't speak, she couldn't because it was too shocking to her.

"Several months ago, I fought Cents in Europe after he kidnapped Miriana and took her away. He murdered my lover Yin Sandersas who I was going to marry after all of this was over. Miriana wanted me to keep a promise to never kill anyone ever again but when Cents did that atrocious act, I lost it. I couldn't handle myself anymore and I wanted to slaughter everything around me. But I refused to do it, I killed Cents army but I refused to kill him, I refused to give him that satisfaction. Instead I shattered his spine and made sure he'd never walk again, I should've known he would never go down that easy. He used some strange gun, a wire connected to my mind and he was able to insert part of his own mind into me, basically into Alya. He then forced me to kill him and at the time I thought Alya too or else he would kill Miriana.

I had already lost one person close to me, I couldn't bear to lose another. I thought I lost Alya that day too and I felt everything that I ever wanted just vanish into smoke. I can't remember much though except I felt like a small child, confused and desperately asking for help. Cents wasn't dead though, not completely, I murdered his body but he remained inside my mind directly connected to Alya. It meant she was still alive but I didn't know that at first, instead I ended up following Cents. He corrupted me, forced me to kill and he laughed about it.

But, Alya came back and together we forced him back down. I thought that was it to be quiet honest, until now he hadn't resurfaced at all. I can't let him win, I can't let him get out and have his way because if he does, I don't know if I can control myself again. His power over my mind is great, without both Alya and I working together, we can't keep him suppressed. I can't lose again, if I do, then there's no telling what would happen." She concluded, head now bowed low so that her thick hair was obscuring her face.

"Is that why you had Lilian show her coin?" Caren questioned.

Alya took to the front though at that point Elrya kept her mind close incase Cents decided to appear again. "That's right, for some reason Cents completely stopped his attack on us and returned back inside our mind. Lilian was right, I don't know how it's possible but she has certain connection to Vladimir beyond vile hate like we do. I still don't know how long it's going to last…"

"**Elrya Alya…"**

Too late, her eyes narrowed into slits and sensing the sudden change in her friend, Carne raised her hand only for Alya to lightly plush it away. Her expression darkened but this time, there was no terrible feeling of pain rushing through her form. There was also a distinctive difference in Cents' voice, one she had never heard from before though her issues with him did nothing to quell her hatred. His voice was softer, lacked the viciousness behind it and sounded more like a question than an actual statement.

"I told you to stay away." Alya hissed mentally.

"…**That girl…Lilian…how does she have one of my coins? The only people who have those coins are the members of the assassins."**

She scoffed at the question. "How would I know Cents. I told you to get back and stay there. Personally I want you completely out of my head."

"**Are you interested in coming to a deal?"**

There was a long pause before Alya finally answered. "What do you mean by a deal?" There was another paused and Caren still standing there was left in the dark watching her friend concentrating far too hard than she would've though healthy. Whatever Vladimir Cents told her made both Elrya and Alya give a resounding "No fucking way!"

"I will never agree to that, not one bit Vladimir Cents. You don't know how to keep deals anyways so you can just forget about that. Lilian may not believe you're as terrible as we do, but I won't have you ruining her life like you ruined ours. Here's a little idea, kindly take to it. Go and fuck off!" Alya menaced, her eyes having now turned into twisted small dots of insane anger.

"**Really, you are that simple to deny such an amazing deal? I didn't know you enjoyed having me inside you." **There it was, that arrogance and evil in his voice. He knew how to play with her emotions, it was one of his strong points after all. **"I want to speak to the girl and you want me out of your head. I think it's a fairly good deal don't you think?"**

"I will not do it! This conversation is over Vladimir, kindly fuck off already!"

"**Hahahahaha, how very quaint girl. Would you like me to ruin you again, force you into killing again? How would it feel to start tearing up right now and then have everyone back at the facility, blaming you for their problems? I exist for one purpose and if I said it right now I'd start entering the realm of overbearing, but we all know what it is. The deal is yours for the taking, what do you say? **

…**I exchange myself into that Lilian girl's mind and you lose me completely. You won't have to ever hear me again. I think it's a fair offer really, unless of course you want me to stay here."**

Her ire was rising steadier and steadier. "I refuse to let you do that, I won't let you ruin Lilian's life like you ruined mine and Miriana's. You may be a part of me but you're not the one who's going to be in control, got it!"

Cents laughed amusedly.

"**Very well then…very well then. Your so called…conviction…has won over for now. I do wonder though, if I'll have any ill effect on that unborn child of yours." **He knew, somehow he knew that thing she was dreading. Alya hissed under her breath but found she couldn't think up of any good retort other than cursing him into oblivion. **"Surprised I know that? I'm part of your mind right now. Remember whatever Elrya knows, so does Alya and whatever Alya knows so do I. We're connected, like one happy family and since I also have a direct access to your prowess, do you really want to take such a risk? You already lost that stupid dreaming man, do you want to lose his only child?"**

"You bastard! How dare you speak about Yin like that!" Alya screeched inside her head.

Vladimir muttered murderously, no sign of remorse in his voice. **"Yeah, I know what you think, always crying about him, always dreaming about him. The amazing sexual pleasure you had from him." **She hated him, so much right now, more than any other person in the entire world. More than Garder himself, more than possible she hated him and wanted to silence him for good. **"I'll ask you again, dreaming girl, our deal. It should be a relatively simple case of inserting your vector into the girl's head and then I'll transfer my mentality into her. I have a lot of questions I'd like to ask and even more so, I'd like to delve inside her brain even closer. You see, this girl intrigues me, I have not heard of any daughter named Lilian, but she holds the same type of silver coin I would use for the assassins. She is an enigma to me, a most brilliant one that I wish to attain. You could almost call it, a second desire of mine."**

"…"

"**Make a choice, Elrya Alya-chan…"**

"…Here's the deal…" Alya uttered in a low voice. "You…CAN GO STRAIGHT TO FUCKING HELL!" She screamed the words out loud too making Caren jump back in alarm. "How Lilian could ever like a person like you is beyond me. What I want to know is how you tricked her into thinking you we're a good person."

"**Girl, have you ever thought that just because I am the King of Deceit, that I would at some point tell the truth? If she is truly my daughter, than you ask her this. What is her greatest desire in the world? Ask her that, and we'll see what truly matters in the end."**

She was more than glad when Cents finally decided to vanish and she hoped he wouldn't appear for a while too. Sighing, she apologized to Caren for her outburst and then turned to continue on to the clinic. Even now as she tried to silence them, she could still hear his words echoing inside of her head.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the slight delay in the chapter though I do hope it was enjoyable. Please R&R, criticism is welcomed.


	10. Freak Ride Through The Observance

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 10: Freak Ride Through The Observance**

Lilian and Miriana had already cleaned up the mess in their room when Caren arrived although Elrya was nowhere to be seen. After telling them that she was currently in the specialized Diclonius clinic, Lilian instantly blurted out curiously, "Did she tell you anything?" Miriana almost sensing that Caren knew the truth did not say anything nor did she even turn her head to face her. She barely kept eye contact averting them because she of course also knew the terrible truth.

"I'm not sure what happened with her, maybe the doctors over there can help her." Caren said, opting to take a less direct approach. Instead of saying it was only a mere stomach ache, her excuse was vague enough to the point where she didn't have to tell the truth yet formal enough so that Lilian would at least find it acceptable. As her eyes found Miriana's own, she nodded softly while Lilian wasn't looking.

"I need to wash off, if Elrya Alya comes by before I'm out, tell her I hope she feels better." Lilian muttered, grabbing a pair of clean clothes and heading towards the shower room. When the door stopped, Miriana stated in an extremely timid voice. "Elrya told you, didn't she?" It was less of a question and more of a statement, the kind of one she already knew.

"Yeah…" A simple answer at first. "…She told me, that man we talked to Roy about, Lilian's father was inside her head. She told me about what happened in Europe and what happened to her lover…Yin was it?" her friend nodded, tears already beginning to well up into her eyes. What a terrible day that had been and even when they had finally beaten him, even killed him, he still wouldn't give up. He was corrupting her, his sick influence taking over her proud soul, a parasite feeding off of her suffering. The worst part of it, there was no way that she knew they could get rid of him, not without directly affecting Alya herself. She knew what it was like for her best friend when she thought she had killed the closest person in her life. It was of course as if she had killed a part of herself and what emerged was a frightened child who Cents manipulated, not for gain, not for revenge but for the simplistic of reasons. He utterly enjoyed it, that was it. As long as he got some amusement out of the pain he caused, or even the agony he felt, he'd continue to torture people.

He was a monster.

The worst kind of monster in the world.

"He killed your sister right? You must hate him for that." The human girl replied.

"…I do, but it's hard to hate someone I never knew. It's kind of like in a war where when our loved one is killed you want to hate the person who did it but unless you see the person or at least know them, it's kind of pointless. But knowing how you and Elrya felt, seeing what happened to her back there, it worries me greatly. We had a hard enough time dealing with Kakuzawa a few months ago; I don't know what to think if an even bigger monster came to us."

* * *

Slobbering like a mad dog, Aurelius was already finished with his disgusting act leaving the fifteen year old girl, naked and crying on the bed. She could feel his hot spit dripping on her chest and belly, his tongue fervently licking her like she was some sort of ice cream cone on a hot summer's day. She regretted having slapped him earlier; otherwise she might not have been so brutally violated just now. Her parents, with tight cloths stuffed into their mouths could only cry incessantly while their screams were muffled. Aurelius' men kept their arms around them, forcing them from helping their only daughter.

Pulling his jeans back on, the maniac with the messiah complex said in a tone far too gentle to be understood, "Do you understand now? This is what happens when you do not do as I, the messiah of this world, say. But you should also feel privileged, for you have been gloriously touched by my great body. My splendid essence now runs through you. Now girl, praise my name."

"Huh?" It was the only response she could muster in her state.

"Praise the great name of Aurelius Denotos, the great and all mighty man. Raise your head up and praise my holy name so that all may hear. PRAISE MY NAME!" He suddenly cried out, his eyes bulging out and turning so that he was suddenly cross eyed, made worse by the line of drool dripping from the left side of his mouth. She could hear her mother's whimpering, her father's furious muffled yells and the feeling of pain the started from her gut and erupted out of her mouth in the form of chaotic vomiting. She couldn't have helped it, her body having been raped and ravaged; she had momentarily lost control of her bodily functions.

His face splattered with bile, he stared with an almost deadpanned expression, taking his hand wiping it off of his face. His bottom lip was quivering ever so slightly and for a moment he looked almost comical. Like a joke character in a comedy horror movie, something to be laughed at or not even taken seriously. Then his eyes snapped, wide, insane, enraged. He had already slammed his fist against the girl's face three times before the foamy words exited his mouth. "YOU BITCH!" He hit her again, slamming his fists down until the loud crack of her nose could be heard. It was only then that he stopped though only the act of punching, his physical abuse had yet to end. The girl, bleeding from her broken face only whimpered while her parents muffled cries grew more painstakingly louder.

"I AM THE MESSIAH YOU BITCH! YOU DARE TREAT MY HOLY BODY LIKE THAT!" He screeched at her his spit flying into her face. Her whimpers soon turned into screams again as he unzipped his jeans, hanging over her with the ill intent of continuing his sexual pleasure. Having been violated before, she could not bear to go through the same horrible sensation again. "Please! Please! Please! Stop it!" He wouldn't have of course; he was greater than her, greater than all people in the world. His body, sweaty, disgusting and vile slammed into her over and over again without pause. Doing it only for the purpose of his own self-satisfaction. Aurelius panted like a dog, slobbering again which after his episode was made worse, the dripping saliva falling against her body and face again. At this point, she wanted more than anything to die. Let it end, right here, someone take a gun and shoot her in the head right now. Let the cold darkness of death finally take her so that she could move away from this horrible feeling of misery.

***SPLURT***

Something hit her in the chest, very sharp and painful. Before she saw it, she imagined something of an arrow hitting her, though thicker and running deeper into her body. Managing to pry her crying eyes loose, she saw what appeared to be a strange object, long and cylindrical, like a rod sticking through her chest. At the end of it, from what she could tell, it was serrated at the edges. Then she screamed as he began to slice up and down, ripping own stomach open while repeatedly raping her. The mother and father at that point, lost it completely, trying their best to escape their captives; Aurelius gave a curt answer to his men. "Shoot them."

***BANG!* *BANG!***

It was over for them, two bullets one for each of them in the head. Now the poor girl was truly alone, being violated and now mutilated by an insane man. He split her open, slammed his body down harder and tore out her entrails in some sick fetish all while moaning loudly. "Ohhhh! Oooooh! OOOOOOOHHHHH! PRAISE MY NAME!" From what felt like a distant, she could hear the men who had come with this person chant his name with relish.

"PRAISE MY NAME! THE GREAT AND ALL MIGHTY AURELIUS DENOTOS! AH! AH! AH! OOOOOHHHH!"

He climaxed just as she died.

* * *

Fully clothed, Aurelius stood outside, the totality of his twenty followers standing together and ready for their master's next move. "My servants who faithfully serve the great Aurelius, before we begin, you must praise me." He raised his arms; eyes closed and moaned sickeningly that only his people could ever find satisfaction with. "PRAISE ME! PRAISE MY GREATNESS! PRAISE YOUR HOLY MESSIAH, THE GREAT ONE! PERFECT BEYOND MEASURE! PERFECT IN EVERY WAY!" Like a broken record his voice screeched and like a flock of sheep his servants followed in every step. Many of them shared the same out of space gaze, their mouths open wide and eyes staring in opposite directions while moaning like animals. In the small little village they had massacred and raped a total of twelve people, their bodies split open like an open clam shell and their intestines stripped from their bodies. To end it all, a single black rod was inserted into the throats of the victim, finishing off the grisly detail. Each girl, the ones that Aurelius at least found juicy in his mind, had the honor of being filled with his essence.

"Listen up my faithful companions, today is a glorious day for sacrifice and remembrance. We have begun great work on the annihilation of these heretic horned people who dare not serve me, the great and almighty one. You have heard perhaps that these things can do the impossible, do not be fooled by the lies they show you. I am the only one who you should believe for I am the most perfect man of all. Follow your messiah and he will lead you to the great salvation, do not be tempted by these wicked ones and their deceit. The blood before you, are from those who do not follow my lead. I was chosen as the messiah and therefore, I am the only one who is right. Follow me faithfully as you have done so now, and I promise that you will be lead to perfection.

Somewhere in that backwater country in the east, those lying bitches have taken over. They screw with the minds of men and women who should be faithful to me. Those horns are the sign of evil; they have been damned the moment they were born. Never listen to them, never follow them, they will only lead you to a hellish end. Do not believe their lies; never trust them in any sort of way. In a month we will head to that place and we will strike them down with divine retribution.

Come…praise my name again!"

* * *

"Is something wrong Julius?" Victoria asked, eyeing the man she loved sitting cross legged in front of a small screen television, his eyes unnaturally sharp and focused, clearly interested in whatever was being shown right now. With averting his gaze, he said in a low voice. "Victoria, get Morotisan here now."

"Of course Julius." Responding in kind she left, soon coming back with the elderly man who walked over to Julius, curious to know why he had been called. Gazing at the screen, the image showed the news of something happening in Europe, of a strange case of murders that had happened in a small village. A young Japanese anchorwoman said in a business-like tone.

"There have been no witnesses prior to the event meaning that the perpetrator or rather perpetrators as it is believed, is still at large. The murder cases are reported to have been very violent and almost ritualistic, where the bodies were carved up, some raped and all of them having a strange black rod sticking into their necks. Due to viewership, we cannot show these ghastly images. More on this topic can be seen at 20:30 (7:30 PM). In later news the school for the horned girls known as Diclonius has…"

They let her drawl on, uncaring of what she had to say as it was more important to deal with the matters at hand. Victoria who of course had little idea of what was going on felt abandoned or rather lost while the two older men spoke to one another. "It would seem that somebody is using Vladimir Cents' weapons right now, that could prove…problematic." Garder uttered disdainfully, pushing his glasses up his nose in the usual casual matter that he always did. Having heard the name more than once before, from both of the men, Victoria answered. "Isn't this Cents guy supposed to be dead?"

"Aye, I reported the body itself deceased when I went over there a few months ago, under your orders as you remember, Garder. The man's body was wrecked beyond repair, his bones broken, his nerves sliced and his head partially missing. I can trust you that the man was very much dead."

Morotisan replied firmly, "Then someone else has found out about his citadel."

"Broken…nearly completely destroyed I assume during his battle with Elrya Alya." Javel responded, getting a nod from the Director and then allowing him to continue.

"The location of Cents citadel was kept highly secret and due to his own men, anyone who actually got close enough to finding anything was quickly dealt with. Now that he's dead and so is Armata Lui Dracul, the location is no longer under that specific protection."

"Is it possible that there are those still loyal to Cents who have started to recreate the man's specific desires for murder and suffering?" Julius asked.

"It may be possible, Cents had hundreds of thousands of followers who made up Armata Lui Dracul, though many of them were destroyed by me and my army fifteen years ago and the rest we can infer by Elrya, it would be illogical to think that all of them have been killed off. However I cannot help but think this is a different matter than that. The killings here for one is relatively short, only twelve people have died. Cents himself would've gone for a much higher number and more importantly, would not have been so specific in his murders. Even with him dead, we can at least assume anyone following him would have that same motivation. The murders here were as they said, ritualistic; each body killed in the exact same way and left out in the open in specific places. I believe what we have here is instead something of a cult who has managed to find Cents' location."

Victoria who had been patiently listening couldn't help but ask, "What's a cult?"

Julius answered, "It's when a group of people get together religious and ritual practices, often leading up to exaggeration. Garder is there anything we should do about this?"

Musing it inside of his head, Garder's blind eyes glared out the window, his lips curled into an unmoving frown. "Cults aren't the problem here; I have no time nor need to deal with something as a cult. Otherwise I'd be dealing with them all the time, but what does concern me is what they're using. Even I don't know all that Vladimir Cents had, I do fear the repercussions of what might happen if these people abuse his equipment. There is something I do know, Cents had a major compilation of serums and materials that made him a dangerous opponent. For example he had a mixture that when utilized inside of his own body, caused his immunity and endurance to increase substantially. It was this way that he was able to deal with Diclonius vectors far easily than a normal human. If these people discovered such a thing and used it against others including us, than it would become quite an issue.

Therefore, I am putting you on this mission Julius Javel. Head to Europe again, remain there and find out what you can, as much as you can and report back at least weekly to me. I should've told you this before but now is the time, head to Vladimir's citadel, burn all the bodies there and destroy any dangerous material that you can find if there is any. That will be the first objective I am giving you, the second is to deal with these people as you see fit. At the very least I want Cents' weapons to be destroyed, I will allow as I said, to deal with these cult members in whatever way you feel.

Also, have Victoria come with you as well."

"Yay!" The young woman gave a high pitched cry of enjoyment, holding her hands together and smiling happily before fervently attempting to put a more serious look on her face. She had been listening the whole time and through it all, had feared that Julius would once again be leaving her. Swallowing and trying to push down the blush that was clearly appearing on her face, she was only glad Garder was blind and could only hope Julius didn't think too much of it. "I will do my best to help out as I can, sir." As if thinking Julius would leave without her, she rushed to his side, leaning far too close and though he kept his composure, he was clearly feeling uncomfortable more so by the idea that he needed to look proper in front of Garder even if the man couldn't see.

"I need to head over to the educational facility for a routine check-up, the Diclonius are supposed to start their classes tomorrow." He pulled his brown jacket tightly around him, his loud boots echoing loud with each step as he moved away.

Julius placed a hand on Victoria's shoulder, merely a way of relaxing himself though for her, she had to try hard not to show her blush again. "There are a few things we are going to need, supplies and even clothes. We are going to pack today and leave by plane within a week, we can't afford to take one of the facility's private jets like I did on my one day trip a few months ago. We will most likely be staying in Europe for a while, months perhaps, we will need to be properly supported while we are there. There is also another thing Victoria, you are to follow my every command while we are there. Whatever I say, you are to do without question or falter. Remember this, unlike here where Diclonius are accepted, the same thing may not be the case for places we may visit in Europe. Therefore while we are there you will be required to wear headwear whenever you are outside, understood?"

The woman solemnly nodded.

"If a confrontation arises, you are to back away immediately…even if it directly involves me." He made the last line clear since he knew that she had a deep connection with him and if something did happen that involved him, she would most certain try to interfere. "I will handle it myself, remember our job is to ultimately deal with the possibility of dangerous weapons and this so called cult if necessary. Have I made myself clear, Victoria Javel?"

Again she nodded with the same solemn gaze as before. She had to show that Julius could definitely trust her. "I understand Julius."

The male Diclonius ascertained her truthfulness then without giving any clear sign of his thoughts until he spoke he said in his casually emotionless voice, "Very well then, I am going to put my trust in you on this. We brought you articles of clothing, have them packed by the time we are to leave, the sooner the better. Until then continue your duties here in the facility, I have to finish up some specific paper work for Director Morotisan." The man ended, about to walk away before Victoria gently grabbed his arm, somehow not to keep him from walking away but merely to stop him for a moment. She knew that he had a job to do and that she couldn't keep him from that, but she did want to at least give a proper goodbye.

"I will, Julius." She whispered, lightly kissing him upon his lips and left.

* * *

Stepping out into the cold air, Elrya held a tiny bottle of stomach medicine that she felt was rather useless. It felt like a waste staying in the clinic for so long just to have some strange bottle shoved into her face for an issue that really had nothing to do with her belly. The snow still lingered on the ground, the frigid weather having done nothing to melt a single speck of it off the ground. Right now, she wanted to get back to her room and lay down, maybe even get some sleep after her ordeal. Almost on cue, a certain someone's voice spoke inside of her head.

"**Don't forget what I told you, Elrya Alya."**

"…Yeah, I know. I'll ask her about it so just shut up until I do." She thought angrily.

"**Good girl...eh?"**

His inquisitive response to something caught her attention and her mood, not exactly good at the moment, took another nose dive when she saw the man she hated second most of all. Garder stood unmoving by a wall, wearing that iconic brown coat as he always did along with a matching brown scarf to add more warmth. His empty eyes did not look at anything directly, unsurprisingly in the case but kept a firm gaze in front, his ears picking up all the sounds around him. Many of the girls around him had similar looks that Elrya had, stern disproval though none of them were stupid enough to make any sort of comment back at him. In the most part, they tried to keep their distance away from him, even opting to pass by in a different direction then directly by him.

"**Long time no see, Perfect Soldier. Your eyes, they have absolutely no color in them now, have you gone totally blind this time?"**

"Would you shut up already, it's not like he can hear you anyways."

"**My bad, my bad. I got a little carried away there, Garder and I go back a long time, much more than you and I. Why don't you go and speak to the old man, have a little chit chat."**

Her glowering face was probably scaring people at that point. "I have nothing to say to that bastard or you for the moment either. I'm going to our room and I'll ask Lilian that stupid desire question you wanted to know. Until then, shut your damn mouth." She hissed mentally, her red eyes glaring with utter contempt at the old man. Though she knew he was blind, she somewhat wanted him to look at her, just so she could properly look at him. It almost made her feel insulted, as if he thought he was too important to bother to look at the girl he had tried to have murdered. Cents, sensing the turmoil inside the girl's head and heart said nothing, only wickedly grinning in thought as he anticipated her next move.

Unable to stop herself, her ire for the old man too great, she came up to him and articulated darkly, "What the hell are you doing here, Garder?"

He didn't speak, for Garder his annoyance with Elrya Alya had hit a low point and right then, he wished she would just go away. Still if only to make her leave faster he answered, "I am here to make a routine check on the educational facility and the Diclonius in it. I heard there was some trouble before and Roy Synth had to kill one of them."

"Well everything is fine here, so why don't you go and leave, nobody wants you around here." Her voice growled, an invisible, menacing aura flowing around her.

"I will be the one to decide that. However annoying as you are, as long as you behave I will keep this place up and running. Your kind will learn and hopefully become proper members of society while learning to control your urges. Now then, we both know that this conversation is going to go nowhere, so why don't you go and leave. I have no reason nor point in talking to you right now."

Her tongue clicked loudly before she whipped her head around. "Well that's one thing you have right."

"**Wait, I want you to ask him something. Ask him if he's visited Veronica's grave recently."**

"What? If I do will you promise to shut up?"

"**Hahahaha, of course, you have my word. No lies this time, no lies, just ask him that and I won't say a single thing until you've asked that Lilian girl my other question."**

"Garder!" She called out despite being right next to him. "Before I go, there is something I need to ask. It's just a little question but…" She felt awkward asking a question she knew nothing about nor cared anything about but if it got Vlad to shut his talkative mouth it would be worth it. "…Have you visited some girl named Veronica's grave recently?"

…

…

"…What did you say?" His voice did not change, but his blind eyes which had refused to gaze in Elrya's direction now pierced her, keeping her immobile as if something was forcibly keeping her legs from moving. "That name that you mentioned, Veronica, how do you know that name?" She cursed Vladimir a good number of times inside her head, the man having tricked her into asking a question that she couldn't respond back too. She tried to make up a lie on the spot. "I heard about it recently, from one of the people working in your damned facility."

"I see…" Garder uttered. About to breathe a sigh of relief, Elrya then heard the man reply in a tone of terrible menace. "You are a terrible liar Elrya Alya. Besides myself the only people who know that name are currently dead. You even mentioned that you heard about it recently, which means the only two possible people who could have told you, Vorono and Vladimir are dead. Which of course adds some questions, now tell me again, how do you know that name?"

The Diclonius began to stutter incomprehensibly. "I do know, it's just that…well it's not…I mean…"

"If you do not answer me, then I will force the answer out of you. I have never told you about that name, so who told you?"

"Why does it matter, huh? What's are you getting…"

Unexpected his hands flew at her clutching the scruff of her coat he lifted her up into the air and visibly slammed her against the wall, the gasp of other Diclonius looking onward filling the sky in a simultaneous echo. He held her up, scraping almost against the cement wall as her vectors emerged, murderous intention in her heart. "Don't even try it, Elrya Alya, I am more than capable of handling you and your hands." Garder uttered cruelly. He tightened his grip on her, his muscles flexing and his ears picking up the minutest sounds, most notably that of vectors. With his skills and reaction timing, he could counter against any attack from the girl if he so felt like it.

"Tell me, exactly who told you that name? I already told you that everyone who knows that name besides myself is dead right. I have never mentioned that name to you before, which means you had to have learned it from someone else. You will answer me immediately."

She struggled, teeth grinding against each other before screaming at him, "Just get the hell off of me already! Why do you even care? What was so important about her anyways?"

"Veronica Q. Morotisan was my daughter…" His words struck her like an iron fist, her angered face suddenly plastered shock with horrible surprise. "She served in the war with me over fifteen years ago before she lost her life in it. I will not ask again, who told you that name."

"It…was…that bastard Cents!"

He dropped her, her body landing harshly on her back before groaning, picking herself up in a sitting position. Garder with his blank white eyes glaring directly down upon her, spoke with his tone deep and foreboding. "Vladimir Cents is dead, not only did you admit to that but I had Julius certify his death for me months ago. You learned about this name early, I dare say even today. Even if Cents had told you before, you had ample enough time to ask me this question before. How did a dead man tell you anything?"

"**You've gotten yourself into quite a situation, haven't you Elrya Alya-chan?"**

"…Because…that bastard is inside my head!" She finally cried out, unable to escape the dilemma anymore, she cried out her answer while throwing her head down to the ground.

Garder looked upon her with cold eyes. "Explain…"

"He did something before I killed him, now he lives inside my head. He used some strange gun on me and ever since our fight he's been inside me though he didn't pop back up until recently."

Garder addressed the full situation inside of his head, looking upon the facts mentally given to him. He had no reason to distrust Elrya in her words, she would've thought up a much better excuse if she had been lying. Besides, other than Vorono who he knew never talked about his daughter to Elrya, Cents would have only been the next logical person to discuss it. This also meant that Vladimir Cents, though technically dead, physically at least, was alive mentally. His next words to her hardly did a thing to calm her down.

"You will be coming with me to my facility, immediately."

* * *

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, for it was quite fun to write. In case you were wondering if there was any possible good in Aurelius, there is not. He's a chaotic, self centered man. In short, he's entirely created as a twisted man who honestly believes the bullshit he spouts and refuses to believe he's ever wrong or could be wrong. Unlike Vladimir Cents, who at least has the power to back up his talk, Aurelius doesn't even have that. It makes him a good character to hate I reckon.

So then, what will happened next on "Pinpoint Conviction?"


	11. Clashing Streams Of Desires, Dreams

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 11: Clashing Streams Of Desires, Dreams And Conviction**

Elrya took a good three steps back, her hands emerging this time on a more defensive manner, her body shaking uncontrollably while Garder turned to face her. Small beads of sweat flowed down her face and the weather suddenly felt unnaturally hot, as if the steamy summers of July had come far earlier than expected. With each step that she tried to take away, Garder took the same one, thus keep the distance between them exactly the same. He never kept his blind slit eyes away from her, listening to the very sound of her movements, he could hear her ragged breathing, perhaps even the subtle beats of hear heart. His hands moved up, crossing once and going into what might have been some sort of martial arts stance or at least a preparation for his next move.

"Get the hell away from me you son of a bitch." She growled hatefully. "I don't have to do a damn thing with you Garder, now back off. You don't have the right to take me anywhere, bastard!"

"True." Garder acknowledged, his hands crisscrossing in a quick flash of momentum before returning back to his original position, fingers flexing so that the knuckles were heard popping loudly. "However, as long as Vladimir Cents exists in some way, I will deal with the situation as I see fit. You will come with me to my facility where we will check this situation out more clearly. If what you say is true, then you have become a liability, a dangerous person who needs to be watched out for. Do you really think I'd just let you walk away when you're clearly possessing a dangerous entity inside of you, two in fact considering Alya."

"You leave Alya out of this!" The girl shrieked at the man. "I'll find a way to deal with this problem myself; I'll fight back if I have to. You will not be taking me anywhere Garder; I'll make sure you don't."

He moved forward, his left foot sliding carefully forward, scrapping against the snow while he took in a single deep breath. His ears picked up the specific vibrations of her hands, longer than what they had originally been in his facility and having knowledge of what she had done in Europe, he also knew that her vectors could reach levels far beyond imagination. Of course that did nothing to startle him or break his concentration, his legs bent, body bending forward to collect momentum while a brush of cold air whistled passed them, blowing their hair and clothes away. The Diclonius standing around may have tried to help their unknown pregnant kin had many not had a distinctive understanding of just how dangerous Morotisan was.

Forward again and a step back from the girl, the distance the same again. This time, the intention of bodily harm was now fully prepared for both of them though unlike Garder, Elrya couldn't keep her composure set. Rage and even a little bit of fear engulfed her, memories of the terrible times in that damned place circulating inside her head. It didn't help knowing that Morotisan had a personal vendetta against her, one she returned with full ire on her part.

"This is my last warning, Diclonius. You will come with me, and we will deal with this situation at hand."

"I won't come, you can't force me to do anything for you, fucking bastard."

"…Then, I'll cease with the pointless talking…"

He moved, with speed unfitting of man over sixty five years of age, his moved circulating his bodily movement in a clean sweet, he had to take only two steps to reach her. He almost seemed to glide across the ground, muscles flexing, tightening, his left hand closed into a fist. Through sheer instinct, her first hand lashed out, almost beyond her own control, as if her brain had instantly attacked before comprehension. It was the moment when the flight response was ignored completely and the fight response initiated even before she could realize it. Therefore, what should have happened was Garder being struck, even killed by the sheer speed alone of her attack and definitely by its composition, which only made it shocking when he swerved to the left, the fingers unable to even caress skin before…

***BASH!***

He struck her face with a single punch, the knuckles cracking against the right side of her face with the force of an expert boxer. It was only a jab and yet it struck her like being hit by a brick, blood flowed from her mouth already and her vision became dim. Elrya stumbled backwards, coughing up the small spittle of blood, she fell to one knee, grabbed the ground and shook her head, attempting to get her mind back in place. She had seen him dodge her hands before but it didn't make it any less unnerving to her, still her hatred over road any possible suggestion of fear as she struck again, faster, harder, her hand scraping the ground as he moved again. Where it struck, the concrete floor exploded, charred black as if it had been struck by a single bolt of lightning.

He moved right, then left, his movement confusing her and then he hit her again. The back of his palm slammed into the very front of her face, knocking her back and grabbing her by the scruff of her coat again, he brought her forward, using the momentum of her pull to bring her closer, he backed away, turned to the side with perfect precision and slammed his elbow straight against her face.

Spurting up blood again, mostly from her broken nose, she barely managed to catch her balance, weakly moving her body to the wall, she grabbed it with her hand, trying her best to keep her consciousness up. Facing her again, his body returned to its usual fighting stance, ready for the next move to be made.

"You damn bastard, you can't…" One of the Diclonius tried to yell only to be quickly cut off by the Director himself.

"I can do whatever I feel like to make sure the world remains in balance. Do not speak about what you clearly know nothing about." His words were filled with contempt and he then took that contempt out on the beaten girl who valiantly stood up to face him again. "You have a tendency to make things much harder than they should girl, you should know now that you have no possible way of beating me. Whether I take you in conscious or unconscious is up to you, but you will be coming with me. If Vladimir Cents remains inside your head, then I cannot allow such danger to go on unattended. This is the very last warning I will give you, Elrya Alya, because afterwards….

…I will start to strike your gut."

!

"Y-You wouldn't…you son of a bitch…!" She whispered, holding her belly in defense as she knew exactly what he meant by that.

"Do you really think I care, I attempted to have you killed months ago, I couldn't care less about what you may hold." Garder replied sinisterly.

"What's he talking about?" One girl asked, of course not knowing the secret Elrya had.

Incisive rage swirled around her in the form of her vectors, slashing at the ground chaotically before with great effort she put them away, her face scrunched in mental pain before bowing it defeated. She couldn't risk her own child, the last link she had with her lover Yin Sandersas, being hurt. Swallowing deeply, she couldn't even get herself to look at him, honestly afraid that he would truly do what he threatened. The only person she felt even more infuriated with was the monster inside her head. "You knew this would happen, didn't you Vladimir?" She thought at the inner demon inside her.

There was no response.

"Don't ignore me, I know you're there!"

No response again.

"Stop ignoring me you asshole!"

"**Oh can I speak again? You told me to shut my mouth until later; I was just acknowledging that compromise of ours. Even after fifteen years, Morotisan's skills haven't dropped in the slightest. It's not point in being upset, even I can't match his expertise."**

"Alright then Garder, I'll come." She uttered in contempt, her shoulders sagging as she finally looked at him, biting her lower lip in the process. "On one condition however, I want Roy and a few others to come with me, I sure as hell am not going with you alone. Secondly, even though I am coming, you will not force me to stay with you. If you can't do anything then I'll leave, understand?"

"I will acknowledge the first one, Roy Synth can come as well as anyone you wish to come with you. The second one however will depend on the circumstances. This is not up for debate either girl, accept it or face the consequences." Wiping the trail of blood off her face, she desperately wished to retort back but thought better of it. She wouldn't be a guinea pig for his dreaded facility ever again. The mere thought of even heading back to the place synonymous with hell made her cringe, but she knew arguing now would be pointless. It was pointless long ago. There was nothing for her to say, she only nodded in grudging agreement and let him continue. "I will be getting Synth, you are to be here shortly after, got it?"

"…Yes…"

He didn't move away, but instead clicked open his tiny black cellular phone and called Roy, obviously easier than trying to find his cottage while unable to see. Elrya didn't bother to listen to him, she ignored the calls of the other Diclonius and rushed off to her dormitory.

* * *

Turning the corner, she bumped into Lilian, nearly knocking them both onto the floor.

"Ah, Lilian I'm glad I found you. Is Caren and Miriana still in the room?"

Lilian, completely nude and her hair towel dried, not that it bothered Elrya who of course was used to seeing nudity from other Diclonius, shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "I think so, I just got of the shower room. You don't look so good either, did you have another episode or something?"

"That's not it, can you come with me to the room, I hope the others are still there." Following her, Lilian could only imagine what her friend needed to tell them. The other two were indeed still in the room, Miriana understandably blushing and turning away when Lilian came in, still not completely use to such distinctive ways of the Diclonius girls. Her attention quickly found its way to her best friend's face, without thinking she grabbed a napkin, dabbing it at Elrya's bruises, her face mortified. "You're hurt Elrya, what happened?"

"Garder happened." She answered vindictively.

"Garder?" Caren questioned bewilderedly. "You mean the old blind man? What does he want with you?"

"You'll find out later." She didn't want to say it in front of Lilian though she had a strong feeling she'd learn the truth anyways. "Just come with me alright, I'd really like some back up with me. Roy's coming too as well so…"

"Say no more, we'll come, right girls?" Lilian said, the others agreeing instantly.

Garder stood outside, arms crossed with his eyes closed, his head slightly bowed as if in prayer with Roy standing next to him. His face didn't display any sense of surprise though worry was on it, indicating that Garder told him what he knew, in which case, he told him what Elrya told him. The Diclonius and human girls came up to them, Elrya expressing pure hatred while the others could only look on with awkward gazes. Hearing their footsteps, Garder opened his eyes and tilted his head towards their direction. "Let us go." He spoke curtly, heading over to the front gates where a few vehicles were waiting for them. He had no idea why Elrya would want to bring more people around, Roy he could understand, but the others were beyond him.

Regardless of that though, he didn't bother to think too much about it. Let her do as she wanted with her friends, he had more important things to deal with. To think that his old rival and technical co-worker was still alive, in a sense and even more surprising existing inside that girl's mind. He had to admit the thought was outlandish but he also knew that it was the truth. But if Cents existed I some form or way, he may be able to answer why this cult, as he suspected them to be as such, were using his weapons. He also knew that it would be more logical to survive a bomb explosion than to get a straight answer out of his old time enemy.

Elrya, Lilian and Carentorzulan all sat in the back seat of a large van, ones far too similar to the ones they had been thrown into when they were first captured long ago. Caren especially felt nauseous, terrible memories of the past where she had cried for her sister to save her. Almost instinctively she clutched her shoulder, gripping the part of her body that had been shot long ago. Somehow she imagined a large wound suddenly opening up, blood filled and dirty, paining her throughout the whole trip. "Why did you bring us with you again?" Caren questioned.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't want to come alone. I needed my friends to back me up and stay with me." The pregnant Diclonius admitted, hoping the others didn't feel upset with her.

* * *

As they arrived at the facility, Elrya couldn't help but feel the twisted sensation of foreboding fill her body. She, like all the Diclonius who had gone through it, even died inside of it, hated the structure beyond belief. The other Diclonius didn't feel any better, even if it was a different one from the ones they had been in, it was still a facility. A Diclonius research institution, where they and countless others had to suffer for humanity's gain. It was the kind of feeling only those who had been tormented since childhood would understand. No matter what someone said, no matter how much it changed, only bad memories would surface while they were inside the institution. Caren herself appeared to be affected the most, she had gone pale and refused to even look at the building and to calm her down, Lilian put comforting hand against her, unspeaking but clearly saying that there was nothing to worry about. They all understood it as well, the reason why Caren was acting particularly pained with heading to the institution. She had gone through a major mental breakdown when she was inside Kakuzawa's island facility and it had taken a huge struggle to finally get her back to her good old self.

The name Nirlinya now danced on the tip of her tongue, bitter and unappetizing.

The vehicles pulled into the drive ways, where they finally got out, standing together while Roy and Garder too came around. Alya was almost certain that a bunch of soldiers were going to ambush them from behind, her vectors emerging in self-defense. Hearing them, Garder's fingers flexed, ready to attack on the slightest provocation.

"Something up?" Lilian asked.

"…No…" Alya mumbled, letting her hands dissipate. "I just don't like being here."

"Heh, the feelings mutual." Lilian Cents agreed, a fake smile plastered on her face.

Garder lead them through the facility, and Elrya silently told herself that if they went anywhere near the location of the experimentation room, she was going to make a mad break for it. Luckily they didn't head anywhere near it, instead they came to a moderately sized room, the walls as white as the rest of the facility with multiple large computers and a huge cylindrical machine at the far left. There were six seats in the room, ones that the Diclonius and human filled up and Roy taking the last one sat and leaned back, closing his eyes half way so that he looked almost bored.

The door opened again, this time two new people entered, both of them recognizable as Julius and Victoria Javel. "Ah? Hello?" Victoria stated uncertainly, Julius keeping his demeanor stoic. "Julius, get the machine ready, Elrya Alya, sit yourself inside." Alya who was still in command gave one long look at the machine and then gave Garder a look that clearly said that he was both insane and that he should get inside of it.

"It's going to be fine, it's a machine used to read brain wave signals. Trust me, it won't hurt you." Roy explained. Still not satisfied, Alya sighed and put herself on the large table, Julius working the machine delicately and getting it ready. "I swear this better not make my head explode!" She felt her bod being moved back, sliding into the large area while lights and sound soared through her eyes and ears. Again, unable to be in the place she hated most of all without feeling uncomfortable, she thought of wires erupting and pinning her down.

Victoria came over to Julius, curiously looking over his shoulder at a screen in which three specific wavy lines were viewable. "This is an interesting discovery we have here." Julius muttered, moving the cursor around and getting a better view at the screen.

"What is this?" Victoria asked.

The three lines were shaped in three different colors, blue, green and red. The blue one, which was at the top, was the thickest, followed by the green and then the red.

"This is the mental image of Elrya Alya's brain. The blue one represents Alya and since she's in control right now, her line is bigger. The green one is Elrya's and because she's in the recesses of her own brain, her line is smaller."

"I think I understand, but what's the red one?" Victoria inquired.

"That is the mystery, it's a third wave length inside of her head."

"Get up, and sit down Alya." Garder commanded. Glad to get up, she sat back down and waited for Garder's next orders. "If he still exists inside your head, then here's what I need you to do, Diclonius. Have him come to the front of the mind and let us speak directly." She regretted ever waiting for the next order.

"**Oh, so he wants to speak with me directly huh? What say you girl, will you let me come up front?"**

"Tsk! I don't…have a choice! Listen up Cents, if you try anything at all, I mean any fucking thing at all. I'll beat you down so badly you'll be a damn vegetable when I'm finished. She was going to regret this, at the very least she was going to vomit. The first thing Alya did was combine her brain waves with Elrya, wanting to be in top shape when they went into the back and that monster came to the front. Her right hand reached up, and with a single sigh, she returned to her mind and something corrupted came forth. There was no sign of any change, no shake of the body, no outcry, nothing to show that anything had happened. Removing her hand, she gazed at it with eyes blurred, lips partly open.

"I must admit…" She said, her voice far different from even Elrya's and Alya's. It was deep, far too deep, and almost masculine at the time. "…Being inside a pregnant horned girl's body, was the last thing I ever expected." Casually, she pressed her right hand against her chest."

"Stop touching my breasts! Guah! This is disgusting!" Elrya Alya yelled inside her head.

Miriana got up, trying to help her friend in some way. "Elrya? Alya? Are you still there?" Having been almost entranced by her own hand, the Diclonius found her eyes following Miriana and a smile broke her face. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't little Miriana, it's been so long hasn't it? You still have your hair like that?"

"Who are you?" Miriana asked.

"You should know best of all, dreaming angel…" Fear, uncontrollably fear hit the human girl, forcing her to step away rapidly. The Diclonius folded her legs, leaning back, everyone now looking at her while she leaned her head back. "It's amazing how fickle death can be sometimes, I want to get shot, I get shot. I want to die, I die. Yet I come back anyways, completely beyond my scope of imagination. Here I am, inside the body of a pregnant girl, that thought is worthy of a laugh. Looking around me, I see some very familiar faces and I see some faces…" He gazed at Lilian's startled complexion. "…Who I really want to talk to.

But enough chit chat, Perfect Soldier is going to get angry if I don't talk. Allow me to make the introduction." She raised her hand, and snapped her fingers once.

"My name is Vladimir Cents."

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HER!" Miriana's sudden outburst threw Caren, Lilian and Victoria off balance. None of them having heard her express such a furious proclamation in before. Garder had his hand to his head, his face slightly scrunched in what appeared to be pain. No wonder as Miriana had directly screamed right beside him and for a man who's hearing was amplified beyond a normal human's own, his ears were currently ringing incessantly. There was a look in the human girl's eyes that had only been seen once before and it was for the exact same person. It was the look when Vladimir Cents had first corrupted her best friend's mind and in a fit of rage she had started shooting Cents' dead body. She still had the gun on her and she instantly brought it out, only stopping from pulling the trigger when it came to fruition that she would still be shooting Elrya Alya.

The Diclonius, Vladimir as the case horribly seemed to be, only smiled at her. A smile that lacked any of her best friend's warmth or kindness, just a sadistic grin filled with chaotic enjoyment. "Are you upset, dreaming angel?"

She snapped again, the only person who could ever make the most innocent girl it he world fill furious enough to the point of harming others. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HER!" Was that the first time she had ever cursed in her life? Tears were streaming down her face, nonstop as they flowed continuously mixing with the snot in her nose. Hate, how could anything but hate ever fill her soft heart for the nightmare before her? Dead people were not supposed to come back, and evil people were definitely supposed to be in Hell.

"Girl…" Garder spoke strictly, stopping the girl's rant. "You are obnoxiously loud right now, be quiet!" His voice silenced her immediately and still sniffing uncontrollably, her dark eyes refused to leave Elrya Alya's corrupted face.

"What do you mean…?" It was Lilian and she displayed true shock at the revelation. "I don't understand…"

"What's your full name?" Vladimir asked.

"…Cents. Lilian Cents."

The Diclonius chuckled. "You see that's an interesting thing, because my name as mentioned is Vladimir Cents."

Lilian quickly shook her head, trying to deny that fact. "You can't be, Vladimir Cents was my father."

"Interesting predicament. Tell me, what did your so called father look like."

Lilian felt awkward talking to personality who claimed to have the same name as her father, who now resided in the body of her friend. Well, ummm, kind of large, not fat or anything but large. He also had very thick blonde hair and deep red eyes, that I definitely remember."

Vladelya laughed out loud. "How quaint, you see that's exactly what I look like…well…before this incident at least. Lilian Cents huh, I don't recall ever having a daughter though. You see it's a bit beyond me, I've never had much care for sexuality. Tell me about your mother, maybe I'm forgetting someone important."

"She was a very kind woman who loved me very much and my father loved her very much too. She always told me that and my father gave me this coin…" She brought it out. "As a way of remembering him." Vladelya extended her hand, taking the coin from Lilian and looking at it carefully. "Aye, I thought so, it's the exact same type of coin that I use." She casually threw it over to Lilian before looking up at the ceiling, red eyes narrowing.

"I have a question for you, Elrya was supposed to ask but since I'm here I'll do it anyways. Did your father ever tell you anything? You know, ever have some sort of phrase he would tell you? Tell me, what is your greatest desire?"

She looked at him confusedly, and then shook her head in denial. "You, or he, she…my father never said anything like that. He did tell me one thing though, I do remember it. He told me…

…that I should always follow my dreams to the very end."

…

…

There was silence, a long and tedious one at that. The corrupted girl's face which had been smirking the entire time vanished slowly. Instead Vladelya was now gazing at Lilian with pure disappointment. "I had really hoped to have something interesting but you truly are a disappointment, a complete and utter waste of space." Lilian felt her heart grow cold, maybe because she still felt that the voice belonged to her father who despite not doing much in her life, had still expressed compassion and love to her when she had known him. Even her own mother had loved him, had been too clear on that as well. "A dreaming little girl, a foolish thought that anything could ever be related to me. Here's an idea, fool, wake up. Dreams don't last forever. In fact, you know what you should seriously do right now? If you can't get over this fact, if you still believe that I am somehow related to you, or that I would ever say anything dreams being good.

…Take a sharp object, like a knife, or just use your own vectors that'll do the trick…

…and slit your fucking throat."

!

Trembling, Lilian felt as if she had been slapped silly. Welling tears rose from her eyes, falling quick down her cheeks as she clutched her heart. Had the person she had once known as a father, maybe disliking a few things about him but ultimately seeing him as a person she could trust, actually say that to her? Had her own father tell her to kill herself? Had she been wrong this entire time and at the same time, had her own mother been wrong the entire time as well? "That's not true, my father was never like that. H-He would never say anything like that to me. My m-mother said that…" She was unable to finish, choking on her own voice Caren, expressing sheer contempt for the personality in front of Elrya Alya's mind, wrapped her arms comfortably around Lilian for support.

And for the strangest reason, Vladimir Cents couldn't get the sensation of enjoyment out of seeing her suffer. Any other time, he would've at least kept smiling if not burst into a fit of maniacal laughter. In fact, he still found her to be an interesting case, mainly because what she said denied his existence and yet everything she said also pointed to him. Her father, whoever that man might be, matched his description far too well for comfort. She even got his eyes right and Cents knew that red eyes for humans was a very rare thing indeed. He asked one more question, out of sheer curiosity.

"What was your father's middle name?"

Still sniffing, she couldn't look at the Diclonius but muttered softly, "I think it was…Radoslav…"

"…"

Cents didn't answer, but his face remained impassive to her.

"Oh, hey Sniper, didn't mean to ignore you." Vladelya finally murmured to Roy who amazing was keeping his cool considering Vlad had murdered his wife in cold blood. Instead he actually smirked, somewhat forced honestly and spoke with a calm disposition. "Don't worry about it, Incorrigible, I wasn't interested anyways."

"Ha! Is that so Sniper? You look as uncaring as ever, Zero Point." He finally mentioned to Julius, the man giving Vladimir the same absentminded gaze he gave everyone. Really, besides Victoria, Julius honestly had nothing against Vladimir because Vladimir had done nothing to him. Not to his knowledge at least and he wasn't stupid, or rather caring enough to ask anyways. Turning her eyes to the eldest female Diclonius, she tipped her head to the side ad muttered, "Who might you be, young lady?"

Victoria, still freaked about listening to a girl with three personalities, one of them being a male no doubt, found her tongue slip. "I-I-I'm Victoria. Victoria Javel."

"Javel huh, how quaint."

"Enough small talk, we're not here for this." Garder said sternly, pocketing his hands inside his brown coat. "I have heard more than enough, now you are going to provide some information for me." The girl smirked devilishly at him but let him speak on. "Follow me…" Leaving the room, the two personalities residing in the back of the pregnant Diclonius' mind decided to come up front. Staggering, the girl clutched her head for just a second, then shook it, the others glancing at her direction.

"That was…the worst experience…in my entire life." Alya groaned, only to be visibly forcibly hugged by her best human friend.

"Oh I'm so glad you're alright Alya! I thought I was going to lose it listening to that monster!" Miriana cried.

"I will never let him beat me Miriana, trust me on that. He'll never be strong enough to beat both Elrya and myself and if he ever tries anything, we'll beat him down just like before. I'll ever let him hurt another person again, I'll ever let him hurt you again either. Do you understand Vladimir Cents?" She thought at the end of her mind, addressing The Twisted Relic directly, her physical face scrunched up in fury. "If I can ever find a way to permanently get rid of you, I will do so. I won't hesitate a single instant to make sure you fully cease to exist. You know what else? I'm also going to follow whatever conviction or dreams that I feel like following and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. You may be in my head but I'm the one who will always be in control, got it!" She didn't relent, didn't give him a moment to retort. "Here's another thing, as long as you're inside me, and fuck if that doesn't make me want to vomit in more ways than one, you will listen to every word I say. You will also keep your goddamn mouth shut too unless I tell you to speak. You will also not mention that fucking desires of yours either, it's annoying as hell to everyone.

Oh and the last thing, when I give birth and you end up screwing my child somehow, there won't be an argument. I'll push you down so far you definitely won't exist. I should do it now truthfully.

…Really, I guess Lilian was wrong in the end."

"…"

He said nothing, he didn't even laugh inside of her brain. Instead he was currently thinking about Lilian Cents, because funny enough the middle name she mentioned, was the correct answer.

* * *

Garder brought them to his office, coming towards the small television screen before turning it on, inserting a tape inside and letting it turn on. "Have Vladimir come back again." He ordered, earning an understandably long stare from Alya who reluctantly agreed. Returning back to the front of the mind, Vladelya strolled over to the screen, hands behind her back and peering over at the screen, red eyes gleefully examining the video that was now playing. Without speaking she watched the entire thing up until a specific point.

"Aren't those my rods?" She asked.

"That's what we were wondering, apparently some people have found your weapons and if there anything you know, you will tell us."

"Well I must say I did enjoy the senseless slaughter, suffering is so quaint. Unfortunately I really have no idea what's going on. No lies I swear, I'm as confused as you right now."

Garder wasn't about to believe her so easily. "We know that you created special serums for your body to help fight against vectors. What else did you have?"

"No idea…" She uttered darkly.

"Tell the truth…" It wasn't Garder who spoke; it wasn't even Elrya or Alya. Instead it was Lilian who while unable to give a similar look of loathing that everyone else was giving Cents, her voice was purposefully collect and strict. Vladelya, tracing her eyes over to her could not seem to find it in her to actually make any retorts back. Instead her face became passive again, she leaned against the wall, eyes closed and putting her head back to the point she almost looked like she was going to fall backwards. She might have had she not raised her left foot and put it against the wall for balance. "My rods, my specialized pistol and my serum are all that I ever used along with Armata Lui Dracul. I had hundreds of thousands of followers as you very well know, but that doesn't mean I kept in contact with all of them or all of the material that we created.

I will say this though, if what I just saw is the only thing they've done, these people haven't learned how to properly use my weapons." If there was anything else Garder had to say to Vladelya, she would learn from the other two personalities later. Alya forcibly took control and just for good measure violently pushed Cents down into her mind just to make sure he got the point.

"Why do I have the worst luck?" Alya moaned.

"So what do you want to do about this?" Julius questioned seriously.

"What I'd like to do is to get rid of Cents personality off of her permanently; he's far too dangerous a liability to keep around. However he's still connected directly with Alya which means we'd have to directly get rid of her. Something I don't know is even possible although taking circumstances into effect, if a personality can be inserted into a brain, it should be possible to take it out." Before he could go on, Elrya almost as if defending Alya, told her to head back and then she herself emerged to the front, giving Garder a good piece of her jigsaw mind. "Listen bastard, I'd truly love it if I had this son of a bitch out of my head. But I won't let you do anything that'll harm Alya. I don't trust you one bit, no more than I trust Vladimir so you can just shut your mouth.

Do you understand?" She ended vehemently.

Morotisan looked away and muttered slowly, "Can you keep him under control?" The question caught her off guard yet she answered with a calm and firm heart. "I will never let him win, I will never let him beat me."

"We will see, but thankfully, Vladimir Cents is less dangerous inside you then he would be inside of his own body. Plus as long as something keeps him suppressed, I see no problem. Not to mention, Vladimir is more useful to me alive inside your head instead of completely dead. I assume he can still hear me right?" She nodded once and a few seconds later added, "Yeah…"

"Vladimir Cents, life has given you a new chance. I don't think a single person here though, would mind if you stopped existing. However, the enemy of my enemy is my friend and with this cult using your weapons, the best person to speak to, would be yourself.

But, I will be making an obligation or you, Elrya Alya. Every other two weeks, you will be required to come to this facility for a routine checkup. Your activities at the educational institution will be closely monitored as well."

"…Fine." Her answer came out in a grudging whisper. It was probably the only time she had ever agreed with Garder so quickly. "Can I go back now? This is my last day until those stupid classes start and I'm not really interested in spending it talking to the two people I hate more than anyone in the world. Gah!" She spat on the floor and began wiping her tongue like she eaten something bitter. "I can still taste him on me!"

"…Fine, Julius take the others back. Victoria get me a cup of water, I need something to drink now." The others were more than glad to leave, Roy was especially glad that he didn't have to speak much, his mind almost refusing to think too much of the situation. It might have been his sniper mind, though he could be outlandish at times, when he put his head to it, Roy was very calm and collected. Once they left, Garder's last thoughts before he sat at his desk, was Lilian who had managed to quell Vladimir's chaotic nature in an instant. At some point in his life, Cents had copulated with another woman, who then gave birth to a daughter. Not just any daughter, but a Diclonius daughter as well. Both of these daughters had ended up loving their fathers with all their hearts in the beginning. But Lilian Cents got to live, while Veronica Morotisan had been dead for over fifteen years now.

…The similarity between the two men, had become fairly striking in some regards.

* * *

**Characters:**

**Aurelius Denotos: **The main antagonist of "Pinpoint Conviction", Aurelius is a zealot believing himself to be a messiah and the greatest thing in the world since sliced pie. He has a hatred for Diclonius for being unfaithful and lying cretins as well as hating basically anyone who doesn't agree with him all the time and any time. Having a small group of followers, he has taken the equipment of Vladimir Cents, using it for his own sick purpose.

**Vladimir Cents: **The infamous mass murderer who created a war fifteen year ago before being subsequently defeated by Garder. He was killed during the issue with Kakuzawa by Elrya but not before implanting his own personality into the Diclonius' mind. Therefore he continues to exist inside her head and the girls make sure he know his place. Though cold, relentless and cruel, he still has a uncertain relationship with his daughter, Lilian Cents.

**Vladelya: **The name of the young Diclonius whenever Vladimir's personality has taken direct control, needless to say, it's not something Elrya and Alya want to happen often.

* * *

Author's Notes: A quick update this time, I do hope you've enjoyed the chapter. So the good news for Elrya Alya is...well honestly when you've got the most dangerous man in the world living inside your brain, there's little good news. But at least she hasn't gone completely nuts and that's always a good sigh right? There are problems going all around the world and when these problems cause you to seek help from other dangerous criminals, you know things can start getting bad. What will happen next, on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

If possible, do give a small review. Your praise or criticism is always helpful, whether as motivation or as instructions in making a better story.


	12. Prosper Our Times Together

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 12: Prosper Our Times Together**

"How are you feeling, Sheila?" Roy asked supportably as he stepped out of the facility's van, watching them zoom off into the distance and walking up to the girl who's personality issues would have caused Freud a mental meltdown.

"Depends on what you mean by that, life hates me I swear. Every single thing that happens to me is terrible and it just seems to get worse and worse. First I go and kill my own mother without thinking about it, even though she did nothing but show me love and kindness. Then I get stuck in that horrible place for ten years of my life, constantly tortured and when I think I've actually managed to escape, what happened? I get hunted down like an animal, have the first human man I ever love get killed right in front of me and the bastard who did is now inside my head and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it.

Honestly, I'm fairly pissed off right now." Alya concluded, crossing her arm angrily.

"Well I'm not going to start speaking pitiful words of encouragement girl but I will say this. I'm going to try and get in contact with Dr. Kurama. Besides Garder, he's got the best knowledge on Diclonius and he may figure out a way to remove the 'cancer' inside of your head without hurting you or Elrya. I can't promise anything on that though so don't put your hopes up too high. People who hope too much, feel much worse when what they grasp can never be caught."

She gave a half exasperated nod, looking broken and defeated. Seeing her in such a state, Caren exclaimed, "Don't look like that Alya, we're all here for you. When we stick together we can conquer anything and some psychopath without a body has no chance against all of us. We all had to go through a lot, many painful things but if we worked together, we can overcome anything." She found herself smiling despite herself, glad to have such friends.

"Come on, let's do something and let the time pass before lunch, we got to make this last day memorable and I won't let you mope all day." Caren replied happily, tugging on her arm. Miriana happily agreed and Lilian too smiled though somewhat more reluctantly, not because she didn't care for Alya but because she too was still thinking about the personality inside her friend's head. Awkward issues aside, it was the first time she had spoken to her father in years and needless to say, it hadn't turned out as planned. She was positive that the person inside Elrya Alya was indeed the same Vladimir Cents she had once called father. She admitted that at times she disliked the man, felt he didn't spend enough time with her or her mother and left far too early for comfort. Perhaps it was a way to blame him for her own suffering, or just a way to pass the blame to something.

But even in the short time that they knew each other, there was never a time where she felt disgusted with her father. He could be overbearing at times, maybe even chaotic but in a good way. Her mother was the nicest person in the world and she had done nothing but praise that man and he had done nothing but praise her in return. She couldn't call him the best father, but at no point would she ever have felt that he was a monster. Which made it so much harder listening to him at the facility, listening to his voice creep out of her friend's mouth like a slippery snake.

Cocky, rude, cruel and monstrous, he was nothing like the father she had once known during childhood. Had her mother been wrong the entire time? Had she been wrong the entire time? When Roy had spoken to her about her father, she had only listened out of respect but didn't believe a single word of it. But what she heard today came from the very words of her own father and they hadn't been nice or praise worthy. He hadn't even recognized her as his daughter, had denied anything she said and to end it all, he had point blank to her to kill herself. That part had been the most painful, having a father she had once thought trustworthy, telling her to slit her own throat.

Anger crept inside her as she pulled out the silver coin from her pocket. "Lilian…?" Miriana questioned, eyeing the Diclonius who was now visibly shaking.

"You were right. You we're all right and I was just a stupid girl for believing myself. Even though you told me, I refused to believe it. Everything I knew about my father was a lie, everything I thought about him…" She spat on the ground, even more upset than Elrya Alya had been. "…Was nothing but a lie. I was stupid enough to believe that he actually cared and what did I get in return? Not love, not kindness, no I was told to slit my own…fucking…throat!" She choked at the end, doing her best to pull back the tears in her eyes. Lilian always tried to make herself look tougher than she really was, and she couldn't bear to start showing such emotions in front of everyone, especially not her friends. It was the pure suffering that made Alya turn to her mind, perfectly expecting a chuckle of some sort from the twisted entity inside of her. Surprisingly enough there was none of that, she couldn't even sense Cents inside of her.

"This stupid thing…" Lilian continued, gripping the coin held fist tightly. "…means nothing to me!" Crying out the last words, she threw her arm back and was about to chuck the small object as far as she could before one of Alya's vectors zipped out suddenly and grabbed Lilian's hand, stopping her from committing the act. "You shouldn't do that, you should keep it."

Lilian gazed at her and spoke in a choked voice, "Why should I Alya? It's only a lie right? Why should I be reminded of someone who clearly never cared about me in the first place?" Reasonably upset, Alya again was surprised not to hear something cruel from the bastard inside of her. Certainly at this point he would at least crack a sick laugh, this was the thing that he got his kicks off of after all. The suffering of others, people in misery made him laugh with joy. Still, it was impossible to trust him so she only assumed, and it was an assumption she had every right to think, that he would probably burst out laughing some time later. He would do it later on, that she knew perfectly well. Yet for some reason, she had the deepest feeling that Lilian needed to keep that coin, even if it was a reminder of painful things.

"Look, I'm sorry if…" Alya began, quickly interrupted by Lilian who laughed mirthlessly. "Why are you apologizing? I'm the stupid girl who couldn't see the truth even when it was right in front of me. If I believed all the lies that fool told me, who's to say the things my mother said weren't lies? Hell I barely even knew my own mother, if I didn't keep that picture of her, I probably wouldn't even know what she looked like.

…I

…I hope he can hear me." She spoke I just a loud enough whisper for them to hear her.

"So that he knows, that I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.

So that he knows, that I will never forgive him, for lying to me, to my mother, to make me think all the crap I thought was the truth. Hahahahaha!" She found herself laughing darkly again, a false giggle as she placed her hand on her forehead. "Can you believe it, I'm the daughter of a madman! I'm not just a freak with horns, oh no it wasn't enough just to be that, I'm a freak related to another freak! Hahahaha!" She was visibly crying now, trying to hide it by continuously laughing falsely. "Lilian Cents, I thought I could take some pride in that name! Damn I'm such a stupid girl! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! There isn't a single good thing about me! Not a damn good thing about me at all!

I'm related to…that thing! I'm utterly putrid!"

"Don't say that Lilian, you know it's not true!" Miriana cried out.

"**Her…girl…suffering…"**

Alya's head twitched, Elrya sensing it as well got herself ready in case Vlad attempted something heinous.

"Finally decided to say something? Not that I'm glad about it, it was better when you kept your mouth shut. It's always better when you don't speak, Vladimir Cents! But yeah, you finally noticed huh? She's suffering alright, because you've never done a damn good thing in your entire fucking life. All the lies you've told her, making her believe all the crap you've spouted out of that damn mouth of yours, it's sickening. Why don't you go and laugh, right now, laugh like the sick monster you know you are!" Alya though viciously.

"…**Lilian…suffering…laugh…"**

"Go on laugh, you fucking bastard! Go on and laugh because you know you want to! You can't do a damn thing without hurting others and you know it!"

"…**Lilian Cents…girl…daughter…suffering…laugh…"**

And instead of laughing, Cents again disappeared inside the recesses of her mentality.

Snapping back to reality, Alya could tell that nobody had noticed that she had broken away from them for a moment and before people could tell, she got back into the conversation. "Lilian, if nothing else is true then this is. We will always be your friend no matter what. You should consider yourself lucky though, I mean yeah, you're related to him not going to lie, that kind of sucks. But at least he's not yapping inside your head!

Lilian, this is the truth. We are your friends and you can trust us.

That I promise."

The oldest of the girls there, Lilian couldn't have needed the support more. All of them were connected by their friendship even if that friendship for her had only blossomed a few days ago. They were all connected in a way that they all had their own pasts to deal with and the hardships that they had to face. Even Miriana the human she had once ridiculed had gone through painful things just as she and the other Diclonius had gone through. Without giving any warning she lunged at Alya, grasping her tightly around the waist. Startled but accepting, Alya hugged her back while the others joined in, leaving Roy to silently look away.

As Lilian broke away, she gazed at the small object in her hand, just a tiny little coin, utterly meaningless to anyone but herself. Even she wasn't sure why she was doing it, but she placed the silver coin back inside her pocket and went off with the other girls.

* * *

"_**I desire above all else, to make a world of perfect suffering. Watching the faces of my victims squeal with fear and hopelessness is like the greatest drug in the world. I desire to experience unending pain, a hellish conclusion to my pitiless life. I strive for this desire, grant it entrance, ensnare it, live it, breathe it, single it out, it is all that I know. From the very beginning I have sought this desire, never wavering in my attempts to catch it. Through the war I fought, challenging all those who I met, I have never once stopped in my pursuit. I enjoyed, beyond all measures of sanity, gripping my hands around the hopes of others and thrashing them around like a rag doll. **_

_**Vladimir R. Cents…**_

…_**When did I…ever…dream?**_

_**That girl, who is she? What is she? Who is this girl, named Lilian Cents, who shares my bloodline? Since when did I, the incorrigible, care for such things as children? Since when did I ever care for such things as women? Impotency has filled me, never once since I could remember have I urged for sexual contact. It is beyond me, my own pain is the only thing I wish to feel upon myself. But she is there, the living proof, Lilian Cents.**_

…_**Lilian…you are quaint little girl. But you are also horrendously in denial. Why would I ever speak of such foolish things as to say someone should follow their dreams? People who dream can never fulfill their goals, they eventually have to wake up. No matter how far they get, dreams do not last forever. **_

_**I desire…to make…perfect suffering.**_

_**I desire…make…suffering…laugh.**_

_**I desire…suffering…laugh.**_

_**I…suffering…laugh…**_

…_**Suffering….laugh…**_

…_**suffering…**_

…

_**That day, long ago, before I purged the world in conquest, the day I first bloodied my hands. Was that not it, the day I truly sought out my desires? Yes it was, wasn't it? I can tell it perfectly, the day I killed my parents, I granted myself relief of my composure and became what I am today. I love what I am, no care in the world of the misery I create, I am what I am, to become the master of agony. **_

…_**Suffering.**_

_**That is what I urge for, correct? That is what I have spent over fifteen years trying to accomplish, what I fought that war over. **_

…_**I…desire…**_

…_**I desire…**_

…_**I…desire…suffering…laugh.**_

…_**Lilian Cents…suffering…laugh…**_

_**Lilian…daughter…blood…mine…suffering…laugh.**_

…

…

* * *

With both Elrya Alya and Lilian's day having started off poorly, they definitely needed something to take their minds off their trouble. Such a thing was possible in the form of a large area that Caren brought them to which Elrya was reminded of a small shopping mall where the other girls strolled along, some curious at the location and others perhaps merely trying to pass the time. It was also the first time she got to see some of the people actually working in the educational facility, men and women dressed in similar outfits behind booths. Not all the cases, she could see some booths, clearly opened but with the seller behind walls with only an open window much like those in the mess hall. It was the clear sign that people were still very much uncomfortable with horned girls like herself and others.

For Caren and Miriana having had the chance to actually explore the outside world for a while before tragedy struck them, held a greater liking for the shopping experience. Even Caren who valued herself someone beyond the expected scopes of stereotypical male and female expectations couldn't help but feel a bit curious. The same could be said for all of them, Lilian most especially as she was the one with the least experience in such a department.

Elrya shrugged her shoulders, trying to look indifferent and failing miserably when she kept curiously eyeing the stands, perhaps not even caring what was being sold. Only wishing to check things out because it had been years since she ever truly got to have something of her own. "This is all fine and everything but…we don't have any money, I don't at least."

"There is a location on here that deals with money, a special kind of bank. Although it's really only useful for people such as myself who actually have money to deal with in the first place." Caren discussed shortly.

"When did you get any money?" Lilian asked.

"When my sister died, all of her money went to me."

"…And I got mine went my parents passed away as well." Miriana added. Seeing the depressed look in Elrya's face and considering how her day had been, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Reaching into her pocket she handed Elrya 300 Yen who almost hastily grasped the bills from Miriana's outstretched hand, hugged her deeply and with the giddiness of a little school girl, ignored anything remotely considered to be pride and ran off to the first booth she saw.

Lilian looked away, rather downcast.

"You don't have any money do you Lilian? Here, have this." Miriana pulled out another small amount for her friend, her innocent joy of giving all too apparent. Lilian with less enthusiasm than Elrya, still took the bills with a look of wonder in her eyes, smiling happily before Caren added. "Do you even know how money works Lilian?"

"It's easy you just give the seller these bills and get what you want…right?" Caren shook her head and added, "It might be best if I come with you." The words reminded Miriana of Elrya too, who clearly wouldn't have known the first thing about money in the first place either. Come to think of it, there were a lot of things that the Diclonius didn't know about and it made the human girl think of all the possible things they were going to be taught, because clearly four years wouldn't be enough to explain everything. Agreeing to meet up later, Caren left with Lilian while Miriana hurried over to Elrya. Her best friend was currently gazing longingly at a few simple objects, one that apparently seemed to be a small necklace clearly made to look fancy though obvious to any normal person to be cheaply made, though sold at a much heftier price. The large beads were a bright indigo color with the very centers engraved with a small swirl. It was a plain little thing, something Miriana would have easily overlooked and yet Elrya seemed to gravitate to it.

Walking up to her, Miriana kindly asked, "Do you like it? Oh, but it's more than you have." She ended sadly. Elrya tried to insist she didn't care.

"So what, not like I wanted such a stupid thing. I mean who on earth would want such a piece of…"

"Do you want it Elrya?" Miriana asked midsentence of her friend's rant.

"YES!" Without even pausing, Elrya quickly gave her answer. Miriana laughed jovially and using the money she gave Elrya plus a little bit of her own, the young Diclonius was apparently ecstatic in getting a gift that most people would've thrown away without a thoughts hesitation. The girl embraced her best friend tightly, thanking her over and over again as if Miriana had given her diamonds instead of overpriced plastic. Regardless of what she bought, Miriana was more than happy to see her best friend so cheerful after she had been down in the dumps a few hours ago. It was a sensation of beautiful happiness seeing Elrya's smile that made Miriana think of something else, one that would truly make the Diclonius happy.

"Elrya, I need to go somewhere for a bit, talk to Roy. I'll be back at our room but I don't know when I'll be back exactly."

Understanding, Elrya gave a small nod, putting the false necklace around her neck and feeling so unnaturally giddy and un-Elrya-ish that she was actually beginning to draw attention to herself. "That's fine, I'll tell Caren and Lilian, wherever they went, do you think you'll be back in time for lunch though?"

"Probably not, unfortunately."

Again she understood and with that Miriana went off to do her business.

* * *

The Diclonius weren't allowed to leave the facility unless under specific orders, as a human, she was exempt from this rule. Still she wanted to contact someone to come over but people outside the facility also weren't allowed to enter accept under certain times. The first thing she needed to do is get Roy's authorization. She needed to call Karoly and have him bring something important to her.

Roy had no issues with it and allowed the angelic seventeen year old child to call Elrya's father- in -law.

"Oh, is this you Miriana? It's good to hear from you. How are you and my daughter-in-law doing over there?"

"We're doing great." She said, mostly true but smartly deciding not to mention anything involving a certain someone. "Karoly, I know you can't come directly into the facility but there's some really important I'd like you to bring, it's for Elrya Alya. If you come down, I can come outside and pick it up. It's…" She gave the information of what she wanted and hearing it, Karoly was definitely glad to bring the item that Miriana wanted. It was something that would make Elrya very happy. Miriana spent her time alone, waiting for Karoly to arrive, thus leaving her very anxious just to see the look on her friend's face when she got her gift. It was something very important, more important than a necklace because it meant a lot more. Truthfully she probably got the idea from Lilian herself.

Karoly arrived and met Miriana directly outside the facility who by rule, was accompanied by Synth. The old man gently hugged Miriana and gave her a small, semi-thick package while smiling lightly at her. "I'm glad you mentioned this now, I'm surprised I didn't give it to her in the first place. Elrya Alya should really enjoy this." Wishing he could stay, Miriana knew that Karoly had to leave and it was a shame that Elrya or the others couldn't come and meet him. Although that was only for the day, two days from now and once a week, people outside the facility were allowed to visit the Diclonius, most of which consisted of people from Osaka. It was the Osaka residents who were also the ones working inside the facility such as those in the shopping mart who had no issues standing out in the open with the other horned girls.

"Tell Elrya I said hello, Kusoku." Karoly replied.

"I certainly will! You have a safe trip home."

The girl went back to her dorm, somewhat disappointed when her friend hadn't arrived yet despite the fact that she had been away so long. There was a good chance though that she and her other two roommates were currently eating lunch and though she grew hungry herself, she opted to stay in the room until they arrived. Making sure not to complete bore herself, she switched the small television on, ignoring the channel though but merely wanting some noise in the room. Instead, her eyes gazed up at the picture of Lilian's mother. Getting up from her bed, she went over to view it more carefully.

Lilian in the picture was only about three years old, her bright hair and horns clearly visible and yet even more so was the deep smile of perfect enjoyment on her face. She looked like a small child who had just earned a huge bag of candy and could do nothing but hide her happiness. The woman, Lilian's mother was a pretty woman with long amber colored hair, dark brown eyes with a petite built all around. Her smile was a motherly one, the kind that her own mother, Misane would have given her. From the very picture alone, Miriana thought she would've been happy to have met her mother. It was something they did share in common it seemed, both of them dearly loved their own mothers from the bottom of their hearts.

A shame that the same couldn't be said for their fathers. The scarred girl had just as a deep a connection with her father, Riku, that she had with her mother. He was a man often busy with work, one she never found out much about but whenever he was around, he would smother her with love and affection. She knew that her father loved her mother and she knew that her father loved her, more than anything in the entire world. That she was positively sure of.

So why did this woman, this young and pretty woman who looked so peaceful, have any sort of relationship with that dreadful man? Lilian was a kind person, a little abrasive at times and not exactly friendly when they had first met, but she had soon changed, how did the daughter of the most evil person become so nice? If she known beforehand who Lilian's father was, there would've been no way she would've come near her. She would've though Lilian to be a monster, incapable of emotions and only wanting people to suffer just her like dear old dad. How did such a good hearted girl like her, with a clearly an understanding mother, have anything to do with him?

Even now, Miriana had nightmares during her imprisonment. She could remember, horrifically vividly the captain of the cruise ship Cents had overtaken, killing its passengers in one bloody swoop. The captain had been the only person she could talk to, letting her stay in his quarters with the door closed and the air conditioning set high so that the stench of blood outside wouldn't reach her. He had planned on pretending to follow Cents' orders and then have the ship dock near somewhere for authorities to handle him. But the man had thought a head, killed the captain and then took her by boat the rest of the way.

Then she was tortured, again and again, beaten, bruised, broken, both physically and mentally. Her fingers were snapped, her legs broken, her very screams muffled and she had lost nearly all hope of living. Even when she thought she'd escape, thought those people on horseback were actually trying to help her, she found herself in the same hell before, no difference, only more pain. Then it got worse and worse, she could do nothing but watch as her best friend had to take on swarm upon swarm of vicious assaults from something that went beyond a mere army. Elrya Alya's desperate tenacity to stop him, her power overloading and causing her great anguish while trying to keep the promise of never killing again, even though Cents deserved it more than any other person in the entire world.

Then Yin was killed, a terrible display of bloodshed that broke Elrya completely. She watched it all, watched the lover of her best friend being murdered and the poor girl losing everything in the moment of rage. Still, it got worse, forced to kill him in the thought that she would be killing Alya, Cents broke her best friend down more, destroyed her mind and forced his way into her. He used her, tortured her, made her do horrible things, the very reality of it was horrendous to her.

And now, he still wouldn't stop it. As if the only thing his very mind can comprehend was causing misery and as if things couldn't get any worse, they did. Because he was vividly connected to Alya's mind, unless Elrya wanted to permanently lose not only her first friend, but a very part of her, the bastard would always be a part of her, always listening, always corrupting, never able to express an iota of good. Such evil can never display good, it is an impossible feat. The moment Vladimir Cents was born out of the womb; he was chaotically evil, that she was positively sure of. It was utterly, down to the very point, without a single question, impossible for him to commit good. A psychopath, born to murder, born to be killed, he was evil.

So, how could this woman and Lilian, feel attached to that bastard? Cents was a master in lies and deceit, she wouldn't have been surprised if he faked his admiration for them, making them believe he actually cared. But at no point did he express his true intentions, to the very end, this woman apparently believed the cruelest person ever was good and actually had decent intention for Lilian.

It was…terribly confusing.

Putting the frame back down, she jumped to her bed, spread eagle and gazing at the ceiling while the television droned on, some biographical on something dealing with an Eastern European civilization, at least from some of the few words she caught. Resting her head on the pillow, she rolled to the side that faced the wall and closed her eyes.

"If I wasn't so weak, I could protect them." She thought heavily, her breathing slowing down. "If I could have just pulled the trigger sooner, actually killed him, then Yin would still be alive. If I had just learned to fight back, none of this would have happened.

I am…so weak."

She woke up at an unspecified time later, softly nudged by Caren whom Miriana greeted sleepily. "Have a good nap, Miriana?" Caren rhetorically asked. It was a good nap in most regards but Miriana still felt odd as she remembered her thoughts from before. She didn't bring it up though, only smiled and gave Elrya the package that Karoly had brought. "Oh so he actually came, wish you told me, I would've liked to have said hi." Elrya spoke.

"Sorry, it wasn't like he could've stayed long anyways. You should open that, I think you'll really enjoy it." The multi-haired girl said kindly. Unable to resist opening a new present, Elrya ripped the package open, then paused at what she saw. What she received was a gift in which the point of the item meant more than its physical construct. Her face fell, not in sadness but in a moment of realization, her eyes watering slightly as she held the small picture frame of Yin Sandersas to her chest. He looked slightly younger in the picture than how she remembered him, probably around nineteen years of age though everything else about him was exactly as he remembered him.

"I…" She wasn't even sure what to say. "This is…for me?" A question only because she was unable to think of any good response.

"That is for you, just for you. A way for you to remember him Elrya." Answered Miriana.

The Diclonius wept, tears of regret, joy, pain and want streaming down her face. This was by far, the greatest gift she had ever received. She clutched the frame to her chest even tighter, moving it out of the way only because she feared her own tears would fall and splotch the image, ruining it forever. "Yin…" She whispered the name softly, breathing irregularly and of course, nobody said anything again it, none of them had any reason for it.

"Thank you…." She finally managed to whisper from her soft chokes. "Thank you…thank you…thank you." Repeated again and again, she was so glad to have this gift. The girl placed it on her dresser much like Lilian had her on her own, turning it so that whenever she awoke, she could see his smiling face.

* * *

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'll be finishing up the last chapter of "Pinpoint Zero" before I continue with "Conviction" therefore, I can't tell exactly when I'll have the next chapter up. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

On a side note, I am going to bring this up. I will work on Conviction until at least chapter 15, but I will not continue it until I have received at least three reviews before or afterwards. I don't care if it's praise or if its criticism of some sort, but I will not work on something in which I don't seem to be getting any response for. If you truly like the story, leave a little feedback.


	13. Reformations Of Our Flaring Lives

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 13: Reformations Of Our Flaring Lives  
**

"Elrya Alya, it's time to wake up." She heard Miriana's soft voice but pulled the covers over her head, turning to the side and moaning loudly. Bemused at her friend's obvious antics, Miriana lightly pushed her best friend to get her back up again. "You don't want to miss your first day of class and get in trouble." Again the girl moaned, not wanting to be reminded of it. Yesterday hadn't been spectacular but she and the other girls had gone through the day doing a few activities that the educational institution allowed.

"Can't you just tell them I'm sick, technically I am in a sense?"

The human girl pouted angrily. "You know you can't do that, come on Elrya!" This time she forcibly yanked the girl up who grudgingly pushed herself over the edge of the bed, kicking her legs to get some feeling in them. "Fine then, I'll get up, but I don't like it. Where's Caren and Lilian?" She asked, looking around for her other two Diclonius roommates.

"They already left, Lilian had earlier classes and Caren agreed to take them to her. You should get dressed, I've got your classes and I'll take you over to them."

"Yeah…thanks." She meant the gratitude honestly but she was not ready to get up. There was no point in arguing even if she wanted or could, Miriana wouldn't allow it. Rising out of bed, she massaged her shoulders then her extended belly, whispering words that Miriana couldn't hear though assumed it was some sort of motherly instinct. When all else was said and done, Elrya stood outside of the dormitories, the morning sun blaring down on her and the cold wind ruffling her long pink hair. The temperature had risen up a bit, enough for the snow to melt though not enough for it to vanish anytime soon. Other girls were up and about heading to their own classes. Most went in groups, both due to friendship and due to the point that much like her and Lilian, many of them had no idea how to read their class assignments.

From what she found out from her friend, she would be taking a total of six classes, each one a total of forty-five minutes which in most regards would be short though for someone with little idea of time, she imagined a few short minutes to be an infinitely boring amount of time. "So what exactly am I supposed to be doing? I mean what are these…classes exactly?" Elrya asked curiously.

Holding the list up to her face, Miriana scanned it carefully.

**Diclonius Student #1432 Elrya A. Sandersas**

**Class: STARTER**

**Schedule:**

**Diclonius Mental Applications And Recovery (Building B, Floor 2, Room 202)**

**Basic Educational Applications (Building B, Floor 3, Room 310)**

**BREAK**

**Japanese History (Building A, Floor 4, Room 400)**

**Extensive Writing And Reading (Building C, Floor 2, Room 204)**

**Understanding Voices (Building B, Floor 2, Room 202)**

**BREAK**

**Physical Education (Building D, Floor 4, Room 414) Note: Allow Elrya to partake in less strenuous activities until further notice)**

Miriana read the list to her while the pregnant girl listened intently. From what she could gather her classes were split into sections of issues dealing with natural education and education for Diclonius specific items such as the first and fifth class. She already knew, or at least had an idea of what her Diclonius specific classes would be like but her others one were curious to her.

Building B was her first destination and when she entered, she found herself looking into what a world of normality for school girls would've been like. Diclonius went up and down the stairs, spoke to each other and casted off the feeling of abnormal behavior, well at least some of them. Many of them in fact were like Elrya, if she hadn't had Miriana guiding her. Standing against the wall, clearly confused on what to do while twiddling their fingers both physical and metaphysical.

"So this is what…school is like?" Elrya inquired.

"Pretty much, you'll get used to it I promise." Answering her, Miriana pointed her out to the third door on the left then told her she had to go for a little bit. "I've got a few things to do, but I am going to be back soon. I'm supposed to be helping out anyways."

"Thanks Miriana, I appreciate it." Waving goodbye to her friend, Elrya opened the door and stepped inside. What greeted her was a large classroom, desks spread in near lined orders where many girls were already sitting. Some of them, herself included stood near the wall, obviously new to the environment but when they saw the other's sitting down, they immediately followed afterwards. Hazarding guesses that she could only imagine, Elrya found herself the second seat at the end of the row near the windows, wanting at least some visual entertainment and looked around the room curiously. The white walls were mostly clean though a few pictures, none of which she could read were plastered about. "Damn this is boring…" She thought, leaning back in the chair and putting her arms behind her head. Ten minutes passed without anything happening but her boredom as well as anyone else's was shattered by four loud booms against the door. It was definitely enough to wake the Elrya from her slumber and nearly fall out of her seat as a result.

***BOOM!***

"Excuse me?" One girl questioned as if expecting someone to answer. The other girls, worried got up from their seats, some even drawing their vectors alarmingly. The door rocked loudly again as one Diclonius suggested, "Maybe someone should open it?" After a moment of shoving, one young twelve year old got to the front, her red eyes looking at the door then at her classmates who only shrugged their shoulders. She was about to reach up to it when several loud sounds, those unmistakably like bullets started to ram against the handle of the doorknob. Any point of subtlety was lost as the girls threw themselves away from their desks, pushed against the wall and took out their vectors, almost sure a bunch of solders were about to rip through and take them out.

***BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!***

***KARABAM!***

The doorknob was blown off its hinges and the door violently kicked so hard that it blew off its own hinges and fell with a resounding clatter to the floor. Then with a clearly look of distasteful anger, Roy stepped inside.

"Seriously, who's the dumbass who put the fucking knob on my door? I don't have arms you know. And what are you all doing, sit down." He said to the girls huddled against the wall.

"Welcome to your first class, Diclonius Mental Application And Recovery. I am your teacher Roy Synth. You will address me as Professor Synth while you are in this room. Now then my assistant, all there she is…" Quickly finishing his statement, Miriana slowly edged her way into the class room, looking at the fallen door then deciding some questions were better not to be asked.

"Introduce yourself to the class."

"Good morning everyone, my name is Kusoku Miriana, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Miriana replied bowing respectfully. "I'm going to be helping Roy with the class because of his handicaps." She brought with her a clipboard and spoke in a kind tone. "This is a list of all the people who should be in here, when I call out your name please answer."

Roy continued her statement. "If you do not have a name and your number is called, you will be given a chance to change it to your liking. "

Miriana read off the list, making marks on it with a pen. Afterwards Roy sat down at his own desk, leaned back against his chair and kicked his legs up so that he was literally almost laying down. "Before we begin does anyone having any questions? Raise your hand if you do."

"Which hand? Our normal one or our vector?" A girl named Tanaruchi asked.

"The hand I can see obviously, moron." She lowered her head angrily and dejectedly. Elrya though did raise her own hand.

"When do we leave?"

"Each class is set for forty-five minutes in which a bell will ring signaling the end of class."

With no other questions asked Roy started the class. "So then as you know, your main reason for being here is self-control so you all don't lose your shit and blow up a goddamn city. Unfortunately due to certain circumstances, your kind has a bit of an issue with control. From what we've inferred on "studies" and I'll let you take a wild guess on where that comes from, self-control problems occur in the same area of the pineal gland in your brain. In short your vector controlling area. One of the reasons you were even in the facilities, besides the fact they were jackasses, was the point where you probably did something to get caught.

Like killing your parents, or friends or something." Elrya lowered her head dejectedly, not wanting to be reminded even off hand about such a thing.

"You may have thought it fun at first, may not have understood the implications of what you were doing. You may have been furious with someone, ready to lash out at them and teach them a lesson. Well life doesn't treat that very well, lashing out though isn't the problem. Humans beat the crap out of each on a daily basis, it's nothing new, but unlike you, most of our punches don't make heads fly off shoulders. There's also the point that humans have much better control over their own feelings than your kind does, it's only a fact.

Life has given you a new lead but don't forget you are entering a human world and thus you will have to obey human laws. We know that it's possible for you to have control though and it's something you'll have to learn if you haven't already.

Kinarae!" He suddenly called out to one of the girls at the front desk who looked around startled before answering uncertainly. "Uh, yes…"

"You are…a fucking mistake."

"Roy!?" Miriana cried out, everyone else was shocked and the girl Kinarae seemed as if she been slapped across the face. "I'm sorry…what?" It was such a sudden insult that she didn't even have time to feel angry or rather her mind hadn't even connected such an issue yet.

"Look at you, fucking horns, goddamn freak I swear. It's no wonder you got your ass stuck up in a facility, should've stayed there and never left. Did you kill your parents or something? Probably did I'm sure."

"N-No…" She began.

"Shut your fucking mouth you piece of shit." Roy articulated. "You are by far the worst thing I have ever seen in my life. The moment you were born, everyone thought you were a disgusting beast that needed to be shot. They should have shot you, and then gutted you and then hung your head on a pike. Let me give you some sound advice, bitch.

…Get a chair, get a rope and get a high place."

Kinarae's expression twisted from surprise, to fury, to disappointment then finally to a look of utter defeat and sadness she threw her desk to the side with a loud crash, Roy only moving his head to the side to avoid the legs of the chair from smashing into his face and ran out of the classroom with tears rolling from her eyes. The other Diclonius and Miriana were understandably not only upset but outright appalled at Roy's actions.

"That was horrible, how could you do that to her!?" A Diclonius cried out.

"It was easy and it's something you better get used to. Not everyone is like the people in Osaka, there are those who will treat you just the way I treated her. Oh Miriana, go and get her, make sure she doesn't actually try to kill herself or anyone for that matter." Miriana hurried out the door to find her, bringing the sobbing girl back with her who glared spitefully at Roy.

Roy spoke in a much calmer voice to the girl. "Sit down girl, I didn't mean those things to you. However you now have an idea of what you may expect from people who would treat you cruelly. Here is a question, let's see what kind of answers I can get from you all. Let's say someone has just said the same things I just said to her, but unlike me, they actually mean them. What would you do about it?" He looked around, and a few girls looked around either unsure, didn't care or were so unused to the idea of classes and school work that they were left speechless. Some of them did raise their hands shakily, to offer ideas and frankly, feeling so left out they felt they needed to raise them just so they wouldn't get in trouble.

"Yes?" Roy questioned.

"If someone says that to us, we should, I don't know…ummm…ignore them?"

Roy closed his eyes and said in a low tone, "A rather unique answer and not a bad one at that. I certainly wouldn't call it wrong though so good job there. However do you really think you can ignore it so easily? There's a term they made a long time ago, sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. It's also the biggest load of bullshit that was ever crafted by the human tongue by stupid people who don't know what life is really like. Maybe you're able to ignore it, but not everyone can and because of your kind this can lead to disastrous results."

Another girl gave a response.

"Break their arms? I don't mean tear it off or anything, just break it."

Roy nodded as if he thought about it clearly as well. He craned his neck to the left, getting an annoying crick out the said almost in a deadpanned tone. "The person has insulted you, not physically hurt you. No matter what they say to you, physical violence isn't the answer. It's called assault and it's a crime. A person can come up and say any insulting thing they want, if you hurt them, it'll be assault. Now of course in some cases this can be an exception to the rules.

If someone comes up to you and starts to threaten you but hasn't directly attacked you, then self-defense would be of a better option. You are allowed to protect yourself and others if you see fit that they are in danger.

Any other responses…?"

"Yeah I got one…" Despite herself, Elrya wanted to answer even though she told herself the class was going to be boring and she would just sleep the whole way through. She had found herself getting relatively interested in it and decided to give her own response.

"Aye, Elrya?"

"Make sure they understand that we won't take any sort of insults from them. They can think whatever they want about us, about our horns, our looks, our powers, whatever it might be. We can't stop them from thinking these things but we can sure as hell stop them from expressing them. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd make sure if anyone came up to me and said such things, I'd set them straight.

And if they hurt me, then I'll hurt them more. I just can't ignore such things and nobody else should considering like myself, they've also had to go through such harsh treatments. The amount of hardships I had to go through to get this far, I won't back down from hard words. I'll them all that I will be treated with respect and if they try to hurt me, then I will hurt them.

…And if we do something wrong, then we deserved to be punished as well. Being tortured and abused does not give us anymore rights and privileges than others.

I will respect those who give me respect and I'll make sure those who don't will. I also know there are some people that can't be reasoned with, monsters in this world who will never learn. That's the answer I give."

…

…

"…Quite an answer it is, Elrya Alya Sandersas. It's actually a very good answer, strong, slightly arrogant I'd say no surprise from you but an answer that is also clear and understandable. I give you praise for such a response girl, you can actually say some good things every once in a while."

She blushed, not expecting such praise. "Umm, th-thanks…"

Roy addressed the rest of the class. "There is no specifically correct answer but there are definitely better answers than others, just as there are indeed incorrect answers. The best response is something in which you can control yourself in and feel that your answer is the best option not only for yourself but overall. You see, as different as you may think you are, despite your horns and vectors you are all fundamentally humans. Every single one of you had human parents, you have human emotions, human thoughts, human bodies. Human blood runs through you and therefore, you are human in one regard or another.

Four years from now you will undergo a specific test to see how far you've come along and are truly ready for society.

Now then…" He continued on, Miriana having jotted down a few notes for him during his speech. The class went on like that as Roy taught them both the fundamentals of the Diclonius brain and the area of recovery in which they were trying to achieve. It was both insightful and surprisingly to Elrya, quite interesting. She had expected it to be boring, with Roy yapping on about useless, boring stuff she either already knew or didn't care about. Before she knew it the class ended.

The bell sounded, not a ring but a special tone consisting of three melodies played one after another.

"And thus ends our class, remember what I told you because I will be asking questions tomorrow about it. Another thing for you Curacana, wear some clothes, nudity is sort of frowned upon in public." The nude Diclonius, oblivious of her own actions, nodded and walked away, clearly not understanding what the whole problem was. Miriana went with Elrya, taking her over to her next class.

* * *

"Now that wasn't too bad was it?" Miriana asked with a smile.

"I guess not…" Alya answered, jumping to the front of the mind and letting Elrya relax a little. "Are you going to be helping with the other classes?"

The human girl shook her head. "I'm only helping with Roy's classes. I'll show you where you have to go next but once I do I'm giving you the schedule. I know you can't read it but if I'm not around ask one of the alphas to help you." Handing the piece of a paper over, Alya was depressed at losing her friend so early in the day and only wished they would meet up again sooner or later, or at the very least she wanted to meet up with Caren and/or Lilian again at some point.

Pushing open the door to her next class, she discovered one minor difference to it. Where Roy's class had a white board at the front, instead the wall jutted out from the front and a single window was visible, opening large though designed so that nobody else could see through it. On each side of the wall were two sets of speakers, four in total. Most of the Diclonius were different than the ones that had been in her previous class but she smiled delightfully when one familiar face walked in.

"Lilian!"

"Hah! Alya, good to see you." The eighteen year old Diclonius proclaimed, sitting down next to her.

"Listen up…" Everyone's attention turned to the front of the room, a man's voice having spoken through the speakers. Alya listened carefully and knew she had never heard the voice before, meaning it must have been someone specifically employed for this part of the education. She was also beginning to realize what the huge glass window was for. "I am your teacher; you will address me as Sensei Arakuru-san." The way he spoke, it lacked all of Roy's carefree nature; instead it sounded strict, bossy and needless to say boring, like a speech giver to a crowd on something mundane like building plans. It was also quite easily recognizable as spiteful, the tone unmistakably cold.

"I will call out your names or numbers and you will answer immediately."

Just like before he called out their names until he got to the first number and the Diclonius replied. "I'm right here, but can you call me Hanako?" Roy had offered them the chance to change their names from that of lowly number, it was an act of good will as even she would've hated to have been referred to just a number.

"The list says that you are Number 223, not Hanako."

"I know that but, Professor Synth says if we needed we could tell you what the name we wanted."

The voice replied back in the same despicable tone as before. "I am not Synth-san and I have the list right here. There is no Hanako for you, there is Number 223 and that is what I expect to be answered." Alya's ire began to rise and she shot her hand up furiously, waiting to be called on. The man behind the class gazed at her then feeling there was no getting beyond it, called out to her. "What kind of question do you have?"

Alya thought for a moment that maybe this was a whole idea for the educational facility. Much like Roy had been cruel with his words only to make a point, this man too might actually be putting on an act. "Are you just trying to be mean to make a point? You don't mind if she does change her name to Hanako but you want us to realize how things may not end up good and we should be prepared for it, right?"

"…Why would I do something like that? The name says a number and I have asked for it. I did not ask for a Hanako and I did not ask you to give your opinion."

If this was some ploy to get her angry, it was working quite well. She swallowed deeply and said in a tone that bordered almost on begging. "You aren't being like this for real right? I don't want to say something if you don't really mean it. "

"…What don't you get? I think it's pretty obvious what I mean even for your kind. You will not ask any more questions unless I specify it and you will keep your mouth shut until then. That goes for all of you for that matter." But as he began to call out more names, Alya could not bear to be quiet on the issue and she wasn't the only one, Lilian had even pushed herself up, gathering the attention of the girls around her, she said in a low tone of disproval.

"So you mean the things you said? This isn't some crazy joke your trying to pull on us is it? Hanako wanted you to address as her a real name and not a number; it's a right we all got. We've been through the worst possible tortures and abuse imaginable, what the hell have you been through?"

The teacher growled back, though a note of worry was in his voice. "You were not instructed to speak, you will sit down immediately. Lilian of course didn't, instead she muttered darkly back at him. "No, I won't do that, I won't be taught by someone who won't respect us. That's why you're behind that window, not only are you're scared of us, you're disgusted by us too."

There was no answer yet.

"What's wrong, can't reply?" Lilian retorted.

"I don't…have to listen to the words of a child."

"A child? Excuse me, I'm practically a full grown adult? Don't treat me like I don't know what I'm talking about!"

"You will sit down immediately."

"I will not!" Lilian commanded incessantly.

"YOU WILL SIT DOWN IMMEDIATELY! DO NOT QUESTION ME YOU FILFTHY HORNED GIRL!" If this had all been a joke to get them to understand the issues of humanity's faults and maybe even their own, it was a damn good one. But the next words out of his mouth cemented the point that everything he had said before was not a joke and had been lethally truthful. "I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOU BACK TALK ME! SIT DOWN YOU CHILD OF FREAKS!"

…

…

For Lilian, whose connection with her parents was both compassionate and so bizarrely flimsy, hearing her be called such a thing put her off the deep end. Her vector shot out, swung around and grabbed the legs of her desk and with a single thrust, threw the entire thing straight through the window, shattering it into a thousand pieces. It echoed shrilly, and the one who stood before them was now standing before them, covering his head and huddled against the wall. He was a large man, very heavy set and sported a thick beard around his face. His uniform was a simple black suit and his black eyes were small and beady. Lilian, steaming mad panted heavily and growled with murder in her breath.

"Don't you…ever talk about…me like that again. Do you understand, you fucking…stupid…bastard." Alya had never seen Lilian this angry before, even when she had punched her. Lilian Cents quickly rubbed her arm on her face, trying to stop any tears about to flow out and the said again, her tone having changed little from its near murderous intentions. "You don't know a fucking thing about me, you don't know my life, my parents, nothing about me." Alya knew it, she had taken the remark very serious and she couldn't blame her one bit. For Lilian Cents, her views on her parents had been brutally deconstructed and she was forced into a painful realization of what she thought she knew and what was fact. The last thing the girl needed, was for someone to remind her of that, or try to force her to believe she was as big of a monster as the very person who sired her.

She hissed under her breath, clenching her fist while her vectors hovered around her, dangerous close to attacking. Arakuru pulled out one of the specialized guns Roy had mentioned before and the other girls all tensed up, completely agreeing with Alya and Lilian and yet somewhat afraid to act on their own in fear of repercussions. None of them wanted to do something stupid and get thrown back in the facilities again and while they did agree with Lilian, maybe even secretly praised her actions, they couldn't help but also think she needed to sit down and keep quiet.

"You take it back right now!" The girl hissed, ready for any shot from the gun. She wasn't sure how it would react with her and considering the way Roy had spoken about it, blocking the bullet wasn't going to be as easy as they might think. Yet she also didn't care because her life had been messed up so badly that she wouldn't dare be mistreated again. "You take what you said about me back right now you stupid man."

Arakuru whimpered, raising the shaking gun.

"I TOLD YOU TO TAKE IT BACK!"

***KABLAM!***

The bullet slammed directly into her shoulder, its specialized features forcing her own vectors away and also helped by its heavy features. It was a bullet on the same level as a Tungsten .50 caliber and there were only a select few Diclonius who could hope to handle such a powerful thing. Blood spurting out, it blew Lilian back against the other desks, throwing them and girls to the ground as she hit her head harshly on the cold hard floor, making her see stars. But for a Diclonius, this would've been nothing, a small flesh wound in comparison to some of the real tortures they had been through.

She had barely hit the ground when Lilian let out a bloodcurdling scream. She cried horribly, holding her bleeding shoulder with one hand and her other hand wrapped around her waist, twisting and turning on the ground in a spasmodic episode. Whatever the bullet had done, it was clearly causing her unbearable agony. She felt spit running down her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes and her screams entering a new pitch before she rolled to her side and held her body tightly, her screams not lessening but her voice was beginning to crack.

"L-Lilian, you need, damn, I need…you bastard!" She suddenly yelled, but Arakuru had long since left, exiting through his own door from the other side. Alya bit her bottom lip hard, wanting to lash out at something herself or even chuck one of the desks around. A coward who would insult them, then run away, typical behavior from a person like him. Deep inside her mind, Elrya uttered, "We need Roy here, let's get him."

Alya yelled to no one in particular, "One of you, get Roy here!" She didn't want to leave Lilian's side whose screams had only now begun to dwindle, though her body still threw into sporadic fits while a trail of frothy spit dripped from the right side of her mouth. She heard one of them answer her and the door open and shut, leaving Alya with her fallen friend with no idea of how to help her except to comfort her in her time of need. Thankfully Roy was in the same building, only a floor below them so it was shortly afterwards that he and Miriana burst through the door, Miriana vividly expressing her shock.

"L-Lilian!"

"There is a syringe in my right pocket, it's an anesthetic can you use it on her?" Miriana had never done such a thing and putting a needle in her friend's body was not something she particularly felt good doing, but she dug her hands in Roy's pockets and brought out a small cylindrical needle whom after Roy said a few things to her, the human girl gently went up Lilian's shaking right arm, told Alya to hold it, and gently inserted it as best as she could into her vein. After a minute Lilian's shaking subsided and her harsh breathing finally relaxed though she kept her eyes closed, having now fallen into a state of half sleep. Roy gazed around the room, following the area where Lilian's desk would've been to the broken window and right at the place where the desk had finally landed, one of its legs having snapped cleanly off.

"Take Lilian to the clinic Miriana, I'll deal with things here."

"Yes."

Turning to the Diclonius, Roy said strongly, "Tell me, what happened here?"

"The teacher was calling our names and when he got to me, I asked him to call me Hanako." The girl responded, doing her best to explain the situation. "He kept being cruel, saying there was no name on the list and refused to listen to me. Elrya and Lilian began to argue with him and, he said something very cruel to Lilian and she lost it. I never saw her so angrily before."

The blue haired man quickly questioned her. "What did he say?"

"…He said she was a child of freaks."

Explanation given, Roy too could understand completely why Lilian had acted the way she did. Even when they weren't responsible for it, trouble always seemed to follow the Diclonius as if life had something against them. He would have Arakuru dealt with for his incompetence and mentally hoped this would be the last issue for a long time. It was remarkable all the things that had happened right now.

Firstly, he had to kill one of the girls when she went into a fit of insane anger and refused to calm down. She hadn't even been able to attend a single class and learn to control her behavior.

Secondly, he finds out his old boss and murderer of his wife was now living inside Elrya Alya, of which he had spoken to Kurama about it thought he man could offer little ideas of how to help without directly affecting Alya in the process.

Now, their own instructors were being incompetent fools who didn't know how to treat these girls the way they needed to be treated. All in all, if something wasn't done to change things, he feared the entire educational institution would be finished before a week had passed.

"What kind of gun did he use? You mentioned it to us during the assembly." A Diclonius asked.

"As I said, all the teachers have been given these guns as a defensive measure in case one of you gets out of control. Seeing the window over there that's exactly what happened with Lilian, but I also know he instigated the behavior from her, I won't hold it against her. I will find and deal with Arakuru there's not much use of you all being in this classroom right now. You have a break after this, take it now and then head off to your next class. I'll need to get a better instructor for this class as well. This wasn't the way it was meant to be, I apologize for Arakuru's irrational behavior."

* * *

In a few short days, she and Julius would set off to Europe but until then, Victoria worked in Garder's facility as she always did. So it was a surprise when Julius told her to come into one of the office places where he sat in a long arm chair in front of a table in which another smaller seat was placed. On the desk were a pen and several sheets of paper as well as a few books. The room they were was part of a much smaller conference room, meant to only have five or so people inside it and most of the computer equipment had been pushed off to the side.

"You're here Victoria, good, sit down." He commanded gently. Sitting down, she crossed her hands together and gazed at the items on the desk, slowly twiddling the pen in her hand absentmindedly. "Is there something I need to do?" She finally inquired.

"I am to instruct you as those in the educational facility are being instructed. You may not have to go to the educational institution but Garder has insisted that I teach you while you are with me."

It took her several seconds before it hit her. "W-Wait a minute! You mean I need…"

"…To be taught why you are here. You will be properly educated by me not only before, bur during and after our mission in Europe. In fact once we return from Europe, you will then be required to attend classes as a regular student. The only reason you haven't already is because of your direct affiliation with me and your affiliation as an employee of the Tokyo Institution."

Victoria gasped and muttered but couldn't seem to get any words out to express her disappointment. In retrospect she should've been more surprised that she hadn't had to before, it wasn't like she was special or anything. Maybe she thought that as long as she was connected with either Julius or Garder in terms of employment, though even that word was a bitch sketchy in her case as Julius handled any sort of monetary gain of hers, she never thought she'd actually have to attend classes. "Then what about you, what has Garder said about that? Are you going to attend classes with me as well when we get back?"

"I will remain with Director Morotisan and continue to work with him while you are being educated."

Victoria felt a very strong grip on her chest like she had lost her breath for a moment or her heart had skipped a few beats. "But I don't…"

"I will be seeing you whenever I can Victoria. I've already told you that as annoying as you may be sometimes, you are a very special person to me. However I have had proper education throughout my life, both as Director Morotisan's main enforcer as well as a former member of Cents' assassination group. I am also quite adept at controlling my own emotions while you yourself sometimes have trouble with that. Not to be arrogant but in comparison to most if not all Diclonius, I am very good at controlling myself in stressful situations."

"But your different, I mean…you don't hear voices inside your head do you?"

"Of course I do." His answer was like a slap to her face. Not one to make her feel upset but one of just pure shock. Victoria knew about voices as much as any other Diclonius though unlike Elrya's and (though few knew of it in return as she had managed to suppress it greatly) Kaede's, her own never manifested as much and was mostly low key. She always thought that Julius had just been special, someone who wasn't affected by the forceful nature of the Diclonius mentality.

"I have heard my own genetic voice for a long time and I have personally trained my body and mind to control and subjugate it to where I remain the dominant mind. There are only a few cases in which I've allowed a secondary personality to emerge and take the front, during times in which I need it."

This was also a shock. She had never seen Julius act any different than before. Unsure if she should be asking, her curiosity couldn't be helped at all. "I hope this isn't too much to ask, but can you switch personalities right now? I mean I don't remember ever seeing you…I mean…" She could only shrug in response, no words being able to describe how she felt or how to express her want or needs. Julius gazed at her, almost piercingly and she felt she may have spoken too much. Looking away, Victoria perfectly expected to be reprimanded but instead Julius muttered lowly. "Alright then, here." He placed his hand on his face, relaxing it against his temple and closing his eyes. Without a sign of something happening, no shake of the head, no tremble of the lips, not even a twitch of the lids, his eyes opened up, remaining back in their usual stoic gaze that she really thought he was playing a joke on her.

He crossed his hands and said, voice remaining exactly the same, "There, I have switched with the main personality. I am the dominant mind of the Diclonius mentality that Julius possesses, even if he wishes to acknowledge himself more as human."

The woman really thought a joke was being played on her. "What should I call you?"

"I am Julius Javel, that has not changed Victoria. I manifested inside Julius's mind when he was still a subject here when Kusoku was still the Head Director here. As usual I had a deep hatred for humanity but for some reason I also had a strong dislike for the other Diclonius in the facility. To me, neither one was better to the other and through years of contact I have become much better at dealing with humans than I would've long ago. But in the end I am still a biological voice inside of his head, therefore it is best that Julius remain in the front while I stay in the back unless he needs me.

For one, Julius mostly acts as the quiet reconnaissance while I will deal with more direct methods such as killing. We are very good at balancing ourselves in situations that we need to work together. For example, you would not believe the rage and frustration Julius felt when that man in the black coat in hat nearly tried to rape you when you were off guard. It is one of the few times I have seen him express such a fury that I thought he may actually rush and kill the man himself.

It is like he says Victoria Javel, you are a very annoying girl. You're anxious, you're over reactive and sometimes overly enthusiastic for our taste. But it is also a good change for our mostly emotionless self. We care deeply about you, you are the first woman we know who we have connected with so deeply. Really the only other woman we had any sort of contact with on a regular basis was Orlana Zeruda and that was purely business. She was a beautiful woman, though we never felt any physical attraction to her. But your different, I suppose it is your nature that inspires us as well as your ability to learn. Plus it is not to say that we don't feel attracted to you because of your looks either, that would be a lie on our part if we denied it.

You are both physically and sensually gorgeous…" Julius had gotten up from his seat, stepped over to Victoria who was now blushing so much her face matched the color of her hair before he bent down, his face still set in that immaculate stoic expression and placed his hand on her left cheek. It was warm, comforting, the fingers slightly gripped her skin as he bent down so that his face was slightly leveled with her own. The closeness of it made her already high blush grow even redder. "…And there hasn't been a single time for either of us, where we haven't enjoyed your tender lips on our own."

He kissed her full on the mouth, catching her off guard and kept it there. It was somewhat deeper than she was use to though he kept it there without moving. For her, there was no desirable pleasure than being together with this man. Her body rose up and as if to take advantage of the splendid situation she had already grasped her arms around his neck, pushing him closer against him so that her large breasts now rubbed against him, something both of them were well aware of. Victoria wouldn't have minded one bit if his hand reached up and grasped one, held it tenderly in his hand and caressed it. Maybe that was the kind of person she was, but she knew what she was and what she wanted and the moment their connection had been made over half a year ago, there was something about him that she could never forget.

But he didn't, his hand only reached up, didn't even pause at her chest but went to her shoulders and slowly pushed her back down on the chair, breaking their long kiss. "But we are not here to express passion; we are here for your education. I have done my part; my main personality wants to head back to the front again. Before I leave though there are a few things I'd like to say.

One, you should begin having more contact with your own secondary personality and not try to push it back. The greatest asset for your voice is to let it in control and let it feel freedom every so often. Because of strong interaction with humans, my desire to kill them remains low. I can't change my biology, unless something is specifically done with the very brain, I will always have this innate desire to kill humans on a biological level. But through hard work and perseverance, I am able to suppress my urges. I also admit that both being a male, though that clearly isn't always the case as with the male Diclonius we found in Kakuzawa's old island facility as well as my unique structure even as a Diclonius, I may be a bit different in this regard.

Secondly, you should wear your hair in a ponytail more often."

This last one caught her off guard. "I can't, but…why?"

"We find it fits you better, it makes you more attractive." She blushed hard again at these words. The secondary personality of Julius put his hand up to his temple again and then removed it where Victoria could only assume the main personality of Julius had returned, not that she'd ever know the difference. Although if she did have to point things out, the one that had been speaking to her had been a bit more abrasive than what she had usually expected from Julius. He had been more direct and the kiss had been much deeper than what the original Julius did with her. Still, she wondered how he couldn't even blush when she was burning up a fever after their last contact together.

"There we go, you already know how to read and write which is good on my part. You will take notes as I teach you, be ready." He opened up his own book and began to teach the now nineteen year old Diclonius (her birthday having come a few months ago) who took the pen and jotted down what Julius said to her. She couldn't begin to imagine heading to the educational facility as being good but as long as Julius was with her in some regards, she would be very happy. Who knows, maybe if she did very well in their mission, he would allow her to stay with him here. The thought made her laugh inside because she'd still have to go to the educational facility, even if Garder didn't directly enforce it. She knew Julius far too well to know that he wouldn't let her off the hook in any regard.

At the very least, these days of study before their journey to Europe, meant closer time with the man she loved.

* * *

Author's Notes: Hooray for the newest chapter, I've hoped you all enjoyed it. The good news is that now that I've finished "Pinpoint Zero" I will now remain fully involved with this story. However I have also recently started my Junior year at my university and unfortunately as far as story telling goes, I will always take my education in higher regard than my writing. Thus while I will try to update on a regular basis, I can't promise anything.

On a secondary note, I have put a new objective of my on the main page of my Fan Fiction account involving doing specific reviews. Since I don't do a lot of reviews myself, I am willing to give informative and direct ones to people who ask for it. If you want your story to be properly reviewed, check it and see if it is to your liking.

Speaking of which, be sure to review here as well. As mentioned in the previous chapter I will not be continuing the story after Chapter 15 until I have gotten at least three reviews until or after then. I have thankfully received 2 already. One more and at the very least I will continue writing up until Chapter 25.

Lastly, if there is anything you'd like to ask about the story, feel free to do so. As I have mentioned before I am trying to create a very impacting tale, more than I have done with any Elfen Lied story and in general itself. Have a question on the story, characters, etc, go ahead and ask.

Please keep reading.


	14. Vile Choice

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 14: Vile Choice**

"Elrya! I heard about Lilian, is she alright!?" Caren rushed over to Elrya who sat against one of the large planted trees of the educational facility, closing her scarf around her neck to block out he chilly winds. Caren wore a small but thick jacket, a light shade of brown with matching colored fur ends on the shoulders, opened up slightly at the top to reveal her white shirt. Partially hidden, the necklace of her Clock Stopper hung around her, having wisely decided to carry it around here at all times. She looked at her friend with worry, having almost been frantic when she had heard about Lilian's experience with the foolish professor.

Caren ground her teeth sharply, wanting to lash out at something as badly as Elrya and Lilian had. "Really, is it not enough that we had to go through all that crap in our lives just to be mistreated by stupid idiots like that teacher? I hope he gets what he deserves but…Lilian, she is fine right?"

Elrya nodded solemnly. "She was in a lot of pain, whatever kind of guns they're using; they're not something we want to mess with too much. But she's fine Caren, there's nothing you have to worry about. Miriana took her to the clinic and Roy's dealing with that disgrace of a teacher. I can't believe there are people out there that are like that, the pompous attitude he had with us, all for the stupidest reasons imaginable, it was infuriating. During my first class, Roy pulled the same thing on another girl, I thought it was something similar and that he wasn't actually angry with us, but was trying to make a point and I was ready to accept that. But then he shot Lilian and I never heard of scream so loudly in my life, I wanted to lash out at him myself and if he hadn't run away, I probably would have done it.

"That's good to hear and I'm glad you didn't Elrya, you might have gotten yourself and all of us in real trouble. Though if you did, I wouldn't hold it against you, I hate it when people do these things to us, it makes it hard because if we try to lash back at them, it'll just give them another reason to hate us and put us back in the research facilities. I don't ever want to go back there again, the experiments, the smell of blood, the fear that we felt, I don't want to head back there again. If I do, I don't think I'll be able to hold myself together anymore."

Caren held her left arm tightly; her face seemingly broke as if she had felt sick to her stomach. Her eyes traveled to the side before turning her head, speaking in a much lower voice that displayed a sense of unraveling hurt that had been built up inside of her, begging for release. "Do you mind if I ask, how you got into the facility? You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to Elrya."

It wasn't exactly the question she had expected by the young girl answered depressingly. "I had just turned five at the time and it was my birthday. I was playing with Alya who at the time I didn't know was actually part of my mind. You see before we knew about the whole voice thing, I always saw Alya as a different person altogether and the same thing for her to me. For example if it was like in the past, I would've seen Alya standing right next to you but you'd have thought me crazy. Our minds were so perfectly connected yet separated at the same time that we grew into such individual people. Well one day, we thought it might be fun to play around with our hands, we didn't know what was going to happen or maybe we did and we just didn't think about it.

…I killed my mother." Caren suppressed a shudder.

"I killed her, ripped her up and then I laughed. I thought it was funny, thought it was a good joke and that my mother was going to get up at any time and laugh with me.

…I don't like thinking about." She finally moaned, feeling Alya's own consciousness inside her weeping softly, greatly responsible for that tragic event. "I sort of…lost myself then, just cried and apparently that old bastard Garder got word of it somehow, found me, and so I spent the next ten years of my life of a living hell that only got worse and worse. So what happened to you?"

"Well, as you should know I'm not Japanese, I was born in Turkey at a small hospital. I don't know who my father was as he left a long time ago but I and my sister Orlana were raised by my mother. I never had any sort of problems with people involving my horns, most of the time I just kept them hidden but even if I didn't, I'd just tell them it was bone mutations. That's what we all thought at first and then I started to learn how to use my vectors. I thought it was the coolest thing ever; I could do so many things with them, as you very well know. It was actually a while before I did start using them though, years later though I always had this sensation that I could reach further if I tried.

My sister was going to marry this man; they had even gotten rings and were ready to settle down. Before we wanted to spend a quick trip to Japan, which we would go to every so often for our enjoyment. I'll never forget what happened then, we were standing at a dock when suddenly I was shot right in the shoulder. I didn't even know about it and the pain abolished my use of vectors. The only thing I could do was scream for help as they knocked my sister out and was I carted like a pig to the facility. It was the last time I ever saw my sister and knowing she had to go through to save me, I always hold onto this watch as a reminder of that and of our time together.

I lost myself in that place and I actually thought, when that freak of nature Kakuzawa came, that he was literally some sort of god coming to save me. I gladly helped him because I all but completely lost myself in that torment. I don't want to go back to that, I don't want to forget who I am or all the good times I've had before and after the facility."

The Turkish Diclonius suddenly sprung up, grabbing a very startled Elrya and lifting her up as well. "We can't just sit here and wallow, we need to do something about it." More than happy to do so, Elrya was still in a state of shock by Caren's sudden change in demeanor. Lightly pushing herself off she asked the girl to quiet down and then properly explain herself.

"Let's form a group with the other Diclonius and Miriana too." She added at the end, intending to include her human friend in the mix but afraid she'd have been left out of the conversation unless she was specific about it. "You probably don't know much about it but in real life, like schools and stuff they often have these things called clubs that people join. I think we should create our own club and get people together as a way for us to work together and better understand the way the human world works. Look at us, both you and I have a lot of understanding on humans, I had my sister and you had Miriana and that man you loved, Yin right?" Elrya nodded her head once just so Caren knew she was correct.

"You should already know this but a lot of the Diclonius never had much contact with humans, nice ones at least and this is a great chance for us to explain to them the truth about them. Plus it's a great way to get the other girls active once in a while. So what do you say, up for it?" Carentorzulan's utterly rambunctious behavior could not be ignored and Elrya Alya had absolutely no qualms or disagreement with her even if she didn't understand the whole situation entirely.

She asked fleetingly, "That's great and all but what exactly are we going to do, or where do we go or…this is all new to me." She could only end with shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "I would love to help but I'm still getting use to this whole school thing."

Realizing this, Caren had her answer at the ready. "I'm sure he won't mind but I'm going to talk to Roy about using one of the classrooms for the club. I've got a few things in mind but I'll get to that later, right now we just need to get it started." Caren's excitement was getting the best of her, she was giddy and almost obnoxiously happy in doing such a thing as creating this so called Diclonius Club. Elrya had to wonder if Caren had ever been in one during her times in Turkey when she went to school. Such a thought also lead to a new question, and not meaning to change the subject so abruptly, the pregnant girl had to ask now before she forgot.

"Hey, you've been to school and all that stuff, what is your schedule like? I mean I'm sure we all have that whole Diclonius classes thing but what about the others? Certainly you don't have to go around taking these fundamental classes right?"

"No I don't. All the Diclonius who have knowledge on basic things like reading, writing and other things don't have to take such classes. Instead we take the usual Diclonius specific classes like you said and then we're given choices of more advanced classes that we're allowed to take. It's something you'll be able to do next year although even though I basically get to skip a head, I'm still required to study here for four years like everyone else. Now if I may ask, how is…that."

Elrya looked at her strangely. "What do you mean by 'that?' You mean the 'that' I don't like…" she pointed to her head in response to her own question. "…Or the 'that' I do like…" She pointed to her belly. Caren acknowledged the second one and Elrya breathed easily.

"As far as I know it's alright, nothing bad has happened at least. It's really strange you know, having a living thing inside me. I was scared at first; well I guess I should say I was shocked because you know, the whole Siplilet thing. But now that I've gotten used to it, I'm really eager for it, because I think…" She blushed despite herself, not even intending to but unable to help herself. "…I might like being a mother. I think I might like it, raising a child and teaching it as it grows up. More importantly, I want it to know not only the love it got from its mother, but from the love it got from it's father as well.

I'll admit though I'm not too eager for the birth, does it really hurt that much?" She asked nervously.

"Well I've never been pregnant nor seen one so I can't answer that entirely but I've heard it's not all that pleasant. Plus it can be dangerous sometimes, people have died while giving birth." Visibly startled by this revelation, ELrya held her stomach softly and repressed a shuddered that nearly ran down her spine. "Man why does everything have to happen to me, I wish you didn't say that."

"Sorry. So…what about the 'thing' you don't like?"

"…Surprisingly he hasn't made any contact though because he's partially separated from me I can't tell what his thoughts are unless he does directly try to get involve." Elrya uttered darkly, placing her right hand up against the side of her head and turning her neck a bit so that she was basically resting against her palm. "Ever since our trip to Garder's facility, he hasn't made any sort emergence, he hasn't even spoken a word yet. Part of me is glad about it, you really have no idea how annoying it is to hear him talk, trust me. But the fact that I have no idea what he's thinking is brutal and while I trust Lilian, I don't trust Cents one single bit. I still have to go to that stupid checkup for Garder though so it doesn't really matter in the end, damn…" She didn't finish her sentence but instead mouthed what was clearly an offensive word about the new Head Director.

"Not to mention both I and Alya are on high alert with this too, the only time he'll ever take control is if we allow it and the only time that's going to happen is under very certain situations and even then I won't like it."

"That's good, I'm going to check up on Lilian I'll tell you how the whole club thing is going when I get back. Oh and stop calling me 'Caren' you know I hate it when people shorten my name like that. If Carentorzulan is too hard to remember then just call me by my last name, Zeruda."

* * *

Lilian Cents lay on the bed of the clinic, her head propped up against two pillows and slept soundly, the anesthetics having done their job in relieving the tormenting pain. Her head turned on instinct at the sound of the door opening but remained silent, her mouth partially open and snoring lightly when Caren came in. If she had been here before, she would've noticed that Lilan's face had been set into a horrible grimace of unbearable pain but luckily by the time she did arrive, the girl was peacefully asleep. It still didn't stop her from worrying though and wished she could've done something to help out.

After all she was supposed to be an Alpha, and it was her job to watch over the other Diclonius and definitely her friends when they were in trouble. Having wanted to speak to her directly, she wisely thought against it, not wanting to wake Lilian up from what was clearly a pleasant slumber and perhaps even if she wanted, couldn't have woken her up anyways. Lilian wasn't just sleeping, her body had been put to sleep by the anesthetics themselves.

"She is going to be fine, right?" She asked carefully. The nurse, a kind woman from Osaka though not that Caren knew her, smiled and put a soothing hand on the girl's head. While the teachers may have been one thing, something Roy was sure to correct, the clinics had to have people who could work directly with the Diclonius. Therefore the best people for the job were those in Osaka who of course had a much better connection with the horned girls than most humans did. "You shouldn't worry too much, she was in a lot of pain when she first got here but right now the only thing she needs to do is rest. If you like you can stay by her side, but don't do anything to wake her up."

"Thanks, I'll do that. Also if you need some help just ask, it's my job to be of assistance to the other Diclonius here."

"Thank you, I'll take that into consideration." The nurse left, leaving Zeruda alone with her sleeping friend while the girl placed her hands on her face and leaned forward, resting her elbows upon her legs. She then leaned back, her eyes growing heavy and was just about to fall asleep herself when a voice popped her awake.

"Caren."

"Ah! Ahhh! Don't call me…oh…L-Lilian." Startled, she tried to compose herself then smiled happily at her friend who had finally awoken. "I heard about what happened in the class, I can't believe such a foolish man was allowed to come here. Don't worry though Roy went and dealt with him the last time I spoke with him. How are you feeling?" Hearing those words, Lilian felt both relieved and a sense of disappointment at not being able to plant her foot upside the stupid man's head. Rising up from her bed, she slowly pushed her legs off and sat over the edge, wincing slightly at the strain on her shoulder. Knowing she had been shot, she checked her arm seeing that it had been bandaged from the shoulder down to her wrist, effectively putting it into a make shift cast that hindered her movements with the extremity.

"Where am I?" Lilian questioned, looking around the room.

"in the educational institution's clinic."

"…What's a clinic?"

Caught by surprise, Caren had to remind herself that much like Elrya Alya, Lilian too had little knowledge of material world. She gave a brief explanation which Lilian took mostly with a grain of salt but understanding the point for the most part. Her fingers gently caressed the wound, wanting to rub it to comfort herself and feeling the need to almost break off the cast to reach it. It was like a child who wanted to rub an annoying scab wound but couldn't due to obvious reasons. "Besides this annoying thing, I'm feeling pretty good." Lilian answered, even pushing herself off her bed and standing before deciding that, yes, she was indeed healthy enough to move around.

"Cents-san?" The nurse Caren had spoken to earlier walked up carrying some sort of medication and a spoon that she apparently was going to give Lilian. "I'm glad your awake, how is your arm? You took a pretty nasty blow there, the bullet had even passed through the ligaments and bones. Of course once you got here, the wound miraculously was already starting to heal but we bandaged it up just to be safe."

"I feel fine, th-thanks." Lilian said.

"Don't worry; we Diclonius have a much better healing rate than humans. We may be just as susceptible to damage but we can heal much faster than normal people." Caren replied to give some reason for Lilian's recovery.

The nurse nodded, maybe not understanding the implications of what Carentorzulan had mentioned but knowing she was not dealing with the average person took it without question. These girls probably knew more about their own bodies then she did but still, she did have a job to do. "I need you to take this, it's a special medicine though it may not taste very good." No sooner had she said it as the spoonful of red liquid touched Lilian's tongue that she gagged and spat it back up, spluttering incoherently before managing to weakly cry out, "Th-That's disgusting!"

"I know, but please just gulp it down quickly and it will all be over." The Nurse claimed.

"I don't want to." Lilian pouted, looking awfully childish for an eighteen year old woman. In fact she may have been the oldest Diclonius currently living in the educational facility next to Kaede. Caren offered her a look of both censure, as if she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of wonder why Diclonius acted like this even though she knew that most of them hadn't had the luxury that she did and apologetic as well. "I'm sure it's not that bad Lilian, just take one long gulp like she said.

Still unsure, she did gulp nervously and took the spoon then swigged it down in one full swing, swallowed before she spat it back up then coughed wildly, holding her throat. If she had to take any more of that sick medication she might actually get sick herself. The liquid had been terribly bitter and even after she had finished the aftertaste remained on the back of her tongue. She had taken medicine as a little girl when she lived with her mother but she had never tasted something as revolting as that. "I don't have to take that again, do I?" The girl asked nervously at the end.

The nurse kindly shook her head, perhaps thinking the medicine had a stranger effect on the horned girls than it did normal people. She had been instructed for the most part that Diclonius shared a similar biology to humans; therefore it was best to treat them as she would treat any other human patient. What a strange yet fascinating people these girls were and what a terrible fate they had to live in for so long because of mankind's stupidity.

"Can I leave now please? I'm feeling much better right now."

Usually after getting shot the woman would have disproved of such actions immediately but she wasn't dealing with the average person here. "Your arm was already healing up when you got here but I want you to keep the bandages on until at least tomorrow. Also if you feel anything is wrong, you come straight here."

"I can do that, as long as I don't have to take that medicine anymore." Lilian declared.

Back outside in cold weather, wearing her large coat and visibly massaging her arm that was probably bothered less by the pain now and more by bandages themselves gazed up at the sky for a good while before breathing out, "So where's that bastard who shot me, I deserve to at least punch him in the face for that."

"Oh trust me, I did too and I wasn't even there." Caren agreed fully.

Lilian still looking up at the sky muttered slowly but loud enough for her friend to hear. "I don't like it, when people talk about my family in terrible ways." Those who knew Caren knew that she had a huge attachment to her family. Both to her mother whom they at least assumed as nice a person as Lilian let on and her father in which there was no point getting into as it seemed impossible to get to a logical answer. Regardless of how they felt though, Lilian Cents loved her family deep inside her heart and mockery of them in any sort of way was one of the few things that could push her off the edge. It was the only thing too that could probably make her cry, even though she would never readily admit doing such a thing in public. Lilian had too much pride in herself to do such a thing even though it was obvious to everyone around her, at least to her friends that she did it. In fact if she readily admitted her own feelings directly instead of trying to hide behind an assertive veil, she could handle situations easier.

But it was not her decision so while Caren wanted to voice her thoughts, she let it run through. Lilian had already changed vastly from the very first day they had met, from a girl who had the usual vile hatred for most of humanity to being one of Miriana's closest friends. It was a change that only those who knew the turmoil of the Diclonius race and their interaction with humanity could understand. There may have also been a part of her that could understand Lilian's point of view while the others could not, though it was not on the same level. Her sister, Orlana who she admired without a doubt in her mind had also been an assassin, at least from what she had gathered from Roy. Though all had been done in the attempt to secure her, Orlana ultimately lead down the path of a convicted murderer, killing not only humans but Diclonius as well.

That was her life, the very life that Caren could never have imagined her sister doing and thus it made her connect deeper with Lilian than the others. She knew what it must have felt like to have a loving connection with another person and yet that same relationship being ridiculed, questioned despite the other's valiant attempt to correct those mistakes. If someone told her that her sister was only a murderer who cared for nothing but herself, she wouldn't handle it any better than Lilian and she knew it. She'd have lashed out, thrown more than just a desk and probably screamed a few choice words of Japanese and Turkish at the teacher who dared to defile the good name of her sister.

Vladimir R. Cents.

The man who had nearly turned Europe into a wasteland of despair before suffering his defeat at the hands of Garder F. Morotisan over fifteen years ago. Elrya hated him, Miriana hated him, she hated him though on a less note than the other two since she never directly knew him, only that he was responsible for her sister's death which was more than enough to fill her ire. Roy hated him as well for killing his wife, and there were countless thousands, maybe even millions of people of the world who's lives, families, lovers, friends, the very commitment of their worldly views that were crushed under his tyrannical regime. The only good thing Cents ever did was perhaps not completely killing everyone in a town because he felt like it. But Lilian loved him, this man was her father and it wasn't in the sense that she felt obligated to adore the person who helped birth her. Lilian honestly loved the man who by all accounts, was undeniably, unmistakably and unforgettably incorrigible.

So after all this time, she had finally gotten to speak to him again and the truth that everyone around her had blasted her was finally brought to life by the very words of the figure she had once adored. How harsh it must have been to hear that from someone she had thought to have love, I must have been most crushing to poor Lilian to hear her father's voice express her thoughts as childish nonsense. She didn't deserve to have such a father, she didn't deserve to have her fate intertwined with that madman. Most definitely, she didn't deserve to be related in any sort of way, most definitely not by blood to a man as horrible as one who could not even let his own death stop him from making others suffer.

"Lilian!" Miriana's voice cried out, walking in with Elrya who shrugged her shoulder's indifferently. "Sorry but after I saw Miriana I couldn't help but ask her to come with me to the clinic.

"Don't worry I was going to leave anyways, I have to keep this stupid thing on me all day though." Lilian explained, motioning to her wounded arm before being embraced by Miriana, a friendly if somewhat unexpected action. "I'm so glad you're alright Lilian, when I brought you here, you were shaking so much and, oh I'm so happy." She continued to hug her friend, burying her head in Lilian's ample chest who while glad for the reaction, couldn't help but think it was an overreaction at that.

Lilian gently pushed Miriana off and said, "I'm fine, I promise."

"Did Caren…"

"Carentorzulan!"

"…Did Caren tell you about the club?" Elrya finished.

"Screw it, none of you care." Caren moaned.

"What about the club?" Miriana asked.

"No my name, didn't I tell you to stop calling me that? It's Carentorzulan and if that's somehow too hard, address me by my last name, Zeruda. How many times do I have to keep telling you all that? Ugh why do I even bother you'll still call me Caren anyways." The Turkish Diclonius moaned, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Sorry could you say that again Caren?" Elrya jokingly added.

Caren's mood darkened comically.

"What's a club?" Lilian finally asked.

Caren sighed, still angry about the whole name thing as she usually was and answered Lilian's question, explaining the same thing that Elrya had asked about as well. Unless the pregnant Diconius had also spoken about it, it was the first time Miriana had heard about it as well.

"That sounds wonderful and it's a great idea." Miriana exclaimed with her usual air of overexcitement. "I think if we get people to join it'll be a way for the other girls to better understand themselves and have something fun to do at the same time. I mean the teachers here…" And by teachers that basically meant Roy as far Diclonius specific classes were concerned. "…Only have so much knowledge on the girls here, you all understand yourself better than anyone else I assume."

"I guess it's alright, sure I'm good for it." Lilian uttered. Then she finally lowered her head and said to Elrya. "Can I ask a favor? It's really important."

"Sure, what is it?"

"…Can I…speak to my father again?"

…

…

The room became unnaturally quite, so much it felt like a knife could cut the very air itself into a thin slice. Mirana looked sick to her stomach, Caren kept gazing out the window as if she hadn't properly heard Lilian's question or hoped the situation would change itself without her and Elrya placed her finger to her lips nervously. Someone swallowed, most likely Elrya though since nobody was looking at one another, nobody but the person who did it could tell.

Elrya twiddled her fingers against her mouth, even putting her index finger inside and biting lightly on it. "I don't feel comfortable with that Lilian, you should know that." She finally managed.

"…I know but…" How could she address this situation properly? "…This is the only way I can speak with my father, through you."

"Lilian, I really don't want to do this. We all know how you feel about him but unlike you I can't hold that same admiration. It's bad enough for me that he's inside my head, the last thing I want to do right now is let him out and have control for any amount of time of my body. There have been times before where he's forced me to do terrible things to people against my will, I might be able to suppress him now but I don't like putting the risk on me. You're my friend and I really have nothing against you or your mother. But you know as well as I do how I and basically everyone else feels about him. I just can't do it Lilian, I'm sorry."

Lilian lowered her head so that most of her face was obscured by her long hair. She looked out of place, an adult showing timid behavior to a person even younger than she was. Lilian must have realized it too, how childish she looked but though she may have been an adult physically and mentally, she had lived without much knowledge of the material world for a long time. Really she was no more knowledgeable than Elrya Alya. Truthfully, it was even less than Elrya who had a few extra years living outside the facility that even Lilian did not have plus knowledge that was given to her by Yin and the others.

"…This is the only time I've been able to talk to him. Please let me talk to him, I really need to do this."

"…Lilian, you already spoken to him, and whatever he was like for you before, you should know now that isn't the case."

Lilian Cents looked almost disgusted, though not with Elrya, only with herself. "…I know, let me…just…talk."

…

…

"Vladimir Cents." Elrya though with utter revulsion in her mental voice, expressing in every way possible complete hatred for him.

…

…

"**Hm? Ah ha, what a quaint thing hearing your voice, Elrya Alya-chan."**

"Just shut it already." Elrya growled mentally. "I'm giving you control of my body for a short while, a very short while. Someone wants to speak to you and I don't want to hear any of your stupid crap either."

"**Is that so, well then, that's your choice."**

They watched Elrya's hand cover her face, then loosening up as well as her body as that she seemed far too comfortable. Eyes close she leaned against the wall, arms behind her head and smiled lightly as if she had heard a mildly amusing joke. Then Vladelya said in her much lower voice that neither Elyra nor Alya had alone or together. "Yo girls, long time no see." Miriana held herself together as best as she could, gripping her left arm with her right so hard that her nails began to pierce her skin. Tears of frustration and fear were already forming but though she wanted to scream at the monster controlling her friend's body. Elrya had clearly intended for this to happen, she wouldn't have let him take control that easily unless she had meant for it.

"I heard one of you wanted to talk to me. Who was it, you angel Miriana?"

"It was me."

Hearing her voice, Vladelya's smile disappeared, turning around to see Lilian Cents standing before her, her eyes sharp and focused.

"…Oh, so it's you." Vladelya remarked folding her arms in front of her now but displaying no amount of cruel glee in his face. For Miriana, it was odd just like before not seeing Vladimir, be it as himself or in the body of her friend not to show the chaotic enjoyment he was used to expressing. Vladelya's eyes traveled to the bandage around Lilian's arms and whispered, "That's quite a grievous wound, isn't it?"

The daughter nodded once. "…I was shot."

"Really? It must have been quite painful."

Again she nodded at her father's response. "It was, the worst pain I think I've ever been through. But for you, that probably doesn't even matter, you probably think it was great that I was hurt.

Because…you desire to see people suffering."

Vladelya narrowed her eyes. "Aye, that is my desire, one that I will continue to seek as long as I exist."

"Of course, the others were keen to tell me about that. There's something funny though, I'm hurt, my arm is bandaged and I was in utter pain the classroom. Were you not laughing inside Elrya's head the entire time when I was screaming?"

"I was not aware at the time." Vladelya replied.

"I have a few questions, answer them." Lilian said, her voice displaying a hint of pure determination in it. It wasn't a matter if Vlad wanted to answer them, he would answer them. Once again Miriana found it remarkable that Vlad would be submissive to Lilian. There was only one person that Vladimir ever submitted to in his life and that was Director Morotisan. The war against each other that had formed their alliance together, he was the only man that Vladimir Cents had any true amount of respect for, if it was only grudgingly. He was the only man who he had ever seen as an equal, was despaired when Garder abandoned what Cents saw as the perfect implication of desire but could not help but still retain, if grudgingly an amount of respect for the ex-General. But he hated him for what he did, to trample not only on his desires and claim it as a foolish dream but to also abandon his own desire at the climax of their fight. He didn't care if someone beat him, to lose against such a worthy opponent whose desires were as great as his would have been wonderful.

That never happened, in the end Cents was left cursing Garder's entire existence and that curse had remained ever since.

"What are they?"

"What is my name?"

"I believe it was Lilian, correct?"

"What is my full name."

Vladelya paused then said slowly, "…Lilian Cents." The Twisted Relic didn't bother asking why she questioned such a thing. Lilian than offered the next question to Vladelya.

"You apparently always talked about this so called desire of yours, perfect suffering. That's a strange sort of desire someone would have, even if they are insane." Vladelya, hearing such a thing bit her bottom lip. Vladimir Cents hated it when people looked down on his desires and treated him as if he was just a madman with no clear goal. "Why would you ever want to have such a desire as that?"

…

…

"I desire to create a world of perfect suffering to complete my wants. Watching people suffer brings me a sense of enjoyment that nothing else can. I also love to suffer myself, my body being torn apart, ligaments ripped, tendons cut and veins torn."

"Why do you hate dreams so much? Aren't dreams and desires the same thing?"

Vladelya shook her head. "Stupid assumptions by people who don't understand anything. You can never attain your dreams because you have to wake up from them. You can go as far as you can, you may even get with the fingers length of attaining it, but you will never reach it completely. At some point you'll have to wake up from your silly little dreams. But with desires as long as you keep going for it, you will eventually attain it. This does not mean you will attain it though, but where dreams are impossible to attain no matter how hard you try, determination and faith in yourself will always allow you the possibility of achieving it. You also said something about how I told you to look up to your dreams right? That is wrong, I would never say such things."

"I know what my father said to me, I may have been young but I'm sure I know exactly what he said and what he was like." She thought but decided not to address it to Vladelya. There was only one thing she needed to ask, but the question couldn't be asked directly. Her vector came out, Vladelya's eyes opening up enough to show some point of curiosity then swallowing deeply, she plunged her corporeal fingers into the upper shoulder, grinding her teeth from the pain as the Vladelya watched.

"Lilian, stop!" Caren screamed, her friend raising her hand to prevent any of her friends from helping her. "…Gah…guh! Ahhhh! It hurts so much, guh!" She pulled her hand out, wincing and practically regretting hurting herself. But there was a point to her antics, at least for her and she needed to see what her so called "father's" reaction to that would be. With blood now leaking through the cloth of the bandages, Lilian finally asked her question. "So why aren't you laughing?"

…

…

"I'm hurt, I'm in pain, gah!" She couldn't lie on this, she may not have thought this one out very well but part of her, some part of her wanted a reaction from her father. What she wanted was her father to display some sort of care for her, like had for her and her mother all that time ago. "So why don't you laugh, while I suffer." She didn't mean it, if he laughed or turned away from her time of need, she wasn't sure how she could handle it. Part of her, in a way that could be understood but unfortunately not accepted by the others, she wanted to believe that there was still some fundamental good in this person before her and that the things said about her father had only been mistakes.

…

…

Elrya and Alya could feel the heartbeat racing and Vladelya's face grinding down into a horrible grimace as she looked down at Lilian. Her arms which had been crossed now tightened, her finger nails gripping her skin and drawing tiny drops of blood before with a sudden jerk as if she had been hit by something hard in the back, Alya was thrown to the front of the mind so suddenly she lost her balance and fell face first onto the floor. "Ow! L-Lilian! Please stop!" Noticing that her father was no longer in control, Lilian exclaimed indignantly. "I'm fine…" she lied on that part though it wasn't like she had hurt enough to matter too much. "Why did you come in front?"

"I-I'm sorry Lilian, Cents just…" He didn't even give a warning, it was almost like Cents had fled back and forced Alya to the front. There was something in Vladimir Cents that couldn't be explained, he didn't laugh, he didn't giggle and considering she could sense his emotions while he was in control she perfectly expected at least some amount of dark humor to come from him. Something was far different from Vlad than she knew before and there was no telling where it would lead to right now.

"Lilian…" Alya muttered softly. "Please stop this right now. I know how you feel about your father but you can't keep this up. Lilian listen to me, your father doesn't care about you."

"Shut up!" Lilian didn't mean to yell but it came out anyways and Alya finding that she had accidently pushed her buttons too far. Lilian as if realizing her mistake covered her mouth and turned away, quickly offering an apology for her outburst. "I'm…I'm sorry Alya, but…" But what, that despite everything people had been telling her from day one she wanted her father to still express some matter of love to her? Maybe she was just a child who couldn't learn to grow up or accept the facts and longed for the comfort from a person whom though she came to dislike in some regards for leaving her and her mother, always provided them with the necessities and care they needed when he was around. And it was just Vladimir Cents either, it also meant that her mother had fallen in love with a madman, expressed care for a monster and that meant she was the offspring of such twistedness.

She hated herself.

Lilian, unable to control herself and not wanting the others to see her, ran out of the room, bringing with her outcries from the staff who must have seen her bleeding arm. "Alya say something to her!?" Miriana managed to weakly cry out, holding her fingers together delicately.

"…Miriana…" The girl uttered morbidly. "What do you want me to tell her? That we were wrong and Vladimir was the nicest person in the world? I have nothing against her but she has to learn the truth of this. She's only hurting herself if she keeps thinking that the bastard inside me cared one bit for her. I don't know where she got the idea that Vlad loved her but she needs to get over it. Maybe that was true before, I doubt that truly but maybe it was, many years ago, but it's not true anymore."

Alya looked around then stated, "What do you want me to do? I'm having it hard enough with this thing inside me."

"Is he still there?" Caren inquired.

"No…" Alya stated with a single shake of her head. "Elrya nor I can even sense him inside us right now, he's gone too far deep into our subconscious. There's nothing I can do, this is something Lilian herself has to come to grips with and accept. Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

There was no point in staying the room now that Lilian had left so the girls went outside to continue their conversation. Lilian hadn't gone out far though, still leaning against the walls of the building she turned to see them then quickly turned away in embarrassment. "You all must think I'm insane right? I keep this up even though everyone has shown me the truth but I refuse to believe it."

Alya gently answered back. "Lilian, nobody here has anything against you, I promise that. You just have to learn to accept things and know we'll always be here to help you."

"…I just…want to hear him care for me, like before. It's not just him, it also has to do with me and my mother. I don't…know what to do anymore."

"Lilian, this is something you'll have to decide on your own." Caren explained. "We'll support you but ultimately it's up to you to decide the course of action. Talking about this stuff is making you worried and we know how Elrya Alya feels about this as well, she's hurting just as much as you probably are Lilian. We still have some time left before our next classes, let's get some lunch while we're at it. I'll talk more about the club while we're eating as well.

"Y-Yeah…" Lilian spoke.

Walking away, Alya felt something in the back of her head push and she paused, letting the others take a few steps in front of her. **"Do you remember our deal I offered before?" **

"I do and I refused so leave it, now shut up and go away, I'm not in the mood right now." Alya declared angrily.

"…**I am more interested in Lilian Cents than I was before. I want you to insert me into her mind."**

"I said no, just shut up about it already Vladimir Cents! I won't let you ruin her life like you ruined mine."

…

…

"**You refuse?"**

"Wow you're slow on the uptake, yes I refuse! The only reason I even let you out in the first place is because Lilian asked and I'll probably have to do it again when I go back to Garder. The less I have to deal with you the better."

…

…

"**How much do you care about Miriana?"**

"What's that supposed to…GAH!" Her vector shot out, like an arrow right to Miriana's back and would've stabbed right through, maybe even taking her heart had Elrya and Alya not concentrated enough to stop Vladimir. The others didn't notice anything and Miriana herself remained blissfully unaware. Gasping, rage and fear filled the poor Diclonius who retracted her hands and pushed Vladimir back down with all of her might.

"**How quaint, you stopped me just in time. Don't forget girl I have access to your powers as well, you maybe be able to hold me back when you two work together but alone that's much harder. For example, how easy would it be for me to take control while your asleep and just start slaughtering your friends in their sleep?"**

Horrible indignation filled every pore in her body.

"You…fucking…bastard!" Elrya Alya thought.

"**I have the power to ruin your life Elrya Alya, just like before and I won't stop there either. Who knows if I can but if there's a way for me to screw up that child of yours, I'll do so."**

"...You…I hate you!"

"**Here's the deal now, there are no compromises for it. I will give you until tomorrow night to make the choice. Insert me into her mind and I will deal with things from there. You will forever be rid of me at the same time, isn't that what you want? It's a win-win situation for both of us."**

Elrya Alya retorted, "But it's a loss for Lilian."

"**It doesn't matter, you will make the choice then. I'll let you do it tomorrow night to give some time to think about it and if you do, you can do it when everyone else is asleep. But if you don't, I'll slaughter everyone and you'll be the one responsible, both directly and indirectly. This is what you get Elrya Alya, for not killing me when you had the chance the first time. You could've ended this a long time ago, just like Garder so many years ago. But you kept up that incessant dream of yours and where did it lead? That's right, your precious man was murdered by me and there isn't a damn thing you could do about it."**

"I said…"

"**SILENCE!"**

This time, the girl was quelled by the ferocity in Vladimir's voice. **"Dreamers like you need to wake up, I've given you the facts right now. You have two choices, insert me into Lilian's mind and be free of my influence on you. Otherwise I will burn your world like I did before and you will know as you watch your friends screaming in agony, that you were responsible. **

**You have until tomorrow night dreaming saint. You'd best think about it carefully until then.**

…

…

Back together again, Elrya shook from head to toe, watching her friends leave in front, not knowing what had transpired behind them.

* * *

**Name Pronunciations**

The way to pronounce some of the more "unique" names of the series that may not be too obvious.

Elrya Alya (El-rye-uh) (All-yuh)

Carentorzulan (Care-n-tor-zoo-lawn) *Please note that this name really isn't really Turkish as far as I know. If I wanted I could've looked up actual Turkish names.*

Garder Ferajhan Morotisan (Gar-rur) (Fer-ah-john) (Mir-o-teh-syn) *The first name is fairly easy though the middle and last may not be as such)

Vorono Girikuson (Vir-o-no) (Geh-ryk-oo-sun)

Miriana Kusoku (Meer-ee-ah-nuh) (Koo-So-Koo)

Aurelius Denotos (Ah-reel-ee-us) (Dee-no-toes)

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the brief delay though I hope the 8000+ word chapter makes up for it. As usual thanks for reading the story and thanks for the reviews and as I said if I got at least 3 reviews before or during Chapter 15 I would continue on. As that has happened I will keep writing up up until Chapter 25 regardless of the feedback I get. Although the more reviews I get, the more motivated I may be to finish up chapters quicker.

Please keep reading, please keep enjoying and please keep giving feed back and reviews. I want to keep this story going but it's up to you readers to make sure I have enough motivation to keep on going.

Keep up to date on the next upcoming chapter of "Pinpoint Conviction." Because things just got a whole lot more serious.


	15. Friendship

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 15: Friendship**

"Hey, Elrya!"

Jerked awake by Lilian's voice, the girl raised her head up to listen.

"You've been looking kind of down, is something wrong?" She asked. Elrya had barely eaten any of her food, even ignoring the items she had picked and had kept her head down the entire time while Lilian and Caren talked. Miriana had to leave, most likely to continue helping Roy as her breaks would coincide with his own.

"…I'm fine, really." Elrya muttered half-heartedly, unable to look Lilian in the eyes. She could still here his demented voice inside of her head, his threat to her, her friends and ultimately to everyone in the educational facility. She could feel a shiver running down her spine, shaking her from the base of neck down to her toes.

"_Tomorrow night, that's how long I'll give you. Think about it carefully dreamer because if you don't, I'll make sure to burn you world again and just like before, you'll only have yourself to blame."_

She couldn't eat after that, she only poked at her food at chewed on small morsels despite getting a plate full. She had thought that she could get over this predicament by filling her stomach, but the only that happened was a bigger hole opening in her psyche. Vladimir Cents had done it again, just like he did in their final battle. In her desperate attempt to uphold her conviction in not killing people, for her and Miriana's sake, she ended up having Yin killed for her recklessness. Then when she again refused to kill him again, she had nearly lost Alya and ended up slaughtering hundreds of people when Vlad's influence took over her. In the end, she may have won the battle, but he had won the war and now she was paying for her mistakes. If she had only killed him before, didn't hesitate then none of this would have happened.

And now her one chance of getting him out of her meant putting a good friend in danger. Lilian didn't deserve to such a monster inside her head, there was no way she would ever wish for that to happen but again, Cents put her in a place where if she refused, he could and would ruin her life. The sadistic choice had been given to her again, allow his influence to fester inside Lilian, or rupture her world like he did before and was doing now.

She had no idea how he would do that, then again he could only imagine how his weapons that allowed him to transfer his mentality into her own worked either. What she did know was that, if there was ever time Cents was telling the truth, it would be now. It also made her worry about other things, such as how Alya might be affected by the change. If Cents could transfer his own mentality away, could he do it without forcing Alya to join as well? If only she could directly influence him herself, she'd have put him into a carrot if she could.

"You aren't fine, what's wrong?" Caren asked.

"I'm fine, I was…I don't know…" What could she tell them anyways? Even if she explained the entire ordeal to them, there wasn't anything they could do about it. Plus she feared that telling them would only entice Vladimir to act violently against them. She hated it, but even when her friends were willing to help her in her time of need and though she desperately wished to reach out to them, Cents had forced her into a position where she couldn't get help without the risk of hurting others. She couldn't even give a good reason for her behavior and so, she pushed chair up and rose from the table, quickly offering a half-baked apology then running off without giving another word despite the two's exclamations.

The two looked at her plate, still filled with food then at one another nervously. "Did I miss something; I mean I'm the one who got shot?" Lilian uttered, looking over the entrance of the dining hall where Elrya had just left. Caren before answering stared at the same area then shook her head.

"I think something's wrong with her."

"You mean like, her…" Not wanting to be overheard, Lilian pointed to her belly. Again Caren shook her head in denial of the response. "No, we already know about that and I doubt she'd hold something back on us if her pregnancy had anything to do with it. No, I think something else is wrong." She got up, her face set into a stern expression and her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "I think we should talk with her, if she's holding something back on us we need to talk. Besides it's my duty to look after the Diclonius and if Elrya's needs help, I'll be there."

Nodding affirmatively, Lilian was about to get up before Caren's outstretched hand stopped her. "I'll go Lilian, you need to head back to the hospital and let them re-wrap that wound you reopened."

"Huh? It's fine, trust me."

"Just do it, please."

Sighing, Lilian shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "You got some nerve giving orders from someone older than you, but if it makes you happy I'll go back. Make sure you find out what the problem is and tell her I hope she gets better." She stood back down, twiddling her utensils nonchalantly then continued to eat, her thoughts traveling to different points while Carentorzulan picked up her plate and disposed of it, leaving to find her friend.

* * *

Elrya closed the door behind her, threw herself face first onto her bed and put the pillow in her mouth to muffle the high pitched scream that escaped her lips. Stopping only to catch her breath, she felt the aggravation of being unable to anything fill her entire being, grinding her teeth and clenching her fist before screaming inside of her head. "What the hell do you want from me Cents!? What the fucking hell do you keep screwing with my life? Haven't you done enough already, haven't you screwed up my life enough as it is?"

"**I already told you, you brought this on yourself."**

"You bastard! I didn't do anything; you're the one who fucked my life up! You're the one who tortured Miriana, you're the one who killed Yin, You're the one who fucked everything that was good about my life and you keep doing it! You fucking bastard! Fuck you!"

"**Heh! Is that what you think, dreamer? I'll take responsibility for anything that happened before our fight, but you only have yourself to blame afterwards. You tried to keep that foolish ideology of not killing despite knowing the consequences. Through our struggles you knew to the end what would happen but you stubbornly refused to accept it. I may have pulled the trigger to kill that man but you're ultimately the one who instigated it. **

…**And now you're pissed off as usual because you're unbelievable weak minded. This fucking conviction you spoke of before, is nothing more than pile of shit. You could've ended this long ago, if you had murdered me at the start, but no, you decided you wanted to follow some foolish thoughts that your friend told you."**

"Liar!"

"**Lie?" **Vladimir answered the girl's mental shriek. **"Why don't you look over at the picture of your dead husband and tell yourself that again? I have lived my life in pursuit of my desires, have created, fought and stormed through my self-created war all for the point of sending this world into perfect suffering. **

**Scream all you want Diclonius, but this is the truth. In the end, it wasn't me, Miriana or anyone else that fucked your life up. I may have started it, but…in the very end; you're the one who finished it."**

She wanted to scream back at him, but she couldn't do it. Not when he was speaking the truth to her.

"**For the first time, I have found something that I desire almost as much as I desire to see people suffer. Lilian Cents is an enigma, she holds everything I am yet everything I hate, it is almost infuriating. Frankly, I'm surprised you don't jump on the occasion to get rid of me, but as usual you foolishly try to believe your dreams can overrule reality. There is no argument for this matter Elrya Alya Sandersas, tomorrow night; you will make your choice."**

She was crying now, unable to hold it in, she felt defeated just like before when she thought she had murdered Alya. There really was nothing she could do about it; Vladimir Cents had her on a leash. Pushing herself so that she lay on her back, she rubbed the tears from her eyes on the end of her pillow and thought painfully. "…I get it, I'll…do it as you said tomorrow night she when she's asleep. Even if I didn't want to there's nothing I can do about it." Her bottom lipped trembled and she physically whispered the next words, full of malign hate. "I fucking hate you, Vladimir Cents. I fucking hate everything you did to me, my friends, my life, everything. I don't know what sort of person Lilian sees in you, but I know that you are nothing but bona fide monster. You're right, I should have killed you the first time and not been so stupid and now I'm paying the price for it.

…Just…fuck you!"

"Elrya? Are you in there?" Caren's voice called in after she knocked.

"You can come in." Elrya answered, Caren entering at that point and sitting down on her own bed.

"Hey, about what happened back in the dining hall? I can tell something is wrong and I won't have you telling me it's nothing. Please talk to me Elrya, I'm your friend and I'm here to help you."

Elrya knew, or rather feared that she couldn't tell Carentorzulan the whole truth. Vladimir Cents might force his influence out if she said too much. "It's him; I want this bastard out of me. You have no idea what it's like knowing that the person who screwed your life up so badly, tortured your best friend and then killed the person you love, only to find that he's inside your head and there's nothing you can do about it." She wanted to scream the real truth at her, but for her own sake, she only said that much which in turn was the truth itself. In fact unable to help herself and needing some measure of comfort, Elrya stormed off of her bed and embraced Caren who despite being startled returned it tenderly.

"I'm scared…" Elrya moaned fervently, her fingers clutching the outer cloth of Caren's shirt. "I want him out of me, I really do."

"…I know how you feel Elrya, we'll always be here for you no matter what and you know that. Both Lilian and I were worried when you suddenly left like that but now I can see why. She'll probably want to know the same thing too and knowing her she might be a bit angry, you know how she is with her father but you should explain anyways. If you want you can stay here and miss your next classes, I'm sure if I you explain it to Roy he'll understand."

Elrya declined the offer. "There's no need for that, I'll head to the next classes. Though if someone starts being an idiot I might start throwing desks myself." Caren laughed at the remark and left the room leaving Elrya to silently ponder her delicate situation. There was no way she could tell her the truth and it inflicted such a great amount of pain on her heart to betray her friends. If only she could rip him out of her and cast him aside, forever ridding herself of him without the need of having to hurt others. Yet again and again her life was thrown into the mix of hell and abrasiveness, always one step forward and two steps back. Her life was unbearably harsh, only helped by the helpings and risks of those who had befriended her. Now she had a choice, betray her friends, or risk having Vladimir Cents ruin her life as he did those many months ago.

The worst part about it, the one that could only make her ire grow more for him, Vladimir Cents was right. She was the one who blindly tried to follow her ideals and keep the ideals of Miriana alive. Even her best friend couldn't stop herself from screaming for Cents death, a girl far more innocent than she could ever hope to become. If she had killed him the first time, Yin Sandersas would most likely still be alive. The picture beside her bed would not have just included him, but a picture of both of them, smiling, perhaps she would have placed her head against his shoulders, eyes closed and engulfed her senses in the clean warm touch of his clothes and body.

Life really was, terrible right now.

* * *

The next class, "Japanese History" was taught by a relatively young woman with waist length black hair named Anna K. When asked what the "K" stood for, she responded that it was "Kurotosi." She at least had no problems with changing the names on the list, though Elrya assumed Roy had made specific instructions to the rest of the staff in this regard. She had no idea, nor did anyone else that they were looking at the one and only daughter of the ex-Director Kakuzawa and Anna had wisely decided to keep her real surname a secret. Her job was to teach, something she was relatively good at as far as basic history would go, though her lack of partial omniscience made her forget many of the things she had learned, mostly that of mathematical constructs, but luckily her mind on history had remained sharp.

Nobody could tell she had horns either as her hair had would have obscured the mutations easily and as she wasn't a true Diclonius she didn't have the specific signature to give off. As far as Elrya was concerned, she was a nice enough woman, much better than the cynical jackass she had seen before and in turn had problems with her. Unfortunately unlike Roy who could make the class interesting, she found "history" to be a very boring and unneeded subject as Anna only seemed to teach by the book. It made class go by slowly, forcing her to lay her head on her desk and keep one eye open, yawning loudly and waiting for the bell to finally ring.

"Sandersas-san! Raise your head."

"Y-Yes…sensei…" Elrya muttered, not sure how she felt about being addressed by her last name like that. "Ah, this is so boring…." She thought heavily, yawning to keep herself a wake then resting her hand upon her cheek with her elbow on the table. Fingers tapping the desk impatiently, she gazed her eyes at the clock, signed upon knowing she couldn't read it then turned her head back to the teacher though seemingly focusing more on the board behind her. Something about Oda Nobunaga and something he did long ago. Really, it didn't matter too much to her.

The next class was her reading and writing assignment and probably the only class she was actually interested in. Luckily for her, it was being taught by a woman from Osaka who like Roy and Anna didn't teach behind some glass window, but was kind hearted to the rest of the Diclonius and taught in a more robust manner, at least keeping up the interest in the class and praising anyone despite how terrible their work might have been. It was good because it sharply contrasted with the actual classwork. She didn't expect it to be easy but this seemed overwhelmingly impossible.

They had each been given a pen and several sheets of parchment, much of which was wasted on senseless drawings by the other girls including Elrya who had proceeded to create simplistic artwork. For a girl who had once been about to marry and was even pregnant, she was deep down still a young girl, almost childish at times though she'd never fully admit it due to her pride. The sensei, Naomi Rei, was teaching them the basics of kanji, katakana and hiragana, insisting that they write them down and when they got the hang of it, write their meanings down as well. Constantly looking up at the board, then at her own parchment, the Diclonius sighed, attempting to match the writing as best as she could while simultaneously trying to take in their meaning. Throughout the entire thing she had learned a total of six phrases to write and recognize:

Hello

Goodbye

I'm hungry

Thank you

I'm sorry

Kakuzawa is a fruit basket…

The others had greatly liked the sixth one as even the kind teacher was not beyond giving the old man his due comeuppance.

"Sandersas-san."

"What? I'm listening." Elrya exclaimed.

"No, it's not that. I would like you to come to the board and write out any of the phrases here." The teacher explained generously. Shrugging her shoulders though seemingly embarrassed at being called up, Elrya went up and took the marker, thinking for a brief moment then asking, "How do you write 'Vladimir is a self-serving murderous bastard?"

Naomi looked at her strangely.

"Sorry, sorry…ummmm…here." She didn't want to look like an idiot and picked the first one, writing out "Hello" in a very sloppy but at least agreeably correct manner. Sitting back in her seat, filled with a bit of pride at being told she was correct, the others too were called up to write out any phrase they wanted, unsurprisingly number six being the most common.

With the sound of the bell ringing in their ears to signal the end of class, Elrya found Miriana to take her to her next class, and surprised to find herself going to the same room as her first one that Roy had taught and also finding the same blue haired man in there as well. They walked through the unhinged wall, the door that Roy had kicked down now propped against the wall at an obscene angle. Deciding to take the same seat she had been in the first time, Roy who had been teaching before, was already sitting down in his seat, legs propped up against his desk with his eyes close, seemingly asleep if it wasn't for the fact that he kept licking his lips as if he had a bad taste on it. Since this was second to last class, many of the Diclonius Elrya had met in her other ones were also in here which included, much to her happiness, Lilian and Caren which meant all of her friends were part of this class as well. Her two friends greeted Miriana then sat down with their friend, Caren to the side and Lilian to the second, her arm still bandaged from the previous wound though how much it was needed was unknown.

"What class did you come out of Elrya?" Lilian asked.

"That writing and reading class, has a good teacher but it's kind of hard. What about you?" Elrya replied.

"History. Why do we have to know about something from so long ago? It's not like it's important or anything." Lilian answered back, raising her hand objectively. Caren upon hearing this shook he her head mundanely.

"You shouldn't say that, history is a very important thing for us to learn."

"How much Japanese history do you know?" Lilian questioned.

Caren frowned and looked away. "That's different, I'm Turkish so I know Turkish history." Carentorzulan explained as if that settled the matter. The friends continued to talk until one more person came in, would've been easy to miss had two things not happen. One, she was followed by a rowdy child, years younger than even the youngest Diclonius. Two, she was being ascertained by the other girls as a one of the greatest things in the world, much to Elrya's annoyance. Kaede, her face set in what might have been a perpetual scowl, kept her hands in the pockets of her long coat, her hair having been pulled back into a large pony tail behind her.

"Onee-tama, where should we sit?" Her little brother asked jovially, eyes travelling around the room then seeing Elrya, rushing up to her.

"Guh!" She moved back when he came up to her, curiously gazing into her eyes then saying, "I remember you."

"Yeah…so do I, you kind of bit me." She answered darkly.

He put his finger to his mouth and mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"Kaede-sama, you should sit by me!"

"No, sit here."

"Kaede-sama! Here!"

In the end, Kaede merely sat down in the middle of the class room, her little brother sitting next to her while the other girls came up to him, finding him an adorable sight. Elrya found him to be a pain in the ass as her fingers could well justify. A few minutes passed as the others came in then Roy yawned and pushed himself up, addressing the class as he had done before when Elrya had first had him and insisted that he be addressed as "Professor Synth" as long as they were in here. Miriana did the roll call as before and finally Roy started the class, getting up and leaning against the blackboard, his right foot lifting up to balance himself on the edge.

"Welcome to 'Understanding Voices' in which we'll be discussing that tiny little thing inside your head that seems to think human's like myself are bastards…and considering the situations that may be the case, and how to accept and control them. First things first, are there anyone who has not heard their own internal voice talking to them?"

Nobody responded.

"I thought so, but be truthful, this is a very serious class and a very serious question."

Again, nobody answered.

"Very well then, this means that at least one point you have heard your biological voice talking to you. Some of you have had more contact with your biological voice than others. Now to give a fine example, Elrya I'd like you to come up here."

"Eh, knew this was coming." Elrya thought, heading up to the head of the class.

"Elrya, I think you know what to do."

"Yeah…yeah I'm here." Alya had already begun.

One of the girls responded instantly, "What happened to you Elrya?"

"I'm not Elrya, I'm her voice, Alya."

The others looked at her, both amazed and surprised.

"Elrya…" Roy began. "…Has had a great amount of contact and understanding with her voice named Alya. She's able to willing change in and out of her voice and Alya herself by having more benign contact with humans is much less willing to slaughter them. Am I correct Alya?"

"That's right, I used to hate humans with a passion and there would've been nothing to change my mind. But certain people I knew, Vorono, Miriana and Yin, showed me that not every human is as cruel as I thought. Sometimes though I have to relax and calm myself and Elrya is able to pull me back in case I get out of hand."

"Alya's correct in this, your voices may be problematic but by no means should you try to force them down. It biological that they want to kill humans, it might be some evolutionary thing born out of some strange impacts of the Homo-Sapiens, Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons but I won't get into that because I know most of you have no idea what the fuck I just said."

Roy had that last one right.

"We can't change that but we can control it and that means you can control it. Alya, you are instrumental in this class and I hope that you will be able to help not only other Diclonius but their internal voices as well. Now there is some regards of when the voices emerge but we can mostly agree that it's between the ages of three to seven years old though for some it emerges much, much later. Circumstances usually arrive on this occasion as it seems you Diclonius who go through extreme stress earlier in your life are more probable of attaining the biological voice. This isn't always the case of course but it is at least prominent.

Am I boring you Kaede?"

Kaede, who had been resting her hand on her head, eyes closed with a clearly bored expression on her face, finally opened her eyes up and glared over at Roy. "Maybe you are…" She muttered, closing her eyes again.

"Really? Well why am I boring you?"

"…This class is pointless. It's bad enough I have to take care of this brat but now I have to listen to unnecessary information. The only reason I'm here is because I'm practically forced to, at the very least give me something that's important."

Roy nodded absentmindedly at the answer. "I see, that's kind of a strange answer coming from you Queen. I'd have though a woman who threw a bitch fit over her fucking dog and slaughtered an entire group of people at a festival over a hug would be more interesting in learning to control her psychotic personality."

Roy had definitely hit a nerve and had now gotten Kaede's full attention as well as the entire class. She arched her eyebrows and said, with the voice of venomous implication that she had once been so well known for. "That has nothing to do with it. It was a long time ago and there's no point in going over it."

"Can I ask you a question?" Elrya inquired looking over at Kaede. The woman didn't acknowledge it verbally but clearly looking at Elrya she knew the girl would ask anyways.

"Why are you such a kill joy?"

The question caught Kaede off guard who jerked her head back slightly. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean…" Elrya began angrily. "…That you are by far, the most self-centered, depressing, arrogant bitch I have ever met in my life." Now it had started, a stressful situation boiling in the classroom when Kaede picked herself up and stood by her desk. Her body posture now erect and ready, she gave off a much more serious air of menace. Elrya did not get up, but not to be outdone, she returned the glare with equal ferocity, her fingers rubbing her own desk ominously. The Diclonius looked between the two, Miriana put her hands together nervously and Roy waited for the next response, deciding that unless something serious happened, this was the best outcome.

"You've got some nerve talking to me, brat. What do you know about my life? You have no idea…"

"FUCKING SHIT WOMAN!" Elrya screamed, this time getting up and pushing her chair down. "Do you seriously even hear yourself talk? You know what your problem is Lucy, don't correct me either, you know what it is? You're so goddamn down all the time that even when things go your way, you constantly feel the need to bash other people and act like they don't know how you feel. I mean, aren't you the one who helped beat Kakuzawa? That's a pretty good thing to feel about especially if you're a Diclonius, but no, you're always self-centered and cold all the time. It pisses me off so much the way you act and treat other people even when they treat you with the kind of glory you don't deserve.

I hate it, how everyone looks at you like you're the most fucking special thing in the world. So what if you're a goddamn Queen, trust me you aren't as special as you think you are. People look up to you, praise you, but you're constantly putting them down and never looking at a way to support yourself or others. The only thing that comes out of you is negative emotions and it really pisses me off to no end.

You try to claim you went through a horrible past, well fucking hell a lot of us went through horrible pasts. From what I know you still have your family right? You still those people in that Maple Inn from what I heard right? You still have your admirers and praises even though you don't deserve them with the way you act. Don't act like you're something special Lucy, Kaede, whatever the hell you want to be called, I don't' care! I lost everything, my mother, my father, I lost the man I loved. I lived in the facilities as well except where you were at least treated with some amount of importance, I got sent off to my death because the damn Director I was with was too much of a coward to do it himself. I nearly lost my two best friends Alya and Miriana, I nearly lost everything and now things have gotten even worse for me.

And yes, I'll complain about it, but at least I make something of my life. You always act like your life was the most terrible thing in the world and you know what, maybe it was. Maybe you had a really shitty life but you know what, so did I, and so did many other of us."

…

…

"What's your point girl? Don't talk to me as if you know anything about me or my life. The difference between you and me is that that I started me is that I had to suffer not only the hardships of my life but the hardships of what I am too. Not only as a horned woman but a woman capable of being a Queen. You couldn't imagine what it's like at all girl, to go through what I had and then have this extra weight on you."

"Yeah…well you know what another difference between you and me is?" Elrya growled. "Unlike you, at least I have friends."

...

…

Out of everything Elrya had said, nothing had hit Kaede harder or had been more emotionally crippling than the last words she just said. Because out of all the things she had said, that one had been the most severe and truthful of it all. Maybe including her make shift family and really, it was Nyu was considered to be the real family member, she was entirely alone in the world. She didn't have a single friend who either hadn't betrayed her in some way or she hadn't ruined their lives in another way. Come to think of it, there were only two people she knew that had ever befriended her in some way.

Kouta, whose disgrace with her had become well apparent and only seemed to keep her in his family out of respect for Nyu and the girl she had met long ago who had been shot because of her.

Elrya moved away, walking to the door and saying over to Roy. "Sorry…Professor Synth…but I can't stay here right now." Before she could leave, someone asked in a rather quivering voice. "When you said as a Queen, she wasn't special, what did you mean?"

Filled with ire, Elrya Alya could no longer hold her secret in. It hadn't lasted long, actually she couldn't even hold her secret it for more than a day before people like Caren and Lilian and found out. "Guess what, Kaede isn't the only person in this school who's a Queen."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Who?"

Their responses were understandable. Kaede had been the only known Queen Diclonius to everyone and even those who knew more, there had never been a long list of royals. Really, Garder, Vladimir, Vorono and perhaps Julius if Garder ever spoke to him about it, knew about the few other Queens that had lived before.

Ilya Vega, the daughter of Veronica Morotisan and Nicholas Vega. The girl who had been placed in the facility under the guise that much like Elrya, had always been a Sipilet but unlike Elrya, never found out the truth before being killed by her grandfather.

Veronica Morotisan, the daughter of Garder F. Morotisan, a soldier in the late war who never even knew what she was or how special until very late, at the end of your tragic life.

Then there was Kaede, the first Queen Diclonius who's royalty had been made publically known and thus, her praise by the other Diclonius made.

Now finally, in front of everyone, to the definite shock of her friends, Elrya said. "...Because I'm a Queen too."

…

…

"What?"

"It's not hard, I didn't want to say anything because I knew if I did, you'd start treating me the same way you do Kaede. Like I was the best thing in the entire world and I knew it would get on my nerve. The only other people who knew it were Miriana, Zeruda and Lilian as well as Roy too. So there you go, I suck at keeping secrets and now you all know. Don't let it get to your heads because unlike Kaede, I'm not so weak minded and seriously, I could care less if I'm a Queen or not.

And if you get on my nerves about it, I'll throw you out of the window."

* * *

"Great, now everyone is going to know." Elrya thought, laying on her bed and keeping the door locked. She got about forty-five minutes of rest before the other Diclonius began badgering her with questions. Being the closest to the door, she decided to move a way and lay on Miriana's side which was further away, took the remote of the television, turned it on and increased the volume to its maximum setting, and then finally pulled Miriana's covers over her ears in an attempt to block out all the other sounds. Eventually they'd go away, though the questions and answers would inadvertently continue.

Outside, more commotion was being made before the door was finally opened. Thinking they had used their vectors to undo the lock, instead Caren and Lilian pushed their way through the crowd then closed the door back again. "Savages." Caren muttered. "Well Elrya I guess there's no point in trying to hide it anymore eh, everyone knows."

"Yeah…I thought I could hold it a bit longer but I suck at keeping secrets. Even without telling anyone you two already found out. I couldn't take it though, I hate how she always acts like the world is against her and never does anything to help herself. I don't regret saying what I did, but sorry if I made you uncomfortable by bringing your names up."

"Don't be Elrya." Lilian answered.

"I see, thanks. Damn they're persistent." Elrya said, looking over at the door where the other girls were, if the sounds of voices and hitting the door could justify, huddling around to talk to her. Maybe she shouldn't keep quiet but go out there and deal with the people already. Wasn't that the thing she had yelled to Kaede about, actually take a stand and make something of your life? "I'll deal with them, don't worry about me." Elrya said, massaging her shoulders as she was preparing for a huge fight. Opening the door, she was bombarded by a load of questions and statements, not one managing to get her understanding before she threw her hands up to stop them.

"Alright! Alright! Damn I swear you're all so persistent with this. Alright, I can already tell where this is going but, you…" She pointed to one of them. "You go first."

"You've been a Queen and yet you didn't tell anyone, why? I mean that's one of the most important things for our kind."

"…Because I don't care." Elrya stated sternly. "I was raised knowing I was a Sipilet like all the rest of you, I didn't even know I was a Queen until much later on. Don't treat me like I'm something I'm not, I'm a Queen yes and I'm…" She blushed, "…Also kind of…pregnant." Mentally slapping herself for saying it, the out roar of excitement might have shook the entire dorm.

"Just stop, please! This is why I didn't tell anyone else; because I knew you would overreact so badly about it. Trust me I'm glad you're happy for me but believe me, I'm not that special. You don't understand, the things I had to go through to get this far. I don't want to be remembered as some overly special girl praised by everyone else just because I'm a Queen, I just want to be remembered as Elrya Alya." She began to step back, with no sign of the other girls even beginning to turn to leave.

"What do you want from me!?" She finally cried out, raising her hands up hopelessly.

"…Can I hug you?"

"Huh?"

"Can I hug you…" The girl repeated.

"Ummm…sure." Elrya came up, hesitantly put her arms around the girl who returned it with vigor. "So…I'm going to leave now and…" Elrya didn't bother to finish her sentence, she rushed inside and closed the door behind her, locking it quickly while turning to the others in hysterics. "I should've kept my stupid mouth shut, I knew this would happen."

Caren, probably getting annoyed by these antics herself finally got off the bed and went over to the door opening it up. "Look at the pretty watch." She said in a sarcastically jovial tone, waving her Clock Stopper in front of them whose eyes now traced it, mesmerized. Under its hypnotic suggestion the other Diclonius found themselves moving away from the door, finally leaving the other girl's in peace. "This thing sure comes in handy." Caren said proudly.

"Finally! Thanks Zeruda, I owe you one."

"Well in that case, how about this?" Caren started. "You remember that club I was talking about before.? Well after class I got permission from Roy to hold it in his classroom. I'll actually be holding the first meeting tomorrow after more people become aware of it. It's kind of early I guess but I want to get it started now. I expect more people to come afterwards, once word gets around you know.

I expect you to come too Lilian, if that's alright with you I mean?"

"Of course."

Four heavy hits on the door broke the moment of silence, Elrya rolling her eyes in the process. "Really, they don't know when to give up." She thought, walking up the door to open it and ready to give them a piece of her mind. Surprisingly it was not a long list of admirers ready to praise her, but only two people. Kaede and her younger brother, though giving them a piece of her mind wasn't out of the question either. Seeing her, Elrya lowered her head, now glaring strictly at her and mumbling in a low, deep voice. "What do you want, Kaede?" She didn't have time to speak with this woman, much less here her obvious attempts to justify her actions and claim that she knew better.

Kaede gazed away, opened her mouth and closed it several times then said.

"…Do you think…I could maybe…with all of you…

…be your friend?"

Well that was certainly the last thing she expected to come from Kaede's mouth. Giving only a fleeting glance at her two friends, she closed the door behind her and stepped outside with Kaede and her brother, the latter curiously looking up at her and she instinctively bringing her hands closer to her body in case he decided to bite her again. "Alright what are you playing at Kaede, this is kind of unexpected and truly, I'm having a hard time believing you came here just to tell me you want to be my friend." Still she doubted Kaede, who didn't even live on the same floor or even the same building as her, would come all the way here to say something like that and it be a lie.

Kaede looked away, nervous, upset, concerned, it was hard to tell what emotions were running through her head at that moment in time. She seemed to be unable to answer, a good part of it being her pride and having to admit that she was wrong. Elrya waited though, her arms crossed and leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for Kaede to answer back.

"I'm…not good at dealing with people." She finally admitted, swallowing the huge lump in her throat and finding it distasteful that she had to admit her problems to a girl even younger than she was, though it also took off the very heavy feeling on her heart. Closing her eyes, Kaede looked up without seeing and said solemnly, "I was…wrong to act the way I did. As I said I'm not good at dealing with people, I'm really not good at dealing with myself or my emotions. You can live with your inner voice, mine has been…a problem."

Kaede had lived her life hearing her internal voice ever since she was a little girl, first emerging when she was about eight to nine years old and tormented by the children in the orphanage. She always saw it as her younger self even as she grew older, everything exactly as she looked as a child except the eyes which were chaotic, menacing, without a trace of compassion inside of them. There was a sense of control that her voice had over her, almost to the point where she felt, maybe even knew she was being controlled by it. Living in that hell hole, surrounded by people who hated and despised her, maybe she purposely gave into just to escape the pain. She had nothing back then until she found the small little dog outside the orphanage and mistakably let her guard down.

One hit!

Two hits!

Three hits!

Four hits!

It seemed to have died on the fifth hit and she was forced to watch the entire time as Tomoo and his gang blew the life away from the pup in act of pure sadism. The children were miserable, that she had already known, so they always found those even more miserable, and made their lives hell. The yelping from the dog, she envisioned as cries from help for to her friend and she only watched as it was bludgeoned to death. She could still see the girls smile, unsure even today if it had been real or a figment created by the stress on her mind in which she envisioned everyone to be sinners worthy of judgment. The only thing she knew after that point was that she wanted to let out all of her frustration, misery and despair out on every single person in the room regardless of whether or not they were part of the issue. Screaming incoherently, she had obliterated the first boy behind her, torn him apart from the midsection. The others died quickly, unable to realize, unable to tell and in the end unable to comprehend the furious storm rupturing their bodies.

Tomoo had one good look though of incomparable fear before she twisted his head off from that pitiless neck of his. That was the day she truly gave into her voice, deciding to follow it from day one up until she thought she had found a friend in Kouta. The truth was, she did, but she had overreacted on the situation and brought his world into a chaotic swirl. Maybe if she had stopped, just stopped and asked him why he was hugging his cousin. Maybe, if she had just stopped and resisted the voice, removed her hand away from the outstretched hand and thought, her life would be completely different.

Instead, just like Roy said, she had obliterated the festival.

Then she met that girl, didn't even know her name and in the end, if what Kurama had said was true and she felt no need to deny it, she had been killed. The people she hated, died, the people she loved either died or suffered horribly. Therefore beyond all the masks of unconcerned sternness, always glaring, unsmiling and acting tough, was a weak little girl, crying for attention and wanting to have at least one friend that didn't suffer either directly or indirectly because of her. That reason might have been why she had antagonized Dr. Kurama so viciously, she had found a person who was as miserable as her and by filling him with dread and pain; it made her feel in control and powerful.

It made her feel sick now.

Kurama, Kouta, Nana, all those people who she had hurt, sometimes even sadistically tore apart both physically and mentally, didn't deserve it at all. She had always been following her voice, whenever it told her to kill; she gave herself up and did it without thought of the consequences because deep down, she wanted some sort of gratification. Yet she realized how terribly wrong she had been before, and how far she had fallen listening to that corruptive voice inside her head. She would not deny her actions or the fact that some of the people she murdered deserved it. Her issue was that instead of focusing on those who truly needed to face her ire, she lashed out at everyone indiscriminately, even when they were trying to be her friend. Thus she wanted one, more if possible, friends she could talk to and find comfort in.

"…I don't…have any friends." The horned woman muttered under her breath. "The friends I did have, I ended up screwing their lives up somehow because of my own stupidity. Kouta, the first person to ever show me genuine kindness, will never look at me the way I wanted him to look. I already know that he and Yuka will be together, marry and have children. I'm sure of it and not only have I accepted it, but it would certainly be better. Unlike me, Yuka has never done a single thing to hurt Kouta, he deserves someone like her over me.

Mayu and Nazomi, they deserved much better. I can't even walk passed Nana without their being a sense of frustration between the two of us, I mean, considering what I did to her, I'm surprised she hasn't tried to throttle me again.

I don't…want to be alone anymore." There, she finally said it, the truth to her anxiousness and fully admitting to her what she wanted. If Kaede had a desire, one above all others, the kind of desire Cents always exclaimed, this would be it.

…Not to be alone in the world and have friends."

…

…

"You're a strange case Kaede. " Elrya groaned, hand against her forehead. "But, it seems you mean what you said. One of my friends, Caren, is having some sort of club after school, its being held in the same classroom that Roy was teaching. If you really want to be our friend, then you should come there."

…

…

"That's fine." Kaede agreed.

"Also meet us for dinner today; we'll meet you by the building."

…

…

Again, another pause and Kaede answered again, "That…sounds good."

"Well then, let's meet up later then, you can get properly introduced to the others and my best friend Miriana then as well." With nothing else to be said Elrya went back inside greeted by the first question from Lilian.

"So…what happened?"

"…I think she was…really serious about what she said."

And outside, Kaede strolled over to the steps, her younger half-brother delicately holding her hand and gazing curiously up at her. "Onee-tama, did you make new friends?"

"…I think I did…"

"Onee-tama? Are you happy now?"

And for one of the first times since she could remember, Kaede smiled a true smile of warmth and compassion.

"…Yeah…I'm quite happy now. Hey Routa, we've got a few minutes before classes start again. Do you…want to go somewhere? The shopping area might have something you like and Kouta did at least give me some money for spending."

The smile on the Diclonius boy's face stretched from ear to ear as he gripped his sister's leg in pure enjoyment. Kaede, despite herself ruffled his hair and took him away, feeling happier than she had ever done so in her entire life.

* * *

Author's Notes: The next chapter finished and it seems we've got a new member joining our makeshift gang. I mean, Kaede/Lucy is the titular character of the original manga, its only fair she gets some notice right? So what will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

Please R&R.


	16. Fueling Compounds Of Love, Excitement

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 16: Fueling Compounds Of Love, Excitement And Horror**

The last class Elrya had to go to was a physical fitness class in which Miriana brought her to. Now that she had gone through all the classes, there was no longer any need for Miriana to show her around and after saying a quick goodbye, went back over to Roy's classroom to continue helping out as she had before. The classroom was a much larger room than usual, about four times as large as the usual classrooms which by no means had been small. The room was filled with, as far as Elrya knew, very strange metallic equipment and devices as well as a large track way that circled around the entire room in which a few of the girls were walking idly on.

She waited patiently until their teacher, a very stout man with a face that looked as if he was bored senseless came up. He had on a pair of thin spectacles not unlike the same kind Garder would wear and also wore a thin jacket and jeans giving him a very simplistic look. The others stopped what they were doing and looked over at him, waiting for the explanation of what would be going on in the classroom. Bringing out the list of the Diclonius attending his class, he read them off before stopping at Elrya's name and looking over at her with a curious though still somewhat bored expression.

"Elrya Alya Sandersas…" He said in a very low and slow voice.

Unsure of what to say, she merely nodded, somewhat embarrassingly. The others too were looking at her and, had they not be in class under a teacher's eye, Elrya was positive they'd have been on her back.

"I remember you now, yes, you're that young girl who came up during the battle with Kakuzawa. You put on quite a show back there, I was quite impressed."

"Oh…well…thanks."

"She was good, along with Kaede-sama as well but it's to be expected from another Queen like Elrya-sama."

Her embarrassment grew more when she heard that. "Please don't put that 'sama' at the end of my name, I've told you all before I'm not that special. But still how do you know about me?" She finally asked the teacher.

"Oh I was one of the pilots fighting Kakuzawa along with the others. We owe you girls a debt of gratitude for what you did back there for us, without your support we wouldn't have made it. You probably hear this a lot but I'm sorry for what you all had to through." He clapped his hands loudly, turning back to his sheet and continued to read off the names until he got to the end then haphazardly shuffled it into his pocket and spoke out to the group.

"My name is Colonel Masabushi Akira, though you can just call me Akira or even The Colonel if you wish. This class is to be a simple one merely to help you become more physically active considering your poor lifestyles from before. For the most part you will only be required to do physical activity of your choosing, though certain weeks we will be meeting up to discuss specific points of the body and other health concerns. It's a good thing for you to know these things and trust me; we won't get into anything to specific."

Akira clapped his hands once so suddenly it made a few of the girls jump in alarm.

"Sorry, force of habit I have. The very first thing I want to do is discuss some of the equipment around here that you might be using. This is important so please listen carefully." He then began strolling around the room with them, pointing to the tread mills, ellipticals, bikes and other assortment of mechanical objects that while unknown to most of the girls, did at least peak their curiosity. How interested they were in the point of the machine might have been in question but many of them, especially when Akira demonstrated each of their uses, couldn't help but feel a curious need to at least test them out. It was an almost childish curiosity, one stemmed from the years of abuse in a facility with little to no contact on the outside world.

He through each one, correctly pointing out the proper way to handle each machine while giving specific instructions of safety measurement. He inclined in saying that they should speak to him when using something new and not to stress out their bodies even if their biology allowed them to heal at a faster rate than most humans. Elrya leaned to the side, arms crossed but kept her ears perked up, waiting for the next set of instructions. This came to the girls having to run around the track at three times as a point of, what he described as "Cardiovascular exercise" and needless to say some of them couldn't even pronounce the first word. As the girls ran across the room, panting lightly in their jog, Akira gave his permission that Elrya only have to walk at a brisk pace for only two laps. He already knew prior to her arrival that she would have to take things easier and as news spread fast, he knew as a pregnant girl she wouldn't be able to do the same things as the other girls.

"Hey, Elrya-sa…I mean…Elrya." The girl perked her head up at one of the girls who had just finished her third lap but instead of heading back to the instructor, decided to catch up with Elrya and talk.

"Oh, hello." The pregnant Diclonius replied back, smiling politely and then looking away to continue her pace. She knew that the girl hadn't gone away and though she couldn't see her expression yet, she envisioned that the girl was currently blushing and trying to think of her next question. Sure enough when Elrya turned back, the girl had gone red in the face, leaving Elrya to ask a question she already knew the answer for. "Why are you blushing so much?"

"Well I mean, you're another Queen just like Kaede-sama and I feel…well you know…honored to be speaking to you."

"I see, so tell me what's your name."

"My name?" The girl asked. Elrya sighed under her breath. "Yes, you're name. You know my name's Elrya Alya."

Clearly being asked her name by such an important person was causing the fifteen year old girl some matter of angst. "Oh, well…my friends like to call me Rika. I didn't have a name before and I don't know who my mother or father was so I can't even tell what my real last name is supposed to be. It really is an honor to be talking to you Elrya-sa, I mean Elrya. I never knew you were actually a Queen and pregnant and if I did, I would have given you much more respect. I mean why did you not…?" She was cut short, not by Elrya, but by Alya whose sudden change in voice caught Rika off guard.

Putting her hand to her ear, Alya mumbled in a mocking, sarcastic tone. "Rika, do you hear that?" Unable to detect sarcasm, Rika curiously looked over where Alya was apparently diligently listening to and answered in a quivering voice. "I don't hear anything. What do you hear?" Alya against pressed her hand against her ear, leaning to the side and saying, "You don't hear it, it's pretty loud. Do you know what that sound is? That's the sound of me not giving a shit."

It might have been rude but there was no other way she could make her point without being blunt. Rika stopped, unsure if she had heard correctly then bowed her head lowly and showing what was clearly a very saddened, almost depressed face. "I see, I'm sorry for bothering you, I won't do it again." Rika had obviously been holding in a lot of respect for Elrya, probably one that wasn't earned but like the others who had been admiring her and Kaede, the kind of respect they felt was almost expected to be given. To be heard such harsh words from the girl she felt a sense of deep respect for must have been almost heart wrenching.

Alya sighed deeply, one of half exasperation and one of legitimate concern and placed her hand against her forehead. "Stop apologizing, it's not your fault."

"But I made you angry, I shouldn't have been so...annoying." She finally added, probably unsure of how exactly to phrase her actions. Now Alya was beginning to have an idea of what it was like for Kaede and being surrounded by people who were giving her the respect she didn't deserve, or at least hadn't earned from them. Rika was being overly apologetic for the worst reason and the poor girl didn't even see to understand that.

"I'm not angry, that you're talking to me." Alya finally stated in a matter of fact tone. "What's getting on my nerves is that people keep treating me like I'm something special. Who gives a damn if I'm a Queen; I don't even consider myself one. I'm no different from you, I can just…you know…give birth." There was also the point where she and Kaede possessed a vast quantity of energy and bodily capabilities of handling it that most Siplilets could only dream about. Really, if they had any clue of the unrestrained fury and power she had been giving off against her battle with Cents and afterward, she would never hear the end of it. She slicked her hair back to get the excess bangs out of her eyes and said in an almost begging-like tone.

"Don't treat me like I'm something I'm not, you have no idea how annoying it is. If you want to be friends then I'll gladly…huh?" She paused her sentence and took her thoughts directly to her consciousness.

Elrya's sensation had called on her, expressing the need to change up between them. "I don't mind you talking, but I'm afraid to keep you out for too long with him around your brain." Listening to her thoughts, Alya mentally grasped what Elrya was saying and had to agree with her. "That's right; I'll let you back in control." Alya returned to the back while Elrya sought to the front, leaving Rika speechless again for a few seconds before she could even mutter a question of what had happened with her.

"I have some…issues going on with me right now." The girl remarked as they made it up to the group again surrounding the instructor. "You head what Alya said though, stop treating me like that, it's annoying as hell. Besides, my pregnancy is very important to me, not just because of the birth but because I lost a very important person to me." There was a sense of almost urgency in her voice now, the kind in which she really wanted her words to get across to the girl. When the other girls came up to her, giving her praise that she felt was unneeded, it was only aggravating. For her pregnancy, it was the last physical and emotional link that she had between herself and Yin Sandersas. Even Cents would not be able to break that bond that would last until the end of her life and so, she couldn't let people treat it as if they knew anything about it. Because they didn't, unless they too had once loved someone before and lost that loved ones and their lives was sent into a spiraling hell that only their friends kept them from lashing out at one another.

She had to think about it, that was probably why Kaede had been so miserable before in her life. She was terrible at dealing with people, had no friends and no way to cope with her stress. Instead of looking at things in a positive light, she lashed out at everyone else.

Yin Sandersas was not just some man who had gotten her pregnant and she never wanted anyone to think of him like that either. He was someone who had looked after her, who she had gained a short lived but immeasurably long emotional supportive role with and ultimately whom she had decided that she wanted to be with and learn about. Even his death did not stop her there, she would talk to Yin's father Karoly constantly, leaning every bit about her former lover that she could. There was no need for official documents, from the moment she decided Sandersas was for her, her surname changed to "Sandersas."

Elrya E. Sandersas, a stunning name.

Maybe she had been overwhelmed by emotions and went into the whole deal of a relationship between him too fast. Yet at the very least it was obvious that she had taken the time to make that relationship work. These girls could praise her as a Queen all they wanted, but they didn't have a clue of the kind of commitment she and her lover had made or the pain she felt every day with him gone, or the commitment of her baby in making sure that it was told just how great her father was. They didn't know her torturous mind, how she had to deal with a psychopathic monster on a daily basis. In short, the only thing she hated more from being praised obsessively was being praised by people who didn't know a single thing about her.

She made this point made very clear to Rika, almost to the point of anger because the point had to be made clear. She would not have her life or her relationship with Yin be treated like a happy go lucky party. There was a much deeper meaning to it than that after all.

"But…if you want to be friends, I don't mind. Actually Rika, there is something you could do for me if you want." Elrya said.

"Hm? What is it?" The girl responded with a more mature voice.

"One of my friends is having this…sort of club thing…in one of the rooms. The same one that Roy is teaching after classes have ended, it would be great if you could come. I can't remember when we're supposed to be there but if you find Miriana, she should be able to help you."

Smiling politely, the girl nodded once. "I'd be happy to, let me see, the name Miriana sounds familiar. Isn't she that human girl living with us at the educational facility? I think she's the one with the black and gold hair and is apparently extremely polite to everyone."

"That's right, she my best friend and I owe a lot to her, she's been through a lot of hard times just like us, so please treat her nicely."

"Oh, of course!"

Rika remained far more passive now and thankfully didn't act as annoying as the first time. The rest of the class period was given to letting the other girls do whatever they wanted as long as they remained physically active. He advised Elrya not to use the machines or if she did, to use them carefully as well as not to strain herself too much. By the time they had done their quick warm up and had the machines and objects explained to them, class had ended in about ten minutes. There wasn't much else to do and Elrya wanted to meet up with her other friends at the dining hall. Saying goodbye to Rika, Elrya left the room, using one of the small towels given to them to wipe the small bit of sweat from her body. Almost instantly she ran into Lilian who came out of her last class, waving over to her first then coming up to properly greet her.

"Ah finally, the last class. It wasn't as long as I thought even though we've got so many classes, but I'm glad it's over. You must have gone through that exercise class right?"

"Yeah, I'm glad the last class I'm taking is an easy one."

"Good for you, that's the first one I have at the beginning of the day. What are we going to do now, I know you wanted us to go that club thing Caren's holding but should we go now?"

Elrya declined. "Not right now, I'm kind of hungry right now and I'm sure the others are too. We'll get something to eat in the dining hall and then I think I'll just go with Caren after that unless she has something else in mind." There was no reason to disagree or question it, Lilian only shrugged her shoulders indifferently and walked with her friend, noticing as she went along that while many girls waved to her, they didn't act as forceful as they did before. "Well I'm glad people aren't treating me like a sideshow anymore." She muttered with a clear sigh of relief from her breath.

"I noticed." Lilian added. "Then again, I don't really know what it's like to be annoyed by other people like this; sometimes it's good to be just a Sipilet."

"Wish I could say the same." Lilian's friend responded.

* * *

Arriving at the dining hall, Lilian did her best to ignore the concoction of what could only be described in the most basic sense as food on Elrya's plate. Apparently the young girl had now gained a strange craving for whole wheat bread mixed with calamari and glazed with…she had to honestly look away after this… Caesar sauce and croutons. The entire thing was mixed together into an almost soupy mix which after sitting down she began slurping up as if she hadn't eaten anything in weeks. Wisely deciding to wait for Elrya to finish first before she even tried to pick up her eating utensils, Lilian struck up basic conversation with her friend until a new arrival came though seemed hesitant in sitting down.

"Oh? You finally came Kaede, don't just stand there sit down." Elrya mentioned through a mouthful of "food."

"I guess…" The woman in what might have been a tone to hide her own shyness of actually having, dare she even say it now, "friends." She sat her younger brother to her right side, particularly away from Elrya so another incident didn't occur and quickly asked, "What on earth are you eating?"

"Food, what you never heard of it?" Elrya stated. Kaede decided to ignore the tone for now and relied back.

"Is that what you call it? There's a bit of difference between food and waste."

The pregnant girl scoffed at the answer, taking another bite. "Say what you want, but it's not that bad. Really it has a very tangy feeling to it, not too sweet and it goes down easily. I didn't think it would be that good myself but I just saw it and the urge hit me. Here, have a little bite, it won't hurt you." She used her chopsticks to pick out a bit of bread and squid and brought it to Kaede who quickly raised her hands to protest. Shrugging her shoulder's indifferently she returned eating, mumbling in a quick voice.

"You need to be more active right now, you're still so plain. Be a bit happier, smile a bit." Elrya gave a quick, brilliant flash of her own that made Routa giggle childishly. Lilian despite herself smiled as well, her face going red as if she had heard a joke that shouldn't have been as funny but had laughed regardless. Kaede still kept the same plain look on her face, attempting to wave the idea off as pointless. It had been a while since had had ever smiled in a way that didn't mean she was going to murder someone in a horrendous way.

Elrya said again, "Come on, I know your life was crappy but there's got to be a bit of good in it. If anything you finally got some friends here. Oh Lilian did you introduce yourself?"

"Ah, no. Lilian Cents." The girl answered, nodding her head. Kaede returned the favor, giving her own name thought it was kind of pointless. "Cents? Where have I heard that name before?" Kaede asked.

Elrya's tone dropped as she remarked back, "Don't think about it and don't bring it up."

"Hm? Whatever."

"Now come on Kaede, it's about time you were happy. Always going around being so miserable, smile just this once." Elrya insisted. Kaede shook her head, "I'm really fine, thank you. There's no need to smile, I'm in a good mood."

But Elrya was persistent. "You can say that all you want but the truth is you're still a bit miserable. Go on, it'll make you feel better trust me." Kaede still trying to deny it, moaned and shrugged her shoulders then gulped loudly while rolling her eyes. Smiling wasn't really her forte and the only time she really did it wasn't exactly in a friendly manner. Honestly, the last time she had ever smiled in a good way was probably when she was a child with Kouta but that was a long time ago. She threw her hair back absentmindedly, hoping for something to come up to stop her but to no avail, she swallowed her concerns and, as far it was concerned, she smiled.

She found the silence to be annoyingly unnerving; Elrya and Lilian were staring upon her with a look of distaste and Lilian was slowly moving her body away from Kaede as if the woman had contacted some contagious disease. Even her little brother who had been looking at her ecstatically suddenly quiet and seemed to be on the verge of crying. She gazed around at them then finally stated angrily, "Well what? I smiled…what's your problem?"

"…You know maybe you shouldn't smile." Elrya finally managed, now looking at Kaede from an angle.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The older Queen demanded seriously, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

Elrya raised her hand and tried to explain it as best as she could. "Well the thing is, when you smile its…well the point is…I mean…"

"You looked like a deluded maniac Kaede, it was kind of freaky actually." Lilian finished in a simple tone, pretty much concluding what everyone at the table. The comment greatly soured the woman's mood who picked up her plate and got up, "I don't have to take this crap…" She was urgently stopped by Elrya.

"No wait, don't leave Kaede, we're sorry. I mean it's just that you looked like you were about to murder someone, it wasn't a kind smile. How about this, I know that you lived with those people in, what was it called? Maple Inn or something, those are your family right? What kind of smile do you give to them?"

Looking away, Kaede's expression became morbid. "I can barely smile at them either, even though I want to, I wanted to smile at the man I had loved ever since I was a child. But he can no longer smile at me and he's chosen his own future, one with a woman who honestly, deserves him much more than I do. It's been a very long time since I smiled happily and even though it pains me to think I'll never be more than just a memory, an often painful one for Kouta, I have come to accept his choice.

However, I'm not sure if I can ever smile the same way again. It was amazing when I was able to finally have friends here, it might have been one of the few ties I have smiled in very long time. I really do enjoy that feeling and I wish I could do it again."

"So…you fell in love?" Elrya asked.

"…Love?" She laughed sardonically. "I thought it was love, I think it still is but likely it was just me being deluded by my own emotions. Let's just say that things weren't going too well for me and I think the moment I saw someone who was kind to me, I just automatically became attached to them. I think the thing that made it impossible for me to have a relationship with him was the fact that I never really got to know him. I blindly went in thinking I knew what love was and I completely ignored the truth.

Then again, if I hadn't ruined his life, I might have been able to do something."

Nodding slowly, Elrya said nothing but seemed to be in deep thought. If she did have something to say though it would have to wait for a high shrill of astounding joy broke the air. "Kaede!" The Diclonius whose name was called got a moment to raise her eyebrows before a pair of arms wrapped themselves tightly around her neck and Miriana gave her one of the biggest hugs she could muster. "It's good to see you Kaede! I'm glad you were able to come and sit down with us." The human girl cheerfully exclaimed, while Kaede looked at the others in the hopes one of them would explain?

"Ummm, yeah, thanks. You can get off me now, please. Kaede muttered, gently pushing the girl's arms away. Following closely behind, Caren held three books in her arm but apparently they weren't for her because she sat them down right in front of Elrya. The girl looked at them, noticing some familiar kanji here and there but otherwise she was still unable to decipher what any of it said.

Miriana who was going to answer firstly grabbed an extremely jovial Routa and brought her up to her chest, squeezing him like a stuffed animal. "You're so adorable!" Miriana said, rubbing her cheek against the boy's face who giggled happily. Seeing the confused look on Elrya's face, she set the male Diclonius down and went over to her.

"Do you know what those are?" She asked, her question of course being rhetorical since she knew Elrya couldn't read it anyways. "They're books on pregnancy, what girls should do before, during and after the birth. I thought it would be a good idea if I started reading this to you, that way you'll be much better prepared for the birth. I talked to Roy about it as well and he says it's a good idea as well."

The Turkish Diclonius replied, "Miriana asked me to look for any books that I could final on the kind of stuff. There wasn't a lot as you can see but I was surprised to even find this stuff in the educational library."

"What's a library?" Lilian questioned.

"Do I have to explain everything to you people?" Carentorzulan exclaimed. "It's a place where you can read books and other material though obviously only a few Diclonius actually use it. I'm going to get something eat, I'll be right back." Miriana too agreed and the two girls left returning back with delicious platefuls of food and sat down, young Routa now sitting on Miriana's lap.

Knowing it was going to come up sooner or later, Caren decided to get to the point. "I've got the room for the club set up for an hour from now. I talked to a few people to see if they could join so we'll just have to see what happens from there. It's soon so I don't want to get too much started, just have the basic run down of what we might be doing. "

Her eyes traveled over to Elrya's plate.

"…What are you eating Elrya?"

"Oh this? It's delicious actually it's…" And she gave a vivid account of all that had mixed together in her soup. Lilian who had refused to touch her food couldn't help but gag on reflex and she had already known what was inside of it. Miriana who had had the chopsticks in her mouth stopped, dropped them and with her mouth still agape the piece of shrimp slipped out humorously. Kaede choked up on the water she was drinking and had to cover her mouth while she sputtered uncontrollably. Besides Routa who probably didn't even understand the issue, the only person who hadn't gagged was Carentorzulan though her face clearly showed revulsion.

The girls looked at one another, then at their plates then back at Elrya's own.

All of them pushed their plates away as far as they could from one another.

"Wasn't hungry anyways…" Kaede muttered.

"I need to watch my weight anyways." Lilian uttered.

"I'll be good…thank you." Miriana replied, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"…Tsu…maybe just a bite…" Caren said bringing her mouth to the rice then looking back at Elrya's soup. "…On second thought, never mind."

"Tsk, suit yourself." Elrya answered plainly, continuing to eat her meal as if nothing was wrong. Needless to say, they'd be quite hungry for the rest of the day but unfortunately not one of them could stomach their own meals after seeing what Elrya had been eating.

* * *

Kaede bent down on her knees, placing her hands on Routa's shoulders as her younger half-brother gazed up at her with curiosity in his eyes. "I want you to go and play somewhere, but stay in this area I don't want to have to look for you everywhere. Try not to annoy people too much and make sure nobody messes with the object on your forehead."

"Yes, Onee-tama!" The boy cried exuberantly rushing down the halls with the curiosity of a kid his age.

Kaede had a feeling the boy would've been too bored sitting in the room with them and she could only hope he didn't do anything to get himself and more importantly her, in trouble. Her friend's room was no bigger than the one she was in though because she only had to live with her younger brother, more room was allowed for her. Unsure of where to sit or even she should sit down, Kaede opted to stand against the door once everyone else got in, slouching slightly with her head bowed low so that her hair covered part of her face.

As the oldest one there by four to five year to some of them, Kaede had a feeling of minor discontent with herself. She thought it might be similar to how a university student might feel being around people from a lower school section. She felt somewhat out of place, childish even though she didn't complain about it either. If she could have her friends than being the eldest girl there wasn't even a price to be considered paying.

Carentorzulan plopped on her bed while Elrya and Miriana sat together on another, Kaede unsure of whose bed they sat on. Lilian went to her side of the room, delicately moving a picture frame of a kind looking woman who Kaede automatically assumed to be her mother. The image made her wonder briefly what her own mother had looked like and knowing the circumstances that had involved her and her younger brother, she decided it was best not to think about it too often. Everyone got settled down, Caren offered her a seat on her bed which at first she politely refused but when Caren insisted and the thought that she'd get tired standing up, Kaede ultimately agreed and sat down, sitting over the edge while Caren rose up.

"I've got it!" Elrya's outburst was sudden, alarming Miriana and causing her to jump. "I think I know what your problem is Kaede."

The comment earned her a long glare from the eldest Queen who might have taken the statement a bit more offensively than Elrya had intended.

"You keep going on about this Louta guy and how you apparently liked him and stuff…"

"It's Kouta." Kaede answered sternly.

"Whatever, anyways I think you need to get off of this whole Youta guy and actually start trying to get a relationship with someone else."

Kaede wasn't sure if she had heard her correctly. "Forgive me, but what on earth are you talking about?" Elrya smiled and shook her head.

"Isn't it obvious? Look at me, I fell in love with somebody and I think the same thing can happen with you. Let's face it, you're so strung up on this Nouta guy…"

"Kouta…."

"…That you can't move along. I mean you are a Queen Diclonius and unlike me, everyone else knew it so it's only right that you find someone else you love to have a relationship with. Let's face it, you aren't going to be doing anything with Pouta so you should get off of that. So we're going to get you together with someone."

…

…

"I think I'll pass…" Kaede finally answered.

"Nonsense, besides what are we going to when we need more Diclonius?"

"…We can do that just by touching people with our vectors. Besides when did you get so interested in other people's relationships?" Caren questioned.

Elrya replied quickly, "That only makes Sipilets though, which is helpful but we need to have real Diclonius, capable of giving birth just like us. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but ever since I became pregnant I realized how important it was for us. I mean I don't want to force you to do anything Kaede I'm just thinking of the big picture here.

That's it! I think I finally got it now." Elrya jumped up, going to the end of the room and putting her hand on the wall. The others were seriously wondering if this was part of some Diclonius pregnancy issue along the strangest of cravings. Elrya Alya knocked on the window for whatever purpose she had and thought deeply for a second.

"Do you mind older men Kaede?"

…

…

"…Excuse me?"

"Well not too old, still young, in their late twenties early thirties I think. Of course I don't mean to make you choose whether it's a guy or not. I mean I don't care which way you go, it's just…Miriana can a girl get another girl pregnant?"

Her best friend stared.

"…Not really…can you not make me talk about that, it's kind of embarrassing." Miriana muttered.

"Well it shouldn't matter really right?" Elrya asked loudly.

Caren shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "Our species is practically 98% female, unless we have relationships with humans a lot of the other Diclonius probably have ore relationship with each other. I know some have a problem with it but really, there's nothing wrong with it. I mean really, I'm bisexual and I don't have a problem with it."

"Really? I didn't know that?" Miriana asked. She had no intentions of trying to sound disrespectful because she was the kind of person who would never look down on another person's orientation. She only wished to express her surprise and ask a question. Her parents had always taught her to treat everyone with kindness and with exception of a certain blonde haired man, she was determined to give everyone an equal amount of respect for their thoughts.

Flicking her vibrant hair back, the Turkish Diclonius nodded her head as her answer. "Of course, it's not really surprising when you've spent half your life with nothing but females. I won't lie, there are some people here who I would not mind getting together with, maybe sharing a few intimate moments with."

"Kaede, what do you like in a guy?" Elrya asked.

"Why are you still on this subject, I'm not interested in having any sort of relationship."

"Bullshit woman…" Kaede was taken aback at the remark. "We all know you're just dying to get your hands around someone and make passionate love to them. I did and it was the greatest thing I ever felt, I couldn't believe the kind of joy I was going through. Yin said it might be painful but it wasn't, not that much. Maybe he was just gentle with me, but you should try it sometimes Miriana.

Her best friend looked aghast and started muttering heftily. "I-I-I don't think I can. I m-mean that's so…I'm not really…are you sure you're feeling…huh?" Poor girl was so distraught and confused she couldn't even finish her sentence properly. She wasn't even sure she knew her friend anymore, Elrya was acting far too peculiar and her statements needless to say weren't exactly the kind the innocent girl would have wanted to think about. Her feelings going into haywire, the human girl was left in shock, trying to answer something which she truly wasn't sure about. So suddenly had the statement been brought up that Miriana was unable to think of any answer.

"Kaede, I know a person who you might be able to meet. You are the oldest one here and I'm sure you two could get along well."

"Elrya…who are you even talking about?" Miriana asked curiously, piping everyone's interest as well.

Putting on a huge, almost devious smile, Elrya exclaimed, "We should let Kaede get with Roy!"

…

…

Elrya kept smiling at everyone's silence, aghast faces, clearly wondering why nobody else was agreeing on it either. Caren had a perpetually raised eyebrow and kept opening and closing her mouth without any words coming out. Lilian started out with pursed lips until Elrya's extravagant answer and now her mouth had slowly started to widen until her entire fist could've fit inside. Miriana actually looked to be hyperventilating on her part. But Kaede's expression was a mixture of utter misperception and outright discontent when she heard those words.

"…The blue haired, armless guy?" Kaede finally managed to say.

"Yeah, Roy Synth, I mean he's all alone in that little cottage of his doing who know what and he could use some interaction. He's a bit of bastard sometimes but he's actually a very good guy in the end and I think you two will get along greatly. Plus he already knows a lot about Diclonius anyways so it's not like you'd have to teach him anything new. It would be a great way for two people to get together, get to know each other and let their relationship work out from there."

"No." Kaede relied seriously.

The girl waved her finger disapprovingly. "Don't be like that Kaede, you need some intimate contact. You've been so down all the time you need this."

"No I don't."

"Hey Zeruda, you like it, kiss Kaede for me so she knows what she's been missing out on."

"Just because I'm bisexual doesn't mean I just go around kissing whoever I want whenever I want." Carentorzulan responded while Kaede began to lean backwards with a strange gaze in her eyes in case Caren decided to take action.

Miriana piped in lightly, "I think this is really getting out of hand. You shouldn't force people to hold relationship with each other like this Elrya. People need to decide who they love and let it work from there. Besides Roy was married and I don't think he'd like it if he was forced into such a relationship, not to mention Kaede's a student here. Even if she is old enough, I'm not sure how it would even work and it could cause problems."

Kaede got into the conversation, raising her hand to emphasize herself. "There's not going to be a problem because it's not going to happen. I got nothing against Roy but I certainly don't like him like that."

"It's the arms thing isn't it?" Elrya stated.

"It's got nothing to do with the arms, I don't feel that way about him!" Kaede yelled.

"Don't judge people Kaede, just because Roy doesn't have arms doesn't mean it can't work out."

Kaede was getting very irritated now.

"It's got nothing to do with arms girl! It's about how I feel about him!"

"So you like him."

"No!" Kaede roared again.

"So it's about the arms right?"

"Get off the damn arms subject before I breaks yours again girl! Gaah!" Kaede yelled and smacked her head against her forehead. "It's got nothing to do with arms or anything. I don't know the guy, I got nothing against him. I don't want to be forced into any relation."

Elrya raised her left hand casually and stated, "Then what's the problem? If it doesn't work out it doesn't work out, but if it does then congratulations. I mean you're kind of a jerk sometimes Kaede, thanks for reminding me about breaking my arms too, that really hurt. Yet you're also beautiful and once you get your mind to it you very abrasive as well. It would be a perfect match and I'm sure Roy would agree as well."

"I'm not interested."

"So it is about the arms."

Kaede got up, about to lay one serious beat down on Elrya had Caren not rushed up from behind and put her arms around to keep her from unleashing years of pent of rage against the poor girl. "I swear brat I will throw you out the window if you keep this up!" She growled angrily, still visibly straining against Caren's grip.

"Then it's about the blue hair?"

"IT'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS HAIR!"

"Then what's the problem?" Elrya Alya finally asked, tilting her head at her own response and smirking. "Do you think if just wait this Kouta person will come back to you? Face it, if you want to be with someone else you'll have to start looking. I offered you a suggestion because I know what it's like to both love someone and have them love me back without problems between us. I know what it's like to share passion and thoughts with another person and what it's like to lose that person too. I really don't care to be honest, but I do know that whatever you choose is going to have a huge influence on the other Diclonius here.

It doesn't matter to me who you choose, boy, girl, whatever. But if you want to continue our race you know what you have to do. Plus you're going to be here for four years, not that many choices when it comes to non-Diclonius."

The 20 year old woman relaxed her body, sat back on the bed and placed her hand on her face. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself down and put crossed her legs and laid her hands in her lap. "Well…I can't say you're wrong about Kouta. I have no chance whatsoever with him anymore, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea if I did look at other people." Maybe she did want to have a relationship with someone, after all being together with somebody was the first thing that had ever made her happy. She wondered how it would affect her life if she did meet somebody else, fell in love with them and so on. Certainly she would become much more distant from her family in Maple Inn, she would probably live with this person, create a family and live her life as such.

Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, Nozomi, Nana…

They would probably become much more distant, speak less and it may even break off completely. She owed her family too much for it to end like that but Elrya was right, she had little choice while in the educational institution. Then again, she never once in her life thought about getting together with the blue haired Australian. Sure he looked alright, ignoring the whole armless thing which due to his coats he wore was sometimes overlooked and his blue hair was exotic much as her pink hair was exotic to her, she still never thought much of him. Part of her mind pretended to imagine what it would look like if they got together, she was quite glad people couldn't read minds either and mentally shook her head.

"If I talk to him, will you stop bothering me?" Kaede questioned reluctantly.

"Sure, if you talk to him."

"Good, now kindly get off the subject."

"This was quite a subject, but isn't about time we got going Caren?" Lilian inquired.

"My name isn't Caren! It's Carentorzulan! But you are right; remember the room that is Roy's class is where it's being held." Caren jumped up, leaving with a quick goodbye as everyone else got up. Kaede was more than glad, afraid Elrya was going to pester her on again about talking to Roy. Truthfully the only reason she'd even talk to him was because if she didn't, she knew Elrya would continue to ramble on to her until she finally did it. She was the second to last to leave the room, separating from the others to search for Routa. It may have been an awkward conversation but she couldn't disagree that it was at least fun to be with people she could consider 'friends'.

* * *

Unfortunately when Kaede got to the room, Roy Synth was already beginning to leave and what made it unfortunate was that Elrya was also with them who's sideways glance, sneer and tap on her shoulder made obvious what she wanted. A deep breath exited her mouth before she got the urge, or rather to say, want to finally come up to him.

"Ummm…hello!" Her suddenly appearance and random greeting that was uncharacteristically cheerful earned her a raised eyebrow from the blue haired man.

"Yo, Kaede. Can I help you with something?" Roy asked casually, expecting she had come to him for something important, whatever that might have been. Classwork, her brother, anything besides what she was definitely here for.

How badly she wanted to hit Elrya Alya right then and there, the words at the tip of tongue yet refusing to come out. The worst part about it was that it made her seem like she was embarrassed for her feelings when in reality she was embarrassed by the act itself because it wasn't true. Due to the situation though it was the first time she really took in Roy's appearance beyond his radical hair color and missing limbs. He was the complete opposite of Kouta for sure both in personality and in appearance.

He wore today a thick black coat over a light vest very similar to the one Julius wore though without the fur coating on the side. His jeans were thick and dark to retain the heat and on his right side was a pouch holding his unique bullet that rattled inside, probably on an unconscious level. He wasn't ugly by any means, handsome and knowing he had once been married he could certainly see why another woman may have fallen for him especially if he did have arms before. There was nothing though to say she could feeling anything for him. Part of her also had to wonder how he even lived his life or how he even put on his own clothe.

"Well actually Professor Synth…"

"We're not in class, call me Roy."

"Oh…well the thing is…uh…Roy. I was just thinking…" She looked over at Elrya's face and she was now eighty percent sure Elrya was screwing with her somehow. Roy also noticed the smile in which Elrya tried to wipe it off in a spectacularly failed attempt now putting a half smile on her face. It gave her the impression of someone doing their best and failing horribly at not laughing at a joke.

"I got to get going, I've told Caren what to do once she's done here."

"Wait…!"

Silently telling Elrya to shut her trap when she stopped Roy, Kaede waited for the man to turn around and continue. "Actually Roy, there is something I do want to ask." How did she ever get herself into these kinds of situations? "Are you…doing anything tomorrow?"

He starred at her. "Sure, teaching."

"I mean besides that…" She muttered, stopping herself short from adding "smartass" at the end of her comment.

Again he continued to look at her and at Elrya and answered back, "No, not really. Do you need something woman because I need to go."

"I mean I just thought if you weren't doing anything…I WILL KILL YOU ELRYA ALYA…!" She said, speaking aloud and speaking her true thoughts inside her head. "…Would you like to get something to eat?"

"Eat?"

"You know what I mean! Sometime when classes are over we could go somewhere and get something to eat…together." She finally added as if the point couldn't have been more obvious before.

"So let me get this straight, you want to come with me and basically have a…"

"Yeah that…" Kaede finished for him, unable to handle it if he actually said "date" because a date tended to mean that both people were eager to do it. Kaede was practically forced into the situation by Elrya, again she was going to hand her ass on a silver platter once this was over and all of this was now suddenly pushed onto Roy who unlike Kaede didn't even have a clue what was going on anymore.

"Come on Roy, she really wants to do this." Elrya gleefully insisted.

Kaede mouthed off the words "No…I don't."

"She wants to get to know you. She wants to spend time with you. You wouldn't believe the things she said about you Roy, very sensual things I might add."

This girl was a few words away from getting thrown across the hallway.

Roy finally turned around and began to walk away, saying aloud, "I swear you Diclonius weird me out sometimes." Though he did tilt his head to the side and call out. "If you are still interested, see me in my room at 20:00 (8:00PM). Don't be late because I don't plan on waiting for too long and we'll see what we can do."

"Huh? You mean you actually want to?" Kaede asked stunned.

"I don't know what Elrya said to you to make you say this because we both know you've never had any feelings for me and I can tell you really didn't want to do this. But considering you came this far I think it's fair you at least get rewarded for having to embarrass yourself in front of me. There's a small, old time Japanese restaurant I go to every so often, I think the food there is quite good. Don't worry about money I will pay for your meal Kaede, although I suggest if you do come you have Miriana look after your brother.

Don't think of it as a date either Kaede, think of it as a reward for actually being able to make something of your life. You've started to come a long way from being an arrogant fool who had no friends. If you don't want to come fine then, again I'm not going to wait for you, nor am I going to remind you either.

Also Elrya…"

"What?" Elrya asked.

"Once the others are inside we need to talk for a moment."

She had no idea what that was about but as far as Kaede was concerned, she was just glad to end the conversation. She entered the class room, unsurprisingly empty for the most part though a few Diclonius had actually come. Outside, Roy leaned against the wall while the pregnant Diclonius waited for him to speak.

"I need to know if anything has happened with you and Vladimir Cents since we sent you to Garder's facility."

"Oh…"

Her once delighted expression darkened considerably before she put her fingers together. She couldn't tell him the truth, there was nothing he could do about it anyways. He had to remind her of it too, she was in such a good mood that she had completely forgotten about Cents and the so called 'deal' he had forced on her. "There's nothing wrong, I've got him pushed down and he hasn't come up either." She lied through gritted teeth, her left hand squeezing her right fingers.

"Really? You'll be required to see Garder again soon, you already know that Elrya Alya. Though if something has happened you need to tell me immediately so we can take action. You may not like Garder but he does know his duty and we both know how extremely dangerous Cents is, especially as he can control your body at points." He had no idea just how correct he was on the last point.

"I know…if anything happens, I'll talk to you."

"…Good. Have fun with your meeting." Roy concluded, leaving Elrya to silently stand there alone. Her mood which had been so good, fell into a pit of despair and lasted and would last for a good amount of time.

* * *

Although only about twelve or so people, including Elrya's friends actually came to the room, it was still a lot more than expected. Caren sat up at the front of Roy's desk, her hands pressing down on the wooden surface and glanced at the clock every so often until it reached its designated time she planned to start the meeting. The girls at the desks sat with curious gazes, often talking to one another about the details of their day. The Turkish Diclonius had to wonder if anyone of them, like herself, had ever been in a school or had ever done things like clubs. Deciding to give five more minutes in case stragglers who couldn't tell time came in, Caren massaged her shoulders lightly as she waited. When it became apparent that nobody else was going to come in, she at long last started the meeting.

"Well…hello." Caren said in a high tone, looking around and waving. She got a typical half answer, half wave from the group.

"I'm curious, does anyone here not know what a club is?"

She already explained it to her friends so whether or not they raised their hands wasn't her concern. About four people raised their hands though, the others kept silent. To start off, Caren quickly gave a run down on what clubs were like, and then got to the main subject.

"I thought it would be fun to get together and have activities for us to, but also to help us learn to control our emotions and voices too. I mean that is what we're all in this place for in the first place right? I've already gotten a few ideas ready for what we can do and as long as we stick to them and it seems like it's working, Roy's agreed to help out. How does that sound?"

"I'm good with it." Lilian answered.

"Sounds good to me, I'm really interested in it." Rikia, who found herself sitting next to Elrya replied back as well.

The others too agreed, perhaps not giving too much thought into it but really, none of them saw any reason to disagree with it.

"So then, anyone got a name we should call our club?" Caren finally asked while raising her eyebrows.

"Let's call it the SOS Brigade!" one cried out.

Caren shook her head lightly. "I think somebody else took it, doing something on aliens, time travelers and espers. Something stupid that doesn't make sense, I mean who believes in time travelers? Anyone got a better name?"

"What about the Hinamizawa Gang?"

"I don't know, it gives me a bad vibe. Like the scratch at your neck until bleeds out kind of bad vibe. Let's try something else." Caren responded.

A few more of them thought for a moment until one replied, "The Soul Society?"

"You know what, I'm just going to put the 'D-club' down because I seriously think we've breaking the fourth wall somehow." Carentorzulan finally answered, jotting the name down on a piece of paper. "If we think of something better I'll change it, the more important thing is to discuss what we're going to be doing. I thought we could meet at once a week at the end of the class period. Since the entire point of us being here is to get better control of ourselves so we can get into human society, that's what I want us to focus on when we're in here as well as having some fun. There's not much else I need to talk about right now, this was just the first meeting and getting everything together. I've got this other sheet…" She pulled it from somewhere in Roy's desk and laid it in front of her. "…with all of your names, I'd just like you to raise your hands for anyone who does want to join."

Everyone did and Caren after asking a few of them what their names were as she didn't know all of them, checked them on the sheet and the shuffled them together, taking out a third piece of paper and putting the pen on it. "I said I had some ideas ready for us, but is there anything you girl's want? I can't promise we'll be able to do them but I'll write them down anyways and talk to Roy about it."

"Do we have a pool?" A girl questioned.

"I don't think so, I'll put 'swimming down." Caren answered, jotting it down.

They continued on for the next ten minutes, the girls giving out random suggestions that Caren felt probably wouldn't be possible but wrote them down anyways until she finally got to the back end of the paper and told them to stop. "I've got no more room and there's nothing else I'm need to say at this moment. So we're all in agreement that we should meet up on this same day, same time next week right? I know it getting you here was a bit sudden so I'll probably have to explain all of this again to any newcomers.

There's nothing else I need to say, so have a good night." Concluding herself, Caren shuffled the papers together and got up from Roy's seat letting the others leave before walking out at the end and closing the door behind her. It had been short but definitely successful and she couldn't wait for them to continue next week, hopefully with even more members. Although she was uncertain if they could get all the suggestions the Diclonius had wanted down, she found a good many of them to be interesting. One of her favorites had been for them to have a trip to one of the museums in Osaka though that would of course have meant leaving the educational facility. There was no way that would happen unless Roy could get it done himself and he had gotten quite a bit done for them in the first place.

Unfortunately, this would be the only day the club would be meeting.

* * *

The next day went as usual for everyone, all but a single pregnant girl who awoke looking oddly miserable. Whenever someone tried to ask her what was wrong, she would lie and tell them that she feeling alright or that she tired and only wanted to rest. Her meals didn't consist of her crazy concoctions but simple items like bread that she nibbled on and found unable to finish. Most of all she couldn't once look Lilian in the eyes even when they spoke and whenever their eyes did meet, she diverted them immediately away. Frankly, there was no way she could look at Lilian today, maybe not for the rest of her life. She sat together with her friends at the dining hall table, but her mind was alone.

"**Today's the day girl, you remember our deal?" **Cents said inside her head. It had taken her long to lose any spirit in the morning when it was Miriana to wake her up, but he himself. His voice cackled with dark glee and she envisioned his physical form rubbing his hands together.

"Y-Yeah…I know…"

"**Good, I'm excited to see how this works out. I have so many things I want to ask her. So many things I want to know."**

"Alya…won't be hurt though right? How are you going to leave me and her too?"

"**Who knows, maybe she'll be forced with me. I have my plans and I don't intend to bring her with me but that could change."**

She yelled mentally at him. "That wasn't our deal Cents!"

He laughed at her. **"Our deal was that you would bring me to Lilian Cents mind and I wouldn't wreck your life even more than I have already. That was our deal girl, remember it well. The day is long though, and I'm anxious. Hahahahahaha! I haven't felt so restless since I fought in Europe against Garder. Pass the time girl, I may end up passing it myself."**

So it went, the day at it would've gone like yesterday. The one class in which she and Lilian had thrown a fit against was absent today, Roy having not had the time to find another teacher. She kept herself distant from the others for the entire day until night passed over.

…

…

It was dark outside, the moon casting a silver glare on the window while the digital clock next to Miriana's bed read 22:39. Elrya quickly wondered how Kaede's trip with Roy had gone and if she had returned back by now. She expected her to have returned but that mattered little to the demented being inside her head. Alya too prepared herself, unsure of what was going to happen, she would not lose Elrya. If she felt she was being dragged away, then she and Elrya would break off and…well she wasn't sure what would happen next. It had already been made clear more than once that Vladimir was able to have control over her powers and even her emotions sometimes.

Another twenty minutes passed, then Cents told her to move.

"**It's time…be quiet, this doesn't have to be loud or take long."**

The others were sound asleep when Elrya slowly pushed herself off the bed and walked up to Lilian's sleeping form. One vector emerged from the lower area of her bed, floated up at Lilian's head and remained stagnant.

"**What are you hesitating for girl? Do you want me to slaughter your friends right here in their sleep?"**

"..No. I'll…" She lowered it, the fingers dipping down and coming within centimeters of touching the girls skin. Lilian moaned but made no other movements, mostly like instinctively feeling the hand near her at the moment.

"**Quite wasting time, my patience is limited as you should know well. If you do not put your vector inside her head, then I'll take one of yours and slit Miriana's throat."**

"Fine! I know…" She though desperately.

…

…

"I'm…so sorry Lilian." She whispered, and stuck two of her fingers within the skull of Cent's daughter. Lilian moaned and turned her head but keeping her vectors in line so they wouldn't harm her, she kept her eyes closed and messed her mind with Alya. At the very least if Alya was dragged out, they'd be dragged out together. It made her wonder what would happen to her body if that did happen. Would it be an empty husk, brain dead without any mental support? At the very least, she couldn't look at Lilian and moved her eyes to the picture of her mother.

The silver light of the moon lit it up enough for her to see it in detail. Her amber hair went down past her ears but didn't quite reach her shoulder blades. Her eyes were the same color as her hair though somewhat darker and her smile was embracing. She appeared to be of average height, small actually now that she could see that Lilian had already reached up to her knees. If she had to take a guess Lilian was probably the same height as her mother now, maybe even a bit taller.

…

…

What did this woman…ever see in the monster that could do nothing else but ruin the lives of others?

"…**Who…is she?"**

"Eh? You're still here?" she asked mentally.

"…**That woman…in the picture…who is she?" **Cents once again asked.

"Tsk, it's Lilian's mother."

"…**Mother?" **It was happening again, Cents voice was breaking up, no longer filled with hellish joy but something akin to confusion.

…

…

"…**Suffering…Lilian…Joy…Suffering…Woman…" **It was exactly like before, he kept repeating words without rhyme or reason.

…

…

Then before anything else could be said and done, Lillian Cents awoke and opened her eyes. Feeling dazed as anyone would just waking up, her vision was blurred before she managed to blink a few times to get her sights back. She knew someone near her, assumed it was one of the girls and after a few more blinks were able to decipher that it was Elrya. Her eyes then traveled to the end of her hand that floated behind her back, her genetic Diclonius eyes visually seeing the vectors, her tired body couldn't directly comprehend what was going on right now. That was only for the first few seconds, it didn't take long though for her mind to register what was happening and in the moment she did, Lilian released a horrible scream of shock and fear.

"AHHHHHH!"

Undoubtedly enough to wake the others, Elrya pulled her hand out as Lilian literally sprung from her bed, landing on the floor painfully but the her fear easily over road whatever agony she have felt. Caren had fallen under the same circumstances as well her body on the floor when she had fallen out of her bed from the sudden scream of her Diclonius friend. Massive chaos was ensured until the room was brightly lit up, Miriana breathing heavily standing at the front of the door with her finger on the light switch.

"L-Lilian! What's wrong, what happened?"

"Haa…Haa….WHAT THE FUCK ELRYA!?" Lilian screamed at her through gasps, still pushing herself against the wall with her right hand pressed against her head as if afraid that if she moved it her brains might start leaking out. Elrya tried to speak but found that she couldn't utter a single word to her. Caren still rubbing her own head when she had hit the floor, tried to get the situation under control. "Guh! Damn! Lilian calm down and…"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! SHE HAD HER FUCKING VECTOR IN MY HEAD!"

"No." Miriana whispered lightly.

"Huh? No way, are kidding me? Elrya?"

"…I didn't…I was just…I don't…" Elrya muttered. "It wasn't…supposed to be like this." She wasn't sure how it happened? She was just supposed to put Cents inside her and that was it, everything was to be normal afterwards. What a joke though, even if she did manage it without problems, it wouldn't have changed anything. Lilian already knew her father existed inside her head and if Cents started talking to her, she would have easily put together that Elrya had done something to her. Like a thief caught in the act and no alibi to use, Elrya Alya shivered on the spot, her mouth still moving though like before no words were able to seep out. Everyone else had the same appearance that Lilian did, shock with a combination of others as well. Miriana was shaking her head profusely and Caren, who understood more than Miriana the consequences of Elrya's action gazed at the person she thought was her friend with revulsion. She found that she couldn't bear to look at any of them anymore.

"Elrya!" Her human friend's cry didn't reach her ears nor did she want to hear them anyways. She already slammed the door behind her as the few tears that had been sliding down her face sprung off her cheeks.

Caren lowered herself down to Lilian, wrapping her arms around her when the older girl started to hyperventilate. There was no reason to blame her for feeling like that, her fear and anxiety we're perfectly reasonable. Even Diclonius have rules and once specific rule was that unless it was deemed necessary, it was absolutely forbidden for another Diclonius to touch each other with their hands. Their vectors after all we're power and dangerous object.

"Lilian? Wh-What exactly…happened?" Miriana whispered.

"…Haa…Haa…"

"Calm down Lilian, please." Caren said.

"Don't tell me to calm down! What do you mean what happened Miriana? That bitch friend of yours had her fucking vector in my head!" Miriana felt a shiver run up her spine.

"Elrya wouldn't…"

Lilian shrieked at her, "Don't tell me what I don't know! I felt it inside my head, her fucking hand was inside my own brain! Unlike you Miriana, as a Diclonius I can actually see vectors and I know what I saw. Fuck, I thought I was going to be killed!"

"Miriana, find Elrya please." Caren asked.

"Don't bring her in here!" Lilian screamed at her.

Caren for now had to agree with her. "Yeah, don't bring her in just yet."

"Alright…I understand."

"Miriana? What happened I heard screaming?" The girls on both sides of their room came out groggily after hearing the commotion from her room.

"I can't talk, do you know where Elrya is?" Miriana asked urgently.

"No, did something happen to her?"

Miriana couldn't tell her that nor could she waste time talking to them. The most obvious place she would be in would be the baths. She hurried to it but after reaching her destination and searching carefully, she discovered that her best friend was not in the baths. Searching throughout the entire building, she found herself stepping outside of the dormitory itself. Had she gone outside and where exactly did she run off to? Fear and anxiety gripped her heart as she thought of the pain her friend must have been going through.

"Elrya!"

Crying out her name hopelessly, Miriana was forced to check the entire educational institution. "Please, Elrya…where are you!?" There was no answer at all, just echo of her own miserable cries. After double checking every nook and cranny she raced back to Roy's cottage. She banged loudly on the door, screaming at him to open up as her mind began to realize that something very bad had happened to her friend. No answer, she continued to bang on the door, actually kicking it more than once and screaming for him to wake up. "ROY!" She mustered all of her strength to scream his name out to the point where her throat strained and tears ran down her face. How could he not even be home right now, was he actually still with Kaede at this time? After a few more punches to the door and cries that left her hoarse, she had to come to the conclusion that Roy wasn't here yet.

"Wait…if I can call him." She thought to herself. The first thing she did though was run back to the dormitory to make sure she hadn't missed Elrya somewhere. The commotion that had been caused woke the entire floor she was living on and Caren was forced to deal with all the Diclonius that had come out, clearly worried about the whereabouts of the secondary Queen.

"Miriana? Where have you been this whole time? Did you find Elrya Alya?" Carentorzulan called out.

"I can't find her Zeruda, I've checked everywhere and I don't think Roy's back yet. I've looked all over the place, all of the educational institution." She placed her hands on her mouth. "I swear I checked everywhere, more than once and I still couldn't find her.

…Zeruda…

…I don't think Elrya's even at the institution anymore."

* * *

Author's Notes: Finally! Finally after all this time I managed to complete this chapter. I apologize for such a long wait, I've been very busy with University work and other things that I just never got around to working on the story that much. So I hope it's all made up here by having what will be the longest chapter I've ever written, well over 11,000 words.

So what will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction"

Please R&R.


	17. Elongated Passion Through Peril

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 17: Elongated Passion Through Peril**

**(Three hours and fifteen minutes before the incident with Elrya Alya)**

Kaede wasn't sure what she was thinking as she looked in the mirror as her younger brother sat on his bed, casually tilting his head curiously to the side. The entire day had gone without a single thought about the possible meeting tonight with Roy even when she was attending his class. She had gone throughout the entire day, not even remembering it and then come around an hour before she was supposed to meet him if she wanted; she found herself being bombarded by that same thought over and over again of meeting him. She had no idea why she wanted to meet him, and honestly it may had less about meeting him and more about what would emerge with meeting him. She had no intentions of holding any relationship with him that was certain, it hadn't even once occurred in her head because as she made quite clearly to Elrya, she barely knew the man.

Part her believed it was just the fact that it would mean getting out of the educational facility. Really some time to pass around outside was great and for four years, one of those few lifetime chances. In all due respect, she never really spent time somewhere and enjoyed herself besides the one time at the zoo and it was much better to distance herself from those memories of Kouta as she could. Who knows, she might have been bored and needed to pass the time.

It didn't explain why she decided to dress so well though, wearing a thick long sleeved red shirt with an ornate panel running down the middle. Three pairs of blue gem-like beads circled around each shoulder and on her back were three blue lines, two that met at the middle from the upper angles of her shoulder and the third where form from the point of the first two and ran straight down the middle. She wore a similar colored dress though on the lighter side, the ends of it decorated with those same beads that traveled around her waist, a white fill like section completing the ends. The entire thing was apparently one of Yuka's more elaborated clothing and it was truly the first time she had ever looked as stunning then just now.

So again, why did she put so much effort into dressing tonight when she wouldn't have done it before? If this had been any other day she would have thrown on the same clothes she wore today. Hell, she might have gone nude only because it would be less time wasted to picking out clothes in the first place. Turning her body to get a better look at herself, she had to admit she looked good, not that this was a surprise, she was a well-endowed and beautiful woman and as she no longer lived a derelict life in the Diclonius Research Facility she held herself much fuller than before plus her new friendship had definitely upgraded her personality.

Maybe it had nothing to do with Roy, but just the thought of what the meeting might bring. Elrya was probably right; she was so fixated on Kouta for all her life that she needed time to spend with someone else. Kouta would never be hers, she had to tell herself that again and again until it became redundant but it was something she had to admit not only to her mind but also to her heart. She had to repeat to herself that those short lived days of happiness with him we're the product of her own foolish, lovesick tendencies and a grasp at happiness when her life slipped down the pathway of misery. Delete it from her mind, any hope of ever being with him, think of him as nothing more than a friend and keep it at that. He would be much happier with Yuka who gave him more than she ever could, even if she hadn't screwed up his life royally.

"Hm…" Kaede muttered a wordless sound. "It wouldn't have worked out anyways."

Continuing to stare at the mirror in front of her, she reached into the dresser, scurried it around and pulled out a thick orange string and after a futile moment of trying to get arranged, she found herself forming a long end pony-tail. "I can't believe I'm doing all this." She though heavily, putting on her shoes and stepping up to her Routa who perked himself up.

"I don't know how long I'll be Routa, but you aren't to leave this room unless you have to and then you're to return back here immediately. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Onee-tama."

"You remember where Elrya and the others are right? The room that they're supposed to be in? If you're in trouble then speak to them but you're only to do it if there is something wrong. Otherwise you are to stay here until I get back; I don't want you wondering off anywhere."

"Yes, I'll be good and stay here, Onee-tama." Routa said, beaming appreciatively at her.

Kaede nodded once with approval. "Good Routa, I trust you here and I don't want to come back and see that you've caused trouble. It's time for me to leave now, goodbye."

"Bye bye, Onee-tama!"

* * *

She could only hope he would actually listen as she couldn't exactly bring him with her. Mostly she expected him to fall asleep well before she got back; he was after all still a very young child. She closed the door and straightened herself, rotating her shoulders comfortable before leaving down the stairs and exiting the building. The sun had long since set which made her wonder what kind of places would even be open at this time especially an old time place that Roy had mentioned. The only light that appeared besides the gleam of the moon was the standard lights around the educational institution that lit her way to the classrooms where Roy was supposed to be waiting and sure enough when she came through, he was their sitting on his chair at his desk.

Unlike Kaede who had gone out of her way to dress herself past her prime, Roy wore the same every day outfit he always did, the only difference between a thin jacket that because his lack of arms couldn't balance it out enough to hold still, wore a thick white scar around his neck on top to keep said jacket from falling off.

"Yo Kaede, I see you're…" He began when she first entered then paused when he finally got a look at her.

"What?" She asked.

"…I see you decided to dress fancy tonight."

She hoped she didn't turn read at all. "Don't get used to it; I was just in the mood. At least I took the time to present myself." She said angrily.

"I see, well I must say when you put your efforts in it can turn out quite good. You didn't hear this from me but you look gorgeous tonight."

"Ah! Damn it...it's not like I asked for this. Who said I wanted you to say such a thing?"

Roy groaned. "Damn woman, no wonder you suck at getting friends. Even when someone compliments you, it turns into an argument."

"Just forget it…but uh…thanks I guess. Don't think this means anything though, it's not like I have feelings for you."

"I would not expect you to Kaede, neither do I. I have been married before and had children and it was one of the most splendid times of my life. My wife, Orasami was a kind woman, very generous with a heart that reached out for everyone. We had a son together who unfortunately contracted a very serious string of cancers that left him bed ridden for most of his short life. At some point though I wouldn't know until much later, my ex-boss ended up killing my wife and my son later died knowing that I was a killer. The very last thing I ever saw on his face was nothing but revulsion for his father who couldn't even help him in the end.

It took a long time for me to get over that Kaede and at the beginning I wanted more than anything to just lash out at anyone. I actually took my anger out on people and in the end, this is what I got." He shook his shoulders, indicating the two objects he had lost. "I've come to accept reality, I can't bring by wife or son back and I think it's time I started to move on."

So, this man was actually a bit more similar to her than she thought. "Why did you want me to come with you then? Certainly it isn't just because I started making friends. You don't actually have…feelings for me do you?" Kaede asked uncertainly.

Roy shook his head. "As far as I know, you never affected my life and I don't know you enough to hold any feelings. It would be like meeting someone the first time then after a few days suddenly deciding, this is the right match." She had to agree on that one, that was her problem with Kouta in the first place, little time to actually know him. She probably knew less about him then she even thought but that was the reason she dedicated herself to moving on in the first place. "But there is something I do like. I find it good when people like you can find the strength to work and move on. Miriana told me what you did after the incident in class between you and Elrya; it takes a lot of strength in character to admit your flaws.

That's what I like.

…Still I can't believe you actually dressed so well tonight."

"Yeah…" Kaede started, starring at the wall instead. "Don't get used to it and just remember I'm only doing this because it might be the only time I'll be able to get out of here."

"That's probably true."

"Speaking of which, is this even allowed? You know, letting me leave the educational institution?" The Queen questioned.

"Obviously you wouldn't be able to leave without my permission, but as long as you're with me you shouldn't have an issue. Besides the only probably we'd have is if met Garder somewhere and I'll take any responsibility that I must." His eyes glanced up at the clock in his room; the time already passed ten minutes when they were supposed to have left. "Come on, let's get going, oh I should ask…do you want to wear a hat or something? You already know that the residents of Osaka are much more accepting of Diclonius than most but since everyone assumes you're supposed to be here, going out will certainly draw questions."

Kaede denied the offer, feeling there was no need to so. "There's no reason to hide my horns anymore, I'll be fine the way I am."

"Suit yourself then Kaede, come on I can't exactly drive a car as you know and the closest place to pick up a cab is two miles away from here." The blue haired man stated, rising up from his seat and leaving the room. Kaede followed behind, her hands behind her back and looking placid.

* * *

"You're quiet; don't women have a tendency to talk a lot? My wife could go on a subject for hours." Roy stated as the two strolled down the streets to where the cabs would pick them up. Kaede who had be complacent just walking along looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Do I look like your wife?"

"No, but you haven't spoken at all, I thought you'd be getting bored."

"Hardly, there's just nothing to talk about."

Roy slipped his head back, looking up at the star filled sky. "I doubt that, there should be something you want to talk about, anything at all. We've got at least fifteen minutes before we even reach our destination so you might as well do something to pass the time while we're walking."

Sighing deeply, Kaede turned her head to the right, gazing at the buildings that were now closed or closing as well as the lights from the cars that passed by the every so often. These cars would sometimes slow down, obviously casting a glance at her horns but given no time to have a proper look, they sped off almost as quickly as they had slowed down.

"You're arms…what happened to them? I'm guessing something with the Diclonius?"

"One of my arms was torn off by a horned girl when I was first introduced into my group of assassinations; it was also the first time I got to know the Diclonius. My second arm was ripped off by Elrya Alya during a skirmish we had."

The woman groaned. "Damn, I thought you two we're friends or something."

"…Let's just say I haven't completely forgiven her for what she did. However when we fought I was in an emotional rage fest. My son, Koroh Synth had just died knowing that his father was a mass murder and ended up having utter contempt for me. I lost it, my mind, my emotions and all I felt like was lashing out at the first person I saw. You see the members of Cents, besides our dear boss, all worked in some way to earn cash through our dark business. Well it was like that for me, Vorono and Orlana.

My son as I told you was suffering under multiple cancers and the medication needed couldn't be provided directly. I ended up killing people just to earn enough money to pay for my son's operation.

Vorono Girikuson wanted to actually save the Diclonius locked up in the facilities; he thought if he could earn enough money, he could at least save a few of them at the cost of denying his own goodness.

Orlana spent her entire time earning enough in the hopes that she could save her little sister who you know as Carentorzulan Zeruda.

They both ended up dying for the sake of their desires but I guess in the end, they we're the only ones who got them. I lived on but the thing I wanted most was snatched out of my hands so cruelly. You can probably understand how I must have felt, when I thought I lost everything."

That she could, how she felt when she thought she had been betrayed and there was nothing left to go on. Strange, Roy was more like her than she thought; he understood the pain of losing something close and the hardships of leading a terrible life just to in act one good thing.

"Yes, I know exactly what it's like." Kaede answered truthfully. "Maybe if I actually stopped and took the time to think, I wouldn't have had most of my life be a living hell."

"True, everyone makes mistakes and we can't change that. Honestly, I can only hope the good I do now is enough to repent for the terrible deeds I've done in the past."

"Is that what you're trying to do now?" Kaede questioned her partner. "Working with us and helping to create this Diclonius educational facility? I heard about what you did in the past, went over and barged into one of the facilities and helped rescue the girls who had been trapped in there."

Synth shrugged his shoulders indifferently at the remark, his head still gazing longingly at the sky. "You might say that, I think I definitely felt you girls needed some hope brought back to you. Plus knowing all that Orlana and Vorono worked for, even if I couldn't have my own desires realized, I could at least make their desires a reality. The world can be a very dark, cold and cruel place Kaede, and sometimes there's nothing we can do about it. I can't change the past but I can work on the future and my job is to make sure I find a good future not only for myself but also for the people I'm trying to help."

The pink haired woman stopped in her tracks forcing Roy to slow down then finally halt his own tail to look behind her. The woman had her head bowed down so that her entire face was obscured by her long vivid pink bangs. She kept her arms at her side and she muttered so softly that Roy had to take a couple of steps forward to hear her properly. "Do you think that…I could do some good? You know…a woman like me?" She asked flimsy.

Roy gazed at her while she went to one of the lonely benches on the streets under a single dimly lit light post and sat down, still keeping her head low so that her expression was unreadable. "Kaede, I can't control your life but I can say this. You aren't dead right now so until you stop breathing, you can always make something of your life. You've already shown that you're more than capable of making some changes to yourself and all of them for the better." Roy replied, sitting down next to her and leaning back. Kaede did not reply to the answer, instead she sat there without moving until finally speaking softly to hi.

"…I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad that crazy girl got us on this little…get together. I wish I could've known you earlier, you might have saved me a huge amount of trouble." Roy startled only for a moment when Kaede took her hands and wrapped them around his hand, gently pulling his body towards her so that his head now rested against the large bosom of her chest. There was no sign of embarrassment or surprise from the blue haired Australian, instead he found himself nestling against her as she cradled his for to keep him comfortable.

"How does that feel?" She asked.

"…Nice, you can be quite gentle when you want to be. What's up though, this isn't like you at all." Roy said.

She found herself smiling despite herself. "You're the first person I know who I think I could truly connect to, Synth. We both went through a terrible amount of turmoil, did some horrible things and we're both trying to do something to make our lives better. Just like you did, I too felt angry and bitter and it ended up messing me up.

…This is why I could never be with Kouta, and it's not just because of what I did to him. We could both understand how it feels to lose something, but unlike you, he couldn't understand the trebling errors we kept causing to get to where we were.

…Please…let's stay here for a little longer."

Roy, eyes half closed said sheepishly, "I wouldn't mind that, Kaede, this is very comfortable."

"Hm. Even you can blush when you're on a woman's body." Kaede answered mischievously. He raised his eyes to catch the bottom of her chin. "What's that supposed to mean, Kaede?"

"Sorry, you sort of give off a vibe of being more mature than usual."

"I am mature, so are you, though you do have a few issues." She didn't frown at the comment, instead she found herself giggling at it, seeing no need to be embarrassed by his words. "I do, I'm trying to work on those issues too. Do you want to get going now; you did say you wanted to take me somewhere, right?"

He found himself moving his head closer towards her body. "Actually, I think I might want to stay here a little bit longer. This is surprisingly warm."

"…You enjoy it, don't you?"

"…Yeah…" Roy replied slightly above a whisper,

Kaede slowly moved him up so that his body which was still lying against her was popped up closer so that the top of his head now rested underneath Kaede's chin. She found her slender fingers tracing the outline of his shoulder and then rummaging through his blue locks absentmindedly.

She whispered in his ears. "It might be too soon, but I have a tendency to rush things. Would you like to feel something else that's warm?"

"…Yes?" Roy asked.

The Queen raised the an up so that his head was just level with hers and wrapped one arm around the back of his head while the other slipped behind to nestle around his back. Leaving nothing else to be said, Kaede brought her face forward and kissed him gently upon his lips.

He didn't gasp, or give any indication of surprise; actually he might have expected it the whole time. At the very least Roy didn't utter a single cry of surprise but took the gift almost as casually as one would breathe. No other movement was given, Kaede didn't increase the passion nor did Roy attempt to add anything himself. In short, Kaede held her mouth to his own for the many seconds that passed by then let go, allowing the blue haired man to continue resting his head against her breasts like before.

Was she blushing just now? She had never done anything like that before but somewhere in her mind she felt the need to do it. It might not have even been for passion, or at least it might have been for something more important. What she knew was that this was the first time, the very first time she knew someone who she was actually able to talk to about her issues, who understood her problems because he too went through similar problems in his life. For the first time, she could connect to someone and it didn't even take an hour to do so.

She had rushed it though, even she did admit it. Yet for herself, the moment was too perfect for her, she couldn't resist the urge to kiss him. "Was it…too soon?" Kaede asked nervously.

"Truthfully yes, you really need to learn some patience. I didn't even get to kiss my wife until after four months when we first started seeing each other." Roy replied.

"…Sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that then, it was insulting to her memory." Kaede apologized, now seemingly regretting her actions.

"Orasami passed away years ago and I have long since come to accept that. You have a tendency to rush things I will give you that, but only a fool would deny the comfort of your lips." The man answered simply.

Glancing away, Kaede murmured lowly, "So does this mean you and I are…?"

"Let some time pass, you rush passion. Besides this was just a little treat for your hard work and I felt like being nice. You're the one who came up and started kissing me."

"…I already told you, I have a tendency to rush things. Would you like me to do it again?" She finally added at the end.

…

…

"Another kiss?"

"Yeah, this time I won't rush it."

Roy thought to himself, "Did I really just fall for a woman in the next few minutes? I know for a fact that until now I never expected this to happen. Am I just unable to control my urges? No, but I think I'm beginning to realize something. I may not have fallen for this woman, but I truly do admire her ability to cope and go on from her once twisted life.

I'm not one to rush things, that is what it means to be The Sniper; patience is what I live for. I was being nice before, that's all but in the shortest amount of time I found myself becoming attached to her.

Is that even possible? Well I guess it is, but unlike her, I know a little thing about restraint."

Roy responded casually, "Not now, it's far too soon for another one. It's too soon for you to even being doing it now. But if you don't mind, I would like to keep laying my head on here."

Kaede smiled, something warm and kind that didn't even know was possible from her until recently. She allowed the man's head to once against rest against her breast as she held hi gently. Her thoughts like Roy's, also began swarming inside her head. "I rush things too much, it's a huge problem I have and I know it. Yet, I couldn't wait, I felt if I didn't act now this chance would never come again. I don't regret it at all.

…You know…" She began aloud, "You could always get prosthetic limbs. Is there a reason you haven't yet?"

"Hm? Good point, I haven't really thought about it truthfully. I've gotten very used to my life that if I did have them, it would probably feel strange to me."

Kaede wondered how he actually managed to live his life the way he did, or how he even managed to dress himself. "I think you should, at least one of them."

"Why is that?" Roy inquired.

"…Well I think I might be getting feelings for you already." That was a bit of an understatement but Roy was practical enough to know when he didn't need to reply back. "…And if we do…then I need you to hold me some day."

"Tsk, you completely changed the way this day was supposed to be Kaede, good job."

Kaede looked down at him somewhat reproachfully. "Do you not like it?"

"Far from it, but as a sniper my entire life was one of patience, in just a few short minutes you broke through that barrier. The thing is, even though I didn't have any feelings for you, I kept watch on your improvement in the educational facility and I felt deeply entranced with the way you managed to get a hold of your life and make something better of it. That's why I wanted to take you out, as a reward. But it seems something different came out of this, it's quite interesting."

"…Did you actually plan this with Elrya?"

Roy laughed.

"That was unexpected, coincidences happen and I wasn't necessarily going to ask you yesterday, but once it was brought up I thought it was better now than never."

"…Do you want to keep resting here, against me?"

Roy who found the warmth of the woman's body against his head extremely relaxing muttered a quick agreement and spoke out to her. "I think so, also …keep tracing your fingers through my hair."

"Oh…do you enjoy that?"

Roy again muttered softly, agreeing with her. "Yes..."

Alone on that bench, Kaede sat with the man against her, holding him lightly as he closed his eyes and she gently caressed her fingers through the blue strands of his hair. It had gotten even darker outside and the moon which had at least been passing a nice gleam of silver now passed behind a few structures, leaving only the basic light of the post next to them to cast any sort of shine on them. The few cars that had been passing by had ceased to come, leaving the area quiet so that only the cool wind could be heard. Straightening her jacket up she gazed upon the sleeping man laying against her and smiled warmly, opened her mouth and the melodious sound escaped her lips.

Roy who understood enough German recognized the tune of the old poem. "Kaede, since when did you know Elfenlied?"

"Nozomi taught it to me some time back, it's the only song I know and it's the one I treasure the most."

"…Please…keep singing it."

So she did, continuing where she left off, Roy closed his eyes again and lost himself into the resounding beauty of the woman's voice. Did all Diclonius have such musical talent or was it just a special case for her? There was something almost intoxicating about listening to her, each word she spoke, even if it was pronounced incorrectly gave off a vibe of tension reliving momentum, forcing him to relax even deeper into her. It was astoundingly warm, so comfortable that the winter wind was incomparable to it. This sound was amazing; from the angelic voice it penetrated his body, soul and mind, wrapped itself around him and brought him to the edge of euphoria.

Thus at the end of her tune, Kaede brought him up to her, left no questions asked, and for the second time laid her warm lips upon his own. Entranced, he couldn't find himself to stop her and let her circle his mouth with her own, an exciting turn of events. He offered no resistance to the touch, Kaede with a passion born from only minutes of speaking, deepened the kiss further, slowly spreading her mouth over his own. Roy only opened his mouth further to allow it, so that the both of them were slowly acknowledging the other's lips in a serene manner.

It was slow, passionate and fulfilling, the two feeling upon each other's mouths a sense of strange ecstasy. Kaede with the only one able to offer balance took Roy by the shoulder to keep him from falling down as he still was at an angle and broke off from. A small trail of saliva ran between their lips, causing her face to flush red. She knew that it had been rather intimate but she hadn't realized it had been that much.

Still her head arched to the left and their lips met again in the same steps, a sensual act that was manifested amazingly not through love, but through understanding. Slipping it inside, Roy was unprepared for the warm wet taste of her tongue. He couldn't stop it nor did he try, he only let it pass through and instinctively moved his tongue so that it danced around with the Queen of the Diclonius. It didn't help that Kaede kept up a stream of soft moans as their mouths and tongues danced with joyous passion, and for the next minute that's all that remained.

A dance of sensual action, a kiss of understanding and want. It could not be called love yet, that was the entire point with waiting but who was to say they could not at least satiate their wants and desires at that moment in time? Kissing slowly, was the only thing on their minds until Kaede finally let go, having had control of the situation the entire tie and fully knowing it then returning Roy's head back to her chest.

"You're cruel Kaede…playing on a man's wants like that." Roy spoke sleepily.

"…Sorry…" She replied gently, returning back to stroking his hair. "I couldn't help myself, but I highly enjoyed myself."

"…Yes, so did I. It would be good not to mention to this to anybody, at least right now."

"Eh? You aren't embarrassed about it are you? I admit this is sudden, but I don't have any problems in admitting that it was nice."

"There's a few reasons, one if the other girls found out, they'd never keep quiet about it. You know what it's like to be bothered by trivial issues." He had a point there, if they found about it, oh she wouldn't hear the last of it. Every day, every moment of her life would be an annoying conversation of how she was in a relationship with the blue haired professor at the educational institution. Part of her wished for this relationship to grow stronger but considering how long it had taken for her to get the other Diclonius she agreed with Synth that keeping it quiet for now was the best bet. Besides there was no telling how far it would go, this may have been the only time they shared such an intimacy and both of the knew it.

"Secondly, it could cause a few concerns with my job. I am still a professor and you still are a student, it shouldn't be looked down too badly since you are of course of legal age, but it's not something I want to instigate too quickly. If we continue this relationship, it'll be known then.

Rushing…that's what I don't want to do. Because Kaede, for the first time since I met Orasami, I think I found a woman who I may like. If that's true, I want this to go on, prosper and I don't want to end up losing another person I care about like I did before."

Words of virtue to her, she had never found herself so completely happy and understanding in her entire life. The best part about it, was that this wasn't love, though it was probably close. What it was as they both knew was something that could only be found by two people who had loved, lost and destroyed in their lives before. She had no idea how it would turn out, in a week it might only be a memory that the two would forget, but for now, that was not the case.

"…Kaede, could you sing that song one more time?"

"…Of course."

Roy listened with his eyes still shut, again listening to Kaede's tune until he found himself drifting off to sleep. As for herself, she was already going under herself, so that when she finally ended her song, the two slept like a peaceful couple on the bench in the winter night.

* * *

"Ugh…guh.." Roy's sleep was broken naturally by the outside noises whose bodily movements finally awoke Kaede who still half asleep was trying to get her whereabouts together. They must have both fallen asleep on the bench during their little "get together" and now just woken up.

"I swear I better still have my clothes on." Kaede muttered as Roy pushed himself upwards.

"Nothing like that happened woman, even I know when to stop. Still we ended up sleeping for a long time, all the places are probably closed, sorry about that."

She shook her head mildly. "Maybe we didn't get something to eat, but I did have fun."

There moment was cut short by a low ring inside Roy's pouch who with concentration, pulled out not one of his unique floating bullets, but a rather small orb with several sections inside of it. Kaede was understandably confused at the little device.

"It's a specialized orb that sort of acts like a one way phone. I can't contact people with it but people can contact me, still I wonder who is calling this late?" Roy explained before answer the object.

"ROY!"

The sound, amplified blew Roy off the bench onto his back and forced Kaede back as well, nearly throwing her off the same bench as well.

"Shit! Miriana is that you?" Roy asked.

"ROY! SOMETHING BAD HAS HAPPENED! IT'S ELRYA I CAN'T…!"

"Calm down Miriana, I can't understand you. What's up with Elrya?"

"...Something happened between her and Lilian, I don't know exactly! She's so angry right now and…all the other Diclonius are out here…I can't…Zeruda is trying to…!"

Roy again tried to get her to relax. "

"Miriana, what happened, please tell me."

"Elrya isn't in the facility anymore!"

A shiver ran down the man's spine. "That's not possible, have you checked everywhere?"

"I have, we all have! We're all out here looking for her…please Lilian she didn't…I'm sorry Roy, but Elrya's not even here anymore!"

…

…

"FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" Roy shrieked, kicking the bench with all of his might and telling Miriana he would be there as soon as he could.

"Elrya's not in the facility? What happened to her?" Kaede remarked.

"I don't know, Miriana wasn't really clear on that subject but it's really bad if Elrya escaped from the educational institution. Damn girl is always doing stupid shit to get herself and us in trouble."

"Is it really that bad?" The pink haired woman asked urgently.

"More than you think Kaede, much more than you think. Elrya's life is already in danger right now and it's only a matter of time before Garder finds out. You know Elrya's secondary personality, Alya right? The thing with Alya is while she's able to control her emotions very well, she is still a biological voice and let's just say that compared to most Diclonius, her urges to kill can be very extreme. I'm afraid that whatever predicament that has been made may push her beyond the breaking point. Something happened in Europe when she was there and it wasn't pretty but there's something else I'm even more worried about."

She looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"…There's another personality inside Elrya besides Alya, and it isn't good."

"Really? What?"

Roy bit his lower lip, his eyes now narrowed slits. "My old boss, Vladimir Cents."

"…Vladimir…Cents? You mean that crazy bastard with the spikes sticking inside of him? I thought he was dead?" Kaede yelled.

"Depends on what you mean by dead, apparently Cents somehow transferred his mentality into Elrya and she's managed to keep him suppressed the entire time. We were actually supposed to give weekly evaluations for her but then she goes up and does this crap! Damn why does all this stupid stuff have to happen now, she couldn't eve wait a goddamn week before messing something up!"

"How bad is it?" Kaede again asked.

"Vladimir Cents lives his entire life under the single goal of making the world around him burn and it's something he's very good at. Have you ever heard about what happened in Europe over fifteen years ago?"

"Not really."

"Vladimir Cents in his younger days amassed a huge global assault on the European countries years ago under the same goal he had today. He wanted to create a world of total suffering. I don't know what his problem was, but unlike most people, he had the power and the mindset to make it a reality. I was on a child back then of course and you probably we're still in that orphanage at the time, it honestly wasn't known that well out of Europe. All I know is that at some point Garder defeated Vladimir and the war was ended but never once has Cents given up on that desire.

You have no idea, just how dangerous this man is Kaede, given the chance he can and he will enact his desires and do whatever he can to make them a reality. Since he can control Elrya's power, if she loses control and he gets to do what he wants, we will be screwed."

"You couldn't have done anything about it?"

"Unfortunately not, Vladimir is firmly placed inside Alya's own mindset that we had no idea how to get him out. We don't have time to talk right now, come on; we need to get back to the educational institution immediately!"

* * *

Roy and Kaede kept up a quickened pace before the loud commotion of something hit their ears. People we're all around, not so much in a panic but something akin to curious worry, like people who had been called out due to a possible emergency but still had weren't sure of what the direct problem was. Though Roy didn't know, Kaede did because she could sense all of them spread throughout the city.

"Umm, don't take this the wrong way, but I can sense the other girls. I don't think anyone is the facility anymore." Kaede muttered.

"What are you talking…?" Roy began, and then he saw them. The Diclonius were outside of the institution, all of them moving around chaotically, searching and yelling for something while the Alpha's around we're apparently trying to calm everyone down, something they were failing spectacularly at. Synth utterly lost it at that point.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL!?" His roars loud enough to echo caught the few of the Diclonius closest to them.

"Roy? Kaede-sama? It's bad Elrya…"

Roy practically spat back at her. "I DON'T FUCKING CARE! GET YOUR ASSES BACK IN THE INSTITUTION RIGHT THIS MINUTE!" There was no point in arguing with a man like that, apparently the teacher himself. Roy along with Kaede managed to force with a good amount of effort, the Diclonius back into the walls of the facility and finally get the doors closed. Everyone stood around as Roy stormed through, the girls looking crestfallen though more than willing to explain the situation. It was a good thing because Synth was in one of the absolute worst moods he could possibly be in right now. He couldn't even speak properly the first time, only spitting angrily before swallowing and doing his very best to get his act together.

"Shaa! Where are the Alpha's, get over here?"

Caren, Nana as well as the others finally got to him.

"Caren, what the hell just happened here?" Roy demanded. "I know Elrya escaped but what happened? What the hell we're all the Diclonius doing?"

Caren didn't dare make a remark about her name, Roy's ire was not to be trifled with right now. She placed her hands together, easily embarrassed because she knew she had messed up big time. It was her job to keep the other Diclonius in line; she was supposed to be the mature one, who knew how to think in tough situations. "The other Diclonius sort of found out about Elrya disappearing. You know how we are with our Queens, they've very important to us. Anyways more and more found out and, it got out of control. We tried to get everyone to calm down but…the girls we're worried Roy and…sorry." She finally ended lowering her like a child having been caught in a wrong act.

Roy Synth sighed deeply.

"Do you understand how much trouble you girls can get into? There's no way I can keep this mess away from Director Morotisan and I'll be damned if he doesn't come here tomorrow. Certain rules we're given to you girls, they were very explicit. At a certain time you are not supposed to be outside of your dormitories without special permission. You are definitely not supposed be outside of the facility and I don't care if you're looking for Elrya Alya. Unless your lives we're in danger, you are not allowed to leave the educational facility.

It hasn't even been a week girls, you're not helping yourselves at all in this situation. All of you get back to your dormitories this instant and go to sleep. Haa…" He breathed out again, Kaede about to offer a comforting hand was pushed away by Roy but not cruelly, perhaps she knew that he needed space and thus she didn't feel pained when he rejected her offer for comfort.

"All of you will be required to head the auditorium tomorrow morning, straight at 8:00. You're going to be damn lucky if I can get you out of this one, because you all seriously might be heading back to the Diclonius Research Facility after today."

A shiver ran down the spines of the girls.

"Go now, get back to your rooms and don't you dare come out." Roy ended, letting the Alpha's take lead and get everyone back in their rooms.

Roy dragged his body back to his small cottage where Miriana was waiting there, standing at a broken window which she obviously had to have done to get inside his home. He decided to ignore that, knowing Miriana had meant well but by all means, the less worry he had to deal with the better, he felt like his stress was ripping his tendons apart. He was also half way in thought about agreeing with Kaede in getting new prosthetics, mainly because wiping sweat on your shoulder was becoming hazardous. Speaking of the pink haired woman, Kaede had decided to follow him to his house for whatever reason; he assumed she felt he might need her for something. Maybe he would, and after their time together, he felt he had least owed her the respect to come with him to make sure everything ended up fine.

"So tell me Kusoku, what happened? You we're yelling about Lilian on the other line but I couldn't get you to really calm down and explain."

"I'm not sure…" Miriana began, her voice trembling. "Elrya for some reason had gone up to Lilian when she was a sleep and put her…uh…what do you call it?" She glanced at Kaede, waving her hand weakly.

Kaede responded, "Vector?"

"Yeah that, Lilian woke up and…it just…everything went wild. Lilian was screaming and Elrya just…you know…left. She looked scared like she hadn't meant to do it and Lilian was so furious, I couldn't blame her though. I thought Elrya may have just gone somewhere else, the baths, even somewhere outside the dormitory. After I searched everywhere I just knew…I'm…I'm sorry…"

Miriana finally ended it apologetically, clearly feeling as if some of this was her fault.

Roy shook his head calmly at her. "It's not your fault Miriana, and you should seriously get some sleep though. I do want you to bring Lilian here, this is important as it does involve her. You should get back to your room as well Kaede, it's a shame our night had to end like this. If in the end things go well, I'll see about getting us back out again. I did owe you a night's dinner, and I wouldn't mind getting to know you a little better."

"Hm? Did something happen?"

Miriana's question was answered by Roy whom Kaede feared might start breaking important news. Instead his response was short, to the point but didn't give away in intimate details. "It was a lot more entertaining than we both fault. However there were a few things we did that we're probably rushed and I think we both want to take the time to get to know each a little better before we tried it again."

Miriana was now looking at them with an expression half of embarrassment and half of curious wonder. Placing her finger to her mouth, she mumbled slowly, "You already liked each other that much?"

"There was a few things I learned about Roy, it was the first time I knew somebody who shared the same sort of hardships in his life that I did. I admit it was quick, way too quick but I think if we took the time it could end up much better." Kaede replied.

Again Miriana looked like she was about to break a fever.

"Quick? I can't believe you two even…I mean I'm glad really, but…" She turned away, her face now the color of a strawberry. "…I thought Roy might have been a bit more subtle though."

"Tell me about it, she started it." Roy answered, the snarky response not going past Kaede who playfully, though still roughly pushed him, forcing him to stumble until he got his balance. "She just stopped me before we could even get to the restaurant, she stopped me and it just went from there. I fell asleep with her and woke up just a short while before you called Miriana."

"…You…fell asleep together too? I can't…I think… I'm glad for both of you but…" Twiddling her fingers nervously, Miriana could no longer look at Roy nor Kaede. "…Wow…I can't believe you two had sex so soon."

Kaede smacked her hand on her face and looked away while Roy groaned loudly and pounded his head harshly against the side of home. "Nothing like that happened Miriana, damn! We ended up kissing, crap I didn't think you'd take it like that." Roy grumbled. So much for trying to keep it a secret.

"Oh? Oh! Well that's different." Miriana explained, clearly feeling relieved that the people she knew were not sex-crazed hedonist who had to get it done mere hours after going on their date. "I thought something else happened, I was beginning to think…oh I…sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I'm so glad for both of you and I hope it goes well. Ugh…I can't believe I mistook that, there's no way either of you would…oh no…"

"Calm down Miriana and really get some rest. Send Lilian down here too like I said, I really need to speak to her right now."

"Y-Yes, of course." The human girl replied, still shaken by her mistake and ran off.

"You should get to your room as well Kaede, back to your little brother. There's also something I need to talk to you about, very important." Roy's voice was dead serious, leaving no room for argument or for jokes to be made. Kaede, understanding this listened intently at what he had to tell her. "I don't know how Garder is going to take this situation and while I will do my best to keep this educational institution up and running, I can't guarantee it.

We both know that when it comes to very stressful situations, you can do some stupid things. Therefore, I need you to promise me that no matter what happens, you will remain calm and just go with it. If Director Morotisan decides for the Diclonius to return to the research facilities, then just go with it."

"Just…go with it?" Kaede responded, clearly infuriated.

"Please, just listen to him and do what he says. Garder isn't like Kakuzawa, he's got not only the authority but also the power to deal with any of the girls here as he sees fit." That part was correct, even Kaede hadn't forgotten how their first meeting had gone. "Since nothing actually bad happened tonight, I can only hope Garder will be much more lenient in whatever punishment he deals out. It's a shame you can't have the same freedoms as us humans, even though you deserve it more than ever. It's just that…"

Roy strolled up to her and placed his head against her shoulder, forcing her to use her hands to keep him balanced as he laid against her.

"…I've already lost my wife, my son and people I considered friends and comrades. In just a night, I got to know somebody very similar to myself, a woman who did her best to change her life around. I don't want to lose someone else I care about again. Please just promise me you won't do anything stupid, just go with it and I'll do my best to get things straightened out."

Kaede wasn't sure what to think but she found herself voicing her thoughts because she knew from past experiences that keeping her emotions and secrets bottled up had only caused her more pain and misery. "I don't know if I can though. You know what it's like for us in those places."

"I know, but remember Garder's facility is also given strict checkups as well. It may not be as good as it is here, but it's not nearly as bad as it once was. Besides, if you behave, he might be willing to get the educational institution reinstated. Kaede, I'm just asking as a person who…cares for you, that I don't want to lose you because you got angry and did something foolish.

…This isn't the orphanage, and I know you don't want to go back and remember that. Just promise me that whatever happens, you will be calm and go with it."

"…Alright, I'll my best. But I really don't want that to happen because if I do, what else will I have? Kouta and the others at Maple Inn see Nyu as their family member, not me. You're the first person I knew who I could confide with my feelings so deeply and you're the first person who was so similar to me. Plus, I may not even be able to see my friends again if that happened.

I…love you." She finally admitted, unable to hide it anymore. Maybe it wasn't love, maybe it was just her foolish desire to be accepted, but she couldn't describe it any other way. It was the first time that she realized that her connection with Kouta had never been romantic, but just a foolish child's inability to recognize her flaws and attach herself to the first person who was kind to her. With Roy, his personality, past and actions connected with her deeply, allowing for a passionate understanding to bloom. Maybe that kiss was the reason for that, one she had always hoped to give Kouta but never could and with it having been built up, she had to let it out and after finding out how similar she was to Synth, she knew that it was the perfect time.

Her lips gently slid against his own, allowing the crisp warm feeling to run through both their bodies. Much to her surprise, Roy pushed away, his face somewhat hurt and pained by the experience.

"Stop that, please Kaede, it's not going to be good. You don't love me right now, there's not enough time for you to love me. I had a really enjoyable night, much more than I expected but I'm still a man who was once married. I may have accepted what happened to my wife and son but I can't go this far in our relationship anymore while I still have a strong memory of Orasami. It would be insulting to the memory of my late wife, if I continued this without at least getting to properly know you.

I want this to continue, but you know as well as I that we need to slow it down.

I see Lilian coming; you should get going now Kaede."

Kaede at first hurt as though she had done something wrong the first tie, finally understood and agreed, leaving Synth to speak with Lilian as she arrived, looking positively ticked off.

"I swear I didn't do anything! That bitch came and..!"

"Lilian, please keep your voice down, you're not in trouble." Roy said exasperatedly. "Something happened between you and Elrya Alya, I need to know in detail of what that was."

Lilian spat on the floor, her fists clenched tightly. "I don't know what her problem was Roy. I was sleeping and, I felt something in me, I wasn't sure what and when I finally woke up that STUPID FUCKING BITCH HAD HER HAND IN MY HEAD!" She finally screamed out the last words, articulating her rage in a vivid passion. "I thought I was going to die! That stupid girl was supposed to be my friend but then she pulled that shit on me and…and…"

And the poor girl broke down into a stream of tears, collapsing on her knees and holding her hands to her face. She whimpered and cried, no longer an adult but a feeble little child ensnared by despair. Lilian choked harshly, having now collapsed onto her side and shaking profusely. She had clearly been holding this in for quite a while and no longer able to contain it, she broke down pathetically. "Ahh! Ahhhhh! Uhhh…uhh. What did I do? What did I do to even deserve this? Is it because I'm his daughter that she did it? I thought she…I thought she was my friend, she even tried to comfort me the first time.

Why?

Why is it…that everything I liked…everyone else seems to hate?"

"Lilian…" Roy replied gently. "Please calm yourself, I know it's hard but you need to do it."

The poor girl swallowed, hiccuping slightly.

"What happened after Elrya tried to put her vector in you?"

"…Nothing else, she couldn't even look at me in the end. "

The blue haired man accepted it, responding, "I see, it's late, head back to your dormitory and get some sleep. It's going to be an early and very long morning tomorrow."

"…Sure…I will." Lilian agreed, picking herself up and walking back to the dormitory. Roy breathed in and out slowly and went for the door; using his shoulder to push it aside as it was specific designed that way for his handicaps. Clearly Miriana had not known that or was in too much of a panic to realize it. Instead the door fell off its hinges and crashed loudly onto the floor. "Ugh…Miriana…" He moaned, stepping inside and heading straight for his bed.

* * *

Author's Note: Another chapter finished, one with quite a bit of romance and suspense in it, I hope it was enjoyable. Remember your reviews, criticism or otherwise helps me me continue. Even if its just a short one, please leave a review after reading the chapter.

Things have gotten hectic, but what will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction?"


	18. Path Forward Dedication

**Chapter 18: Path Forward Dedication**

There was no sound in the auditorium even with the some hundreds of Diclonius packed together in the seats. The only sound came from outside sources such as the cold wind blowing against the clean paned windows. Most of the girls didn't even look at each other, some kept their heads down while others seemed dependent on staring at the front of the room where Roy stood, his face shrouded in a strict shadow. There was a single sense going through them, one of complete hopelessness in which they knew how serious the situation had become. Nobody, not a single one dared to make it any worse than it already was because each of them knew that by the end of this meeting, they may not be heading back to their dormitories. Therefore, each of them refused to speak unless someone of authority, such as Roy, spoke to them directly and even then, it was unanimously decided without even thinking about it, that the answers would be short, to the point and nothing else.

They had messed up badly here and they all knew it. They had been given strict rules for the educational facility and one of those rules was that none of them without specific exception we're to leave the facility. Now they sat there, huddled together, anxiously awaiting their fate. The only thing Roy had told them before hand was the same thing that he told Kaede. What happens, they are to remain calm, collect and go with it despite how they might feel. Even to those would disagree; the shivering form of anxiety was too great to be ignored.

The doors opened, a few heads turning to Garder F. Morotisan, accompanied by his two Diclonius assistance, step through with a hardened face. Synth did not speak to him, instead he moved away from the podium and allowed Garder to come to it, moving his hands on the desk to get the feel and then speaking. His voice did not have to be raised for the sound to echo nor did he attempt to try, it was actually very low, calm even to some extent, but the articulation of each word was enough to say that he was not in a good mood.

"It would seem that there has been an issue here at the educational facility. A little before midnight, I had the report that you girls were roaming around outside of the facility in Osaka." He paused, letting his words sink in. His blind eyes may not have been able to see, but they trailed the room anyways, stopping cold on some individuals who even knowing of his handicap, couldn't help but shudder involuntarily.

"One Diclonius may have been expected, two, even ten if so be it. The vast majority of you instead went out, under the purpose of finding another girl. It has come to my attention that a certain Elrya Alya has gone missing. I now take you know the kind of girl she is, a Queen of her race."

Some of the Diclonius murmured unintelligible replies.

"…I do not care what she is, whether she is a Sipilet or a Queen, you were given specific instructions. Are you deaf or are you just incompetent in following simple rules? You are under no circumstances, allowed to leave this educational facility unless specific orders are given. A week has not even passed and you still couldn't follow this simple rule. I am beginning to think, that this may be a waste of time. I am beginning to think, that all of you should return back to the research facility where a much stricter regime will be given.

…Don't forget this…Diclonius; you are here under the sheer kindness that I have managed to have. It has been my choice to allow you the possibility of education and reformation into human society. The short time you have been here, that kindness, already small, has dwindled to near obscurity.

Give me one good reason, why I shouldn't send you back?"

Again, nobody was able to give a clear answer; some didn't, fearing their response would end up being catastrophic for the rest.

"…However despite your incompetence in following simple rules, there was no sign of damage or hostility. The residents of Osaka have been clear to me, that you did not promote violence in the city. Including certain issues that have come up for me, I will be declaring this order right now. If at any point, just one moment that you break these rules, there will be forgiveness. You will either return back to the research facility with me, or I will crush your skulls and make examples out of you.

First rule, all of you are to be in your dormitories immediately after 19:30. (7:30PM) You are not allowed under any circumstances are you allowed to leave unless authority is given. I don't care what the reason is, I don't care who has left, you are to obey this rule without question.

Second rule, the only time you are allowed to be outside is when heading to classes or heading to eat at the dining hall. At no point whatsoever are you allowed to head to entertainment, you have lost that privilege for now.

Including the already established rules from before, you are to obey these without question. I will not be giving you second chances, break it and no mercy will be shown. Classes will not start until tomorrow and you already know when the dining hall is open. Until two weeks have passed, these two specific rules will remain in effect until I have decided if you all have re-earned the right to those freedoms you once had. Leave and do not make me have to come here again for such foolish nonsense"

Garder concluded, moving away from the podium while the Diclonius slowly got up and left, most of them not even bothering to eat and heading straight for the dormitories. The only thing that could be said was that they had been extremely lucky today.

* * *

Garder met up with Roy, Miriana standing together with him though keep some distance away and looking quite depressed.

"Elrya Alya has escaped and is currently running off in the world."

"Aye, what should I do about it?" Roy asked.

"Nothing." Garder answered sternly. "…She refused to obey orders, she will be searched for and then executed."

Miriana cried out in alarm! "You can't! Elrya didn't mean to…you can't do that!"

"I can and I will. Alya herself already possesses a powerful urge to kill people if properly provoked and she possesses the power to do so at a massive scale. More so, the world's most dangerous man is with her. She was lucky that I didn't have her killed the moment I found out, but I won't allow this to go on anymore. She had her chance and she messed it up, she has lost her right to live."

"B-But sir, she's my best friend." Miriana whispered.

"Your relationship with her means nothing to me, my generosity with that girl has vanished. Once she is found, she will be killed. Perhaps you do not realize how dangerous it is, with Vladimir Cents currently inside her head."

Miriana half sobbed and half yelled at him. "Of course I know what it's like! Of course I know...how utterly terrible that man was. I was taken too, I thought…it was horrible. D-Don't act like I don't know how much danger there is! I know exactly how much d-danger there is! You don't have the right to treat her like this!" She was breathing heavily now but throwing her tantrum right at the elderly an. "Who gave you the right to decide what she could and couldn't do? Alya didn't decide to have those killing urges, my best friend didn't decide to have that monster Cents control her! She's saved my live and you don't have the right to decide if she should live or die!"

"Kusoku-san!" Roy yelled, silencing the girl immediately.

"B-But, Roy…"

"Miriana, please be quiet."

"I can't! He's going to try and kill my best friend! We don't even know what caused Elrya to act like that! She was getting along so well with Lilian and, please Garder!" She begged, running up to him. "Give us just a chance, let's look for her."

Garder glared at her at an angle, his white slit eyes driving into the very depths of her soul that made the girl shiver from head to toe. She had to remind herself several times that the man was indeed blind and for the first time, understood the anger and frustration that Elrya had for the man. There was something about Garder, his actions, his voice, as if he lacked empathy on the most basic regard. His eyes weren't just blind to sight, they were completely nihilistic. At no point in the depths of those cold irises could she see an ounce of compassion. The very sights made her want to look away because it made her think of a person who had literally lost everything and had never known a single happy memory in their entire life.

"Kusoku huh?"

"Y-Yes…" Miriana whispered.

Garder continued facing her direction then said lowly, "The daughter of Kusoku Riku."

"Y-Yes, how do you know my father?" The girl asked, her heart trembling.

"You don't know? I guess it's no surprise, he probably never did tell you or your family."

Something made Miriana want to scream, to tell him to stop talking right at that moment. She knew in the deepest part of her fragile heart that if he continued, she would not be able to take it. Yet she found herself mumbling under her breath, "What do…you mean?"

"…Your body is covered with burns, do you know how you got them?"

"I was in a car crash that killed my parents, why?" Miriana answered. Again, something inside of her told her to stop, to walk away but instead she remained rooted on the spot.

The blind man lowered his head, the girl catching a glimpse of herself in the lens of his glasses. "Incorrect, your parents did not die in a car crash." She had to tell him to stop now, the very thought was pounding against her head like a sledgehammer. "Under my direct order, your father, Kusoku Riku, was killed."

…

…

"Wh-What?" It was the only sound she could muster.

"Do you know what your father did for a living?"

"I…I don't…he was some sort of an…accountant." The poor girl choked out at Garder's question.

"Is that what he told you? Wrong, your father was hardly an accountant and I suppose he fed that lie to you for your entire life. I guess I can't blame him though, the business was top priority and secretive. But no, for his entire life until his death…

…was the former Director of the Tokyo Diclonius Research Facility."

…

…

This time the girl couldn't utter a single phrase.

"He was in charge of the entire operation before I came along after the war, he had the Diclonius experimented on like everyone else working in the facilities. That was his life until the end."

She shook her head frantically.

"That's wrong! My father was a good person and he always taught me that!"

"Whatever your father may have taught you, the fact still remains that he was in charge of the Tokyo facility at the time and he allowed the same experimentations to go on." Garder answered nonchalantly. Miriana was on the verge of pulling her hair out, her fingers gripping the flesh of her face and pulling it so that it became taut. Breathing heavily, she found her heart skipping beats every so often so that she had to clutch her chest to keep herself from fainting.

"That's a lie! My father would never do something like that!" She would deny it again and again, this evidence that couldn't possibly be true.

"If it is any consolation though, your father was killed by me because he kept releasing the Diclonius in his facility for freedom. Apparently despite his job he felt guilty of what he had done." Garder answered.

There, again even more so than before, the admittance that the man before him had killed her mother and father, even if indirectly. Miriana suddenly shrieked, her eyes unbearably livid as if something had taken control of the sweet girl and turned her into ravaging beast. Both of her hands grabbed the scruff of Morotisan's collar, wishing she had the strength to lift him up and slam him against the wall. Now she finally understood why her best friend, had such an irrational hatred for this man. She didn't think she could ever have hated someone more than Vladimir at that moment but Garder had finally pressed the berserk button that had been hidden inside the human girl all that time.

"What gave you the right do that!?" She spat at him, tears running down her face. "What the hell gave you the right to kill my parents!? Just how many people have you murdered just because they were doing the right thing!? You're no better than that monster Cents, it's no wonder Elrya hates you so much!" Seething anger, she shook Garder as badly as she could whose expression had no changed passed bored disappointment.

She hated him, that's all she knew.

"WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO DECIDE WHO SHOULD LIVE AND DIE!?" She wanted an answer right now and yet she wanted nothing else but to keep throttling him right there. She remembered the small tranquilizer gun that she had been given, one she had ignored completely because of her irrational fear and hatred of guns. She didn't think she'd ever have to use it.

Garder who's ears picked up the sound could have easily have avoided it, instead he let the girl bash the point of the gun against his face, the tip breaking the right lends of his glasses and presses so hard against his face that he could feel the blood running down his cheek. Incomparable was her anger that Miriana was feeling the sensation of murder running through her veins, and the last time that had happened was with Cents. She hated this man before her, his cold demeanor, his lack of empathy, she wanted him to pay for what he had done. This man was responsible for her pain, her scars were there because of this man's action.

At this range, she could put the bullet straight through his brain, imagine the good she could have done not only for the memory of her parents, but for Elrya as well. Her words came out as a sob, "Wh-Why? Who gave you…ah…the right?"

Garder stated sternly, "You have every right to pull the trigger, I will not blame you for that. I killed your father because of his actions in endangering the world. Your wounds and the death of your mother was a tragic accident that can't be undone. However…"

With speed far beyond the scope of any normal person, Garder broke away from the gun Miriana discharging the weapon as the bullet zipped passed Garder's head and the fear of actually pulling the trigger nearly made her heart stop. His movement swam together in perfect synchrony, an artist of battle. Her gun was already yanked out of her hands in a flash, not even having time to notice the sweet of the hand, then his other hand pressed against her shoulder, his leg against her left one and with a single thrust and pushed painfully against the floor, tossing the gun back to her fallen figure.

"…I won't allow that, girl. Don't act as if you understand the situations at all. I have lived decades your life, seen the world, seen the wars, seen the personalities of people. You are nothing more than a foolish little child hanging onto imperfect thoughts. As much as you run through your little fantasy world of hopes and dreams, the world isn't that simple. Sometimes, harsh decisions must be made for the better cause."

Hearing those punitive words, Miriana found herself screaming at him until her voice cracked.

"What better c-cause!? How is this a better cause!? Who gave you the right to decide how Elrya or the other girls should l-live!?" Miriana struggled to get up, her small hands bundled into fists. Why was it that her life had to be so miserable? What did she do to deserve such a fate like this? Her father had always been a good person to her, had always in his entire life worked for the better cause. He had loved her and her mother with all of his soul, she was positive about that.

That's why, her heart sink and shatter with every thought of the truth. She could not bear to believe that her father had been doing such heinous acts in his life. The momentum of the occasion had left her into a beaten state of emotional turmoil and yet her ire for the man before her only seemed to grow more intense.

There was no way she could allow Garder to go unpunished.

"You…you…"

"If you can't speak properly, then go away, I have no time to listen to your whining." Morotisan stated darkly.

"Garder…" Roy finally said aloud, cutting anything Miriana was about to say short. "Let me try to handle the situation here, give me a month to search for Elrya Alya, just give me some times sir. Miriana is right though, we have no idea what caused her to act like this and it's only fair we give the chance to explain herself."

Garder shook his head. "I've given her enough chances, more than I ever should have. I will have my men search for and once she is found she will be exterminated."

"You really are a bastard." Garder turned his head as Caren stepped up, having remained at a distance but deciding she could not stand listening to the man any longer. "Miriana…" The Turkish Diclonius began, glancing at her friend. "…Maybe your father did do some bad things in his life, the same way my sister did a few bad things in her life. Yet the very last thing both of them seemed to do was help others, whether it was the other horned girls, or like my sister, if it was to help me.

But this man…" She stated viciously, now turning her flaring glare back on Morotisan. "He doesn't have the right to decide Elrya's life at all. You're exactly right Miriana, he doesn't have the right to say anything about it. Elrya broke the rules, we have to accept that, but she hasn't done anything to get herself killed yet. I don't care who is inside her, Garder, you don't have the right to kill her."

"Sir…" Julius added once Carentorzulan was finished. "Would it be best if I searched for the girl?"

The elderly man shook his head simply. "Negative, I still need you and Victoria to head to Europe in a few days, I will handle things here." He then returned his attention back to Caren. "What do you plan on doing about it anyways? Do you plan on attacking me if I don't give into your childish reasoning?"

Her body tensed up but he did have a point, she could get angry all she wanted and try to avenge her friends, but Garder's prowess we're way beyond her scope.

"Then let us look for her!" Caren finally yelled out desperately. "It'll be easier for another Diclonius to sense her and look for her."

"That's not possible and you know it Carentorzulan." The blue haired man stated matter of fact. "We did an operation on her a while ago that keeps her from sensing other Diclonius and from other Diclonius from sensing her. It was meant…" He looked over at Julius. "…To keep Javel from searching for her."

"Besides…" Garder continued nonchalantly. "…There is no way I will allow any more horned girls to leave the facility. This conversation is over, let's go…"

The young girl cried out at him. "Wait! Give me…give me two weeks to search for her and if we find her, let her live and let her stay here. If you want to punish her somehow then fine, but just…give me a chance. I've lived in the real world before, I know how to handle myself and my emotions much better than the other Diclonius. Put a tracking device on me or something that way you'll always know where I am!"

"No." Garder sternly replied.

"Then what about me?" Miriana answered firmly. "I'm human so you shouldn't have any problem with me looking for her. What if I was there with Carentorzulan, what about then? Please, it's not like Elrya has actually done anything wrong right now. I mean..." She couldn't believe she was going to suggest this, but if it kept her friend alive then she was willing to take the risk. "Let us find her and if you want, put her back in your facility!"

"Huh!?" Caren exclaimed.

"…I'm sorry Carentorzulan, but I can't let my friend die."

Garder said nothing, instead his eyes closed and his head bowed in deep thought. "You have one month and one month only. I will allow two people to accompany you Kusoku and if they are Diclonius, they will be required to wear tracking devices at all times for us to know their whereabouts. You will every three days give a report on your whereabouts and after a month, while I do not care what you do, any Diclonius will be sent back here immediately.

And…

…If you do find Elrya Alya, she will be coming to the Tokyo Diclonius Research Facility and until something can be done about Vladimir Cents inside of her head, she will remain there."

"…And you won't kill her…right?" Miriana asked.

Garder turned away. "Fine, I will keep her alive."

"And there's another thing I want."

"You press your luck Kusoku, but what is it?"

"If we find her, even though you have no right to do it, I'll let you take her to the facility. However there are some things I want, the first thing is to let her friends see her. For me, I should have every right to see her whenever I want to. Secondly, she should have the same education as everyone else, even if she does have less freedom to move around. So while she's there, you let me talk to her and teach her about what's going on in the educational institution, she deserves that at least.

The last thing I want is this, Elrya is pregnant and I have no idea when she'll be giving birth. When she does though, the child is coming with me and you aren't allowed to mess with it."

Garder F. Morotisan thought about it deeply.

"Very well then, I will agree to those points, get the two people you want to come and I will return here tomorrow…Julius! Victoria! We are heading off, let's go."

Leaving them, Miriana let out a much needed breath and collapsed to her knees, her Diclonius friend coming and placing her hands on the girl's shoulder for comfort. Miriana was glad for she felt she couldn't take a single bad thing again and she found herself moving into Caren's arms like a child needing to be held by its mother. Because her parents were not only dead, but now she had learned the horrible truth of her father and though she tried to push it away, she couldn't because it made her feel even worse about herself than before. Her life was a ruined mess and no wonder why, maybe she took after her father and she hurt people even when she was attempting to help them. Weak, that's all she was, a weak little girl who wanted to do something but always found herself outclassed. No matter what though, she still wanted to help Elrya, now that she shared a similar ire with Garder, she knew that at the very least, she should give Elrya a chance.

But she was so weak.

So terribly weak compared to the people around her. She didn't have any amazing powers, she didn't have any specialized skills, she was only a human girl who only knew stronger people. But she wanted to help Elrya at the very least.

Roy leaned against the wall and muttered over to them, "You Diclonius just can't make it easy can you? God luck though, you're going to need it and I'll try to help you as much as I can but there's only so much I can do. Who else are you going to bring though? Like Carentorzulan said, she's lived in the outside world and knows how to properly control herself, but who else are you going to bring?"

"I don't know…Kaede maybe?" Caren suggested.

"It wouldn't work, she has to stay here and take care of her brother."

"Damn, how about Nana?"

"Doubt it, one Alpha is one thing but I can't have too many Alpha's leaving." Synth said solemnly. "I'm not trying to beat you down but you have to think about this. I personally won't let you choose just anyone to come with you."

"What about me?"

Their heads whipped around at the sound of Lilian's voice, the older Diclonius having come up to the stage with her eyes fierce.

"But…Lilian, I thought you…" Miriana began.

"Don't get the wrong idea Miriana, I still haven't forgiven Elrya for what she did. I'm still shaking just thinking about it right now and believe me, I don't want that girl anywhere near me. But the same isn't for you, I still think of you and Caren as my best friends and I'll do anything to help you two. Besides, dealing with Elrya Alya, we're also dealing with my father as well technically and it seems like I'm the only one here who can actually control him."

"I'd have to agree with you on the last one Lilian, Cents does seem rather submissive when around you." Roy said slowly. "It honestly might not be a bad idea for you to go with them Lilian."

"Alright then, so we've got our last person, I say we leave in the morning. What about the rest of you?" Caren questioned.

"Sounds good." Lilian answered, Miriana stating the same thing.

Roy offered another statement. "Miriana, you still have my number so call me if you need anything. Caren and Miriana, I'll put some money into your accounts, use them for food and shelter but besides that there's nothing else I can really do. The only thing I can do is offer suggestion and remember, you only half a month.

Good luck."

There wasn't much else to be said, the three girls knew that possibly long month was a head of them and currently had no clues on where Elrya was. The only thing they had was determination and hopefully an astounding amount of luck.

* * *

Julius took the wheel, Garder sitting in the front seat while Victoria leaned in the back as the car drove off back to the Tokyo facility.

"We're you sure of your response, Director Morotisan?" Julius asked.

Garder who pushed his glasses up his nose responded calmly. "There's too many issues going on right now for me to waste time with unnecessary actions. I already mentioned that I still need you and Victoria to head to Europe as planned before and I'm too busy with own agenda to waste time bringing back on the Diclonius or looking a girl who we have no idea where she's at. It's not something I want to agree with but I would much rather have someone else, even another Diclonius, looking for her that we can keep track of instead of wasting men on a search mission. Besides, until Elrya Alya does something to make herself noticed, there's not much else to do.

I will give Kusoku and her friends the chance to find her and if they do, they will be bringing her to my institution. I will also honor Kusoku's words..." He paused, moving his head so that it looked as if he was gazing outside the window. "…Jessica's will is still holding on somewhere inside of me…" He thought to himself. "...But my limits are running extremely low."

"What if they don't find her in a month?" Victoria asked in a low tone.

"Then I will search for her myself, send in my men and have a full lookout for her. Unless she comes quietly, then I will not hesitate to kill her."

Garder's response was cold and sharp, just as Victoria knew it would be. Nevertheless she couldn't help but suppress a shudder that ran down her spine.

"Well Morotisan, last night I was able to discover a few bits of information that might lead us to what's going on in Europe." Julius said as he turned the corner, picking up speed. "Have you ever heard of Eijunah Dyorajah?"

"What language is that?" Victoria questioned after hearing the name.

"I have not…" Garder replied. "…Nor have I heard of the language before."

"Well it's not distinctive language, only the name of a religious cult that was apparently created about fifteen to twenty years ago somewhere in Eastern Europe. Apparently the family who started it believed that they were the incarnations of messiahs and used this warped knowledge to get followers."

Victoria scoffed at it. "Sounds like Kakuzawa."

"Pretty much, and like Kakuzawa they also had a good deal amount of money as well. It's quite easy to get people to follow you especially in that time."

Garder answered for him. "…Because at that time, Vladimir Cents was going through his onslaught in Europe, and it was putting people in a panic. It's no wonder people began to follow the cult, in those times I'm sure anyone would follow someone if it gave them hope."

"Aye." Julius acknowledged. "They used their money and resources to commit their acts and yet remain mostly out of the public's eye, they're dangerous but compared to Cents they were small fry not worth being looked into just yet. There are cults all around the world and this one was no different from the rest but now things have changed."

Victoria, confused at this, asked, "Why is that Julius?"

"Two reasons as it's already been explained. The first one is that despite how small the group might be, they contain vast amounts of wealth. Cents had one thing right on the mark, when it comes to money, people will do anything. The second issue is the fact that they're currently using Cents weapons to commit their deeds."

"Vladimir Cents possess weapons of mass destruction as well as certain serums that would make these people near superhuman. Not to mention that I have no idea what other things that man may have been keeping." The old man said slowly.

"Damn, this Cents is this dangerous?" Victoria muttered.

"Vladimir Cents might act insane and have a huge bloodlust, but he's hardly an idiot." Garder answered while he folded his hands upon his lap. "This is the reason I need to find Elrya before he tries anything and I can only hope that girl can hold him off. Given the chance, Vladimir Cents will seek any opportunity to gain what he wants and as you saw yourself when we had Elrya over there, not even death was able to keep him down. The only thing I can say is that as he no longer has a physical body he can use whenever he wants and that his main enforcement, Armata Lui Dracul has been most likely completely decimated, it will be hard for him to do anything at this point. Of course I worry more about what he'll do with Elrya then what he may have left at his citadel but that's a risk I'm not willing to take. That's why you and Julius are going to Europe and stop this mess once and for all."

"Aye sir." Julius stated sternly.

"Got it." Victoria stated.

"Did you find anything else Julius?"

"I did, apparently the cult is being run by a man named Aurelius Denotos. As far as his life goes, the only thing I could find out was that his family was the ones who created the cult and as he's taken leadership, he's used his wealth to collect a small militia of followers. In retrospect they're more dangerous than a normal cult because this wealth though it's nothing we can't handle. It's only because of the dangers in using Cents' materials that it becomes a problem and that's of course we come in Victoria.

I have everything ready Garder, our flight leaves in two days from now and I'll keep in touch with what's going on in Europe. You understand this as well, correct Victoria?"

"Yes Julius, I do."

"Good." Garder spoke out. "I what to fix this mess now before any other problems emerge."

The car turned the final corner, driving up to the facility as the three got out, Garder passing on up ahead while the two Diclonius took a separate path to continue with their jobs.

* * *

Author's Notes: A shorter chapter than the previous ones but I do hope its been enjoyable. Our little make shift group has been created and now they're off to search Elrya, but other issues are going to come up too. Julius and Victoria are well on their way to heading to Europe to stop Aurelius and there's just chaos all around. What will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction"

Please R&R and there's any mistakes, tell me and I shall fix them.


	19. The Moment Of Reckoning

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 19: The Moment Of Reckoning**

"Julius, can I ask you a question?"

The male and female Diclonius sat in the seats in the airport, the young male having collected the daily paper to read while Victoria sat rather uncomfortably with her legs crossed. Julius wore his usual outfit including his hat as to cover his horns. Victoria had been given a thin red dress that laced up around her sleeves, plain and simple, but pretty nonetheless. Julius had given her a small bonnet to wear as to hide her own horns before they finally got to the airport and waited for their flight to arrive. The reason the poor girl was so uncomfortable was because the excitement inside her could hardly be suppressed. This was the first time she would be heading outside of Japan and be alone with Julius.

The days had passed since the deal at the educational facility and until they were to leave, Javel taught her as he had been doing before. She had wanted to ask Julius a few questions but couldn't bring herself to say it with the possibility of the director being around and it was only now that she could find the time and courage to finally ask it.

The young man tilted his head and replied in a low tone, "What is it?"

"Well…it's about Garder."

"Hm? What about the Director?"

Victoria mumbled incomprehensibly and put her finger to her mouth, trying to phrase her question as best as she could. "Why do you follow him so much? He always seems so…I don't know…miserably angry." That was the best she could think of and it was true, Garder never smiled, never relaxed himself, always looked tense and his eyes always held the sensation of deep foreboding gloom in them. She felt that if she looked into them for too long, she would fall into the pits of dark blindness herself and never come out. He wasn't just serious, Julius was serious as well but he had never come off as looking as miserable as the Director had.

Really, Garder frightened her, his abilities but mostly his personality, it was like every single happy thing, every happy memory or idea was sucked out, leaving only a breathing corpse that was always frustrated.

Yet Julius followed him, obeyed him with an almost irresistible passion. Every order that Garder gave, Julius obeyed and not once did she ever get the feeling that the Diclonius was being forced to do anything. If Julius had wanted, he could have denied whatever Morotisan's orders were and done what he felt like, but instead he obeyed under his own volition. It wasn't like her who obeyed Morotisan due to Julius' and Garder's influence.

"You wonder why I follow a man who has such disdain for my kind."

"Yes." She said softly.

"Although I always see myself as a human, I know what I am biologically, I can't get past that and Garder knows it as well. I have known Morotisan for quite a while and I have learned a few things about him from my ex-colleagues. I have worked hard to earn Garder's trust especially when he knows what I am and I have always attempted to keep that trust working. This is most likely why you are with me right now; if I was not there, Garder would have sent you off to the educational facility without question.

The deal is, Garder is a man that can't be comprehended easily, nor do I try to in the first place. I owe that man though a deep amount of respect, because he got me out of a life of turmoil."

"You mean the facility?"

"No." Julius said. "He rescued me from myself."

She gazed at him, clearly confused. "I'm not sure I understand."

Julius turned the page of the paper, looking at the headlines and saying, "My mentality is different from the female Diclonius, my internal voice is not nearly as strong or as abrasive. When I was locked up, I knew that hating the humans was the right thing to believe but I could never get the same kind of hatred that you might have had. Honestly I hated the incessant screaming that the girls would be doing in the other cells, it drove me mad.

I wanted them to shut it, to never speak again. I felt more hatred for my own kin than I did for my captors. There's something I enjoy, it's the very desire that I've always wanted and that is to have a great challenge. I never realized it at first until Garder game and the words he spoke to me allowed me to look deeper into my own life and choices. It was a great challenge, my mentality against his and I lost, he showed me how much of a fool I had been throughout my life.

Garder has done a lot of things in his life, but I will admire the man who took me out of that hell in my mind and gave me a purpose to live through."

The woman wasn't sure what to think but she could understand it in a basic sense. Another question popped into her head, one she had heard a lot about but could never get too much information out of.

"This…Cents guy keeps getting brought up. He's even in that girl's head. I've heard he was kind of a freak but…what exactly is his relationship with everyone?"

"Vladimir Cents and Garder F. Morotisan have known each other for over fifteen years. Garder was the one who first defeated Cents during the war in Europe and since then they had been working together until his death, or as much as Cents felt like. Vladimir was a man who had no conscious; he was wild, deadly and reveled in destruction and suffering. That was his very desire, just to have a world in which every single person suffered again and again including himself and he would work his way through until he could no longer breathe. He didn't care if he died, he has that single held belief throughout the entire time in his life and he never once let it go. He manipulated the people around him and was apparently an excellent leader who could get people to follow him.

You see, Cents greatest attribute was probably his absolute determination. Once he had set a goal for himself, he never once stopped following it. He wanted to make a world of suffering though I have no idea why and his mindset kept going so that until he stopped existing, he would follow it. It's apparently why Garder and even myself had the respect for him despite his antics.

People give up too easily; they lack the determination and desire to follow through their goals. They wake up, as Cents would say, from silly little dreams. He hated that, when people tried to claim they were following their dreams when in fact they would have to have woken up eventually. When the member of Cents were still together, we were all given a single silver coin that was etched into our bodies that also incorporated our powers in some way. For example, mine was specifically designed to negate my own abilities though I still had this tendency to believe myself more human than Diclonius. I guess you call it a personal weakness of mine."

Julius brushed his hair over his forehead to the side, showing the indention of where the coin had once been.

"Cents had the rank of Number One, The Incorrigible. His silver coin was crafted so that he could call 'Armata Lui Dracul."

The woman questioned shortly afterwards, "Arma…?" She muttered simply, having heard the term before.

"The Army Of Dracul. A three-hundred thousand plus strong army of followers who served Cents loyally. You can understand now why he was able to do so much damage throughout Europe. But thing was, most of these people not only did not agree with what Cents believed in, but they were not forced into servitude either. Powerful as that man was, there was no way he could've forced so many people to follow him. So you might be asking, why did they follow him?"

Javel turned the page again, skimming his eyes down the first column. Victoria waited for the answer, clearly wanting to know herself.

"Vladimir Cents is a violent and destructible man but it is his very determination that makes his followers envious and proud. People are weak, they give up easily, how could one not find such respect in a man who utterly refused to give up? This is why at all cost we cannot allow Cents to gain control of Elrya and why we have to deal with the issues in Europe. Cents possess the very power and mindset to attain his goals and there is nothing that will stop him. You may even say he possesses an almost supernatural ability."

"Super…natural? What's that?" Victoria asked earnestly.

"A power beyond normal, one that can't be explained by conventional means."

She took a guess and added, "Like our vectors?"

"Sort of, although even that is explainable. You see, Cents has this strange knack of attaining what he needs even if it is indirectly. You could almost say he can unknowingly manipulate fate to follow through with his will. At any point though even ignoring this, he's still a very dangerous man who has even challenged Morotisan in the past, he is not one to ignore or take lightly in the slightest."

Victoria closed her eyes and said slowly, "That's scary, when do we leave?"

"You'd best have some patience, we'll be here for another hour. Here's some money…" He said, offering the woman a few Yens. "Get yourself something to eat." She gladly took the money, having been taught the basics of currency by Julius and went off to get something to eat while the young man turned to the last page of the paper, skimming calmly through the text as he thought about what would be happening in Europe when they got there.

He had a hotel already booked for where they were going, though it was still a good two hours away from the location of Cents' Citadel. It was the closest he could get in which the hotel still allowed horned people, as he had known, not everyone was as welcoming to them as Japan had been.

A few minutes later, Victoria returned, smiling at him and offering him a bite from the chopsticks, as he reached over to take it, she yanked it bank, shaking her finger disapprovingly.

"You can't just take it like that, now open your mouth."

Julius sighed deeply.

"You can't make things easy can you, Victoria?" Nevertheless he grudgingly opened his mouth and she popped the small piece of teriyaki chicken into his mouth.

"How is it?"

"It's fine." He replied plainly.

"Alright then, here have another bite." He gazed at her strongly but again, abandoned his pride and let her put another piece into his mouth. As he slowly chewed it, he could tell he was getting reactions from others around him, mostly women and young girls who seemed to find the action cute, like two couples enjoying their time together. A few giggled at them, causing Julius to lower his head so that his features were mostly hidden behind the brim of his hat and long thick hair.

"What a cute couple."

The words sparked Victoria's interest when she finally realized what they were talking about and it made her blush deeply. "Th-Thank you! Do you hear that Julius, people think we're a couple, isn't that cute?"

"Adorable." The man said without looking from his paper.

"You know what would make it even cuter? If we held hands." She said, not bothering to wait for him to give an answer to her first question. Julius didn't reply back, instead he put his hand on her lap, causing her face to blush crimson and then hold it, smiling deeply. "Can I…lean my head on your shoulder?"

"Whatever makes you happy."

She did and her happiness blossomed even further. A young eighteen year old girl with the person she loved, resting her head against his shoulders as Julius Javel finally put the paper down, gazing over at the clock situated in the right hand corner of the room. His hand traveled and wrapped around her shoulders, resting comfortably on them. Her body moved slightly, snuggling her head closer to him, she saw his hand pick up the chopsticks and offer her a bite, her smile was small but radiant, taking the bite and chewing it slowly. He continued to feet her, the others around them finding it adorable thought the man's face never changed passed its usual stoic form.

That was fine, it was the way he was and honestly, she didn't want that to ever change. He was the person who she had first gained an attachment too and even if he tried to pretend he didn't care, she knew that deep down, he cared for her as much as she did for him. Another bite, her mouth chewed the piece of chicken slowly before Julius offered her another piece. Waiting a moment to swallow, she ate it continuing it until her meal was completely gone. One of her fingers traced the hardened lines around the man's face, crossing gently down his cheek until her nail rested at the bottom of his chin.

A voice called from the speakers, indicating their plane had arrived and they as well as a bunch of others got up from their seats and followed the line into the docking point. Victoria carried both of the cases with her, holding the handles with her real hands but using her vectors to lift the cases up so that they were easier to hold. Walking up to the docking station, her eyes traveled out the window, noticing the massive airliner that had just pulled in and her eyes widened fervently. It was the first time she had ever seen a plane besides the military jets and the massive comparison between the behemoth before her and the rather small jets was startling for her.

The line moved quickly down the ramp until they were finally stopped by two men in security who told them to move to the side. Unsure of why they were doing it as nobody else had been told to move over, Julius obeyed and so she had no reason to not follow their orders either.

"Excuse me, would you please remove your headwear."

Victoria shuddered, believing something was wrong. Instead, much to her surprise Julius removed his hat, revealing his horns. He instructed Victoria to do the same which she did, holding the bonnet at her side.

"You two are Diclonius, aren't you?"

"Aye, I am Julius Javel and I am under the orders of Head Director Garder F. Morotisan of the Tokyo Diclonius Research Facility to make searches throughout Europe. This woman is Victoria Javel, my co-worker who is also assisting me in this search." Julius offered the man a card, indicating what he said was true and he offered him to call Garder in case he didn't believe it. With airline security as strict as it was, and knowing that the Diclonius were supposed to be in the educational facility, the security guards called Director Morotisan.

It wasn't surprising and when Garder got the call explaining the situation, he understood why. Garder had a lot of influence throughout Japan due to his affiliation with the Diclonius so it was easier to get his direct words foremost.

* * *

After getting the situation handled, Julius and Victoria were allowed inside, though instructed to keep their hats on throughout the entire trip. Again, an understandable point and for the first time, Victoria entered into the plane. She was surprised at how small it was inside compared to the outside, three rows ran down until the end of the plane, three seats for each one.

Not knowing where she was supposed to go, she followed Julius into the third compartment where he moved to the far left side and looked up at the numbers.

"Right here, put the suitcases up there." Instructing her, Javel opened up the compartments and helped her lift up the two cases, then let her move into the far end seat near the window and finally sat next to her.

"Hm, this is kind of…close isn't it?" Victoria grumbled, hardly realizing how little space there was.

"You'll get used to it. It's going to be at least a six hour flight, you'd best make yourself as comfortable as possible. I'm going to sleep until then, try not to bother me if you can." Julius muttered, leaning back slightly as best as he could and turning his head to the side so that it was facing Victoria and closing his eyes. She looked over at him then decided to trail her eyes around the plane curiously.

A voice spoke from the speakers, the usual issues about safety which was then repeated in several languages. Feeling the rumble of the engines start, Victoria Javel starred out the window panel as the trees and high way began to move. Picking up speed, the jet began to move upwards, higher and higher into the blue tinted skies. Victoria saw the buildings pass over them, the smallest dots of people that soon became obscured in the wake of the clouds. From far away, she thought she saw a white tip mountain, perhaps it was Fuji though she hadn't learned enough to know such a thing anyways.

It didn't take long before the plane passed through the clouds of the stratosphere and finally went level. Feeling her ears going numb, the Diclonius woman yawned softly, something Julius had taught her to do when achieving high altitudes. She saw Julius doing the same though his eyes still remained close, she thought better than to annoy him with any useless banter. Still, six hours was a long way off and unlike Julius, she didn't think she could sleep it all off.

Each seat in front of them contained a small screen and heat seat but unfortunately, she didn't know how to use either. She held the headphones, which were separated into two packages. The head sweat and a smaller back containing two ear pieces to put over the headset itself. A little bit of cognitive thinking told her that and she spent the next ten minutes trying to put them on. The task was harder than she thought, the fabrics would constantly slip off until finally she got fed up with it and placed the headphones on anyways.

There was only a single button on the seat so that was easy enough, the screen turned on in a quick flash and a screen appeared showing several languages though once she saw the Japanese words on one she instantly pressed it. Now a whole scheme of items came on such as movies and music which left her completely baffled. She pressed something and music started playing through the phones, muffled from the lack of the fabrics she was supposed to have placed on them. She pressed another thing and some strange movie began playing, more buttons began to be pressed until finally she couldn't take it anymore and turned it off. Unable to think of anything else to do, Victoria firstly decided to look out the window, got bored of that and finally moved her seat down to sleep.

"Victoria, wake up."

Julius Javel's voice broke her sleep as she opened her eyes groggily, focusing her attention firstly on the window next to her. There was no light outside, whatever time it might have been, it was clearly night. "Ugh, what time is it?"

"It is a little before 22:00, our flight is about to land soon. The place where we are staying at is about an hour and a half away, walking distance and I don't know if we'll be able to get a cab to get there. So expect to walk the entire way, once we get to our destination and unpack, I need to contact Director Morotisan. While were here, I expect you to behave yourself and to follow my orders exactly as I say."

"Of course, I understand Julius."

"Good."

The plane landed in the Hungarian airport, the passengers getting off in the huge lines. Julius strolled out calmly while Victoria followed, her body calm but her expression exuberant while she gazed at the new world around her. She couldn't read a single word around her and felt smothered by the huge amount of knowledge being pressed against her. Running up to Julius, she stood by his side and even pressed her body against him as if afraid that if she lost sight and touch of him she would be drowned in this strange new world.

Everything, the customs, the people, they all looked vastly different than what she knew of in Japan although admittedly even that wasn't the best either. Her eyes scanned the entire area then yelped when she noticed that Julius had gotten a head of her without her attention and she hurried up to him.

"This is so new to me."

"This is the country of Hungary." Julius answered.

The two entered outside the airport where Julius glanced around then nodded in approval. There were a few cabs still running their shifts and he quickly called one over. As it pulled over to the curb, a middle aged man came out, addressing them. Victoria listened curiously as Julius spoke in a fluent but accented voice to the man, a language which she assumed was from this country before the driver opened up the trunk of the cab for them to put their suitcases in. As he opened the door for them, he remarked over at Victoria with a small smile on his face.

"Oh! Ummm, I…what…?"

"He says that your quite a beautiful woman." Julius replied.

"Oh! Ummm, thanks! Wait…aren't you angry about that?" Victoria questioned.

"Why would I be angry? He was complimenting you, he wasn't hitting on you. He said that he hoped your time with me was good and that we had a wonderful time together. Of course I also told him we were newlyweds vacationing here."

She nodded, then went extremely red in the face. "R-R-Really!? I mean that's kind of…"

"Let's go." Before she could speak another word, Julius got into the cab and still flustered, Victoria got in as well. What would've taken an hour and a half to walk, took about twenty minutes total before the cab pulled up to a large hotel up on the street. From its look, it probably wasn't something fancy, but it was certainly four stars and definitely commercially owned. Javel quickly got out a few bills from his pocket as well as some extra as a tip and gave it to the man who thanked them and went on his way. Entering through an arch that may have been quite stunning if it wasn't so dark, they stepped through the automatic doors and Julius came up to a desk, suggesting that Victoria sit down in one of the seats as it could be here a while.

She found a small chair and sat in, her body sinking into it. It was very comfortable, she had almost forgotten what it was like to sit in something that wasn't a hard chair at the facility. She wondered if the beds were as soft as this as the living places in the facility, designed for her and Julius were just average, neither incredible comfortable or uncomfortable. There was a television on the wall in front of her, it caught her attention and because although she could not understand the language or read the subtitles, she could certainly see the images. Four people were at a large bronze desk, hands folded, three men and a woman while a large picture of what was clearly a horned skull was plastered in the background.

Whatever the subject was directly about, it was clearly on Diclonius, most definitely when she heard the term expressed many times. The woman and one of the men, a heavy set but kind looking person spoke tones while the two men seemed much more aggressive. She wish she could understand what they were saying but even if she couldn't, her eyes were glued to the screen.

"We're ready…"

Jumping slightly, Victoria said sheepishly, "S-Sorry."

"You're interested in what they're talking about, aren't you?"

"Sort of, I know it's about us." Victoria admitted.

Julius replied, "They're discussing the issue on whether any Diclonius in Hungary should be given the same rights as those living in this country do."

"But…I thought they had rights here? That's why we can come here in this hotel." Victoria said.

"No, Hungary hasn't given the Diclonius the same rights as humans in this country, it is only some people like the management here who has allowed it. It is no surprise considering what happened with Elrya here they are still fearful. Plus this country was also attacked many years ago by Vladimir Cents, the less they have to worry about, the better.

Follow me, our room is on the third floor."

Taking their suit cases, they rode the elevator up to the specified floor, walked down the hallway and entered into Room 318. It was simple but very spacious room, nothing more or less from what was expected from any decent hotel. There was a television screen at the far left corner, a large chair at the far right facing it as well as the usual kitchen and sink as they first entered. Victoria curiously opened up the door to her left, finding the bath and tilting her head to the side, it was very unique to her. Setting the suitcase on the floor, Victoria finally looked at the last item in the room, the single large bed.

"Hey Julius, is there another bed?"

"No, I specifically asked for a single bed room, there was no need to get two."

"…But…if there's only one bed…then…" Suddenly, she became extremely flustered, turning bright red and covering her mouth with her hand. "I-I-I don't know if I'm ready for that! I mean…I don't mind…I kind of want to do it…but it's so soon! I wish you…oh no I'm not ready for this kind of…"

Julius glared over at her. "What are you talking about?"

"…Well, I didn't know you wanted to sleep together."

"We're not…" The male Diclonius stated clearly. "…The bed is yours to sleep on, I will be fine sleeping on the chair."

"Oh…" Victoria mumbled, the sign of disappointment not completely hidden.

"Are you hungry?"

"Hm? Oh…yes, definitely." Victoria answered when he spoke to her.

Julius told her that he would get something for her from downstairs and informed her not to leave the room without his permission. Ten minutes later, he came back with her meal, a small snack that she had never seen before in Japan but finding it very delicious after the first careful bite.

"What are you doing?" Victoria asked nervously when she saw Julius undressing himself. Pulling off his upper attire so that she could clearly see his strengthened chest. No longer wearing his hat of course, his thick colorful hair spread down around his neck, thick but not long enough to reach his shoulders. The bangs were split unevenly around his face and she could see the indention on his forehead of where he used to keep his silver coin.

Sitting in the chair, he folded his arms and tilted his head to the side. "We're getting up early in the morning, I want to get some sleep now. I suggest you do the same too Victoria."

"Ummm, y-yeah sure." She pulled off her clothes, realizing the situation immediately and turning bright red. Really, if anything she shouldn't have felt so flustered just by being in her bra and panties just because Julius was in the same room as her. He had seen her nude before when they were both in the facility, although in argument their lives were on the line and things like love hadn't even blossomed yet.

There were times she would tease him but to go too far, that often didn't appear in her mind. He looked over at her when she didn't move for a while and Victoria instinctively covered herself with her hands, her face blushing cutely. The undergarments were humble white pieces with curvy elaborate designs on them. The little clothing brought out her pale skin, deep red hair, great thighs and tender breasts. In all terms, she was an exotic woman that most men would've been dying to have in the same room as them.

For Julius, his eyes never wavered passed Victoria's own.

"You know Julius, the bed is large enough for both of us." She said slowly.

"I'm fine, get some sleep now."

There didn't seem to be any point in arguing with him, and honestly, she wasn't too sure if she had the guts to do anything either. Slipping into the bed, she pulled the covers up, admitting thinking about how nice it was to have the entire thing to herself but wanting the warmth of the man she loved next to her.

"But it's going to be cold, don't you want some covers?"

"I will be fine Victoria."

"…Are you sure? Because you know, with just the two of here and…"

"Victoria Javel." Julius said sternly. "We are not here to partake in romantic enjoyment, we are here under specific orders from Director Garder F. Morotisan of the Tokyo Diclonius Research Facility. You should already understand this, we have a long day ahead of us."

She turned her head away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…alright…I'll go to sleep." There was no point in arguing with him, once Julius' mind was made up, it was made up.

* * *

Victoria was used to waking up early in the morning luckily, so she had no qualms at being pushed by Julius at around 7:00 who told her to get a show and get dressed. Apparently he had been up for a while too because he was already cleaned, dressed and had even gotten her some breakfast from downstairs. She quickly ate and undressed, using the show to clean herself off and put on some new clothes, sitting on the bed and waiting for Julius to return from wherever he had gone off to and no sooner had the thought passed when he came through the door again.

"Good, you're dressed. The place we're going to is about 25 miles away from here beyond the mountain range, we're walking the entire way so I've brought us so provisions." He was holding a large bag that he gave to Victoria to hold. It would be easier for her with her vectors than to force him to carry it.

"It's a long way as you can understand, which is why I need us to head out immediately."

Victoria sighed deeply.

"That's a long way off, but I guess I have no choice. I'm ready Julius, let's go."

Julius noticed Victoria started to tire as they went through the woods and offered to sit down and rest, drink and eat some food. She gladly accepted and put the bags down, finding a large but smooth rectangular stone to sit on while Julius leaned against the trunk of an oak, slowly draining a bottle and wiping off the few beads of sweat from his forehead, then pulled his coat tighter to avoid the wind that was blowing through the air. The ground was white with frost though by no means deep, it truly amplified the winter season.

"Julius, what's wrong with these trees?"

The man turned his attention towards her. "What do you mean?"

Victoria narrowed her eyes and muttered, "There's something strange about some of the trees, like, their darker in color and it looks…I can't really explain it.

The male Diclonius gazed at the trees sharply and said. "There was a battle here, I can tell from the surroundings, an old one. This is probably the location of where one of the battles of the late war happened."

The woman nodded silently before Julius ordered for them to get moving again. Stretching her arms and legs, her vectors reached out and took the bags, lifting them up into the air and following Julius again. They traveled through the forest and across a vast hill where the scene of something strange wafted through the woman's nostrils. Julius again told her it was the faint sense of war, where another battle had been place and if they were to start digging, they would probably have found some bones of the deceased. It made her shiver inside, the thought she was walking over the dead.

Upon the horizon, her eyes met with a small mountain range that loomed overhead as they stopped for their final time. When they had started, the sun was just rising, now it was late afternoon and by the time they returned home, it would be dark again. For the last time they sat and rested then headed towards the rocky formation, stopping at the base of it.

"I'll meet you on the other end." Julius said, utilizing his abilities and moving his body through the entire structure as if he were ghost. He quickened his pace until he was going into a full sprint, knowing that he couldn't hold his power far past a minute, he broke through the end and reverted back to his physical self, breathing heavily. Turning his head upwards, he waited a good ten minutes until he saw at the top a figure with long red hair flowing in the wind.

Victoria stood at the edge of the precipice, looking down at the shattered remains of Cents' citadel. The entire place was crushed and broke, the spires that used to stand so dangerous tall now fallen over. The very center looked as if it had been caved in and as her eyes wandered around, there wasn't a single piece that was still connected. The debris of black stone and metal was splattered around, far passed the base of the main construct until she realized very quickly that she was looking at more than just debris. Eyes widening, her body leapt from the edge and using her vectors she crashed to the ground with such force that the cloud of dust rose several hundred meters into the sky. Julius watched as she floated in the air, her foot slowly tapping the ground before she waved her hair back and set the bags down, focusing her attention on what stood before her.

Gagging firstly, she placed her hand over her face and started to breathe through her nose, the stench of decaying flesh forcing itself through her. What she had originally thought was debris was actually bodies. Hundreds, thousands, no even more of people who were ripped to utter shreds, their forms only basically human, rotting as the flies and maggots ate their way through them. There was no blood, all of it would've dried up long ago, but the everlasting aroma of death made her want to vomit.

"Ugah! Th-this is disgusting!" She hissed, swallowing a huge lump in her throat.

"Indeed, when I came here there was no time to do anything with the bodies. I have work to do in that building, you are to remove the bodies here and bury them."

She gave him a long look.

"All of them?"

"Yes…" Julius stated. "All of them, however when you find a body of a large man with several rods inside of him and wearing a thick onyx brown coat, do not bury him. I have to check up on him."

Victoria shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you say Julius, but still, this isn't what I thought I would be doing while I was here. Ugh…and I'm not sure I can." It was a lie and she could certain choke back the nauseating feeling that was about to engulf her but there were plenty of things she wanted to be doing right now and one of the didn't involve burial duty. Still, as usual she wasn't going to argue with Julius and she started to break the ground apart with her corporeal hands, tossing corpses in and when one hole got filled, she created another one.

"You owe me for this Julius, I expect something nice in return." She through angrily.

Inside the structure, Julius went through every room, checked every crack and found that mostly everything involving weapons or serums had been taken. What was left was only the long lost past. He checked for anything might have given him a sign of where Aurelius and the others were, but in the end, he found nothing. In short, there was nothing here for him and there was no need for him to check out the ruins anymore.

Outside, Victoria was still tossing bodies into ditches, giving him a loathsome look that he honestly never expected her to give him before. He didn't greet her, instead he walked around the citadel, checking areas behind it and then climbing up the broken pieces, easier to reach than trying to go by the inside route which were blocked off by tons of debris. He could see signs of where vector marks had been made, most likely from Elrya's battle with him. Far away, he heard a loud rumble and saw that Victoria, having gotten fed up with making small holes, decided to rip open a massive pit, tossing bodies in and then closing it up. Julius who had finished his job waited for her to finish and when she did, he finally went over to her.

Her expression was more than mildly angry.

"I hope you had a good time." She said darkly.

"We're not here to have fun, where is the body I told you about."

"I couldn't find one, I made sure to look for any body like you said, and the way you described it, I shouldn't have missed it."

Julius glared at her. "That's impossible, the body should still be here. Did you look properly?

"Julius, there was nothing, I swear. Ugh…I can't believe you made me do all of this, it was horrible! Besides what's so important about that body anyways?" Victoria groaned.

"Stay here." Julius ordered.

"F-Fine!" She probably felt insulted that Julius would force her in doing the dirty work, then just order her around as such. Crossing her arms, she looked away but stood where she was, letting Julius do whatever it was he needed to do. "Stupid, don't think I'll forget about this, I expect something very nice from you once this is over."

"Victoria…are you absolutely sure you did not find the body?"

"Yes Julius, I'm sure! I had to bury them all, it took hours and you know it! What's so important about this body anyways!?"

He didn't answer her, instead he pulled up the phone and dialed, waiting for Garder to answer.

"Julius." The old man said strictly.

"Director Morotisan, did you do anything after I left here those couple of months ago?"

"No, did something happen?"

"All of the material such as weapons and serums are gone, I had Victoria bury the deceased except for Cents' bod which I assume we would need for testing. However, she never found the body. Vladimir Cents' corpse is no longer here."

Garder paused on the other end. "And you did nothing the first time."

"I left everything as it was when I first arrived." Julius replied. "It would seem that they've taken Cents' body and…" He stopped, Victoria also noticing the figure who had arrived, now staring at both of them with shock and confusion. He was a man in his early thirties, thin and rather lanky with his pitch black hair flowing down his shoulders. He held two items, one was a small hand gun, probably a normal .45 caliber from the looks of it and something very strange, like a small orb, clear and in the center, something pitched black and smoking in the center. It seemed odd, out of place and most of all…

He felt a resounding sensation of pure danger coming from it. Something told him, that if that orb cracked open, it would not be good.

"…I'll call you back sir, we have some company." Julius hung up and put the phone away, he said nothing but with a tilt of his head and a slight motion of his left hand, Victoria knew she needed to stay where she was.

"Who are you two?" The man asked, Victoria didn't understand what she was saying but Julius spoke in the same language.

"I could be asking the same thing."

The person snorted and looked at Victoria, his eyes traveling up to the thick horns on her head.

"…Horns? Hahahaha!" He broke into a short laugh and pointed at her. "Are you trying to fuck me over or something!?" Victoria couldn't understand the language but judging from the dialect, she had a feeling he was praising her. "You're trying to pull that Diclonius shit on me."

"Diclonius?" It was the only word Victoria recognized.

Julius made a movement and the guy suddenly pulled the gun up, not that it frightened him but Julius did stop in his tracks. "Let me take a guess then…" He said, speaking in Hungarian. "You must be one of Aurelius' men." Just as he thought, the man startled, pretty much giving his actions a way.

"…How do you…?"

"There's a lot of things I know, and things you and your boss I doubt have little knowledge about. You have some strange obsessions though, with your crazy religion." Julius spoke out.

"Of course, Aurelius Denotos is our savior, the one above all! You and your bitchy little girlfriend there are nothing but slime! If she really is a Diclonius…and I laugh at that stupid shit…then she's going to die! I would have had to kill you both, but her…oh her…oh what a bitch. Not giving our lord Denotos the proper respect, going around with that stupidity in their head! Who would believe that there are freaks in the world like that?

It's obvious what happened, it was some terrorist acts and the Japanese are too FUCKED UP…to realize it. Diclonius are only stupid fucking people that lie, and that woman there, pulling fucking shit like that. Oh I can't wait to beat her open and rape her!"

Julius tilted his head to the side.

"Rape her?" He said slowly.

"Oh? I'll kill you too, probably first, and then I'll take my sweet time with her, licking her…oh…I can hear her moaning…oh yes!" He went in red in the face and there was the sickening sight of his pants bulging out.

Julius frowned at him, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Victoria…we need this man alive for interrogation…I need you to watch out for me."

"Huh? What do you mean Julius?" Victoria asked.

The male Diclonius raised his hand and took his hat off, revealing the thick horns on his head that made the man grin stupidly. The hat dropped to the ground and Julius raised the same hand again, cracking the fingers slowly and his face, usually calm, was now dark and almost demented.

"…Because I may end up killing him before we can get any information out of him."

* * *

Author's Notes: Another chapter finished and I hope you all enjoyed it. There's not many things that can get Julius angry, but if you threaten Victoria, he will kick your ass. What will happen next time on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

Please R&R.


	20. How Far To Go To Achieve

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 20: How Far To Go To Achieve**

Unnoticed as it emerged, the similarities all too similar to make much difference, Julius' instinctive voice began to take control, his red eyes narrowing so that they were slits very similar to the eyes of Director he served. The heartbeat quickened, his fingers twitched nonchalantly and his mouth tightened into a frown of silent but immeasurable hatred. It was just like before, when that man in the black coat and hat attempted to rape and kill Victoria, though silent, though stoic, deep down he felt nothing but full despicable revulsion for him. Victoria was an annoying woman at times, whenever he mentioned it, he meant it literally. She was a novice to the world that he lived in and at times, truly at times he wanted to yell at her, but she was still a woman in his heart and mind and soul, one he loved. There was no doubt about it, not a single doubt and he had said it before that he admired her, that his heart was for her. For him, Victoria Javel was an annoyingly but very complex woman who, despite his stoic nature, loved with all of his being.

…And this bastard had said those things about her. It wasn't just the threat though, he could get over that, what irked him was the context behind it. He had no ire for someone like Bando who had attempted to kill Victoria in his fight, he and Roy had a specific purpose, an honestly helpful one at that and it was only due to difference in circumstances that they had to battle. He had no intentions of holding any ill will for that, but him, this man before him, his purpose was childish, inconceivable, illogical. Those words of insults, beyond killing, he was going to defile her just for the sake of his own sick mind. Maybe it was the corruption of his master that led him like this, but Julius could not take the time to ponder such excuses.

"Where is Aurelius Denotos?"

"…Y-You dare speak of the great one in such a tone? Do you have no respect, filthy swine?"

Julius glanced over at Victoria, knowing that what the man was saying was not respect and honestly, Julius was sort of glad she couldn't understand him. He himself was barely able to control his anger; he could only guess what Victoria would've done in this situation.

"What is that in your hand, the container?" Julius demanded.

"Tsk, who knows…we just found it here." He scoffed, trying to make his answer sound sarcastic but the pink haired man could also tell from his tone that he truly had no idea what he was talking about. The idea worried Julius greatly, something from Cents' domain was being carried around by a man who had no idea what it was and his body tensed up just looking at it. If he knew Cents, and he quite a while to know him, the container was not going to bring life and happiness to everyone.

Julius instinctively began to move closer to Victoria until his assailant raised his gun and told him to stop. "You aren't moving…now praise the messiah, Aurelius Denotos!"

Julius stood silently.

"Did you not here me? You are truly a dirty swine aren't you? I wonder how dirty that bitch of yours is too. Oh but she has a fine body, oooh, so smooth and to drive myself into her! Ooooh!"

"…Silence."

"Huh?" He looked back at the Diclonius strangely.

Again, Julius spoke hatefully, his voice calm as ever but hatred oozed through each syllable. "You're voice is annoying, your actions are hideous, you entire existence is a plague. I will not have you speak of Victoria that way, not from a man like you.

…Fire your gun, because it seems like I won't be able to get any information out of you until you do."

"Hahaha! Hahahahaha! You want me to fire; oh you're such a…fool!" The idiot pulled the trigger, aiming at Julius' head and the bullet as it sped out pretty much did exactly what it was intended. It struck Julius in the head, speed through his brain and existed out of the back where it continued on for several meters before dropping. The only difference was that there was not a single splatter of blood to follow. Where there should've been a tiny hole in Julius' head and one in the back, nothing and yet he was certain his bullet had hit him.

Victoria tensed up only in the sense that Julius was being attacked, otherwise she did nothing else. There was no way such pitiful weapon; much less used by an idiot like him could ever hope to hurt Julius Javel. She caught her love's eyes, no movement but from visual gaze alone, it was enough for her to understand that she needed to continue staying where she was. She had no qualms in obeying that silent order, Julius was an expert and he knew how to handle things.

He must have thought something was wrong, maybe he saw things incorrectly and he pulled the trigger again, this time aiming for the much larger chest area. Instead of one bullet, two flew out at break neck speed, slamming as he expected into the upper lung and one just below the sternum. He knew they went through, it was impossible for him to have missed at this range and to hit such a large target, yet there was nothing. The body didn't fall backwards, the man didn't cover his wounds and there was no blood. Like before the bullets merely passed through carelessly as if he were a ghost.

"Wh-What the hell are you doing!? Wh-Why can't I hit you!"

"…Although I don't like referring to myself as one, we Diclonius are rather good at dealing with simple modern weapons as that."

The words instantly provoked the enemy.

"Bullshit! Don't tell me you think I believe that crap! You…freaks of nature don't have those abilities!"

"It's amazing how ill-informed you are, the truth is out, the world knows and yet you refuse to believe it."

Snarling at him, the man turned his weapon on Victoria who's only response was to raise her eyebrows slightly. "Then let's see how she reacts! I'll rape her corpse later!" One shot, to the upper left breast that instead of going through, was casually knocked away by Victoria who glared dangerously back at him. She would've said a few choice words but decided against it as her attacker wouldn't have understood her anyways.

"That's…not…what are you doing!?" He screamed, going into a panic at something he could not understand and refused to believe. In a fear induced anxiety, he shrieked at the woman and fired chaotically at her, watching in profound horror as Victoria deflected each blast as casually as swatting away a fly. He fired and fired until he was pulling the trigger and hearing the clicks and yet continued to fire hopelessly until Julius had enough. As the man pulled pathetically on the trigger, Julius moved forward and swung his hand upward, utilizing his ability so that he sliced cleanly through the gun arm and let it fall to the ground mundanely.

The demented bastard wasn't even aware that his arm was gone at first, his mind instinctively kept pulling the trigger that was not there until he finally saw and felt the painful lack of shooting hand. Screaming he fell backwards on his back, crying like a pathetic child until Julius stomped on his chest with his foot, hanging over him while his gleaming red eyes pierced into the souls of his opponent. More than ever he felt the want to torture this man and make him pay for the things he had said about Victoria. His soul, usually so calm, now soundlessly raged like a hurricane as his powers were incorporated into the soul of his foot and he began to press down on the flesh of the man's chest. It broke through, splattering blood until he reached the ribs of the lower stomach and his he cracked each one.

The scream that followed was ear piercing. "Gaaaaah! Stop it! Stop it! Fuck! Fuck!"

He cracked the next one, pushing his foot up against organs and the moving to the next pair of ribs. This man was a menace, no point in arguing, no point in debating, no point in compromise. He would kill him for his sins and his atrocious actions and he would not bat a single eye about it. The only peace the screaming person had was the brief moment when Julius removed his foot and pulled out his own specialized gun, aiming it at the man's head. It wasn't meant to shoot bullets; it was more akin to a grappling hook that he used for certain occasions. But at the range he was at, the metal would shoot straight through the bastard's head and he felt like he might just pull his brain out of his skull.

"J-Julius!"

Stopping, his eyes waved around to where Victoria stood, clearly frightened and her hands over her mouth. "Y-You have to stop…" Something in her voice was different, for the first time as it dawned on him, that Victoria was terrified and the thing she was terrified of…was him. He had let his anger get to him; let his ire overrule logical concept so that he wished to torture people. It made him feel sick, he who valued his ability to reason now became less than human and Diclonius.

"…Victoria…hold me back."

She wasn't exactly sure what he meant but regardless, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She was therefore surprised at how hard it was to keep him back, as if his entire body was instinctively trying to attack the man before her. "Julius, you have to calm down, please! You're going…you're scaring me!"

He was scaring her; the woman he loved and was supposed to protect was scared.

"…He said things about you…things I won't forgive him for. He mocked you, the person I love and spoke of such things that can't be ignored. He was going to rape you, mock you, kill you, he had no respect or even pride in his words, I could not forgive him.

…Keep holding me back Victoria and whatever you do, do not let go. If I end up doing something that you know is wrong, then I give you permission to stop me at any cost."

"…I…I think I understand." Victoria responded.

He waited until enough pain had subsided so that the man could think coherently, then Julius began to interrogate him. "You've now had a taste of what Diclonius can do, this is no longer a matter of whether you believe it or not. But I am not here to prove anything to you, I am here to demand answers.

First question, what does Aurelius plan on doing?"

"I…Ugah…Gah…he…shit!"

"Answer it, now." Julius pulled against Victoria's grip who had to put more force into him. Her vectors wrapped gently around him, adding a sense of warmth that calmed him down a bit.

"He…He…guh…our savior will…oh…orah…kill you freaks! He'll k-kill you freaks in that country and in the world and w-with…ooooh…ooooh…" He succumbed to a new wave of pain and moaned loudly, forcing Julius to order him to keep talking.

He choked on his own blood and said. "That f-fool…Vla-Vladimir…we're using his stuff…to h-help us!"

"Second question, where is Aurelius Denotos?"

"I don't know!"

"…liar." Julius stated.

"I m-mean it! Guh! Gah! I swear I have n-no idea where he's at right now! The last time I knew, he-he was in some other town in Romania!"

Julius believed him which only made things harder.

"Last question, what did you guys do with the body of Vladimir Cents?"

"We took his body…for our group who r-runs the bio-labs." Just as Julius knew, these weren't just run of the mill cultists, they had the money and technology to get what they wanted.

"…What do you plan on doing with the body?" Julius asked. "I thought you had no concern with Cents and only for his equipment."

Through a choke filled response, the man stated, "Th-That's true…but foolish as he was…we think…we think…"

"Think what? What exactly are you doing?"

…

…

"…It's already been done..." Through blood loss, the man could barely speak above a whisper. "Foolish as Cents though, he was a good tactician, he would have to have been for him to get this far in his little war he created. We r-realized that a long time ago and he was a genius in c-creating these weapons, but he had no idea how to use them. Such amazing things sh-should only be used by one as perfect as Aurelius, not a bastard l-like him."

Julius was getting annoyed at this banter.

"I told you, what are you doing? What point do you have with the body when everything else is already at your disposal, do you wish to get something from his body? Vladimir possess unique enzymes that allowed his body to handle vectors that a normal person couldn't."

"No…we have done more than that…"

"Answer the question!"

"…We…We…have…DIE!" He must have been thinking about it the entire time and in a burst of adrenaline and fear he chucked the orb at Julius. If didn't have a blue of what it was, he only panicked and threw the only that was nearby at his foe in the hopes that something would happen. Julius didn't know what would happen but in turn he swerved around and grabbed Victoria by the waist pushing her and himself to the side as the orb passed by their heads and landed on the ground. At some point it must have shattered but the sound he heard was much larger, the light he saw was much brighter and it was only through the quickest of reactions, if he had not been touching Victoria at that very moment, all would have been over.

The attacker's last thought was how bright the light was before his entire was charred beyond recognition. Eyeballs melted, skins peeled back, tongue was roasted and innards fried. His very blood boiled in the extreme heat as the explosion riddled the land. The ruins before them exploded as the light breached through every crack, obliterating it as easily as it had obliterated the poor landscape before it.

Larger…brighter…heavier…

* * *

Julius kept his power intact, using it so that all danger passed through them and as he connected himself to Victoria, her body too became like his, avoiding all dangers. But it didn't stop, the explosion wasn't just a bomb, it was something more than that, something far more dangerous and it was forcing him to his powers past his limits and it was only the beginning of the tragedy at hand.

"_J-Julius!"

"Don't let go, no matter what." He declared, hearing Victoria's muffled voice.

He felt his body growing weaker as the light finally disappeared, lending to the world of destruction.

"Don't…don't let go…no matter what." He again moaned, feeling blood now drip from his mouth.

"You're hurt…it's over…you've got to stop using your powers!"

"N-No…I can't…which…which way is the wind blowing?" He had to focus all of his attention on staying conscious, otherwise they would both be dead.

"I…I don't…that way? I can feel it coming from that direction." She finally said.

"…Haa…Haa…we have to follow…the opposite of way of the wind…right now. Haa…Haa…Haa…we have to…get away from this location right now. Help me."

She had no idea what he meant but she half dragged him in the direction opposite of the way the wind was blowing, not understanding why Julius was overusing his ability, he should know how dangerous that was. It wasn't until she finally looked around that she understood something, the explosion had destroyed huge areas, annihilated their attacker, all but completely decimated what was left of the castle and had reached so far that the mountain side had been reduced to a mess of molten rocks that still boiled away.

"Haa…Haa…haa…damn you Cents…to think you actually had something…haa…haa…haa…like that in your possession."

"What happened? What was that?"

"…Haa…Haa…haa…the explosion…if I stop using my powers here…we'll all just die slow deaths from the after effects of radiation."

"R-Radiation?" She asked, still dragging him.

"...Kuh…Gah….haa…grah!" He vomited up his blood, the vision in his right eye going blurry. "...That fool, using something he didn't know about…this is why I hate stupid people. Haa…Haa…Haa…it was a bomb, the m-most powerful kind there is.

…That wasn't just any weapon…it was a compact…haa…haa…haa…nuclear device.

…Haa…Haa…a nuclear…bomb."

She must not have heard him correctly because she stared morbidly back at him without saying a word. She wasn't some expert on bomb types but she knew enough and if what went off was of such destructive power than it was a miracle they were even alive. But that though may change unless they could get out of this mess and Julius was already struggling to move his legs until Victoria was dragging him the entire way. The only thing keeping them from being turned into radiated corpses was Julius ability that passed through both of them.

For Victoria, her body felt heavy and when she looked at herself, she could see straight through, wondering if this was what it was like to be a ghost. The only thing that didn't pass through them besides the very ground they walked on was their physical selves against each other. It must have been one of the greater abilities Julius had, no doubt from one as skilled as him. But Julius was dying, the blood was flowing freely from his mouth, and his body was starting to erupt from the inside out, flowing across his body. Apparently he was trying his best to keep his own organs from rupturing which in turned caused him to bleed internally and his skin to peel away. The young woman knew that if this kept up, Julius would not last much longer. There had to be something she could do, something that would help him survive this terrible ordeal.

Perhaps if she...

There was no way if her idea would work and if it didn't, she had no idea of any other options to use. Julius was utilizing his powers to keep him and herself safe from the radiation fall out of the bomb until they could get into a clean space, wherever that might be. Unlike her and her female kin, Julius couldn't use his powers for long periods of time regardless of how much energy he was producing. His powers usually weren't meant for such long durations anyways and so the over abuse of it was overriding his Diclonius regeneration that all horned people had. With no way to control his own power, his body was slowly being ripped apart faster than his healing could take place.

But what about her? What if she could somehow transfer a bit of her healing power into him? Her vectors emerged, their slender hands wrapping gently around Julius' body who quivered at the touch and she slowly slid them inside, making sure not to make them physical and rubbing them through his broke body. The delicate corporeal fingers touched his organs, running through his cells and healing them on a molecular level. It was enough for the man to become more aware of his surroundings and able to move slightly on his own, though still very much needing the woman's help in return. Victoria continued to use her vectors on him, rubbing them around freely.

Unfortunately, as helpful as it was, she found herself being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of damage Julius was receiving, she was giving them time, but she was afraid it might not be enough.

If her vectors alone could possess such remedial capabilities, then maybe her entire body could do it. Again, she had no choice but to try out and she gently lifted Julius' head up to her. "I have you, don't worry Julius. This is going to be a bit strange but I think it'll help." There she pressed her lips tightly against Julius mouth and feeling a bit off in doing it, she traded her own salvia, moving down his throat and telling him to swallow. Julius, too busy trying to keep conscious with having his powers being used, could only acknowledge what the woman was saying feebly and swallowed. Of all the times she wanted to have her mouth on Julius' own, this was the last idea in her mind.

Nevertheless the idea appeared to be working, Julius organs were being healed on a faster level now. Tongue slipping inside, she continued to administer her unique medical attributions as Julius concentrated on keeping them alive.

"Ugh…Gah…" Victoria coughed loudly.

"V-Victoria…what is it?" Julius muttered slowly, unable to look at her.

"My body…I don't think I can keep this up."

Were they going to die here? Were they going to suffer here from radiation poison, and die slowly? Julius was being overtaken by the effects of his powers again, vomiting up blood he fell to the side, bringing the woman up along with him. Julius had lost any ability to move now, whatever he could concentrate on was using his ability to keep Victoria safe now.

In the distance, the sound of a moving vehicle could be heard.

"Help…" Victoria's short cry would never have been heard. But, maybe it did, the sound of the vehicle was approaching fast, closer and closer. Julius' sight had long since vanished and Victoria was too drowsy to properly see what was happening. All that they knew was the vehicle had stopped near them, something got out and a voice started yelling at them. It sounded rough and brutal and somewhat familiar. With whatever thoughts still running his head that Julius had, he reached up feebly and grabbed the figure's hand, the person making some remark on how it felt to be touched by Julius' powers before being hauled into the front seat of the vehicle and the door shut next to him. From the other side, their so called savior got into the drive side and kicked the pedal into full gear, racing off into barren wasteland.

Further…further…Julius tried his best to keep conscious just a little bit longer.

"…I can't…keep…" The effects of his power went off, Victoria gasped feeling the air of reality hit them and waiting for her own body to turn into a disfigured wreck.

"Calm down woman, we're outside of the blast range and radiation area." Finally able to look at the person, she saw a man wearing a large suit with multiple fabrics and a mess who he finally pulled off.

She starred in disbelief.

"I can't believe it…" She muttered.

"Tsua! The things I do to save your asses!" Bando growled, wiping the sweat from his brow and turning the vehicle to the right. "It's always something with you horned people, I'm too fucking nice to be doing this right now. Damn people made me soft!"

"What are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking woman. Either way, I'm here on a secret mission to find about some nutjob named Aurelius."

So, he was doing the same thing they were.

"Aurelius Denotos right? That's the same thing we were doing. Garder sent us to try and stop him."

"The old man, I see. What the hell happened over there anyways, all of sudden I look over and there's a damn nuclear explosion."

Victoria wasn't sure how to properly answer that except to give the very basics.

"Whatever, the bastard over there looks like he's about to keel over, I'm taking him over to the closest hospital."

"His name is Julius…" She growled. "…And thanks." Victoria said thankfully, caressing her lover's body against herself as Bando drove them off. "Have you found anything?"

"Hm? About this freak nut job Aurelius, not much, but I did discover some good information. He's apparently trying to hitch a ride to Japan somewhere. He's got it out for you horned people and he's using some strange technology to kill your kind and with it, he might do a lot more damage."

He probably could and that was the reason Aurelius needed to be stopped at all cost.

"There's no way I'm going to let him get away with it and besides, that horned woman is over there. If there's anyone who's going to kill her, it's going to be me! I picked up somebody who was with Aurelius' men also." Bando added and pointing over his shoulder to the back seat where Victoria looked around.

There she saw a man of a good size, at least well over six meters leaning casually with his arms behind his head. He wore a thick black coat with red outlines around it, the sleeves ending into crimson cuffs. There was a large amount black fur around the man's thick neck, which with added to his black shirt and dark jeans, gave him the appearance of a very imposing mafia lord. The straw colored hair on the man's head was slicked back but short and there were a few lines on his face from age. If Victoria had to estimate, she would have assumed that this person was at least in his forties.

"Yo!" He said, smiling at her calmly and raising his hand.

"Yeah…ummm…hey." Victoria said uncertainly.

"What's your name woman?"

"Victoria Javel."

He raised an eyebrow. "Javel? Are you related to Julius at all?"

"I'm his lover."

He looked at her, then laughed softly, covering his mouth with his hand. "Hahahaha! Lover huh, that's quite unique I must say. Julius sure has changed after all this time, I can't wait to greet him when he wakes up."

"Don't do anything foolish." Bando growled at him.

"I know…I know…there's not much I can do right now and besides, you've got me tracked anyways for the next month anyways." He said slowly, raising his hands in defeat and leaning back again."

"Who…are you exactly?" Victoria questioned.

The back seat man leaned forward again, moving his neck to the side until it cracked loudly in both directions. Clasping his hands together, the man said in a simple tone.

…

…

"The King of Deceit…Vladimir Cents…"

…

…

"…What?" Victoria mumbled.

"Now I must ask, why did you blow up my citadel? I mean I know it was in ruins, and most of my stuff was taken but I liked that place and you nuked it. Actually…" He said putting a finger to his chin. "…I had a nuke? I need to keep up with my stuff more often, that thing could've gone off while I was in there…maybe I'll tell my guys…oh no wait they're all dead."

Victoria stilled starred at him wide eye.

"What's wrong woman?"

"…You're…supposed to be dead." She replied slowly.

"Well I suppose so, the last thing I remember was getting my brain ripped out, oh the sheer feeling of the split second of agony was so great, if only it would last longer. Still biology is a crazy thing as is cloning…and I have returned from the brink, went through hell and am back here again. Apparently Aurelius' men thought they were going to use me to further their plans, needless to say it didn't go too well for them. I ran into soldier man here and we got into a little scuffle, unfortunately I was only able to attain a few of my special serums and I lacked my abilities and weapons of before. Trying to fight Bando was not going to end well for me, so in the end, I had no choice but to obey him as he put a tracking device in me.

So I'm here, enjoying the fresh new ways of rebirth as I prepare myself for my desires.

Also…" he said darkly.

"…I have a score to settle with a young girl…

…named Elrya Alya."

* * *

Author's Notes: A short, but I dare say very hectic chapter. The good news is, Victoria and Julius are saved...the bad news is...the reborn mass killing psychopath in the back seat. Poor Elrya is going to flip her sh*t when she finds out about this. What will happen next time...on "Pinpoint Conviction?"

Please R&R


	21. Rebirth Of The Incorrigible

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 21: Rebirth Of The Incorrigible**

"Hm…" It felt like he had been asleep for a long time and was now just waking up, his mind fuzzy and unable to decipher his surroundings. His body was naked, submerged in a liquid with a breather over his mouth, his body strangely weak, or rather it felt normal. People were talking in a langue he knew but had not heard in such a long time, his mind couldn't process what they were saying at the moment. Actually, he hardly care what was going outside of the tank, he became more concerned with what had happened in the past. The last thing he remembered was the feeling of pain in his head and then all went black, something had happened then. He had been somewhere, doing something, the very end of something.

"…Elrya…Alya…" That's right; there had been a girl, a girl with horns who he had fought to the brutal end. He could almost see it, the vast citadel, its spires of darkness crumbling down from the effects of their battle. He could see the black army being torn to pieces by the girl's strange hands and his laughter of chaotic disposition echoing loudly. He had killed the person she loved, forced her into a torrent of fury that had wrecked his body again and again without restraint. Yet still he didn't give up, his own endurance brought on by his serums and sheer determination forced him to continue on, to get the very best out of her.

But she had refused to kill him. He laid there, his body broken beyond every conceivable limit, and yet she had refused to kill him. With his spine snapped, he could not move but a single arm and she had refused to kill him. Firstly, he discovered that he could feel his legs, that was confusing but his thoughts soon ventured back to where it was before. Her refusal to kill him, to grant him that want of his was infuriating. He hated her for it, hated her weakness, and hated her stupidity in letting him live. Even though he killed that man right in front of her, even though she slaughtered his army, she had refused to kill him. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction? What kind of stupid excuse was that?

That girl was just like him, that man he had fought many years ago. The man he had once seen as the greatest rival, who he wanted to meet his end against. He no longer cared about his very own desires at that point, he only wanted to make the girl suffer in the worst way possible and what way then to make her kill the closest person to her. He wanted to feel that everlasting sensation of horror inside of her, for committing the crimes she did. So as he forced her into the final edge of turmoil, she ripped out his brains in a violent act of suffering. When he finished this thought, he understood that he should by all means be dead, which mean that the voices he was hearing may be those of the demons from Hell. His eyes opened up slightly, only to squint from the effects of the liquid.

What he had first thought as water was instead a thick frothy silver liquid that blocked out what was happening behind the glass cylinder.

"He's awake, release the liquid."

They were speaking about him and the liquid around him began to drain, lowering him until he was on his knees, slumped forward and being held up by wires wrapped around his arms and waist which he originally not felt until just now. No longer surrounded by the thick green water, he could finally glimpse through clouded eyes the room he was in. If he was in Hell, it wasn't anything like he'd thought it would be. There were three people, regular humans from what he could tell, the room was a semi-large area of metal walls, test tubes and other assortment of items, some of which looked very similar to stuff he owned.

One of them took him by the arm, slowly lifting him up and setting him down on something hard, cold and metallic. It may very well have been just another machine that easier for him to sit on, but in his groggy state, he felt as if it was just another seat. They began to dress him, putting on a pair of large black jeans and black coat with fur lining around it, it gave him an imposing look, that that had never been their objective.

"Can you hear me?"

He didn't look directly up but the movement of his head at least told them he could hear them.

"…What…what is going on?" He asked softly.

"You have been given new life thanks to the holy power of our messiah, Aurelius Denotos."

This name did not register to him, in fact, there was little registering in his mind at this point, too much was happening for his pitiful mind to take in so soon. "What…what is the day?" When he got the answer, he was startle to realize that many months had passed since that fateful battle. Slowly but surely, his mind was coming together, the room which had been so blurry began to take a more appropriate appearance as he finally got to look around. It was most definitely not hell, it was just a room filled gadgets and…he stopped, noticing a few things.

The men held with them long cylindrical rods, serrated at the edge and holding immense power. That would explain the lack of feeling in his neck and shoulder, he missed that feeling but why did they have his rods? He could also see bottles of his specialized serums around, these people had been going around in his stuff.

"You have been given a new life, to serve and follow our great messiah. Please, bow your head and give thanks to your new lord."

"…Aurelius huh? What are his desires?"

"Desires? He has no such need for desires; he has all that he needs. Only we must follow him to the right path."

The reborn man finally got up, trying to get the feelings back into his leg. Obviously having not moved around in so long would cause problems but in no time, he found himself inching forward to one of the people, a black haired spectacle man who had been doing the talking. "You are still getting use to your legs, that is understandable. You just need to…" He stopped, the rod in his hand being grasped gently by the person who let it go.

"Keh! Keh! Heh! Heh! Heh! How quaint…" Vladimir muttered, grinning wickedly at them. "How very quaint…this is so quaint! How quaint this is, born again from the depths of hell itself, to see life once more, to continue my desires. How often does man get a chance like this? This is quaint…you people are quaint, but I'm afraid I can't allow this to go any further. Do you know how those rods work?"

"…"

"They're based upon a touch and voice activation. In short, the rod I touch with my hands, are now given a specific wired structure to my voice."

"…I don't understand?"

"You don't understand?" Cents asked mockingly. "Well then allow me to show you." He backed away, and snapped his fingers once. "Detonate."

In an instant the rod exploded, blowing apart the man's arm as well as a good portion of his side, splattering the floor with blood and visceral, his screams suddenly cut short when the pain hit such an all-time high octave. Cents glancing at the bloody floor bent down, traced his fingers along the red pool and put to his mouth, licking it obscenely before turning to the others. The fools who thought that they could control the single most dangerous man in the world, who had unleashed this monster had no chance. Maybe, maybe if they had a weapon beyond the rods that they knew little of, maybe a gun, just a bullet could end the madness.

Instead, the only thing that was gathered was the pool red on the floor and pieces of flesh that sprawled out everywhere, the guts splattered on the walls from the explosion of the rods. Of course though, what chance did mere dreamers who had no clue of the weapons they possessed, have against Vladimir Cents. His power, incredibly dangerous to the point of being an enigma. How could they possibly even think of having a chance?

Cents rubbed at his face, his broad grin widening as he rubbed his fingers through his hair. He was alive, certainly, beyond a doubt alive! "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You bastards…you foolish little bastards! Kyahahaha! Haha! Ha! Hahahahaha!" Every feeling his body, every nerve, every bone, everything that had been destroyed was now flowing freely through his newborn body. He was intoxicated with his new found resurrection, not of rebirth but of re-possibilities.

Noticing in the corner something large laying on a padded bed, Cents went to investigate, eyeing his own corpse fervently. "You've been through a lot…haven't you?" Cents said, smiling down upon his own dead body. "I see now, biological cloning, those clever, foolish little bastards! I'm just like those little clones of Number 35, but…my memory, my thoughts, I can sense it all." Giggling manically, he grabbed his sides, keeling over at the pure psychotic enjoyment he was undergoing.

"My world fallen so low, judging from the serums I see, only the endurance ones are there. I have none of my weapons, my spear is gone, my army has been utterly eradicated. I have nothing but myself, just a simple man with a little power, but it's more than enough. It's all I need, just my mind to keep going and fulfill my greatest desire.

Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" Laughing almost to tears, Vladimir had to move away, hitting the back of the wall, he covered his hand over his face, chuckling manically all the while.

"I wonder…" He spoke aloud. "…What is my Old Man Garder is up to these days?

And also…I wonder what she's up to?"

The girl, the horned girl who had destroyed his army, who had wrecked his body, who had ultimately in the end, killed her.

Elrya Alya.

"What are you doing now, dreaming girl? Alone without your precious little voice inside of you? Maybe you've lost it, gone completely insane and even killed yourself, but I doubt that. It's so intriguing, wondering, just purely wondering what is going on with you. The desires I have are going to have to wait right now, I'd be stupid to try anything, what I want most of all now, is to find her again. That quaint, pitiful, great, foolish little girl, I want to meet her again, and finish this fight. Ho! Ho! I wonder how the angel is doing, adorable little Miriana, I can't wait for her to see me again."

Vladimir Cents was lost in the ecstasy of his new rebirth. He was profoundly amazed at the new possibilities he now had, this was a once in a life time opportunity. He finally got himself under control, wiping away the tears of dark gladness away he looked around. He might as well take what he could and grabbed the phial containing his serum, gulping the concoction down steadily. The effect were almost instantaneous, his body tightened, his veins and organs tightened, his muscles all tightened as the blow flow increased through every part of his figure.

Biological Endurance Serum, B.E.S as his men ha called it. Created from the research done on Mellissa, it allowed his body to surpass any human known endurance. Without it, he would not be able to take vectors like he had been doing before. Diclonius weren't people to be trifled with, much less those of such powerful capabilities like Elrya and Lucy. Really, he had been thrown back to the very beginning of his journey, the starting point of the entire ordeal to make the whole world suffer. He felt a sense of pain yet great satisfaction in this, it was like he was suffering the hellish nature of continuation, so close to the end and then to be swung back at the beginning.

* * *

There was nothing else inside the room for him to use, just random metallic equipment and a few bottles of natural chemicals. He ran through his corpse, understandably finding nothing and strolled through the area, mostly looking for weapons. If they were using his rods then they might have more lying around. Unfortunately for him, the only thing he could get in the end was the B.E.S. No point in staying around, he went for the exit and ran into one more person.

"Hm?" He calmly mumbled, looking over at the person with dissonant look in his eyes. He looked different, stronger, a man of power and strength. His face was also different, he could see the Japanese ancestry in this one. He wore a long green coat and tan jeans, his black hair cut short and slicked back coolly. Although he couldn't see his eyes directly behind the thin sunglasses, around the edges were marks that he recognized as prosthetics and even the one of his hands gleamed with a metallic sheen. In one hand, a large desert eagle holding in place the ever so dangerous .50 caliber tungsten bullets.

And that gun was now aimed directly at him. Cents neither backed away, shivered or expressed a single ounce of fear in the movement though it had nothing to do with the thought that he could do anything. He just lacked the fear of dying, especially when it had already happened once.

"Ah ha! Now I know who you are, you're the soldier! Bando!" Vladimir yelled.

"Yeah, how the hell do you know that?" Bando demanded.

"I know things." Cents response made the soldier want to punch him.

"Well you know me, why don't you tell me who you are?"

Cents obliged, bowing before him. "Vladimir Cents."

Bando too had seen the resemblance too, although the change of clothes, different hair style and lack of rods sticking out of him threw him off. No, that wasn't it, it was the fact that Vladimir Cents was supposed to be dead. What stood before him could not have been him, but it was true, the looks, the body structure, the voice with its slight Romanian accent. He had only seen Cents once in his life, during the time when they stopped Kakuzawa's missile and he could never forget the devilish look in the man's eyes.

"You're supposed to be dead." He growled angrily.

"Yes I am…" Cents said without denial. "My own body is still in that building. Technology is such an amazing thing isn't it?

"Stupid people messing with things they have no need to be messing with! I guess we all know who's behind the mess here."

Vladimir curiously tilted his head to the side. "Really? What's going on? I just came back from the brink and the first thing I find out is people are using my stuff. Are you telling me that there are more people using my stuff?" He looked away, putting his finger up to his chin in thought. "Then again, some dreamer named Aurelius appears to be at work here."

"You know that name too?" Bando asked gruffly.

"Aye, I heard the blood soaked victims in their talking about it."

Bando chided himself for not pulling the trigger, he knew the person before him was dangerous but still, apparently Cents did not have a clue of what was happening. He himself had come to Europe in secret in order to find out the problems that were going on in it. Having done his own research, he too knew that Aurelius possessed a great amount of wealth and with the Diclonius now living out in the open; he had the feeling deep inside of him that trouble would brew if the problems continued.

Maybe it was Cents uncanny ability to have fate go his way, even if unintentionally but Bando after much through moved the gun down, though he still kept his hand firmly placed on it, ready to move at the moment's notice. Right now the man before had the best knowledge of the items being used, hard as it was to admit, Bando realized that right now, he needed this man alive.

Vladimir shrugged his shoulders indifferently, about to turn around before the burly soldier told him to stop in his tracks.

"What now?"

"Who told you I was letting you go dumbass! You're coming with me, get over here now." Bando ordered strongly.

"Hm?" Cents mused with a sly smile.

Bando pulled up his gun and then took something out of the pocket of his jacket, a long syringe with some clear liquid in it. "I told you, you're coming with me, get your ass over here." Bando again ordered. Vladimir Cents starred coolly back then again shrugged his shoulders and walked over, stepping up to Bando who flexed his muscles on instinct. Although Cents had not done anything to provoke him, Cents, being nearly a head taller and nearly twice as wide gave an imposing feature. "I guess I don't have much say then, without any of my other weapons, I wouldn't think of fighting you. You've put me into a quite a predicament soldier, how quaint. So tell me, what's in that little pointer there?"

"Put out your arm and you might find out."

"And what if I don't want to?" Cents asked.

"Then I'll put a fucking bullet in your brain."

Cents sighed loudly. "Oh my, oh my, how quaint, you give me no choice then…" He muttered nonchalantly, sticking out his left arm as Bando inserted the needle into it.

"…And…?" Cents questioned when nothing happened.

Bando said as he pulled up a small electronic from his pocket, "In that liquid were nanobot tracking devices. This way I can actually keep track of your ass. Really, stupid bastards bringing you back to life, the entire world's gone to shit I swear!"

Vladimir Cents looked at his arm and smirked broadly, flexing his fingers in the process. "Interesting, you think well ahead. Now I have a question for you."

"…Yeah…?" Bando stated carefully.

"…Where is Elrya Alya?"

Bando glared back at him, trying to see if he could pinpoint the man's true agenda. "What does it matter to you?"

Cents shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "No reason, I thought I would just like to meet…the girl who killed me after all."

"Well get over it, you're coming with me, let's get going and don't try anything funny. I have you tracked now." Bando said gruffly.

"Aye! Aye! You have me on the leash, I might be able to take damage thinks to my serum, but without my weapons I wouldn't dare think of fighting someone of your caliber. Go on and lead the way…Bando-san." Vladimir stated, bowing before him before putting his hands in pockets, following the ex-SAT soldier. Life had given him a new chance, how many people could honestly say they had this same opportunity? Why do things recklessly, if it meant following this man for a little bit to attain his desires, then it was a very small price to pay. "Well can you answer me this, what's going on in the world? The last time I heard, Kakuzawa had been planning some stuff."

Bando thought for a moment then decided there was no harm in telling him.

"The old bastard was beaten and imprisoned, they've created some special horned girl school to educate them."

"You don't say eh? How quaint, I'll have to visit it sometime."

"Don't get a head of yourself, dumbass, once we fixed this problem, then we'll be dealing with you. Now I just…damn!" Bando's words were cut short as and Cents were nearly blown off their feet by shockwave that rushed through the area. What caused it was easy enough to pinpoint what had caused it, it wasn't exactly hard to miss the mushroom cloud that hung over the skies in the far horizon. "Was that a…nuclear explosion?" Bando questioned to himself. Cents also looked over at it, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"…That location, soldier, where are we…?"

"Hungary." Bando answered back.

"I see, I thought that looked familiar, what's happening at my place?"

Bando quickly yelled, "You can find out soon enough, we need to get properly equipped and check it out."

* * *

"It has been 2 hours since the explosion in Hungary, reports are still coming in. There is currently no death toll though all locations near it are being ascertained for the possibility of radiation poisoning…"

Garder stared coldly at the screen, listening intently with his ears. There had been an explosion, a very bad one in Hungary, the kind only acknowledged in war time. Yet it was different, because this so called nuclear blast had not been aimed at a large group of people. What he did know that the location of the blast was Vladimir's Citadel, the same place where he had sent Julius and Victoria. For the third time he dialed the number, and like the other two times neither Julius nor Victoria answered them, the only thing he got was a sheer sign of static from his own end. Had their phone been destroyed in the blast itself? Was it possible that they had somehow died in it?

Without that phone, he had no other way to contact them from his end. There was only one thing he could do, hope that Julius had found a way out of this mess and would contact him as soon as he could. Still, the more important question now, was just what had happened over there? If that explosion had not been on a general location, like a city then had to have been used directly in that place for a reason. He chided himself firstly for not making sure to check Cents' place more carefully nearly fifteen years ago, really, if he had a nuclear bomb on his hands during their battle long ago, things would have turned out much differently. For one, he certainly wouldn't be standing here right now.

Then again…maybe he was frustrated at that point. If he had died long ago, then his brother would still be alive. Maybe if he was still alive, Jessica too would also be there. Maybe things would be a bit different, if things had been different from back then. He once again dialed the phone and then, at long last, it connected.

"H-Hello?"

"Victoria, is that you?"

"G-Garder? That's right, it's me."

"Are you and Julius alright? The news is on, what happened over there?" Garder asked, Victoria had to admit to herself that she was surprised to hear the tone of urgency in his voice. Did Garder really care that much about them?

Victoria replied, "Julius is hurt, he used his powers to keep us save from the after effects but…we're heading to a hospital right now. Bando and some buy guy came up and managed to save us before Julius' powers gave out."

"Bando? So he was there also. Who is this other guy?"

"I don't know…oh, why don't you talk to him yourself."

…

…

"…Long time no see…" Garder's eyes widened urgently as he hear the voice that he knew all too well. "…Perfect Soldier."

"...Vladimir Cents…" Garder uttered with disdain.

"Aye, we haven't spoken in a while, what's up?"

"Why are you alive? You were pronounced dead, we saw the body itself."

"Hahahaha! Strange how that works though, but I am alive. Apparently some fools got it in their heads that they should clone me, that sure didn't work." Whoever these fools were, if they weren't dead already, he'd probably kill them himself.

Somebody else spoke over the line. "Hey, this is that Morotisan man right?"

"Aye, you must be Bando."

"That's right, listen up I've got the freak nut job here on a leash. He isn't going anywhere and if he could, there's not much he could do right now. I'm guess you've also heard of Aurelius and this so called organization he's leading right? Well if they're using this nut job's weapons then right now he's the only one here with knowledge on them."

He had a point, even if he didn't like it. Damn Cents, of all the times that had to come, it had to be one where he actually was needed. It also meant that an extra problem had emerged. Not only was he dealing with Aurelius' madness, but he was also dealing with the Cents that resided in Elrya's mind and now he was dealing with the original Cents. Thank goodness Vladimir didn't have his usual powers on him, otherwise he would probably have to go to Hungary himself. It was annoying, but he had no choice, his job was here, otherwise there was nobody else to keep an eye on the Diclonius Educational Institution or of the general location of Japan. Right now, as long as Vladimir Cents remained in custody of Bando, a man he had enough respect for to get things done on his own, he would have to let the others deal with him on their own.

"…I'll put my trust in you. Contact me again when you get the chance. Let me speak to Victoria again."

"Yes?" Victoria answered.

"There was an explosion there, I know that obviously, what happened exactly? I mean what caused it?"

As she explained their short little fight with the man, Morotisan's slowly pushed his glasses up his nose and then he removed them, laying them on his desk. "I understand, I will contact you later." Hanging up, Garder leaned back into his seat, his head facing the ceiling at first and then turning his chair around so that he now faced the large window overlooking Tokyo. It had long since stopped snowing but the effect was still there on the winter ground, white snow settled upon the streets and buildings, though not nearly as thick as it had once been and in about a week would probably be mostly gone. Come to think of it, the yearly winter this time had been quite hectic and now as if it was even possible, it got even crazier.

So he was alive, the man he seemed destined to face again and again. The stupid bastards had reawaken a true monster and it was only a matter of time before Cents made his move. Worst yet, how would this effect the outcome with Elrya Alya? There were of course technically two Vladimir Cents running around now, the real physical one with Julius, Victoria and Bando and the one being currently suppressed in the secondary Diclonius Queen. How would it affect the outcome of this fight with Aurelius?

There was one thing that was very clear on his mind though. He would use Cents as far as he could in this battle and once it was over, he would end him for good. There was just no way he could let him live past his usefulness. He just had to make sure that Cents remained in the hands of the others and didn't get any more powerful than he already was.

"Kuh…" A groan escaped his lips. "…I am beginning to feel, that age is getting to me. I'm putting my trust in you people and I truly hope, you've got that monster on a tight leash."

* * *

Author's Notes: Chapter finally finished and I hope it was enjoyable. Been very busy with the University among other things and honestly I'll get the next chapter done eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later but can't say when it will be.

Please R&R

Happy Holidays!


	22. Seeking Fervent Wishes

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 22: Seeking Fervent Wishes**

Kaede's heavy boots pushed through the slush, her younger half-brother following closely behind, both of their faces red usual from the frigid air. The other Diclonius around them followed, sprouting conversations to one another while giving the occasional greeting to her. It was accustomed to treat her with respect, the entire "Queen of her race" thing after all, but at long last the other girls had stopped pestering her like she was a goddess needing to be worshiped whenever they saw her. Needless to say she was glad about this, after all she had never really cared about the whole Queen aspect of her life and she was happy that the girls finally stopped pestering her about it. They still sat with her at breakfast, lunch and dinner and she had even gotten the confidence to speak freely with them, like any normal person would.

Disregarding those heading to classes like she was, the educational institution was utterly empty. Of course, they had been given punishment after all for their actions, meaning they could not partake in the enjoyments that they had before. Head to class, eat when you can, head back to your dormitories. From the distance the shop that would usually be packed by the curious girls who had never seen such gifts much less be able to buy one were shut off, gated and locked. It gave an eerie impression on her along with the winter setting, like an old place that had been closed down holding strange memories. She had to admit, shopping hadn't been her forte and the only time she did was when she found something she particularly enjoyed, mostly that of which reminded her of Maple Inn and in one case, had reminded her of her late friend who had wanted to go on a painter's trip with her. She never did find out the name of that person, it had left a sour note in her heart when she thought about that aspect.

Otherwise she would once or twice give something to Routa, a toy or so to keep him happy. Strange how someone like her could change so much. Her relationship with Roy, if one could call it that, had remained stagnant for the most part. Neither he nor she brought up anything, she did not attempt anything and he treated her as any other student. A trickle of regret overcame her the first time when she thought that maybe he had wanted to forget what happened between them. Besides Kouta, he was the only person she had gained feelings for, the only person she admired who could truly understand her feelings.

Yet she also knew that Roy's job as the instructor of the educational institution outweighed any aspect of a relationship with her. He was legitimately trying to help the horned girls and their future and when they did their little act, he was beside himself, which she could see for herself. She had to agree on that, she told herself more than a dozen times but they were incredibly lucky to even be here right now. That stunt they pulled, she had wanted to go up and wring their necks for such stupidity. A bit of a pain in the ass sometimes, she couldn't deny that part, but the Elrya she had known was not some weak minded fool. Maybe that was why she never grasped the idea of just breaking out of the institution and trying to find her. She also never had to deal with the idea of looking up to another Queen and feeling that sensation of awe that the girls used to give her.

At least at first…

After the third day, the lack of Miriana, Carentorzulan and Lilian had become quite evident. At first she thought they were just using their designated days of sick leave to stay home. Elrya was their closest friend and so she could understand the feeling they had, especially Miriana. But when they didn't return, she had gone to Roy at the end of class to ask him.

"Garder has allowed them a month to leave the educational institution and search for Elrya." Roy responded from his seat, his next class to arrive in a few short minutes.

"What? Why did you tell me this before? I could've gone and…"

He shook his head, denying her that offer. "You couldn't have, you have your responsibility with Routa, I couldn't allow you to just leave like that. I'm sorry Kaede but you know as well as I do that this was the right choice."

She wanted to rebuttal but he was right, three people had already been sent out and she did have a responsibility to look after her half-brother.

"Alright, I won't argue about it. Oh, I noticed, your…" Whether anyone else had asked she didn't know but a light bulge on the right side of his coat had been catching her attention all day. Hearing her, Roy pushed his coat out of the way and showed, much to her surprise, a prosthetic arm, the fingers twitching every so often. "You have no idea how much this took out of my paycheck, but I finally got around to getting it. It's been a long time since I've been able to see one of my arms, much less feel anything.

"Hm?" She raised her eyebrows. "You can feel?"

"Again, this took a heavy toll on my paycheck. It's a specialized sensory arm, inside are about ten thousand minute sensors that connected to my nerves. It's not perfect but it's better than nothing." He flexed the fingers, a soft almost indistinguishable whirring coming from the confines of it.

"Where are Caren, Miriana and Lilian?"

The blue haired man looked up at the woman quickly and said in one breath. "They have been sent out to search for Elrya Alya." Kaede's eyes flashed for a moment and articulated, "You decided not to tell me this? I could've gone and helped them!"

"No you couldn't, there was more than enough people there anyways and they had Director Morotisan's full permission to have at least one month to search for her. Elrya will also not be coming back to the educational institution but will be sent back to Tokyo Research Facility once if she is found. It was one of the compromises to keeping her alive if they found her."

Kaede clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I'm going then, it'll be better if more people search for her anyways." Kaede stated, speedily being stopped by Roy almost before she even finished her statement.

"You will not, you have a responsibility here both to take care of your younger brother and to keep the Diclonius here in check. You're the only other Queen here right now and the one the other girls look up to. I'm sorry but you'll have to stay here and let the others handle it themselves."

There was ire in her, the kind in which she felt when watching her puppy being beaten senselessly until death. Watching the stone going up and down, each time bringing a little more blood with it and the complete hopelessness of being able to do nothing filling her soul. It was for that very same reason that she spoke out fervently. "I'm going anyways, the girls here won't do anything so foolish again, I know it. That girl was my friend, she taught me more about myself than I had realized. It's only the right thing to do if I search for her too. Sorry Roy, but you aren't going to stop me."

"You aren't leaving, you have to stay here."

"I thought I told you…" She said again, her voice dripping with the coldness of her past self. There was strictness in it, as if daring anyone to remotely go against her. "That I'm going and there is nothing you can do to stop me. You'll have to take care of Routa while I'm away."

He tapped the desk with his finger lightly, rubbing the wood and looking out one of the many windows that stood against the wall. Outside he could see the girls walking to and fro from class, either heading to the dining hall to eat something or heading back to their dormitories. A deep sigh escaped his lips, until he laid his elbow down and put his face against his hand. He appeared to be straining himself because his mouth opened and closed randomly while his eyes were kept straight in looking out the glass.

"…No." He finally said. "…There is no reason for you to do something so stupid when we already have more people looking for her. Put some trust in the others you have a responsibility to do here. I'm sorry but I won't allow it."

"Perhaps…" While she had never intended to speak to Roy in such a tone, it was something that needed to be done. "…You never heard me, no matter what you say I will be going to search for them. I'll take all responsibilities and if I'm caught, then I'll just have to take my punishment. But I can't stand being here doing nothing when that girl's life is on the line, or knowing that my other friends are out there looking for her. This is final; I don't want to hear another argument from you Roy."

"…Tsu! Why would you take such a risk? Carentorzulan, Miriana and Lilian are all going to search for her and unlike you; they have the permission to do it. Don't you get it, you're the only one here in this place that the Diclonius have to look up to, besides Elrya you're the only Queen here right now. I don't know if you haven't realized yet but without their Queens, the girls here become disorganized, you saw what happened at Osaka, they were terrified of losing one of their Queens. They may annoy you sometimes but those girls respect you in the most genuine manner possible, if you leave they have nobody else to look up to. They'll be horned Sipilets, the same ones, nobody of their kind to look up to, nobody strong, nobody but themselves.

You need to stay here and give them a reason to stay as well. If you go there so what if you find Elrya, it just means both you and her will be going back to the Research Facility. Do you want that? Do you want to be locked back in those cold halls like long ago? Because I can promise you unlike the last time, you won't be escaping so easily and I think you should know damn well that Director Morotisan will not be easy on you.

And when you're going the Diclonius here are going to be left by themselves, no Queen to look up to. I doubt it'll be in control for long and in the end; they'll do something incredibly foolish and get sent back to the facility. Thus the entire point of this place, the point of giving you all education and the beginning of real human rights will be utterly crushed.

Don't do that, stay here."

Kaede felt sick to her stomach for some reason and now like Roy she too was fidgeting and trying to think of a way to counter. She couldn't, he was right there was no reason for her to do this. Chiding herself for acting so childishly she knew in the end that he had been correct. The girls here looked up to her and yes they could be highly annoying but they respected her and though she may have never have used the term until now, they loved her. She was the kingpin in their world and without her, Roy was right, they'd do something stupid. She could see it now, upon hearing that had left, it would Osaka all over again and there was no way, not a single possible way they'd be let off that time.

Frustrated, she ground her teeth. Seeing her in such a mood, Roy tried to comfort her, getting up and putting his hand against her cheek. Although it wasn't real skin, it certainly felt like it, it was even warm and she brushed her face against it. As if on instinct her arms gently wrapped themselves around his waist and her lips pressed against his own. As usual, she did things way too fast but even if that was the case, her heart pounded for more. But it was short, not deep as it had been during that night but the effect was just the same, warm, comfortable and loving.

"…So nice…" She whispered. This side of her, this beautiful side that was not murderous or hateful but full of passion, Roy could not help but admire. Although altogether they were like stone and water, so different as to be laughable, there were tiny instances where Kaede reminded himself of his late wife, bringing back memories. And then without warning as if it had been burning up in her body and needing to be released like an explosion she kissed him fervently like she had never done before. There was no rest, her passion having hit a high point, her lips could do nothing more than wrap themselves around Roy's own and dig in deeper. She had already pushed him against the wall, leaving him stunned and unable to think straight.

Seriously, it was like it was just part of her. She couldn't wait; she could let the time between them pass without incident. She admitted it; she rushed things, so badly that if the relationship here ended as quickly as it began it wouldn't surprise her. It was her, her mind, her body; maybe it was just something in her Diclonius DNA that caused her to react without thinking so many times. Forget getting to know him, she'll do that later; right now she just wanted to embrace him and indulge in what was true romantic affiliation. This wasn't like her so called love for Kouta, which was nearly one sided on her, this time, the embrace of passion came from both sides of equal value.

But even though her love had now changed people, it didn't change what Kouta had been to her. He was the first person she knew to ever see her as something more than a freak and for that, she was eternally grateful. Even though their lives would not be entwined as she had once hoped, there was no doubt in her heart that she hoped for the best for him in his life.

But for now, her mind and her body now belonged to the older man.

Passionately she continued, the mouth meshing together with his while Roy slowly started to give up and let Kaede have her way. Her mouth tasting of such sweetness engulfed his senses. He felt a strange sensation of regret, his heart beating wildly not just from passion but from the act of having a relationship with someone other than his wife. Though she may be dead, but Orasami had been his first love, it felt almost like treachery doing this to her memory.

But how could he deny himself the pleasure of feeling this horned woman's lips so tenderly, his own hand now alive with pseudo feeling able to brush against the back of her hair and slip his fingers through the long pink hair? He already chided himself for kissing her so soon, it was such an unexpected act that he didn't know if he had long since gone crazy and just didn't care. Part of him wanted to stop, hadn't they told each other to wait, hadn't it been known that this was too soon? Yet the part of him, that part that could not help but delight in being with a woman who he in the past wouldn't have batted an eye too, may even have killed had he been ordered too, now fell hopelessly in love.

He might have just needed this romance, having been an assassin for so long he may have needed to find someone new to accompany him. Still he had never thought it would be her of all people, it was a funny thing how life worked out sometimes, the way people get together, the way fate rolls.

Whatever retaliation Roy might have been thinking about got swept away. All he cared about now, was just to stand there, his arm wrapped around the Queen and to mesh his lips softly onto hers. Thank goodness they were in a classroom, if this had been somewhere else, somewhere far more secluded, he had a feeling more than just kissing would have been going on. Kaede as if realizing this too, increased the ferocity of her kiss, driving deep her warm tongue into the lips of the new person she now adored.

"Can I say it?" How long they had been at it could only be guessed but Kaede's voice suddenly broke out, breaking away and leaving Synth wishing for more. Kaede was a woman who had many issues and not just the issues of her past ad killing, that of course is what brought them together. She may have loved Kouta but they were so far different that they had nothing to share and she had messed his life so badly that they could never fully recuperate a relationship. But she and Roy shared similar ways, both of them had been killers, both of them had lost loved ones, both of them had been forced into states of uncaring realizations. Both of them had changed and while Kouta was certainly not immature, far more than she ever was, Roy as a full grown adult with years of experience in his life seemed so much more fitting.

"…Sure…" He already knew what she was probably going to say, but did his best to act curious.

"I lo…" But she stopped, surprisingly because she had certainly been about to say those magic. But something had stopped her, almost like the quiet in the room had gotten louder, not greatly but enough to hear the small sounds. Although it was probably more along the lines of being a Diclonius, Kaede was the first to be able to sense them.

Both of them turned to see the first entrance of the girls for Roy's next glass, about eight of them currently sitting in their seats and another two at the door, all of them just starring wide eyed and mouths partially agape. None of them looked angry, but shock and curiosity was etched on each of their faces. Roy at this point lightly pushed Kaede away as if they had not just been locking their lips together for the past few minutes and said in a voice to cool to really hide his agitation, though that agitation was more for himself and not having the mind to do this in a more secluded spot.

"My class is going to start Kaede, remember what I said everyone here looks up to you so please don't do anything foolish."

"…Sure, I promise." Kaede said without looking at him, her embarrassed blue was surprisingly cute. She glanced at them from the corner of her eyes and quickly zipped off to her next destination. Oh man there was going to be such a riot, now! She, the Queen, was having a relationship with Roy Synth, one of the teachers of the educational institution.

She had an hour and fifteen minutes of freedom while in her next class, then after that when everyone was going to change, oh it was going to be intense.

Up in his own classroom Roy watched as the door opened and closed as those who entered sat down in their designated seats. None of the girls who had already seen Roy and Kaede's little play actually spoke to the blue haired man but conversation certainly started sprouting to each other. In just five minutes when the last Diclonius took her seat, each one of them knew what happened in here a few minutes ago.

"Well then…" Roy began as he would usually do. "To start out this next lesson I think…"

"Excuse me…?" one asked as she raised her hand.

"Yes, Riyano?"

"Why were you kissing our Queen?"

Sighing deeply under his breath and plopping into his seat, Roy decided it might as well be best to explain things here now instead of waiting. It was going to be known at some point for sure just, he had thought it would be much later.

"I'll try to make this quick. I am, quite attracted to Kaede. We share many likes and personalities and I find her to be a…oh man what's the word I should use…exceptionally beautiful and intelligent woman who…" He paused again then deciding to go on with what he was going to speak of. "…Is a bit of pain sometimes, I won't deny it, she's done a few annoying things. But her ability to change herself, I admire that greatly. I took Kaede out on a little trip, it wasn't supposed to be romantic or anything but…things happened."

"So you love her?"

"…Do I love her? I guess I do now, I want to let some time pass between us but I supposed I shouldn't really deny it anymore. You're not going to attack me are you?" he asked quickly, knowing how much the girls cared for their Queen.

"Why would we?" One of them asked curiously. "As long as our Queen is happy, we're happy. Don't expect us to call you King anytime soon though."

"If you call me King I will throw you out the window." Roy said. A bit of laughter erupted from the room. "I'm serious…" The laughter suddenly died down.

"Let's get class underway…"

"Wait a minute!"

Roy now really getting agitated for not being able to get his class started asked loudly, "What is it this time?"

"…Do you have…is that an arm?"

Spending the next three minutes discussing that, Synth finally got his class underway. At the sound of the bell the girls left and the end of the day was finally at hand. As the final one left, closing the door behind her, Roy instinctively found himself looking outside the window. It was strange but there was a scent of malice in the air, something almost familiar. He had no idea why he thought this but something was happening in the world, something was going to happen.

It didn't feel good at all.

* * *

Cold.

Cold…sad…alone…a small girl perked her head up from the small hooded jacket and wrapped her arms tightly around herself to get any more warmth she could. Her clothes were tattered and dirty, her face filthy and her expression loathsomely in pain. Elrya Alya had been living outside, eating off scraps of trash and drinking from puddles that had formed around the city. If not for her Diclonius body, she would have gotten an illness on the first day; instead she remained pitifully cold in the winter, doing all she could to just stay out of people's way.

Running out of that facility, frightened of what she had done, unable to cope with herself, she didn't want to be in that same room or that same place. She wanted to lash out at Cents for what he had done. It was his fault; it was always his goddamn fault! Never before had she cried so hard and long in her entire life.

"Someone…help me…please…Miriana…Y-Yin…"

But nobody was around her to comfort her, only the freezing wind. Even Alya seemed unable to find words of encouragement and thankfully Cents hadn't spoken up since their escape. That's how she had lived just eating trash and drinking from puddles and wanting someone to hold her.

On the third day, she had truly thought about killing herself only stopped when Alya desperately pleaded with her. On the fifth day she threw up and fell unconscious for a while.

And then on the current day, she felt a sensation in her gut and the beginning of birth began.

A birth in a proper setting, in a hospital with doctors who knew how to handle these kinds of situations was often regarded as one of the most painful things a woman ever had to go through. So how bad was it when Elrya Alya was forced to give birth on the cold streets? The only thing that helped was the cold that numbered her body and in in the throes of her push and painful pulls it became far less about giving birth. She was hurting and she wanted to stop and it looked as if pushing outward would somehow make the pain stop. She could already smell blood, so nauseating that she nearly passed out only to be awoken again by another jolt of unbearable pain. If this had happened years ago, she would've died but luckily having gained at least some pain intolerance she kept herself alive and conscious though it was definitely the worst physical pain she had been through yet in her life. She screamed for the first forty-five seconds, so loud that it was probably that which caused her to be heard in the first place and found later on. After that though her screams turned into moans and gasps as her body instinctively began to push and her mind became foggy and disillusioned. All she wanted right now was for the pain to stop and to sleep, sleep for a very long time, maybe even forever.

After another bout of spasms, she heard the sound of something odd. Was there a baby nearby? It was awfully loud, bordering on an annoying and she'd wish it would be quiet, crying children were so annoying sometimes. But it didn't and the crying was far closer to her than she had first realized. It had taken her some time before she knew that the baby she was hearing was right there against her, bawling loudly from its new world. With her vision cloudy, she couldn't get any real look at it, but almost as if it was the shining point, her eyes managed to narrow on to two short little stumps upon the head.

So it had horns, poor thing. It must have been cold so she nudged what little strength she had left and covered it up with her coat, now letting her own body face the frigid wind and she nestled the crying child up to her bosom and closed her eyes. What kind of fool would leave a poor defenseless baby out here in the cold, with nothing? She had a right mind to find the person and give a piece of her mind.

…

…

"Someone get an ambulance!"

Loud people, would be nice if they were quiet.

"There's so much blood, is that a…someone give me some towels, water…something!"

Too many people were talking, if they could just be quiet for a minute she'd be able to sleep.

"She has horns, is she from the educational facility for those girls?"

So loud and just when she thought they stopped, a new sound louder than anything else came. The roaring of a siren, oh great now she'd never get any sleep. Elrya felt herself being lifted up and put on something and then…as if her body couldn't take it anymore, she collapsed into the dark recesses of unconsciousness.

* * *

"Damn it's so cold!" Lilian yelled loudly, pulling her scarf around her neck even more tightly. "I forgot we couldn't even sense her."

Caren, Lilian and Miriana were all together outside walking through the streets in search of their friend. Caren and Lilian both wore thick colorful stocking hats on their head mostly for the cold as they had already been given specific material allowing them to be outside of the institution in the first place. Miriana had suggested that they look for her while heading to her and Elrya's guardian Karoly Sandersas, whom Miriana knew for certain would allow them to stay. It was better than wasting Caren or Miriana's money on motels for the month and besides she knew that Yin's father could drive them anywhere they wanted plus it added one more person to the mix to search for the girl.

She had only wished that she had thought of that before walking nearly eight kilometers with the others. Really go to Roy, have him call him up, wait about two hours or so and then get picked up by the old man. Chiding herself for her foolishness it was Caren who had luckily brought it up and using her own money at the nearest pay phone, she let Miriana call Karoly to pick them up at a specific place, knowing it would be a while before he actually got there. Miriana could hear the desperation in the old man's voice when she told him about Elrya Alya. Another thing, maybe most important of all was that Carentorzulan and Lilian had each been given a special card that they needed to keep up at all times. It contained a picture of themselves with their full names, a number to the Tokyo Research Facility as well as Director Morotisan's official signature at the bottom. As the rules implied Caren and Lilian were not allowed to be outside of the institution beside special reasons and thus a special reason here was given.

The first few days after they Karoly picked them up were fruitless, just cold air against their faces and today was no different. They knew well enough that the poor girl wouldn't have bothered walking around showing her face in public so they kept to searching people who seemed to be cowed away, covering their faces with scarves or wearing hats well below their heads so that only their eyes would emerge. They were also keen on searching for anyone who appeared pregnant only leading to more strife. The effect of the mother on its baby was widely known and with Elrya's current feelings, there was a chance that the negative effect on the mother would in turn affect the unborn child.

And then there was Vladimir Cents.

This was the most distraught point for Miriana. Her best friend, alone, cold and scared and with that monster who just couldn't seem to get the clue that everyone wanted him dead and more importantly to stay dead. Like the others, it had not passed her that Cents could corrupt her like he did before and force her to do horrible things. It was still a very livid memory when Cents forced her closest companion into a state of confusion and childish neglect making it so that Elrya had even believed that she, Miriana had killed Yin Sandersas. Oh how she hoped that Elrya still had the strength to fight back if Vladimir attempted anything.

Lilian had remained aloof for the most part and both of them knew that Lilian was still quite upset with what happened. Who could blame her? As far as she knew it felt as if Elrya was trying to kill her, if anything there was no reason for her to put her hands in her hand. At least that's the way they saw it which may have been a testament to the deep friendship she did have with the pregnant girl. Though she hated Elrya for what she did, deep down she was also very worried about her.

Another hour, then two then three passed with no sign of Elrya Alya in sight. It was getting tiring and all of them were starting to get hungry and needing refreshments. Miriana who had been pushing herself harder than the others looked like was going to pass out from exhaustion. It was too much for her, they both knew that.

"Miriana, let's head home and get some rest, you look awful right now." Caren gently said.

"I…I…alright, I guess." Miriana didn't want to stop looking, every single minute was valuable and precious but even she knew that if he kept this up, she would probably lose her senses. Another day would have to be called.

* * *

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

A monotone sound, but the very first thing to wake her up. The outside got warm all of a sudden, and the ground was soft and comfortable against her head and body, though nothing like it would be if she had been in the dormitories. Elrya's red eyes dimly peaked through her bags starring up at the white wall. The blinds of the windows had been pulled, leaving the room dark and the beeping sound she had been awoken by was the machine monitoring her vitals, all of which said she was doing fine. A blood transfusion was hooked up to her, one she nearly broke off when she accidently moved her arm too quickly and nearly jerked the needle out. She wasn't wearing her clothes, well enough as they would've been filthy, instead it was a single white piece hospital gown.

"…Yin…" There could've been many reasons why she uttered the name, but it was probably the setting she was in. Yin had been a young doctor and she was lying in the bed of a hospital.

"Hm…?" After taking another few more minutes to get her self under control, she noticed something quite bizarre about her. Her belly, once extended with pregnancy was now flatter than usual and her gut felt heavy, though not painful. With her hands scrunching her dress to lift it up, her stomach was plastered with wrappings. Oh that had been a painful moment alright, she knew something had happened and then…

And then it hit her like a steamroller. The reason why her gut had been hurting, the bandages, the lack of the extended gut and the small horned baby girl that been against her. "Ah…I gave…birth?" She thought heavily. Now she wanted to get out, her body was fine and in truth it probably was, not without the occasional aches that would appear. Her Diclonius healing had already taken affect and now her wounds which may have been life threatening were now more like moderately bad cuts that would soon be healed within a day or two. The only thing really keeping her from moving was the blood transfusion which she feared would be problematic if she forcibly took it out. But she wanted to see her, that little baby girl that had been nestled against her bosom.

Eyes searching, she found a box near the side of her bed, reading "Press Button for Help" Thank goodness she learned a little bit and understood the last word, pressing it three times by accident. She had expected the person who came through the door.

"D-Dr. Kurama?"

The Ex-Chief of the Diclonius Research Facility steppe through, his strong, stern eyes staring at her through the lens of his glasses. He wore the same kind of black suit with a blue tint as she had last scene and him the besides a few hairs from his chin, he had remained relatively unchanged. "I see your up…Sandersas-san."

"I…am I in your hospital?" She asked dimly.

"Aye, but you're in a different room, they drove you all the way here to Kamakura since they knew I was the only one who specialized in Diclonius." His eyes narrowed, not maliciously but out of cheer curiosity. "You're a Queen…" Hearing those words, Elrya was snapped into what she had called him down here in the first place.

"The baby, where is…"

"In the nursing room, everything is fine with her and I see you've already started making a near full recovery already. You've been out for at least four days though, we thought you might have gone into a coma. As for the child, it's amost a miracle nothing serious happened with her, considering she was left out in the elements. But besides a few things that are non-life threatening, she's doing fine."

Elrya wasn't really sure what to say. "…I…I never knew I was a Queen, it was so sudden. Can I see her…I'm…?" Really what was she supposed to say? The only thing she knew was that she wanted to see the child, see her truly up close, in the light and see what she looked like. She had missed out on the birth, barely aware of it and feeling that the pain had been something else. She couldn't explain it, motherhood, or just some strange chemical reaction who knows but she knew that she wanted to see her. Kurama pushed his spectacles up his face.

"Alright, come with me but only if you're sure you can move. There's no point in seeing the girl if you just fall down before reaching her." Kurama stated in a matter of fact tone. He undid the blood bag, bandaged Elrya's arm and helped her up. She was wobbly at first, something to be expected but soon got a handle on her balance and grabbed the wall for support. "It's alright, I can make it…" She found the lack of her belly being extended almost unnerving, she had gotten so use to that. It would take some time, good food and exercise to get her back to her true flat belly self, but compared to before, she looked like an entirely new person. Ascertaining that she was fit to move, Kurama brought her outside of her room.

Now she recognized the place, the same white walls, white rooms, similar pictures on the wall. Before the hospital had remained a secret and Kurama cleverly hid horned girls here. Unable to sense them due to her operation, in the same hospital no doubt, she asked. "Are there other horned girls here? I mean you know I can't sense them and…"

"Unless Director Morotisan says otherwise the Diclonius are broken into two sections. Although we allowed younger ones to go, all Diclonius from age fifteen and older are required to go to the educational institution like you. However the young ones, who aren't old enough to go there, are instead raised her in Kamakura and kept under a watchful eye until they're about nine years old where we start teaching the very basic. Had you been around this age, you would be going through this now, of course when the educational facility was first created we didn't this section. You girls were taught everything in that place."

Crossing the room he lead through the door to the nursery. It was dark, only dimly lit as he brought her to the fourth box. There at last, Elrya quite nervously if one had to add, peaked over and looked down upon the thing that had once resided in her. She had to admit it, what she saw was pretty darn cute, and considering the fear that a certain someone might have corrupted her somehow, she was glad to see that her baby looked normal, as far as Diclonius standards went.

"How is she…anything wrong with her head or something? I man, inside of her head?"

Kurama gave her a fleeting look.

"Besides the usual Diclonius stuff, she is perfectly healthy. I'll let you stay here for a while, just come out when you're ready. Try not to be too long though." With parting words, Kurama left her alone.

* * *

There she was, starring at the little girl who was nestled in blankets and with multiple tubes sticking through her. Of course she was a Diclonius, that had never been a surprise, but looking at her, she looked so peaceful, so adorably cute. The girl was a tiny one for sure, Elrya was amazed how the poor thing could have gone through that cold winter and still be so healthy. It meant she was a strong one for sure.

"Hey…" She whispered seeing the little fingers move ever so gently. She reached down and touched them, letting the little girl feel the warmth of her mother's hands. "I haven't even named you yet, Alya…?" She called out to her secondary personality who answered right away, her voice almost as touched as Elrya's.

"Y-Yeah…a name? What…I…"

There were so many emotions running through right now, this little girl born into this world and the cute little darling didn't even have a name. This was his daughter, the daughter of the man she would love and only love in her entire life. She felt those tender tears run down her face so smoothly that she did nothing to stop, for there was not a single reason to stop those tears of joy. "Can you see her Yin, wherever you are…can you see her? Look at her, she's ours, our little baby." It had had her mother's hair, not just in color but also in shape, her eyes which she assumed to be the same color as her were also shaped like hers as well, but the face was different and the cheekbones slid out more giving rise to where Yin Sandersas' DNA had come in place. Even her horns were a bit different, short and sharper but very well apparent and there was tiny birth bark just above her left eye. The skin was tanner than her own, closer to Yin's as well.

"Heh…" A smiled even wider crept over her face as she placed her hand on the child's cheek. The baby squirmed slightly.

"…Alya, we should name her."

"I know…but…what? I'm not sure we can actually fit Yin's name in there somehow." Alya answered back, transfixed on her child.

"We're taking Yin's last name, but…what if we named her after our friends?"

"Oh? Did you have an idea?"

Elrya traced her fingers over her baby's face who perhaps recognizing the touch of her mother, cooed gently against it.

"…Sandersas…Carliniyana…"

"It sounds…beautiful, but how did you come up with it." Alya asked.

"Car…for Caren. Lini for Lilian. Yana for our best friend Miriana. I thought maybe we could mix up our other friend's name and our husband in her middle. That way her full name could be…

…Carliniyana Lucyin Sandersas…" That was the name of the love she had with the man named Yin Sandersas. This little baby, cute, adorable so lovely she wanted to embrace it with all of her might, would never go through the terrible ordeals her mother had gone through. Alya knew it as well, she had killed her own mother in a blind fit of stupidity, unable to control her own emotions. There was no way in hell she would ever let that happen Carliniyana, never, she would do her best to protect and raise her. When her own voice arose, she would learn to control it and live in harmony with it, just like Alya lived in harmony with Elrya and the humans that had once panicked her. When she grew up, maybe she would find a man of her own to love…maybe…

Elrya Alya could not help but reach down and place her head down into box and slowly start singing the very song her own mother sang to her.

"_Do you see the raindrops spreading over across the ground_

_Filling it with all the senses of pain and sadness?_

_Do you see the tears trickling down every single cheek_

_Desperately wanting to fulfill a single joy?_

_Look upon the sky and see with all of your heart_

_A fragment of a melody._

_Look upon the clear green ground and tell me what you see now_

_As the wind blows wide and free."_

She didn't know the language, only that it wasn't Japanese nor did she know the meaning behind it. It was something her mother had taught her, a cute little song that had always made her happy and something that had been entwined deeply within her heart. A song that had remained with her and that she had whispered to her baby in the nights, a song of the Spanish blood that resided within though she never knew it.

"You know…" Elrya whispered gently into her ear, her voice soft and soothing. "You had a very good father, we didn't know each other for too long but, in that short while we fell in love and had you. It's sad that you won't be able to see him but I'll tell you more about him." Once again she found the tears beginning to stream down her face.

"I never thought this would happen, I was just a Sipilet, so I never thought I'd ever have something…so precious to me. Isn't that right Yin? She's our special little gift, the fruit of our love. That's right Carlin, mommy is right here, do you hear mommy's voice?"

"**Isn't that just adorable…"**

She wretched, pushing herself away from her child and grabbing the wall with one hand while her other hand took clutched her face, the sweat rolling down her.

"…Get out of my head…" She growled angrily, the last words escaping as a snarl between her teeth.

"**That's rather hard to do girl, I'm part of you right now. Although I could've gotten out had you been obedient."**

"You bastard! I won't let you cause the same trouble for my daughter like you did for me! Now that my daughter is born and I know that she's alright, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get you out of my head."

"**Hahahahahaha! That conviction of yours is as astounding as always, I do so enjoy it." **Cents muttered mockingly.

"Shut up!" Alya who had long since gotten tired of hearing the first syllable from his mouth, pressed her mentality down, forcing Vladimir into submission. "This is the happiest day of my life, I won't let you ruin it."

"**...Carlin you called her huh? Sweet little name isn't it, you'll have so many stories to tell her."**

"I said shut up!' Alya yelled back.

"**What's wrong Alya-chan, it's the truth. You have so many stories to tell her, about Yin, about Miriana…and of course…about us."**

She ground her teeth angrily. "I hate you so much…"

She could almost imagine the grin that was on his face.

"**Aye, cute little dreamer."**

"I'll never understand, what Lilian ever saw in you." Elrya mumbled, mostly to herself.

"…" Cents as if about to speak, suddenly went quiet. There he went again, whenever his daughter was mentioned, Cents lost that hellish enjoyment and became quiet. She wished it would happen more often. There wasn't much else to do and now that Cents had ruined the moment Elrya Alya could hear Kurama's voice calling her out. She had been in here for a long time too, it was about time for her to leave. But as she came out, she was greeted by Kurama with some disturbing news along with someone else.

"Roy?"

Sure enough, leaning against the wall he perked his head over to her and nodded. She would have asked about the arm but assumed, rather correctly, that it was a prosthetic. Truly odd seeing him with it, he just wasn't the same Roy with his arms now. Of course she was the reason for that and wasn't about to make a potential problem worse.

"I got the call from Dr. Kurama and got down here as fast as I could, so you've finally given birth, eh Elrya? Congratulations, I truly mean that, but that's not something we need to go into right now. You do understand how much trouble you are in right now, don't you?"

She looked away, crestfallen.

"Elrya Alya, we allowed Miriana, Lilian and Carentorzulan to look for you for about a month, of course we found you already so they'll be heading back to the educational institution. But a certain agreement had to be made for you. Elrya Alya, you can't head back to the institution with the others, you'll have to head back to the Tokyo Facility, with Garder."

"What!?" She screamed with indignation.

"It's the compromise, Garder is allowing you to live as long as you return to his facility. He's allowing your friends to visit you but…"

"Bullshit! Fucking bullshit!" She screamed and cursed and threw arm to the side, her eyes vivid with hate. "Go tell that old bastard to go and screw himself! I'm not going to be a slave to him anymore, not one little bit! I won't leave my daughter…" She spoke out sternly with her next words. "He has done nothing but ruin my life, I won't let him screw it up anymore. He doesn't have the right to do anything, not now, not before and later, not ever! I'll kill him before he can even try it! My daughter in there, I won't let her live the same kind of horrible life I did.

I just won't do it Roy!"

"Yeah I know, but we need you to stay with Garder now, for your and everyone else's safety.

"Safety!?' Elrya screeched, causing Roy's ears to rattle. "How can I be safe, he's freaking Diclonius murderer! Don't you get it, I hate him! There's only one person I hate more than him and that guy is currently inside my head!" She wanted to hit Roy for nodding so casually.

"See…that's the problem right there."

"Wh-What problem?"

"…The person inside your head." Roy replied firmly.

"What, Vladimir? I've got him under control, the nutjob isn't going to do anything."

Roy shook his head slowly, knowing the next words might put a hole through the roof. "I'm not going to mix words with you right now Elrya Alya so the only thing I'm going to ask is when you start screaming right now, try to lower your voice just a bit. We've been made aware of some things in Europe right now, involving Aurelius Denotos. But that's not the thing I'm talking about. We need you to stay with Garder, because he's the only one who can actually keep you and everyone else safe right now."

"What are you talking about?" Elrya asked.

"…Vladimir Cents is alive."

…

…

Her heart must have skipped three full beats.

"Wh-Wh-What…" she breathed in, trying to compose herself. "…What…d-did you just…s-say?" Her breath was ragged and her eyes shook wildly.

"…Alive, Vladimir Cents is now fully alive and walking around. He's in Europe under the direct supervision of Bando and…" He didn't get to finish, Elrya's vectors had swarmed in and grabbed him by the neck and waist, throwing him with unnecessary force against the wall where it began to crack. He let out a small groan but kept his eyes locked on her. There was no doubt that it was taking a lot for Elrya not to tear off his head out of sheer willpower.

"Shut up you bastard! He…isn't…alive! I'll get rid of him out of my head…but that fucking…stupid…insane…MONSTER IS NOT ALIVE!" She had to scream the last words out, her spit flying into Roy's face who only scrunched his face slightly.

"It's true."

"BULLSHIT!" The right side of the wall was caved in by her fury. "I KILLED HIM! I TORE HIS BRAINS RIGHT OUT OF HIS SKULL! HE IS DEAD, HE SHOULD BE DEAD RIGHT NOW! DON'T YOU FUCK WITH ME ROY!"

"…Elrya…please…"

She again screamed at him, her anger unkempt as she looked wild. "I SAID SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP ROY! STOP FUCKING LYING TO ME ALREADY! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! Y-You don't get it, he can't be alive. He can't be, I won't let it be true, you're lying! Ahhh! Ahhh! Guah!" She felt like she was going to vomit, her vectors released him but she herself had already collapsed on the ground, holding herself into a fetal position as the spit ran down her mouth. She was in a state of total disrepair, her agony and despair highlighting her features.

"Sh-Shut up Roy! Just shut the fuck up already. W-Wait…" A though occurred to her. "You said he was with Bando right? Why hasn't that crazy soldier killed him yet?"

"It's under the impression that Vladimir Cents might be of help against Aurelius."

***KA-BRAM!***

It was Alya who took control but was well wanted by both her and Elrya. Roy was punched so hard across the face he felt like his jaw was going to be dislocated, if not outright torn off. The blood flew from his mouth and nose, causing him to bash his head harshly against the wall where he slid down unable to keep his balance up anymore. As he remained dazed, he could feel his chest being heaved up by the force of her hands and then in a stream of unrelenting hate and despair…

She struck him as hard as before, her vector digging into his cheek where his head hit the wall with such force that he went black for a few seconds. She wasn't done, her strife could not end it with just that, and Roy for the third time was struck. From that hit his body slumped to the floor, unable to keep himself up anymore as he gazed up at his assailant with pitying eyes.

"Stop lying to me Roy Synth! Don't screw around with me and say such a thing. How can he…how can he even be alive?"

"Cloning, the fools with Aurelius thought it would be good to bring back a devil." Roy responded simply, feel the trick of blood running from his lip and down the left side of his chin.

"…Then why haven't you killed him yet! Kill the bastard right now!" She screamed again, her face now bright red.

"I already told you, we feel that it would be more viable to have him with us until we get the mess with Aurelius straightened out…"

***CRACK***

The next blow knocked the wind out of him, Elrya having gone so enraged she could barely think straight.

"THAT IS A LOAD OF BULLSHIT! THERE IS NOTHING THAT MONSTER COULD EVER DO TO HELP US! HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO DO A GODDAMN BIT OF A GOOD! HE ONLY THINKS OF HIMSELF, JUST LIKE THAT GODDAMN OLD BASTARD GARDER!" Why couldn't they understand it? Why did they allow such a monster to exist? Why did such a monster keep coming back to haunt her again and again? She had to get rid of him forever, not just for her sake, but for the sake of Miriana and her other friends and definitely for her little Carlin.

"…I'm sorry." It was Roy's only response and it got him another blow to the head, now the blood loss was getting to him and he could no longer muster the strength to look up at her.

"…You don't get it. Y-You just don't get it Roy. You don't understand what it's like for me, what it's like to lose someone you love and then have the one who did it…keep screwing you around."

He whispered at her, his voice soft and collected.

"Aye, not like I understand. Not like the man ever killed someone close to me, not like he killed my wife. Not like he forced me into becoming a killer, not like I was forced to watch my own son die. It wasn't like I had to go around killing innocent lives to make a living, hoping to save the last person I cared about and then seeing it crumble away."

She stopped herself, her hand again raised to hit him again before she looked away, embarrassed with herself. Her hand dropped and she held it firmly to her chest, feeling her very heart beat chaotically before muttering. "I-I didn't mean…"

"Elrya, trust me I know how you feel. Why do you think I haven't even tried to defend myself right now? I still have my bullets with me. Vladimir Cents is currently under the direct supervision of Bando, and lacks less than a third of the power he once possessed. There is literally nothing he can do right now that will cause us trouble…at the moment I admit. He's also the only one who has an idea of what's going on with Aurelius and we would rather get as much help as we can than go around in circles. Garder knows how dangerous he is, believe me on that you may not like the guy but he's not an idiot.

And once this is over, it's not like we'll be keeping him around. This is life Elrya, sometimes we've got to make choices even though we may not like them. Don't you think I disagree too? That man wrecked my life as well, I want nothing more than to shoot him up until nothing remains. But unfortunately as much as I want that, it's not my say." He probably deserved the next punch to his face from the girl for that sentence or maybe Elrya was so distraught that she couldn't control herself anymore. Maybe if she taken a few deep breaths and calmed herself she would understand and accept that Roy was right. Vladimir was just as responsible for his troubles as he was for hers, but her emotions had gotten the far better of her.

"Why...?" She finally whispered, her anger which had mostly been mostly flushed out beating the unbridled crap out of Roy now replaced itself with an unknowingly large amount of despair and sadness. "I didn't do anything wrong did I? Right? Is this punishment for what I did in the past, well I'm sorry I…" The poor girl dropped to her knees, face covering her hands and in her misery choked on her own tears.

"…You planned this didn't you? You fucking bastard!?" She thought viciously to herself.

No response.

"Don't ignore me you bastard! You planned this from the very start! I know you did! You killed my lover, you nearly made me kill Alya, you made me do all of this and you had this little…stupid plan of yours at the ready, right!? Now because of you, we have to deal with your sorry excuse of a…aarrrgh!

Why do you exist Vladimir Cents!? What kind of stupid ass morons would ever think of letting a monster like you come into life!? You should never have been born!"

"**But then Lilian-chan would not have been born apparently. Would you want that, Elrya Alya-chan?"**

"Don't you try to turn this around Cents!" She roared mentally back at him.

"**But I am curious, am I to hear that there is another 'me' walking around? Hahahaha! Kyahahahaha! How quaint! I swear every time I think things are going to stop being interesting, this happens. Hahahaha! Life is such a marvelous thing, I can barely keep the excitement in! Damn, what I do now, there are so many things I want to do.**

**I want to see this girl Lilian, I want to see myself alive, oh there is so many things I want…"**

"SILENCE!" This time it was Alya who smashed her will power down on the darkness that resided in her mind and quickly shut the blabbering of the Twisted Relic. Vladimir either by his own volition or by the sheer force of Alya's will, kept his thoughts to himself.

"Thanks Alya…" Elrya spoke gently, feeling her inner self soothe her internally and letting her heart relax a bit. Finally as he calmed herself to think straight and take proper attention to the details at hand. Yelling would not solve anything though she certainly wished it would. Traveling her eyes over to Roy's broken form smacked against the wall. She regretted lashing out against him and retracted her vectors with shame on her face. "I'm sorry Roy, I didn't mean to, I was just…"

"I know, just try not to hit me anymore…" The blue haired man whispered. She had hit him hard enough to nearly cause him to lose consciousness; his voice was weak when he spoke. Kurama was already tending to his wounds as Roy stated calmly.

"We need you to stay here Elrya Alya, right now we're getting everything under way. I've already contacted your friends and Karoly so they should be arriving here soon. Then you'll be going back with Garder."

The Diclonius lowered her head but made no reply. There was no point in doing it.

"What about Carlin?"

"Who?" Roy asked.

"My daughter, Carliniyana."

"Nice name, we'll take care of her, I promise. I'll make sure she's taken well care of and I'm sure you'll be allowed to see her every so often just like you will with your friends. Oh look…" Roy who was finally able to muster the strength to get himself up and sit in a chair saw four people in. Miriana, quickly followed by Carentorzulan and Lilian with Karoly Sandersas trailing behind. Miriana was in absolute tears, she embraced her best friend without a single moment of hesitation, throwing her face into the girl's bosom and crying hysterically.

"I'm…I'm…Elrya! Alya!"

"…I'm sorry Miriana."

"YOU BITCH!"

And then Elrya Alya felt Lilian's fist bash forcefully against her face, breaking her nose and sprawling her out onto the floor. Shocked at first she tasted the blood from her mouth and nose and gasped, trying to get a hold of the situation. She could hear Miriana's cries but even those were drowned out by the person that was currently lifting her up and slamming her against the white blank walls of the hospital.

"YOU…ARE…A…MORON!"

At the end of each word Lilian would punch the girl in the face, not even bothering with her vectors she merely folded her hand into a fist and let the knuckles do the talking.

"I'm…I…"

"STUPID! MORONIC! BITCH!"

It might have been bad taste but for Roy, watching the scene was pretty poetic.

Again Elrya tried to speak only to be cut again by Lilian who at the least had stopped trying to hit her and now seemed intent on throttling her as she kept shaking her uncontrollably. "STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! YOU…ARE…THE STUPIDEST…MOST IDIOTIC…MOST FUCKING DUMBASS GIRL…I…HAVE…EVER KNOWN!"

And then with her anger out, Lilian embraced Elrya, her eyes watering up and holding her friend dearly. "Stupid…you are…the stupidest girl…"

"L-Lilian?"

"The stupidest, poorest bitch I know! This isn't enough, I should beat the hell out of you for what you did."

Clearly shocked, Elrya asked timidly, "Wh-Why? Why are you…?"

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! But…you're my friend Elrya Alya. You're a stupid girl for sure, stupidest person I know! But you're my friend, one of my very first friends, along with Caren and Miriana. You're so stupid sometimes, but I don't want to see you get hurt." Her heart was burning as the girl who she thought would hate her, hugged and embraced her crying and unable to hold her emotions, Elrya could only apologize again and again as all of her friends surrounded her, holding her, letting her feel the warmth no warm building could accomplish.

These were her friends, always there for her, even now looking for her, always there to be by her side.

"But what happened?" Caren questioned. "You had your vector in Lilian's head, you know how dangerous that is."

"…I'm sorry Lilian it's just that, Cents inside me, he said he wanted me to inject him into your mind. I don't know how but he said he would hurt you all if I didn't listen. I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I didn't want to do it but, I didn't know what else to do."

"Can I speak, with my father?" The young Diclonius asked.

"…Speak? I don't know…"

"I won't force you if you don't want to, but if you can I want to speak with him."

For Lilian, she would allow it, Elrya and Alya merged their consciousness together as before and then they allowed for another time Cents to emerge and take control. "Long time no see, Lilian R. Cents."

"…Father…" Lilian stated sternly.

"…So what do you want?"

"Isn't that what I should be asking?" Lilian muttered coldly.

"…Aye, I guess you're right. This is my chance, to delve right?"

True, Lilian had called Vladimir Cents out for the sake of letting him leave her friend's psyche and come into her own. What she hadn't expected was for Vladimir to deny the offer. "My interest in you has no dwindled but some more interesting things have come up. For example, I am quite intrigued at this new me walking around. I might not mind seeing what's going on that head of mine."

"Eh? What?" Lilian, understandably was quite confused. She would be filled in all the details later, Elrya Alya had already pushed Cents back down and taken control, wanting to spit to get the bad taste out of her mouth. There was so much else to get caught up on but all of that would have to wait, for at that moment, as if pure evil had suddenly erupted, Carentorzulan and Lilian were literally thrown into a sea of unending torment as a signature of unparalleled force was crashed into their minds. It wasn't just them, it was any Diclonius within forty meter distance of the hospital.

Something that could only be described as an ocean of pure disgust without qualm, without relent, it was something that couldn't even be described as a Diclonius signature. It was more likely to say that killing intent had manifested itself as a physical presence that not even the most human hating voice could emit. The closest thing that could ever come to it was Kaede's own voice and even that didn't seem to do it justice. The only reason that Elrya was unaffected was because of the surgery done on her long ago. The same thing could not be said for the others.

Maybe it wasn't fear, Caren herself had too much pride to ever admit that. But what they felt was unforgettable.

Starting now, things just got even more hectic.

* * *

Aurelius stepped down from the private plane which had landed on some barren plain of the Japanese landscape. He wasn't sure where they had landed nor did he really care, he only gave a sickened look at the sky as if expecting people to bow before and wondered why they didn't. Knowing his own personality, this was probably no beyond the possibility. Then at long last he looked over at the plane where the last person was getting off.

She was about 17 years old physically, her hair trailing behind her back and different from most horned girls as it was pitch black, almost glistening too. She wore a pair of thin spectacles that gave her quite an intriguing and intelligent look that if anything increased the beauty about her. Her face was stern, almost bored looking as her the Diclonius wore a thin black dress that matched her flowing hair, all the way down until a bit of her legs showed then ending in a pair of long stockings that were the same color, even down to the black shoes. Two bangs fell over her face, nearly reach her chin. Even her eyes were pitch black.

The only thing that outright confirmed her to be a Diclonius was the pair of horns on her head. Everything else about her was such an enigma, especially considering how Aurelius was apparently surrounding himself with her.

But he had a reason, for this was his own trump card.

Diclonius X...mutated by experiments done on her by Aurelius' men to have a backup Diclonius completely loyal to him. Aurelius himself had refused to believe that the girls had such abilities as invisible hands, or any of the crazy things that happened. What had intended to be just another person loyal to him, ended up being something much more and now Denotos' plans had changed.

He couldn't deny the abilities of the girl's he wanted to get rid of, because this girl before him had showed him that power. So now he had a new plan, and that was to make sure that the world knew their place, a man no different from Kakuzawa but with the weapons to back himself up now.

That girl behind him, the trump card.

Onyara Kariashu

The only Pure Voice Diclonius in the world.

* * *

Author's Notes: It's a little while since the last update but I'm hoping this chapter makes up for it. We got some new characters being introduced and now the real stuff begins.

Please R&R.


	23. Fever Pitch

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 23: Fever Pitch**

Ever since the beginning of her life, she had always hated humanity. She could never explain why and sometimes, it hurt her to think of these things. She had friends, human friends that she talked to but always in her heart she hated them. They did nothing to her, her horns which were almost signatures of respect from where she lived only granted her more love from humanity. But there was something about it, something about the people around her that was just…different. Each time she looked at a person, she felt a desire to kill; only calmed by her own intelligence and willingness to hold back. Her life was a good one, she had friends, went to school, and as far as she knew she was happy, or at the very least in a good mood for most of the time. Why ruin that for such a petty reason because she had an innate desire to hate the people around her.

Of course her life which was one of intelligence could not see how she could hate something without a reason. Maybe there was a reason, after all one does not hate for the purpose of hating.

At the age of eight, she discovered strange abilities that she could perform. Abilities that far outstripped her human companions she suddenly began to feel those similar to her, those with abilities similar, those with the appearance similar, those with the same horns as her. Of course at this time she had no idea of the terminology people would be using, the word "Diclonius". But it was the start of her life, a life of terrible ill concern for nothing but herself. She killed her first friend on the third day before her thirteenth birthday, a girl she had known for a good time in her life. Maybe she had expected regret, hoped for it, but instead she actually had a sensation as if a small hole had been filled up.

It had felt good.

Killing more would have been good, but somehow, someway she controlled herself. Nobody could pinpoint her to the murder and in just a few days it was as if nothing had happened. She didn't even dream about it and her mind never even registered her so called friend unless someone mentioned it off handedly. Truly it was like stepping on an ant, she was so above them that what did she care? What did those above the food chain, care about those below them?

She killed the next person six months later, simple too. They were walking together and she suggested a short cut. It was easy, a snip and all was said and done. It could almost be called boring really; she chided herself for never doing it sooner. She was the better person, a special person and the reason for her hate was a very simple reason. The people before her were just inferior to her in every way. Her minds was one of narcissism, a proud and vain point of herself that could only believe in her own self-delusions.

The next person she killed was a boy near her age when she was fifteen years old. He apparently had deep feelings for her, ones that she thought she might want to return. What kept her from telling him the truth was not fear, it was just, no reason for her too. Do you tell about every ant you kill? Of course not, those she killed were so below her and this guy, he was below her too. He had this thought one day that she was going to give herself to him, to allow their bodies to meet and make love. Onyara allowed it for the first time, sexual interaction that lasted all but a minute. Trying to see if being touched ever allowed her something different.

It did not.

She killed him before he even got to fully enjoy the sensation of touching her. Leaving him for dead, it was a sensation that she no longer cared about. A person who should touch her should be that equal to her, not an inferior.

Nobody would ever find out and it wouldn't be until the war with Kakuzawa that she would truly start to understand her purpose. She had been a college student at a university somewhere in Eastern Europe. With her intelligence and cunning it had been quite easy to get into, her kill count rose more at that point too, twenty-eight although that was just the number she had last taken the time to count. Overall her killings throughout her life had reached the one hundred mark. But it was the fight in Japan that caught her attention because it was the first time she had ever gotten a new look on herself.

Diclonius, strange names she would've thought, but oddly fitting. It wasn't hard for her to find new information, not with today's technology but what she couldn't find out was that the Diclonius who should be killing humanity, were instead embracing them. That was the day she discovered the aspect of the horned girls that truly made them different, the internal voice inside of their heads. A voice that supposedly taught them to kill humanity due to a biological reason.

But what about her? She had never heard this voice, so what made her so different? But she wasn't different, they were different, inferior and pointless. But they were still Diclonius, an inferior version perhaps, but they and her shared much more in common than she did with those of humanity. Their powers were also different, similar yes, but different also, they lacked her strengths, ones that made her a goddess. She likened that term to herself, over there they had Queens, apparently Diclonius that could reproduce while the others, whom they referred to as "Siplilets" were left infertile. Onyara had no idea if she was the same, nor did she ever bother finding out, it no longer mattered to her. What did matter though was the fact that there was a world beneath her and she had the power to destroy it. She was a spider and they were all flies and so it was her responsibility, no, her given right to do as she pleased.

Onyara Kariashu was born with the internal voice to kill humanity already perfectly merged within her self-conscious. Where normal Diclonius are born with a separate consciousness the actual self and the Voice, she was already perfectly in state with herself. Never once had her mind ever been split, never once did she hear a second voice inside of her head, never once did she question it until now.

This in turn made her into something else.

A true, bona-fide monster. The difference between Diclonius and her was that the Diclonius such as Elrya, Kaede, all of them were under an impression of terrible things. Sometimes the voices in their heads were created due to traumatic experiences that they had gone through. As for herself, that never happened, she was different.

The pure voice Diclonius lacked a conscious to care. She knew right from wrong but in the end, all that mattered was herself.

All those were just pieces for her to enjoy.

And then it was there that she had met Aurelius Denotos. Another human at first, she had been surprised to find out his personality was much like hers. He was better than everyone else ad he knew it, he saw it, annoying at times but he was certainly different. Maybe he was more like her, someone closer to her level than anyone else. Of course their first meeting had not been one of enjoyment; he actually tried to rape. A stupid man yes, but different, he really attempted to show that domination on his part.

"You truly are clueless, aren't you?" She muttered, her bare feet floating part way in the air so that only her toes were barely skimming the floor. She was naked, her long black hair flowing almost majestically around her.

"…Are you, denying me?"

She had expected a more fearful response, much more on her abilities.

"…Of course, I am better than you, human." Her response was curt.

"Wrong, you are only here to serve me. I am the messiah of the world and you must obey my law. Petty tricks won't work on me."

Arrogance, she hadn't seen that in a long time. Another taste might be for the better, before she killed him, she would prove to him the error of his way. Aurelius saw the items being picked up, she saw his eyes narrow suspiciously before he shook his head. There was now sweat on his face. Of course Denotos who had denied such abilities as being false was now in a state that he couldn't refuse anymore. Especially not after Onyara continued to demonstrate more and more of her powers, in different circumstances until it was one hundred percent prove that all she said was true. Yet he stilled ascertained his superiority over her.

"So what if there are some differences, I'm sure it can be explained but for now I'll believe you. Some of the things you've done are quite interesting, and I admit I can't explain it right now. But that does not change the difference between you and me. Your body is only there for me, lay upon the bed and I shall take you."

Foolish man really, a pitiful human who was in over himself. That's what she first thought, but then, this man, arrogant as he was, was also highly accomplished. There was some pain in admitting it, but she had a bit of an admiration for such pride. But the more obvious reason for declaring her allegiance, was the mere fact that this man had resources. The world was hers, the people in it, pawns, and she was now going to make this man go from believing he owned the world, to wanting to escape its cruelty. But not now, that would be at a later time. For now, she let him have his way, and that was the start on the few weeks before their arrival. A simplistic start, of a very simple to complex life that started it all.

She pushed the spectacles up her nose, looking over the horizon with her eyes of black piercing. Aurelius who stood by her gave the girl a sideways glance and then uttered haughtily. "Bow before me."

"My apologies Master, I am still learning." It was so easy to manipulate him, was he really that fool of himself? Doing as she said, she turned to face him and bent low on her knees, head bowed she prostrated herself before him. If there was any anger, she didn't show it, there was none because she wasn't angry. She did not enjoy doing it because of her superiority over him, but if this lead to getting what she wanted, it was a small price to pay. What happened now was a change in positions. A change that Aurelius was too stupid to grasp.

Because there was a difference between those who were superior and those who were plain full of themselves. Unlike Aurelius Denotos, she actually had the power to make a difference. Aurelius was just a foolish human who thought himself better because of his thoughts, not on his abilities. Anyone could walk around and proclaim themselves superior, even an ant. What truly made her special, in this case, utterly superior was her ability to change things to her will. What truly made her different, was that she mattered and had the ability to matter. And if that confused those around her, well it only proved how superior she was to them.

But even she wouldn't deny that the resources, the reason she joined this man in the first place, could prove some use. Let the fool keep basking in his falsehood, she had bigger things to do.

* * *

"You two alright, you look like you've been hit by a truck?" Roy questioned while Kurama helped the two Diclonius up, the effect of the signature having knocked them to their knees.

"What was that about? Is it another Diclonius?" Elrya asked nervously.

"…I doubt it." Caren muttered, wiping the beads of sweat from her face.

Roy inquired back at her, "Mind explaining what you mean?"

"I mean I'm a Diclonius, Lilian is a Diclonius, Elrya is a Diclonius. What I felt, that was nothing like a Diclonius, it felt…oh damn how can I explain."

It was Lilian who answered.

"…I felt, like my soul was being destroyed. It wasn't just my body, I felt so weak, pathetic, pitiful, I couldn't even think straight. It wasn't just a physical pain, in fact I don't know about Carentorzulan, but it didn't hurt all that much, but it felt bad." Her friend nodded in agreement, continuing on from there.

"She's right, I don't know who this person is but she's no average Diclonius. We're not talking about some mere Queen or Sipilet, this person is, completely abnormal. I'm…I'm scared." She had to admit it, deep down, Caren felt a primal fear that had engulfed her the moment the signature had rampaged through her body.

It wasn't just her either, Lilia too felt the same way, barely able to suppress her shaking body, she instinctively nudged close to Caren for warmth and support. It could be described in simple terms, what they had felt was, beyond all basic terms, bad. It was something very bad, something that had to be stopped at all cost. Caren took very deep breaths, trying to get her psyche under control, she could barely concentrate before falling to her knees again. Miriana who was at loss of words could only stare with her mouth slightly agape.

"I wonder if this is because of Aurelius." Roy said aloud. "You girls haven't felt anything until now right?"

Lilian replied, "That's right, this is the first time I've felt anything like this."

"Then…" Roy continued. "…This person must have just arrived here."

"Probably it's just that…oh shit.." Caren who started to speak suddenly went white in the face as did Lilian who understood exactly what was going on. "This person…she's coming this way." Her voice broke at the end, clutching her chest, she couldn't help but shiver from head to toe. This wasn't about bravery, something horrible was about to meet them and they had nothing they could do against them.

In a panic now, Roy articulated loudly, "Coming? You mean this person…well crap!"

"…I'll see if I can stall their attention. The person is probably following the closest Diclonius signature which would be us and those in this hospital. If we just stand here, we're sitting ducks. Although…I don't know what I'm going to be facing." The Turkish Diclonius stated, unable to hide her fear. But she was also brave enough to make a stand and they all knew that just waiting for the inevitable would only make things worse.

"Carentorzulan, that's too dangerous and you know it! We need to think of a plan and…" Miriana began, cut short by Roy.

"Miriana is right in some regards but so is Caren. It would be better if someone got at least some look of what was going on. If we wait for this person to arrive, there's no telling what would happen. I can't add much for help but good luck Caren and be careful, don't do anything stupid and run away if you must. It's going to be a pain if something happens to you."

She smiled weakly at him, not even able to make a retort at him for using the shortened name she disliked so much.

"G-Got it…trust me I w-won't go down that easily."

God was she scared, there was just no point in trying to hide it. But the only thing stronger than her fear was her conviction to help her friends and that the reason she had volunteered for this moment. What was left, was only hope for her as she stepped outside the building and off into an unknown future.

* * *

Caren met Onyara along with Denotos by a docking pier that gave her horrible memories of the past. It was a place like this that she had been shot and taken away by the Diclonius Research institution, screaming and crying for her older sister, Orlana, to save her. What she saw her was strange, mainly because she had truly expected an abomination. This girl, older than her by a year or two looked fairly normal, as far as Diclonius' were concerned, the only major change was her hair and eyes which were far from the usual bright textures the horned girls were normally known for.

"A guest?" Aurelius asked gazing upon the girl and traveling his eyes across her body. Caren had the disgusting feeling he was almost peeling off her clothes. Was this that Aurelius guy everyone else had been talking about before? Even without doing anything she got a twisted sensation from him, but not like the girl. Where the girl was terrifying, the man was, an annoyance it seemed but apparently he had proved dangerous in some regards, mostly for his resources and she didn't dare underestimate either of them.

At his response, Onyara tilted her head as if confused and glanced at Caren, her black eyes displaying no concern. "…Who are you?"

"…Is that what I should be asking? But if you want to know, it's Carentorzulan Zeruda. Now what about you?"

"…Did I give you permission to speak again?" What should've come off as conceit, felt as if a thousand daggers were now pointed towards her body and Caren involuntarily shuddered. The voice, the expression, the intent, this was not a person that she wanted to question. The reply had been backed by an ocean of killing intent that had frozen Caren's blood.

"Where is Elrya Alya?"

!

So this girl was looking for her friend, go figure, she was popular. Instead of retorting back, Caren felt it better to remain silent. The girl gazed at her with her bored eyes and said in a low tone. "Where is the one you call Kaede, or Lucy as she is sometimes known as?"

There again, this girl was looking for the two Queens that lived in Japan. What on earth did she want those two for? Whatever the reason Caren had to doubt it was anything good.

"Still won't answer me? Maybe you don't know, but somehow I doubt that. I know that there are two places that the Diclonius are being kept, one at Garder's facility and the other at the educational institution. But I felt another series of signature close by, I thought I would check it out. You felt me and came to meet me, so I'll ask again. Where are either Elrya or Kaede. If you know, you will tell me."

"…"

"Still feigning silence I see, you know…" She raised her hand and the young Turkish girl prepared herself for the onslaught. How many hands would it be? Ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred? How long? Ten meters, fifty meters, maybe a hundred kilometers? This person was different in a short moment she realized just how different she was.

At first she thought her eyes were messing with her, something had appeared between the girl's fingers arms and surrounded her body. Thin lines of inky black that were not only visible to her eyes, but also visible to the eyes of Aurelius who remained collective as always. It was the point of a man who was so arrogant that he refused to believe in the dangers even when they were right in front of him. The first thing that came to Caren's mind was that she was using some sort of micro-wires, things she had heard about. But the thing was, there was a noticeable difference in these things, for one they were a bit thicker and the structures of them had a noticeable familiarity with vectors themselves. Everything about this girl was strange and abnormal.

Bracing herself, Carentorzulan took two steps back and releasing her hands and letting them wrap her around in a makeshift shield. There was still no response from her opponent only that she had raised her hand was no pointing her finger at her.

And then…she was struck.

Her body was slashed a dozen times, her arms, legs, chest, face. Blood had suddenly erupted from her being, not even giving her enough time to utter a single word. Her body was pushed forward, the blood of her body passing by her eyes as she fell forward, her thoughts going in and out.

"Wh-What…ha-happened?" She though deliriously her body being caught by something. What was holding her up was so alien that it made her look human. The thin strands of blackness that were surrounded Onyara had spread out like a spiky spider web but instead of reaching out to her, they had vanished, stopping around two meters away from her body. That wasn't the strange part, what defied all sense of reality was that a meter away from her own body, Caren's, these strands had seemingly broken through space itself, and collectively wrapped themselves around her arms, pulling them back so that she was forced to stand.

Onyara swiftly moved her fingers, passing what she called her "veins" through the passage of space, letting them slip through and continued to ravel themselves around the young girl's body. This was just one of her many abilities that transcended both human and Diclonius, the reason she was a goddess. No matter how much she struggled, there was no way Caren could break free. Just as her own vectors were incredibly powerful, so were Onyara's veins.

And then…Carentorzulan's ribs were snagged and she felt the sides of her body being torn out, the entrails of her own body being released messily onto the pier. She felt the slit upon her neck, opening up, spilling red down chest and mixing with the wound before her. Lastly, to end it all, she was severed half way from her spine, bifurcated and hanging only by sinews from her body, she collapsed, eyes watering and thoughts trying desperately to find a reason for why this had all happened.

She awoke as she hit the ground.

"Gah! Ahhh! Guh! Guah! Haa! Haa! Haa!" gasping for air, sweat running down every part of her body, Caren was on all fours, her body completely intact but her mind having gone through a thrill of such horrors that it was a miracle she was even still sane. "Haa! Ugh! Wh-What? What the hell? I…I thought I died? My body…" She gripped herself, afraid that her own sides would suddenly burst open like they had done before. With her soul nearly crushed, she could barely look up at the girl who continued to give her that same deadpanned look as before.

"…That was your warning. If you don't answer me, I will increase the torture by another 5%...that will make your torture…8%."

There was little idea of what she meant, but the way she was talking, what had happened had only been a small fraction of the true pain she could've been feeling.

"…I…I can't win! I can't win! I need to get out of here." She thought desperately, hugging herself to attempt to keep her body from shaking so much. "This person, she's so incredibly strong! I need to warn the others, I need to warn Elrya and Kaede! I need to…"

***SNAP!***

Pain, misery there was something that she was doing and whatever it was, whatever strands of horrors that she was inflicting upon the poor Turkish girl, it was enough to make Caren scream. Not just scream, her voice hit such a pitch that it became raspy from the lack of air. It was so bad that her heart and soul felt like it would truly burst, leaving her an empty shell.

"Ahhhh! Guh! Gaaaah! St-Stop! Please!"

And then it ended, this time she was sprawled out on her back, spit running down he lips with her eyes shaking madly.

"I'm rather impressed, you took 8% of the torture and are not only still conscious, your still sane. But then again, if I truly wanted to end you, I would. You are a Diclonius, similar if not inferior to me. But I can't wait here forever, we do have things to be doing, right Master?"

"Right, I'm getting bored now, finish things up here." Aurelius demanded.

Onyara stepped up, the lines of her veins transferring around her and then around Caren.

"…This is the final warning, I doubt you'd be able to take 12% of the torture without losing your sanity."

"…"

"…Still no response, are you trying to protect her?"

"Why do you want to see her?" Caren finally asked.

"…Why? Because she and Lucy are both Queens and they have something that I don't. The ability to reproduce, but it's not the same way that might be thinking. You see, my purpose is to make a world of pure Diclonius much like a man named Kakuzawa once tried. But I don't want Diclonius, not regular ones like you, inferior creatures that are just as bad as humans. I want to pass on something more."

"I-I don't understand?" Caren responded weakly.

"No I suppose you wouldn't, inferior girl. But I guess I do owe you that much of an explanation. Tell me, how often do you talk to your Voice?"

!?

"V-Voice?"

"You know, the voice in your head."

What was she on about? Was she referring to her basic instinct voice? What kind of question was that? All the Diclonius in the educational facility had been given lessons on their own voice to calm themselves and learn to embrace them so that they could control them much like Elrya and Alya had been in control of their selves. It was to keep them from going mad and having their voices go wild as it was common knowledge that they had all had a biological need to kill people. As for herself, she would talk to her own voice every so often as well, though obviously it never got to the point like Alya was for Elrya.

Onyara raised her finger and the girl shuddered involuntarily.

"I have never heard a single voice in my head before. I try and try and try to listen but the only sound is myself. I don't have a voice but my own, I am the purest of all Diclonius, beyond a Queen, and thus I am a goddess. I wish to spread my veins through the world, creating a world not of just Diclonius, but of the purest kind there is. But I can't do that own my own.

It would seem that due to mutations in exchange for great power and abilities, I now lack the ability to reproduce in all ways. Not only can I not give birth naturally, but I can't affect humans at all. But I can infect you; my powers are splendid for the infection of other Diclonius.

But unfortunately I have a problem. You see due to these mutations, the only ways I can make my infection work is by absorbing the essence of a Queen Diclonius."

Caren understood about as much as a pre-school child being taught advanced mathematics by a graduate university student. The thing she did know though was that this person was after her friends and if she got to them, somewhere in her heart she knew bad things would happen. As she attempted to hold her ground, Onyara flipped her hair back nonchalantly, giving her opponent a deadpanned stare before muttering softly.

"Stop now, it's pointless to fight against fate. It's pointless to fight against someone superior to you in every way."

"You can keep the threats to yourself." Caren spat.

"I am not threatening you, I am only…" The veins shot out pinning Caren's body to the ground as four of the razor edged black lines impaled through her arms and lower right side of the back. "…I am only speaking the truth." And then with no questions asked, no time to ask questions, she delivered the coup de grace.

***KA-SNAP!***

There was screaming, a high pitched, unearthly wail of miserable pain. Carentorzulan was being tortured under a guise that could not even be called pain anymore. What she felt, it drove more to her soul than anything else. She cried, not even able to beg only scream until her lungs finally let out. Such a miserable, pathetic moment, she couldn't help but cry now for multiple reasons. It only got worse, more and more, the agony shot through every last pore of her existences. She wretched, cried, and wailed, spasm as the effect overtook her mind, body and soul.

Caren screamed louder...

Louder…

"STOP IT! STOP! STOP IT PLEASE!" She couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't take this feeling, so pathetic she was but she desperately wished for it to stop.

"Stop? Then you will tell me where they are?"

With the pain momentarily abated, Caren gasped for the lungful of air and wept bitterly.

"…Well then girl? What is your answer?"

"…I can't say…" Caren whispered.

Onyara shook her head disappointedly. "Shame, I suspected better from one closer to me. It seemed in the end, this was a waste. I'll have to search for her somewhere else, maybe I'll even go up to the education institution, and find them there. But for you, there is no more point…

Be gone."

***CRACK!***

!

There in an instantly, Carentorzulan's mind went blank as the pain hit the pitch unbearable to the consciousness. The veins dug into her body and in a single momentum, she felt her spine being snapped. The deed finished, her paralyzed body collapsed. Leaving her there, Onyara did not display a single ounce of pity.

"You truly are pathetic. Master I'm done here, I didn't get any good answers out of her."

"It's about time…now we just…"

***BANG!***

The bullet stopped just inches away Aurelius head, caught in the black network of the Onyara's veins. His eyes flashed menacingly, glaring over at Garder with his raised gun, his milky white eyes starring sternly over at him.

"You…dare to shoot me? Do you not know your place filth? Fool, prostrate yourself before me and beg forgiveness! Do it now, Prostrate yourself and praise my holy name! You dare to go against the messiah of the world!? Lower yourself filth, prostrate yourself! Bow your head and kiss my feet and beg forgiveness!"

Garder fired another shot, this same one being caught up in the veins.

Now Aurelius was livid.

"You…You…You filth! You would dare shoot, the messiah of the world? Do you not know who I am? I am Aurelius Denotos, I am the almighty one! I am the one who is beyond all others! PRAISE MY NAME! PRAISE MY HOLY NAME! OOOOOH!"

"Sometimes…I wish I was deaf instead of blind. It sure has gotten Kakuzawa up in here." Garder muttered. "But the point is…that I now have to deal with you." He swung his gun around, aiming it at Onyara's head who merely tilted her head to the side curiously.

"I see, you must be Garder F. Morotisan, I've heard a lot about you." She stated calmly.

"And you are…?"

"That is not needed, I don't have to give a name to those who are below me."

Garder merely adjusted his aim. "So be it, then after you are killed you will be strung away nameless into the dirt. A pitiful epitaph if any to note that there is at least a body rotting under the ground."

And then, Onyara smiled, a dark, depressive kind of smile.

"Heh, cocky…so cocky. But I guess it's expected. Don't worry my Master, I will finish this in a few seconds."

Garder, weapon still raised, prepare himself for the first attack.

"Hm? You are blind, I just noticed that now. I'm rather impressed, that you have such skill as to aim at my master with your handicap. I almost feel sorry for this, killing you would be one thing, but killing a handicapped man too stupid to know his place, now that is a shameful thing. But you brought this on yourself, Morotisan-san, now I have…"

She never got to finish her sentence, to add the final words her veins broke through the space that stood between two meters from him, like spikes that shot out his body swerve backwards. Feeling the energy shoot past him. Although he obviously could not see them, he could discern a few points. For one, the sound they made, a very vibrant sort of one at that were not the same as those that vectors made, though the similarity was uncanny. There was also an essence about them, one that he knew mean they were a more physical construct. He also constructed another point in his head when the attack had missed. He had already pinpointed the woman's location, standing about six meters away from him and two meters away from Aurelius. Yet the attack had appeared at angle obscured from the attacker.

He had expected to fight a Diclonius, but this was something entirely different. An attack that did not originate from the source but originated from an entirely separate place. Was it possible that this woman had the power to break space itself? He would have to wait another attack to ascertain his question.

"I was wrong then, I should not have insulted you as such." For Onyara, she hardly seemed displeased at Garder's ability to avoid her attacks. "Truthfully I thought the stories about you were just rumors, I see that they weren't. But don't' get cocky, Morotisan-san, I have yet to show even a true fraction of my true abilities."

Again she struck, this time from the ground, Garder feeling the vibrations under his feet side stepped in an instant, feeling the wire like thin spear erupt upwards. Had he been a second, no, a few milliseconds slower, it would've pierced through his neck and out the cranium of his head. The time to relax was not given, she controlled her powers, shooting her veins through three other sections, the spear like weapons jutting out and missing flesh by centimeters. Forward, backwards, side, a top, bottom, from different directions, no more or less than two meters from their original positions would the veins attack.

The young woman kept the same expression on her face the entire time, stoic and cool. The same as Garder who continued to avoid the attacks until she finally opened up five path ways in space for the attacks to enter. The effect had its mark, now having to avoid them attacks of multiple places of multiple times, Garder's body was beginning to slow down. The air was filled the sound of the attacks vibrating in the air, slashing through space itself. All the way until Garder was struck three times, two in the right shoulder and once upon the upper base of his arm pit. The veins pulled back, showering the air with a short spurt of blood.

"I see now, you are not average." Garder stated as if the wounds were of a trifling matter. "I can't tell why but your powers have the ability to skip through space, attacking a person from the direction beyond your original standing." At his statement she said nothing at first.

"Not only that, but all of your attacks have a distinctive range of two meters, every single one of them has not surpassed or declined in that range. I have also noticed that the locations of your attacks appear to have a maximum out of five."

"…Oh, so you are more than just talk, and smarter than you look."

But there were a few more questions he had to know, not that he would get straight answers from her directly. He knew that the attacks ranged two meters between their original points and him. That he knew already but if he got up to her, in short, if the distance between her and her and him was less than two meters, how would her powers work? By his assumptions the only way she could attack would be anywhere but forward. It was after all the basic setting. There was also another thing that was on his mind. He knew that the attacks always had the two meter range from the original location and the opponent.

What would happen if an attack came from a specified distance, such as the air? Would her attacks be able to reach that area two meters from the attack or was there a limit to her powers?

Then there another thing, a fraction of her power. Somehow he didn't think she meant it in terms of the percent she was using, but of the amount of the abilities she had.

"I have another question for you, girl…" Garder stated nonchalantly. "What is a person of your capabilities doing with a man like Aurelius?"

"Because she serves her master, her messiah!"

"Shut it." Garder's remark nearly made Aurelius flip.

"Y-You dare…"

"Silence dog." The man felt his voice escape him though he still starred furiously at Garder as if his look alone could penetrate through his flesh and kill him. "…Your voice is like an obnoxious horn, blowing loudly into my ear. My hearing has been heightened to that of superhuman levels, hearing you makes my ears bleed. I'll say it once and only once, because afterwards the only point I'm making to you is to kill you.

You are not a god, messiah or a man to be worshiped. You are not something akin to omnipotence. You are a sad little human man who just happens to have a lot more resources than he should have. Quell your tongue, do not speak, you are of a pointless trifle to me."

Onyara shrugged her shoulders indifferently. "He's right there, I am his servant, his slave, ready to do his bidding."

"Liar…" Garder said firmly.

"She is not! I am her god! I am her messiah! I am…"

"Are you stupid? Must I explain everything to you simple man?" Garder again said viciously to Aurelius, cutting him off. "Are you inherently bad at understanding my words? Should I speak it in simpler terms? Or are you just blindly arrogant to your own self that no words I say will make through that that incredibly dumbfounded thick skull of yours?

You make me repeat myself, annoying little man.

And you girl…do not try to fool me. With someone of your capabilities you are certainly not with this man because you wish to worship him. Answer me that."

She laughed softly, placing her fingers to her lips.

"…I have no need to tell you my reasons. After all we we'll be ending this short battle of ours. It was fun while it lasted but now…" she raised her finger pointing it at him with victory in her eyes. "Signature of Relinquish."

There was no way to tell what had happened next, being blind it was impossible for Garder to tell if any physical thing had happened. What he could tell was that something had happened, as if a force had suddenly passed through his head, he made motions to keep his guard up. As far as he could tell the world was still alive, he knew where his location was, he knew where his opponents location was and he could, by all means, feel nothing was wrong. He wasn't stupid enough to believe such a thing but it only made it more agonizing having to wait. This person had done something to him and he could only wait to find out.

And then he felt something soft wrap around him, like soft arms of a person that placed their head against him.

"I'm here…"

That voice, one he hadn't heard in years. Eve now he could never forget it, not after fifteen, twenty or a hundred years.

The voice of his daughter…Veronica Morotisan.

"…Veronica." He whispered.

"That's right father, I'm here…please put down your gun." He felt the sensation of his arm being lowered by her own hands. The feeling of her warm body nestling up against him. He could almost see her, the exact same way she looked, her voice sounded so real, it made his ears quiver.

And standing behind him, Onyara shot forth her veins of death and aimed for the man's head and heart. Garder on his part turned, aimed his gun, unseeing and shot through the head his daughter again, blowing through the veins as the young girl was forced to defend herself again, the bullet stopping inches away from her face. This time she was no longer cocky but an expression of sternness now stood out. Garder himself kept the gun raised, fired from the angle so that he held it behind him.

"...How did you…?"

"My daughter is dead, killed by my own hands. She died along with everyone else I knew or cared about, many by my own hands. Illusions do not work on me, no matter what the kind and even if they weren't illusions, they still wouldn't have worked. I grow tired of this charade of children's games, now I'll show you what I'm capable of."

Concentration hit, his body worked on the center of his body. The coin that marked his power vibrated and shook lightly, mixing in the elixir of his power. He felt his eyes shake, an effect that would have blinded him had he not already been so. The energy ran from the center of his chest to each limb in his body. The muscles tightened, and his brain waves increased to match the incredible output that his body was releasing.

"Synchronized Reflexive Stimulation."

!

She barely stopped it, his movements were a blur to her eyes. The fingers that would've ripped through her chest were dangerously too close to her. Her veins had trapped his arms, stopping it in the nick of time even though the tips of fingers had actually pierced his flesh. There was true shock on her face this time, one that remained when he broke free and moved behind her. The movement was beyond human, she couldn't keep up with it and then…

***BAM!***

Had she not used her powers to soften the blow she was sure her head would've been kicked cleanly off. She hit the ground multiple times and the moment she got her balance, Garder was right in front of her, fist aimed for her gut. Again the only thing that saved her was her veins slowing the attack down. Ramming into her, she gasped and spat up her own blood from the force of the attack retching and attempting to hold her body together. For him, his senses were beyond anything that could even be qualified as human anymore. Her attacks which were at first difficult to dodge were now easily avoided as if they were going ten times slower.

***BASH!***

A blow to the face, saved only by her own powers.

"..Haa…Haa…Haa. I must apologize, you're much better than I thought, Garder F. Morotisan. I can't believe it, someone who can actually hit me. If I wasn't quick enough, I would probably be dead by now."

"What are you doing!? Kill him!" Aurelius roared, clearly frustrated at this man and his lack of respect for him. The young girl kept her guard up, the veins wrapping around her, protecting what she felt was most vital, that being her head and heart. Just a moment slower, not even a second and he would've killed her. This old human man had almost killed her, the thought was almost laughable.

She was barely able to stop the attacks and his strength and speed had increased to such a substantial level that even when her veins caught his attacks, she couldn't keep a proper grip on him. No point in trying to see his movements properly, by the time her eyes registered his movements, he was already up against her. This was not human movement; he had done something to himself, something far beyond the scopes of normality. It wasn't just his speed, everything about his movements had changed.

Before he could barely keep up with her attacks and now he avoided them with complete ease. Using her normal attacks wouldn't do much in this case and now she could no longer attack indiscriminately or leave or defenses unguarded. He had been correct on his analysis that she could only attack at five different points total. Preventing him from killing her had taken at least three of her vein areas, leaving only two to attack. But as proven already that wasn't enough to take him down.

"Have you resigned yourself yet…nameless girl." Garder muttered.

"Don't get full of yourself, I already told you…that I haven't even begun to show you what I'm truly capable of. Still your tongue and learn your place, human." With those words she lifted her finger letting her veins travel around like the black silk of a spider, spinning around at the tip of her finger so that a small orb of black was already floating there. Five lines spread out from that point and a smaller orb glowing with a strange black luminosity appeared. Then it vanished disappeared without a trace like she had never done anything.

"Signature of Expectation."

It didn't' come from any specific direction and had Garder not been using his Synchronized Reflexive Simulation, he would've been killed. A line of black had appeared just centimeters from his head, glowing in its natural dark light. What made it incredible was that it just appeared. The vein had literally erupted through space and had Garder not acted as he did, his head would've been pierced. It did not move forward, backwards or in any direction. There was no beginning and end, in truth it was as if the attack had already been there before and Onyara had only made it materialize.

***Zip***

Everything had sound, even the most remote tiniest things have sound. It along with his special abilities were the only thing keep Director Morotisan alive. He had lost the advantage he held earlier, back to the defensive until he was pushed against the wall of one of the pier's complexes, she knew she had him. But as her veins slashed through his throat, not splatter of red was scene. In fact he wasn't even there, his figure, his entire body which she was positive had been there, vanished without a trace. Of course she couldn't help but be surprised at this point though she kept her emotions in check.

The answer lied not in Garder who was still against the wall though at a different location, ready to avoid the attack and of course about as surprised as Onyara when her veins hit completely away from him. He had even believed it was another ploy of hers. The answer in fact lied with the girl paralyzed from the waist down.

Caren, unable to feel anything below her waist held the older version of her sister's specialized illusionary watch, the Clockstopper. "Ah! Guah! Guh!" It was taking everything to remain conscious and her body, the upper part at least felt like it was on fire. It was certainly not a state she could use her own vectors in, but she could at least use the item she had on her. The only thing left was for Garder to take action.

!?

Flashing her eyes in shock, the fingers pierced through her chest, her veins forced to keep them from going in any further then they already were. Garder was there in front of her, his blank eyes glaring coldly with his hand through her chest.

"Tsk! That's too bad Garder F. Morotisan, that was your only chance. But I know now that…guh…you're not an illusion." She grabbed his hand, physically feeling it and pushing him out of her. This time though she kept a firm grip on him and let the Signature of Expectation do its job. But underestimation of abilities was still at hand. Garder side stepped, feeling the line of darkness trace itself over his back, spurting out the crimson red before he took her arm and snapped it behind her back like a twig.

"Damn!"

At close range she knew she was at a disadvantage and she fervently increased the distance between them. Now with her arm dangling uselessly by her side and feeling the sweat role down her face, it seemed as if Onyara had finally lost the match. Aurelius too felt as if things had gotten worst and was now spitting curses at the girl for daring to lose. "You bitch! Why have you not killed him yet? Why are you losing? I am your messiah and you must do as I say!"

"There is nothing more she can do…" Garder replied simply, placing his hand on one of his wounds that was throbbing relatively harshly. "If your powers are anything like a normal Diclonius, then I doubt your powers will be working with the pain your body is going through. Your arm is broken, you have multiple blows to your body, this match is now over."

The young girl didn't reply yet, merely holding her useless arm.

"…Over…Morotisan? Whatever gave you that clue?"

Garder didn't reply, clearly like anyone else, he wasn't sure what the girl meant. Was it a bluff, regardless he didn't try to call it.

"…My powers are far different from any normal Diclonius, you should have known that from the start. But I have to give you this, for a human, you are truly spectacular. Your skills, abilities, your mindset itself is truly extraordinary. You even withstood the power of 'Signature of Relinquish..." Truly you are something else…"

Garder was done, listening to this girl talk would give him nothing in the end and he had now come to that conclusion a while ago. With her powers down, ending her life was simple. Swiftly acting his fist aimed for her head to obliterate her skull, splatter her mind to the ground and then to end Aurelius himself. This long, tedious stretch of stupidity would end now.

***CLASH***

A wall of black shot forth, like a liquid that he erupted from the ground, the first clashed against it and rebounded.

"…You think my powers will stop working because I'm hurt?" She mocked, a stream of her veins shooting out from the wall, forcing Garder back into a retreat. "I am beyond any horned being, and hurt? Do you really…" There was a sound of crackling as the veins sprung around her wounded body, though Garder could not see it, the wounds on her body were being stitched back together. The black liens slipped into her skin, threading the dead skin together, stopping the blood flow until, with only minor scars to show, she had returned back to her original self. "…Think you could hurt me?"

"…"

"You've gone quiet, no words to speak?"

"…"

She almost seemed disappointed now, folding her arms, Garder let a flurry of punches, each one being blocked by the wall of veins. "Signature of Humility, the ultimate defense. Don't you get it, you can never reach me now." Perhaps she was right and so he backed off again although this time for a new reason.

"…What are you doing here?" He asked darkly as a new person finally arrived. Onyara feeling her signature had to smile and gazed firmly at the newcomer.

"…Well, it's my lucky day…this saves me the trouble of finding you…

…Lucy…"

Author's Notes: Chapter finished, hope it was worth the wait.


	24. Twin Demented Grouping

_**Pinpoint Conviction**_

**Chapter 24: Twin Demented Grouping**

They had all felt it, as if a surge of sickness had passed through the entire educational institution, making their gastric juices burn indiscriminately. The professors, whether by their desks or behind the glass windows could not tell why several of their horned students suddenly gasped and fell out of their desks, clutching at whatever was in reach, gasping for air that seemed clear to them. Of course they don't, human could never understand the plight of feeling something so absolutely horrible. It might have looked comical, all the girls falling down simultaneously. But there was nothing funny about it. Whatever they felt was something that could not be described in terms of…normative pain.

They gagged…

They gasped…

They vomited. Some of the younger ones, the weaker ones, the ones who's spirit was still relatively new, those who had fewer friends, those who were just plainer weaker…they suffered the most. There were screams, someone begging the misery to stop.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Apologizing to that which was unseen, some lost consciousness, collapsing without a trace of a problem in physical nature.

_It hurt…it hurt…it hurt…it hurt…it hurt…it hurt…it hurt…it hurt!_

_It hurt! It hurt! It hurt! _

_HURTS! HURTS! HURTS! HURTS! HURTS! HURTS! _

The screaming was growing louder, one could hear if even if they stood outside of the four class buildings. It was like a high pitch siren wail, the scream of the horned girl as their minds and bodies were violated, psychologically raped and murdered. No blood, no physical action, the teachers could only watch horrified as their students convulsed erratically as if their internal organs now swarmed with crawling insects. That may have been a good description, ants, spiders and worms crawling, squirming and biting into their organs. Those insects, those arachnids and those worms, slithered and crawled into the bones, nipping at those veins and sucking terribly on their own marrow.

_HURTS! HURTS! HURTS! HURTS!_

Well of course it hurts…not a single one of them, not a single day in any of those accursed facilities ever came close to this horrible feeling. The bugs clawed at their eyes, the insects clawed at their throats, the festered into every orifice that they had, the eyes, the mouth the nose, the privates, then when they were in their bodies, the festered even more.

One girl ground her teeth, barley standing and using the wall behind her for support. "Haa…Haa…Haa…Haa" The breath was released raggedly, her eyes shook and she shook her head constantly to get the feeling out of her. One step, two step, still holding onto the wall before a loud pop echoed and her left arm snapped out of its fake socket.

"…Ugh…" Nana groaned and reattached it. This wasn't the time to be figurative and literally falling to pieces. "…Ah…Haa…Haa…" The pain was subsiding, the pressure was leaving, the insects were crawling out of their bodies now. "Haa…ah…gih…gah…Everyone!" It was the first real world besides unending pain that was uttered. "Everyone…is everyone alright!" As it was her job to watch over the other Diclonius, Kurama Nana knew she had to ensure the safety of everyone else.

"I…I…what was that!?"One stammered, coming up to her friend trying to wake her up.

Nana herself could only take a wild guess at that. She was adept at sensing other Diclonius but what she had sensed could only be called Diclonius in its basic sense. She didn't even imagine something with horns; instead she just thought of bugs, they all did, millions, billions, trillions of festering bugs that rotted them from the inside out. Some of them truly felt violated as if they had been raped multiple times without end. Considering some of the horrors that went on in the facilities, especially during Kakuzawa's time, terrible memories that were once suppressed re-emerged. But that vanished, the air was clean again, the insects gone but the fear hardly wavered.

Nana ordered the class out and nobody objected. Nana was a case that her kind liked her or hated her, she knew this, she was different from the others in terms of personality. Some thought her as annoying or even traitorous though that point had dwindled now that humanity had higher ideas of them. But after that show, nobody was going to argue, in fact it felt easier just to follow another voice and let their bodies do as they were told. The teachers, confused for sure, let them leave. By now they could only trust that Diclonius knew what they were doing and wouldn't act recklessly.

* * *

"Hm? You look off my young dreamer?" Vladimir Cents was casually sitting on the stone steps of the hospital, arms folded over his lap and bending forward, smiling ever so slightly that made Victoria want to hit him.

"…It's nothing…I just felt…"

Sick. She had felt sick, nothing bad and it had gone away almost as soon as it come but she had felt sick for some reason.

"…I was feeling kind of…sick for a moment." She finally concluded.

Vladimir chuckled, his red eyes peering through the hood and the white of his smile even visible. It was suggested, rather demanded that Cents at least hide his features while they were in Hungary. After all this was one of the places that Cents had brutalized years ago and some of the older folks might recognize him. Having no way to stop them, Cents agreed and Victoria was placed in charge of him, something she was hardly excited about. As for Julius, they had taken him to a small hospital, the closest one they could where he was admitted to. She had spent the first day never leaving his side, hoping he would wake up. Using his powers had done tremendous damage to his body, both externally and internally.

He was at first covered in scars, many of which had already healed by his Diclonius regeneration. But the internal damage was far too bad for his regeneration to fix in those few short days. His right arm, left calf, left shoulder blade and multiple ribs were cracked and broken. His left lung was collapsed, his organs overall were nearly fried and it had seemed as if he wasn't going to make it.

"Help him!" That was the only thing Victoria could cry to the Hungarian Doctors and watching Cents smile at him made her furious beyond belief.

"Why are you smiling?" She had finally got around to asking. "…He might die, how can you laugh at something like that?"

"…Because I find it enjoyable. Everyone in this world seeks something, there are dreamers and then there are desirers. Simply put one will constantly run at a goal but never reach it, because in short it doesn't exist. You must always wake up from a dream…always. But a desire, some people never reach their desires but as long as they are willing to continue, they always have a chance to get it. The difference between reality and fiction my young horned woman.

Ah ha…but that's not your question isn't it? Simply put..." He raised his hand and stated that long engraved statement.

"I desire to see the world go into perfect suffering. I desire to see everyone suffer including myself. This is my very point of existence, whether I am alive or dead, whether I am constantly reborn, as long as my consciousness remains, I will seek that desire."

Victoria was disgusted at this.

"…Are you…are you absolutely insane? What kind of guy madman would ever want that? You're just a…"

"..Silence…" Vladimir Cents was always the same. Chaotically joyful, but this was the first time she had ever heard such anger and frustration in his voice.

"...Do not question me woman, I don't question the desires of others? I accept them, I implore that people seek to achieve them. If someone's desire was to eternal peace, I would implore that they seek it out to very tend. It would be objective to my point and I would fight it, but I would respect it. But so little people have that…and now you call me insane?

You fool…do not speak of such ill-fated thoughts to the man who has literally crawled through death itself to achieve his desires. People are weak these days, they talk of their dreams and wants but they don't have true desire. It's a rare thing these days, so rare that it infuriates me. And some people come so close…"

Just like that day, that day against the man he thought he could call his true rival. He had admired his tenacity, implored for him to continue on. He had come so close and if he had met his end to a man such as him, than nothing would've been greater.

But it did not happen.

"…But why? Surely you have to have a reason for wanting this? I mean…nobody goes around and just wants to make people suffer!" Victoria cried.

Vladimir absentmindedly flipped a Hungarian coin and then set it in his mouth, a force of habit really, feeling the metal underneath his tongue. He knew when he had wanted it. It had started when he was still relatively young when he found that physical pain actually gave him pleasure. He realized that the suffering he felt gave him a psychological high, and then one day he killed his family. It was a surge of the moment really and truthfully he was horrified.

Because as much as he loved it, he knew deep down that it was wrong.

And nobody could ever tell him what was wrong with him?

And in the coming years, he created his army, amassed the infamous Armata Lui Dracul and conquered the lands, fought that war with Garder and so on. Because he desired to see the world suffer…and the reason for that was simple.

Nobody could ever explain to him why he behaved this way. No doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, nobody could answer it. So he created this ever infinite desire of his own because he wanted to make a world where if his thoughts could not be explained at least it would be accepted.

…

…

And that was all…for this Vladimir Cents.

But there was another one, just a mental construct in a young girl's mind, usurping his way through her psyche. This secondary Vladimir Cents carried the same thoughts that the one currently in Hungary had. But for the first time something new was added.

A young girl named Lilian Radoslov Cents.

* * *

"Damn, has that old bastard not called back at all yet?" Bando emerged from the building, brushing his short brown hair and pushing the black sunglasses up his nose. Victoria shook her head leaving the burly Ex-SAT soldier to groan angrily. "I've lost all traces of that guy Aurelius now, guh…listen horned woman…freak nature"

"I have a name…" Victoria answered back roughly while Cents only smiled at him. "Yo soldier, what's going down?"

"…God you make me want to punch you."

Cents only laughed at the remark.

Bando continued on, addressing the two while lighting up a small cigarette. "We don't have time to stay here any longer; I've gotten some new information on Aurelius' whereabouts and its time we got going. We'll have to let the horned guy take his rest here." It was clear already that Victoria was going to have none of that an adamantly voiced or objection. "I can't leave Julius and just go off, if you want to go that's your point."

"We don't have time for that you fool! If we wait any longer were going to lose the only bit of contact I have in finding this guy. Listen horned woman, there's nothing else you can do for that guy, nor can any of us. The only thing you can do is hope he's strong enough to fight back and not die." Although he spoke true enough words despite his arrogant demeanor, Victoria wasn't too sure herself.

She didn't to leave him, she knew it was childish and could even hear Julius himself chiding her for such a thing, but it was the way she was.

"…I can't…" She finally stated firmly.

"Kuh! You horned girls are obstinate as hell, every last one of you. Shaa! Fine then, stubborn fool do what you want. But if you are going to stay here and wait for the guy to wake up at least give me the phone. I need a way for old man Garder to contact me whenever I can." She could do that and handed it over to Bando who placed it into his pockets and got up ordering Cents to follow him who obliged with his usual false fatherly smile.

With the two leaving as the jeep sped on by, Victoria went back to the hospital and up to the room where Julius was being nursed. Opening the door she stepped inside and closed it. She couldn't tell if his face was scrunched up because of pain or if it was usual demeanor, the stern calm collectiveness she admired so much. The life support beeped at regular intervals but he never did seem to gain enough consciousness to ever so much as open his eyes. To keep him steady, water and nutrition tubes were given to him at a daily basis. In all retrospect his physical body had actually healed a great deal but his mind was far from healthy. The effect of using his power had caused him to go into a hefty coma that she could only hope he would wake up from.

Her hands reached up and laid it down upon his chest then her head, resting it there. "…How long…?" She asked to herself, reaching to brush the locks of his hair through her fingers. "…How long, are you going to sleep?" Anything, a movement, a twitch of the finger, anything would've been better for her. If only she could actually do something to help him, anything to wake him up.

"Please…wake up Julius; I don't want to be here without you. Please wake up, I love you…" Deciding to stay there for the next few minutes, Victoria rose up and left, knowing that she at least had to get something to eat herself. The hospital which was located in a small city area would have more than enough places for her to stop by and she was given a little bit of money to get by. Victoria eyed her lover one last time, placed her hat on her hat and left heading out into the crowded open streets.

* * *

She ate by herself, making sure she wouldn't draw attention and then for her own sake decided to walk though one of the small wooded areas around small city, coming upon a small but apparently long stream that lead down to a place she didn't know. With little to do she decided to follow it, pass the time before she went back to check on Julius and saw much to her surprise a young woman sitting by the stream with her bare feet resting gently in the water. Surrounding her was something that could only be described as beautiful. It wasn't her appearance although that too radiated beauty, something else about her was different. She was fair skinned and her hair was white a snow, flowing down her back. Upon her was a traditional kimono, white as her hair which only surprised Victoria even more. She half expected that she had somehow ended up in Japan.

It there that the woman's head perked up and turned around, again shocking Victoria when she saw the small horns protruding from her head. The woman at first shocked with her hand over her mouth finally smiled warming and spoke to her Hungarian. Though she could not understand it, her voice sounded as beautiful as the radiant force of which she emitted.

"…I-I'm sorry I don't…"

"Oh you speak Japanese?" She asked politely.

"Y-Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that, it's just that…I saw you over there and…" So many things were rolling through the girl's head that she couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. There was this woman, beautiful beyond belief with horns yet she didn't feel anything from her that felt like a true Diclonius signature. But there was something about her, something that was definitely not human and not just because she had horns but she couldn't put her finger on it.

But there was something about her, something she wasn't too sure, something almost mystical. The woman herself had to be around her own age, give or take a little though she carried herself in a way that made her seem much older and more mature. Such a way that Victoria almost felt childish standing in the same vicinity as her.

"Are you on vacation or something?" She asked in her whispery voice.

"Uh, I guess you could call it that. I just happened to be coming this way and…oh I'm so sorry I haven't properly introduced myself." She quickly bowed, sweating and seeming even more childish than before. What was about this woman that made her feel so awe inspiring? She may not even be older than herself but she was entranced, cowed almost by this person.

"My name Victoria! Victoria Javel."

The young woman laughed and motioned for her to sit down by the stream with her. There was truly no reason for her to deny the offer but she agreed not from her heart but from the point that she believed denying her this action would somehow be a wrong doing. "The stream is cool; you should put your feet in." Again denying this action somehow made her own heart sting so removing her shoes, Victoria dipped her bare feet in and was gifted with the refreshing coolness of the water between her toes and upon her soles.

It did feel good; despite the weather the temperature of the water seemed oddly warm. Maybe it wasn't though; perhaps the water was a frigid as the air around her but this woman was doing something to warm it up. Then, embarrassing Victoria, the young woman removed the traditional kimono that garbed her and stepped out fully nude. Her body pristine, it was as such that Victoria felt awe inspired even if she couldn't put her thoughts to it directly. She lay upon the water, resting gently on the sandy bed while the stream passed by her, long silver white hair flowing majestically across the water. Even when she moved there didn't seem to be a single ripple from the stream itself. It only flowed on endlessly.

"…Will you join me, please?" She asked.

"Ummm I'll be good…" Victoria mumbled.

"Please join me; you'll be much more relaxed." Her voice beckoned and Victoria unsure of herself slowly made her way to the water so that she stood a bit over ankle deep of the stream. Who knew what was making her do it, but Victoria removed her clothing and just as naked as the woman before her, she laid her body down and was gifted by the warmth of the water.

It did feel nice her eyes half closed, the stream flowing passed her; she gazed up at the grey skies. "Why am I doing this?" She thought to herself. "I need to get going…" She picked herself up and stepped out, awaiting for her body to dry out. She wasn't really embarrassed, far from it. She had been nude for a good portion of her life in the facility so being naked with another girl was hardly something new to her. The woman rose up as well and donned her traditional garb pulling her wet hair back which upon seeing her horns made Victoria remember something else.

"Excuse me, you're a Diclonius right?"

The young woman gazed at her strangely and smiled. "That's right although I'm a little bit different from the others. I saw those horns myself and I also knew that you were one as well, though I could sense you before you came here."

"I see…" Victoria muttered. "…But why can't I sense you?"

The woman only smirked at her, rising up and wrapping her arms around Victoria's body. It was there that she felt something tingle around her shoulder arms and waist. It felt thin and light upon her, not like the arm of a vector but of something else, like string or…she couldn't think straight. In fact her vision was becoming blurred, her legs shook uncontrollably and she began to slump down, resting her head on the woman's small bosom while her breath came out ragged.

"…Victoria…"

A voice coming from her head, soft and firm and echoing within her ears.

"…Do you hate humans?"

Victoria couldn't understand. "I…I don't…what do you mean…?"

"…Kill them…"

"…Wh-What? I can't…"

The woman whispered again. "Of course you can, in fact you must…kill them. You must kill them…for me…for her…for us."

"…Who…?"

"Don't ask, don't worry, just do as I…"

***BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!***

The sound of gunfire broke Victoria out of her trance. Gasping for air she didn't even know she needed, the white haired woman was bombarded by three powerful shots, each one being deflected away. The woman who had one wore a passive expression now starred with vindictiveness at the person who had short her.

Victoria stumbled on her feet and looked firstly over at the woman where to her surprise she could see, visibly see with her own eyes white lines tracing around her body. Then her eyes searched to where she was looking and gasped a loud.

"…J-Julius? Why are you here?"

He looked at her briefly then turned his attention back to the woman. "…I woke up…" It was a simple answer, one she was not surprised to hear. It was the same kind she had always expected, one devoid of emotion and concern. His face was the same, the outfit he always wore minus his hat at the moment, all of it was as she remembered. No in all honesty the only thing she knew was that her heart was pounding with joy at the fact that he was up and alive again. "…I spoke to the doctors, they said that we were picked up by a man named Bando and another man, who was that?"

"…Some guy named Vladimir Cents…"

"Hm?"

Of course he thought he had heard incorrectly. Vladimir Cents was dead; he had personally seen the body himself but then again…" He had just woken up; he had his thoughts together and remembered that the body of Cents had disappeared when they had arrived at the broken citadel. "…Are you absolutely sure about that Victoria?"

She nodded and said, "Of course, large man, blonde…had this strange obsession with suffering and…"

"Yeah…that's him alright." Julius stated mostly to himself. It would appear that he would need to make contact with Morotisan as soon as possible. But for now his attention was drawn to the woman who kept her eyes locked on him. Raising his gun, he aimed it back at her, his crimson gaze meeting her own eyes. "Something is up with her…" He though, neither averting his attention or even blinking. "…I can't sense any Diclonius signature from her even though she appears to be one, her abilities also don't seem to exactly like vectors, they're too different. I'm sensing something else from her, some sort of light pressure; I can't put my finger to it though." His opponent smiled briefly at him changing her expression back to that kind appearance that Victoria had first seen her.

"…A male Diclonius, how unexpected." She said in a whispery tone, stepping up to Julius who cocked the gun as a warning. It didn't appear to phase her that much though. "That can't hurt me, you should know that by now…" He understood that, she had already blocked the bullets so there was no point in trying to strike her. Knowing the threat was empty he returned his gun back to the holster on his hip and returned back to the woman. This time he took his own steps, the two walking towards one another as Victoria watched.

"Julius…she's different she…"

"Victoria…I want you to head back to the hospital right now. I will be there shortly." The male Diclonius spoke to her. "I will handle this myself…"

"…I understand!" Before she would've denied his request. Before she would've tried to stay there and give him some help. Victoria loved the male Diclonius more than any person in the world but having lived by his side for so long she also knew his own personality. It may have pained her to leave so soon after seeing him awake and moving again but this was something she long since learned to accept.

Julius could handle this on his own; there was no need for her to be there right now. Julius also didn't want her there because he did not want to worry about her being used as a potential hostage. What emitted from that woman was being cleverly masked, but Julius could tell what it was, he knew it the very moment he saw her.

Killing intent.

If he hadn't fired those first shots, he knew that Victoria would've been killed. As the woman he loved, he could not put her in danger if he could help it. Now that he was alone with the woman he could finally get a few answers ready. "…What is your name?"

"Asking questions already are we?"

"…Answer me…?"

"…Oh so that's how it is…" She kept her moving towards him, slowly to the point where Julius wasn't sure if his eyes were working or not. It was like an illusion in the summer heat, a figure in the distance walking towards him. Whatever she was doing was effecting his cognitive thoughts and before he knew it, the whited haired woman was now resting her hands and head against his chest as if she were a lover. She felt oddly warm, comfortable and sensual, his figure beyond beauty. It was there that something slipped into his head, the feeling of one of those white lines. With a quick turn of the head he pulled himself back though apparently killing wasn't in her directive just yet.

Hands clutching at him again, the woman returned to him, grinding up against him as if to express her undying sexual gratification. There she gently reached up and placed her hands upon his face, inched up and kissed him. Warm, her lips were warm and soft, pressing against his own she slowly turned her head and pushed herself forward. "How does that feel…?" She asked, again placing her tender lips on his Julius' own. They continued to kiss, Julius unable to answer as she continued to embrace him. It went on for who knows how long, until Julius finally answered back.

"…Good…"

"I know…it does feel good. It feels so good to kiss me doesn't it…" She whispered back at him.

"…Who are you?"

"…Oh…you want to know…" She asked rhetorically tracing his fingers down his chest. He could feel her sender fingers opening his vest, already moving those fingers down his bare chest.

"…My name is Lagusa Kariashu…"

Warmth, spreading through every inch of his body. Her figure resting itself gently against him had already begun moving his hand upward. There he could in his hand the softness of her left breast. With a small tug she closed his fingers, letting him squeeze it gently. "...Do you like it…?"

"…Why…are you doing this?" Julius muttered in a hazy voice.

"Oh…because I admire you…my young male Diclonius." She giggled at her own answer. She didn't let the young man respond again for a while but continued to kiss him adamantly without pause. She had already removed half of her traditional kimono so that he could see the full bloom of her naked chest. "Please…touch them some more…"

As his fingers traced along her bare chest, Julius said softly. "…Who are you? What…what are you trying…to do…?"

"…Ah so you want to know…well my little slave, it's simple. I'm going to kill humanity…and I know you want to help me."

"…Yes…but…how? By yourself?"

"No...I know someone…and she's going to help me…and you so strong can help us too right. I have a sister, so strong and powerful. She's currently tricking some foolish human right now in Japan."

"Heh…and who is that?" Julius asked, her hand still forcing his own to rub her chest.

"…Ah you want to know…so curious…let me think. Ah he was some insane man named…Aurelius. Aurelius Denotos it was, a madman who thought himself superior to us? Can you believe that? Well she came over to Japan with him to find the Queens."

"…Queens?"

"That's right; she needs them to solve her problem. You see though you yourself are clearly different, like that girl over there that left, she is too appreciate of those human bastards who are here. Onyara needs to seek the Queens out and impregnate them."

Lagusa was now pushing her own nude body against him, forcing him into another long kiss. "…Once she impregnates them, the entire bit of humanity will be dead."

"…Dead? How? I don't understand…" He whispered.

Again she giggled.

"Heheheh, so many questions isn't it obvious…because of me. But that's all I can say for now, my dear lovely Diclonius. Please, unclothe yourself and love me fully now. It's alright don't struggle; I will give you all that you want. My body is now yours, so take in the rapture of it all. Your vectors are useless and I know you no longer wish to fight me. Oh it's felt so good hasn't it? To touch a woman's body such as mine, don't you want to feel it all? Don't you want to touch me in the most inappropriate spots?

Oh…make love to me now…"

"…I see…" Julius Javel stated, reaching up and placing his finger on the woman's sternum. She closed her eyes, awaiting for the fated moment. "…I have just one more question…is your sister as completely stupid as you?"

***SMASH!***

Lagusa couldn't even comprehend what happened until it was over. Julius has pulled himself back, his expression on longer light-headed but serious and his fist flew out. She didn't even have time to react when his fist smashed straight into her face, sending her reeling. Unable to keep her balance, Julius grabbed the only thing that could be grabbed and her hair being yanked the woman was brought forward and had another blow to her face dealt with by the male Diclonius. With that blow she was sent reeling again sprawled out onto the floor before she found her balance again and got to her feet, looking at him with shock and hatred.

"Kah! H-How!? How is the illusions not working? How are my powers not working on you!?"

"Illusions eh?" Julius replied darkly. "I thought so, I'm not sure how you do it but apparently your powers have some sort of effect on the mind. Or maybe it's just on Diclonius; I can only take a guess. I once knew a strong woman who was an expert at using illusions, compare to her; you're nothing more than an amateur."

Lagusa was infuriated; her eyes narrowed into slits her body shaking uncontrollably. "Then, all of that was a lie? You tricked me?"

"…I am an expert at interrogation; all I had to do was wait and let you give me some answers." Julius stated calmly, raising his arms and positioning himself into a fighting stance. "I've heard enough to know that I can't let you live anymore, and if I kill you, I think I can at least take away half of the problem that you and whoever your sister is. Don't look down on me either; I am more than capable of handling you with or without my powers."

She was angry, infuriated, her once beautiful features now ragged and crossed. Standing there nude, Julius moved his hands lightly in response to the white lines that were traveling around the woman's body. As she took a step back, he took a step forward, readying himself for the kill as he had done in his life before. "You bastard…" She hissed malevolently. "…Just who are you…?"

"…Julius Javel, the Zero Point."

"Huh? Zero Point?"

"Don't think about it too much; let's finish this now…I'll end it in a moment." Julius stated his killing intent rising.

"…Kill me? Kill me? Kill me…kill me…kill me…kill me? You fool…you can't kill a goddess? You can't kill me? You silly little boy, you can't kill me. I am your superior, but keep thinking that. I'll be back, and I'll find you…oh and I'll kill you so slowly you bastard. Maybe I'll make you watch, as I find that woman who was here, and slit her open and let you watch as her entrails are pulled out." She smiled at him, her eyes wide and starring in opposite directions now, ruining any visage of beauty she once had on her. Her hand rose up, Julius preparing himself for the next blow.

In the center of her palm was a bead of white light. It flickered in and out; dim by all means before it flashed wildly. "Kuh!" Julius groaned as the bright light impaired his vision, sending his sights into whiteness. He kept his defenses up, shielding his eyes but keeping his eyes on wide alert. He had to chide himself for being so unaware; he had practically walked into that one and was now in a dire situation. But no attack came and when the light vanished, replacing the world with color again, the woman had long since vanished. Only her traditional kimono was left, laying there by the water's edge Julius stepped over and picked it up.

"…"

It was time to return back to Victoria.

* * *

"Julius!"

Victoria saw the young male Diclonius come up over the horizon and ran off to meet him. From what she could tell he didn't have a scratch on him which of course made her more than happy. Before she could say a single thing, Julius grabbed her and with more passion than he had ever shown before, kissed her fully on the mouth. It wasn't a small kiss, and it wasn't short. He kissed her with such a long and burning passion that she thought her heart might explode out of her chest. Her face was burning red from both shock and delight until he finally broke off, tracing a small trail of saliva between their lips.

No clue on why he had done that, not that she was complaining though but she was curious. "…Not that I didn't like that, but what's the reason…?"

"I had a very bad taste in my mouth before, you got rid of it. Thank you, it felt nice to taste the sweetness of your mouth Victoria, I needed it."

Victoria blushed at his words. "…Th-Thanks. But that woman, what happened to her?"

Julius sat down on the steps of the hospital and starred forward. "She escaped and now as if things can't get any worse, we have more problems. I need to contact Director Morotisan, do you have the phone?" Hearing that she felt sort of embarrassed.

"I don't have it, I gave it to Bando since he wanted to go off and keep looking for Aurelius and then keep in touch with Garder." Victoria said with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"Tsk, typical…it doesn't matter though; I'll just use one of the hospital phones, wait here." Victoria patiently for him. Julius returned back to the hospital and then returned just a few minutes later. "I've made contact with the Tokyo Research Facility; Garder is not there right now. I have also made contact back with Bando since you told me he had the phone…" It was quick call and thought Bando gave his obvious displeasure of having to drive all the way back, the burly soldier agreed. He had specifically refused to mention anything on Cents, he would know that when they arrived. "The doctors told me you never left my side…thanks." He stated off handedly as if it was a minor detail but it was enough for Victoria smile lovingly. The only thing they could do was wait until Bando arrived again, something that might have taken a few hours leaving them with little to do but contemplate their actions. The male Diclonius was still thinking of Lagusa, the dangers she apparently possessed and the so called impregnation that she spoke about as well as another woman. Though it wasn't his fault, he chided for not killing he sooner, such a failure might end up having great consequences for them.

…

…

"I see them!" Victoria cried, waking Julius from a short nap, his eyes peered out seeing the vehicle stop by abruptly. Bando stepped out first, his facial expression ticked thought this might have also have been his default expression and…he paused, of course there was no denying the man who stepped out of the other side. Massive, golden hair, that twisted smile and overall demented personality, a literal dead man walking.

"…Long time no see…Zero Point." Vladimir stated.

"…Indeed, Vladimir Cent, Incorrigible." Julius replied sharply. "So it is true, you're alive right now, how?"

Cents chuckled and gave the briefing of his resurrection. Needless to say Julius was a bit disconcerted with humanities stupidity.

"He's working for us right now, as far as he's being useful. He can't do anything right now even if wanted." Bando declared.

The golden haired man shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "He's right, I'm on a tight leash right now. If I try something that solder man here doesn't like, I'll get my head blown off…and right now I can't have that again, not when my second chance is here."

He would have to put his trust in Bando's word. "So be it, I have some new details for you…" He explained the story to them and then concluded. "The dangers that this person possesses may be too great, I would suggest working together in trying to stop her. Apparently we Diclonius can't even sense her so tracking her is going to be difficult. Do we have an agreement you two?"

"Bah, it's not one thing it's another!" Bando growled, clenching his mechanical fist tightly. "But I'm game…"

"So am I, we can't let this go on…" Victoria stated firmly. The rest gazed at Vladimir who had his hand over his face. A low chuckle resonate deeply from his belly until he released a full burst of maniacal laughter.

"Kyahahahahaha! Hahahaha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Heh! Hehheheheh…hahahhaha!" It was as if he had heard an amazing joke, he wasn't just laughing, he was holding his face, one hand against his side and seemed close to falling over. "…How quaint, how amazingly quaint, every time it seems something new and interesting comes. Hahahaha! Hahaha!

…Haa…" He sighed deeply. "This quaintness is too much for me to deny…"

"Then it's settled…let's go." Julius finished.

And thus was created a group that could only be described as bizarre. The reconstructed human soldier who once lived the life hating Diclonius. The Diclonius male who saw himself more as human than anything else. The single Diclonius woman, greatly in love with Julius and proud of her own self and the man who nearly put the entire world into hell.

* * *

Author's Notes: Chapter finished and whew, what a bunch of new things being thrown at us now! We got problems everywhere it seems! So what will happen next time on Pinpoint Conviction?

Thanks to all the people who read and reviewed and I hope you all continue to do so.


	25. Gurgling Split Trembling

**Pinpoint Conviction**

**Chapter 25: Gurgling Split Trembling**

Kaede collapsed, a sensation of terrible energy surging from the tip of her toes to the top of her head, nearly paralyzing from the effects of it. She grasped her bed, pulling on the sheet desperately until she pulled herself up, curled up into a small fetal position than twisted her body around. Her younger half-brother looked on in confusion and fear, tapping his sister's arm and wondering hopelessly what was wrong.

"Onee-tama! Onee-tama!"

"…Kuh…ahhh…haa…haaa…guh...!" He couldn't speak, it wasn't so much a physical pain or even a mental one, but it was hard to explain. Yes she felt physical and mental pain, but it was an almost an emotional pain, so severe that she felt she might break down at any moment. It was as if all the terrible things that had both happened to her and the terrible things she had done suddenly got together onto one spot, her very soul and then tried to crush it. Then almost as quickly as it appeared, the sensation disappeared, she found her consciousness returning, her breathing stabilized until she managed to pick herself back up and push herself over the edge of the bed, holding herself over her knees.

"…Are you alright, Onee-tama?" Routa questioned.

"...You….didn't feel that?" Kaede asked. Her little brother shook his head fervently.

He got up to the window, lifting himself up to his toes to look out it and called over to her. "Everyone's outside!" She checked and sure enough the entire Diclonius group and collected around the large circular area that formed the main center around the dormitories. She was certain this wasn't just some group meeting; they all must have felt that same sensation that she did. "…Let's go." She said, dressing and putting on a long black coat, pulling the hood over her head and leaving with her younger brother.

"Nana!" She could see the bright purple haired figure of the girl whose head quickly turned at the sound of her voice.

"Lucy-san?"

"Did you feel it as well?"

Nana nodded, confirming what Kaede had already knew. "We're still trying to figure out what's going on right now, we can't find Roy and of course nobody else knows what's going on. But there's something over there, we can feel it coming from…somewhere over there." The young Sipilet pointed over to the horizon as Kaede stepped over. She could feel two signatures, a strong one, almost overbearing and another one, weakening. At that moment her heart felt heavy, her friends had been sent to find Elrya. Along with the two signatures she could feel another one slightly away from the others. She already knew she couldn't sense Elrya which meant that the two signatures had to be Caren and Lilian. Which then meant that the weakened one was, again her heart felt heavy and she began to walk towards the low signature, stopping only when she heard Nana's voice.

"You can't go, you know that already. We have to wait here until…"

"…I don't have time to wait here! Nana, watch my brother, I have things I need to do!" Without giving any warning, the older woman's corporeal hands pressed into the ground and flew over the edge of the educational institution's walls, leave Nana to hurry after her and curse under her breath. "D-Damn Lucy-san! C-Can't you ever listen for once." She pouted before Routa's small hands gripped her black dress. Unsure of what to say to him, she placed her hand upon his head and pushed him closer.

"What do you think happened?" The young girl named Rika, the one who had befriended Elrya, soon walked up and asked Nana the question.

For the young black dressed Sipilet, she couldn't give an answer. The only thing Nana could do was try to keep order around so that the other girls didn't go off like Kaede and make a mess of things. Beside the Alphas, Anna too was trying to get things under control with both the staff who could only imagine why their classes suddenly emptied as well as dealing with the horned girl who she had at least some connection towards. She eyed her brother Routa as well, noticed that Kaede wasn't with her but decided that such a thing was not worth bothering about.

Of course confusion ran through the horned girls. They didn't have a clue of what was going on and many of them felt just like Kaede, just to leap over the wall's edges and see what was going on. "I have a bad feeling about this." Nana muttered.

Rika gazed at her. "…Yeah…" She muttered softly, turning her head to the horizon. "…So do I, it's like…it's like something really bad is about to happen. Something much worse than whatever happened to us in the facilities. I'm…I'm scared." Rika admitted, her bottom lip quivering as she spoke. "I'm scared that…we're not going to be here much longer."

"…You think we'll go back, to those places?" Nana asked.

She shook her head and continued. "No…that wouldn't be worse, I have this feeling in me, we different from everyone else. It took us so long for people to accept us and now, I think something really bad is about to happen soon and the thing is, I'm not sure if it's about that horrible sensation we felt."

Nana gazed over at her, clearly confused. "I don't get it, what do you mean?"

Rika shook her head, clearly disoriented. "I'm not sure, whatever we felt was dangerous, but I fear that, something…I'm sorry…" She shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her and apologized. "It's nothing, I'm overthinking things…" Nana wasn't so sure but didn't push her, more concerned now with group that felt it was time for them to escape head over to help Kaede. Nana was first to put her foot down, stepping in front of them with her arms raised. "You can't go out there, you know that."

"This isn't the time, we have to go and help her!"

"No!" Nana stated firmly. "You know the rules, we have to stay here, wait until Roy comes back and he'll explain things I'm sure. I won't let you all go, be patient and I'm sure will get some answers." Nana quickly tried to reason with the girls, her words unfortunately falling on deaf ears.

One of them, a long haired girl two years older than her came up to her, her hands brandished though only a scene of dominance, not threatening. "Stay out of the way Number Seven, I won't warn you again. You're not on my level…"

***BAM!***

It happened in an instant, Nana's eyes flashed her arm sprung forward the poor girl who was talking to her could only catch a glimpse of the flying fist before it smashed right into her face. The taste of blood ran through her mouth and nostrils before she landed hard on the cold ground, gasping and trying to get her thoughts together. By the time she was aware that Nana had indeed shot her own fist at her, the girl in the black dress was already standing over, foot on her chest with a small smile, her eyes dull and uninterested. Likewise Nana's vector had already pierced the girl's forehead, cutting off her abilities to use her vectors as he placed a finger under her lips and laughed. As if an entire change in personality had undergone the purple haired girl's mind.

The others who had seen it were without speech, it was so quick, Nana's arm was facing out and then, a direct hit. At such a range and without having any idea of what going to happen, it was no wonder the girl was knocked clear on her back.

"…Did you know…" Nana whispered, her voice adding a sense of dark reprise. "…That I'm not nearly as weak as you think I am. Then again the only time I've ever lost a fight was because of unfortunate circumstances, compared to me, you aren't on my level. Also I'm proud to be nice, I'm proud that I can control myself better than others, but right now I can't take too much of this crap. You pick on us all the time, and Nana really doesn't like it, now just sit there and shut up please."

Nana's smile widened, although her eyes still remained dull.

"…I'm in charge here along with the Alphas and you do as we say, there is no reason for you to go out there. Now please, relax and wait, you know you're only going to be causing problems for everyone if you go out there, you remember what happened last time. That goes for the rest of you…" She pointed out to the other girls, clicking her tongue happily and skipping around as if in a summer meadow.

She giggled, finger under her nose and starring at them as if daring them to make a move. This was the expectation of one who like Elrya had come to embrace, control and understand her inner self. This was the Voice of Nana, cool-headed, remarkably suave and with a personality that was both good and sinister. Her voice had always been one that had been suppressed for a very long time and Nana's ability to control her own emotions had also made it easier for her to understand her own voice.

Nana was innocent, a girl who did not have the sort of authority and prowess that her inner self did. In fact while most voice were biological selves in Diclonius mind, it may have been better to say that Nana' was split version of her very own personality. That dark, affirmative part of her that could not escape and thus had to be switched over to her voice. If anything was now well known that unless someone wanted their arms broken, nobody was going to question the purple haired Sipilet.

Nana had lost her arms and legs, she was constantly ridiculed by others and frankly, there was only so much the young girl could take. She dared them to oppose her, and she did it all with the most remote smile on her face. The inner voice allowed her main personality to come back, Nana mentally thanking herself and turned away to look over at the area where Kaede's signature was slowly getting weaker as she got further away. The only thing anyone could and would do, is wait.

* * *

Kaede screeched to a halt, her eyes traveling across four people. One was Aurelius who was just staring blankly at her, then at Garder who looked far worse than she had ever seen him, then at Onyara who was probably as surprised as everyone else though this time she was also happy that a person she needed was now here. But all of these people were nothing, because one Kaede saw Caren on the ground, bleeding and her body bent at a strange angle, she dropped her pretenses and raced towards her.

"Caren!"

The girl coughed, eyes open but unseeing as she whispered softly, "…Guh…K-Kaede? I told…Haa…Haa…I told you…n-not to call me that…"

"What happened here? What happened to you, d-damn!" It was like before, she couldn't save anyone. She couldn't save a single one of her friends. Memories started to fill her up, memories of those terrible times in that terrible orphanage, hearing the strangled cries of her puppy beating brutally smashed apart by the rock. It was always like this, her friends were always getting hurt and she was never able to help them. But now, she had to do something if only a little bit, she could not bear to think of what would happen if another one of her friends died.

She didn't know why, maybe it was the spur of the moment but Kaede's vectors began to peel through the wounds that Caren had received, closing them as the others watched with startling gazes.

"…Regeneration?" Onyara muttered. Indeed, the ability a Queen that Kaede possessed, though it was only good for smaller wounds and there was nothing she could do about the shattered spine once the pinked haired woman came across it. The wound itself was terrible and she knew that Caren was now paralyzed. The poor girl, this poor girl who had befriended her was now stuck like this forever.

"…S-Sorry, I wanted to…help but…heheheh, I guess I failed." Caren said.

Kaede hushed her, sweat pouring from her face until she had to stop her healing. Although Kaede could use her vectors normally to a large degree, healing others took too much out of her, if she continued the entropy would've gotten out of hand.

"What are you doing here, Kaede?" Garder said, the ire in his voice distinguishable. "Do you realize the danger you are in now? Do you lack even the most basic functions of listening?"

"Who cares, I'm lucky aren't I?" Onyara replied, opening her arms and letting her black veins traveling between her arm and fingers tip likes thin black wires. The Queen didn't bother to reason why such strange powers were being used, in fact she only had one thing to say and it wasn't even at Garder. "…Are you the one that hurt her?"

"...What if I did?"

"Did you!?" Kaede's voice was firm.

"…Of course, she was a spoiled little brat who wouldn't listen. She's lucky her spine isn't the only thing I broke, the foolish child."

…

…

"…I see…" Kaede muttered, placing her right hand over her face, viewing the blackness of her palm and breathing heavily. "…You hurt her, you hurt my friend…" A gust of wind, small but incredibly dense was already building around her. Her thin bright pink hair whipped around her and half of her face was concealed, revealing only the gleam of a single retina that glared at the girl.

This was the last time was going to let her friend get her.

…And this girl would pay.

"…You simple woman, do you think you can…?"

And the world exploded. The pier , stone work, everything within a 10 meter radius erupted as if the ground had been bombed. Onyara staggered, attempting to catch her balance as what could only be described as pure destruction revolved around her. The small boats that were floating on the docks were broken apart, crushed and even lifted by the multiple appendages that floated around Kaede.

"…What?" Nobody and definitely not Onyara who voiced her shock could believe it.

But this was to be expected of the most powerful Diclonius in the world.

"…You hurt her, you hurt a very close friend of mine. I worked so hard to earn these friends, I worked so hard, and gave up so much so people like me. And you hurt her, don't worry Caren this will be over quickly. I'll make her pay for everything she did to you." Her voice speaks softly, barely above a whisper but it carries the hostility greater than anything she has ever carried before. For one of the first time in her life, she carries within her heart righteous hostility, aimed now at the girl. But Onyara's smile does not falter and why should it, even Kaede knows that she can't kill her yet. She saw it, she saw her regeneration work upon her as she stepped up to them. She has seen the wounds on Garder's body, a man she can grudgingly accepted to be stronger. After all, she has felt the fury of his blows against her body, she is not one to trifle with him.

Yet despite this, she faces the black haired Diclonius with determination, not a single hint of regret or expectation for defeat.

"…I need your help…" She thought to herself, speaking for the first time internally into her mind. She has suppressed it, she has forced it down to live a normal life, it was the person closest to her and the person she hated most, her very self. She concentrates, hand still upon her face she can almost sense a figure looking back at her, starring at her almost mockingly. She's expected this, it's been quite a while since she's seen it, since she's heard it and the only thing that surprises her is that it does not mock her like it had before. She knows she cannot defeat this woman, she knew the moment she saw her, no the moment she felt that horrible feeling which was only amplified after she saw her, Garder and Caren. Until then, such a thought had never once crossed her mind but there was one thing that school did teach her, and that was to trust herself and not throw it away. That was her mistake before, she had given up so easily and let herself be controlled by herself but not anymore. Elrya Alya, that girl lived in harmony with herself and so why couldn't she?

"I can't win this on my own, so I need your help…but I won't be controlled nor will I use you…" Kaede murmured inside her head. Such a truth, she has no chance against this opponent using her own abilities alone, she needs something else, needs the power to emit but a single attack and wipe the woman out.

"…Please, help me. I want the power to protect, the power to save, the power to make things for the better. I know what you want, the power of domination, the power to emit control the power to show everyone why you are the best. So I ask of you, let's combine them, and show this fool what it means to be a Queen."

…

…

There was a time, during her days of hatred that figure offered a helping hand. Once she grasped that hand she gave herself up, killing without remorse as if it was a game until friends and family changed her way. She can't ignore herself, she can't let herself be over burdened by her very being. So a truce must be made, to see herself not as an opposite but as an equal.

"I have friends, family, I don't hate humans and you should've seen it now too. You were, no…I was wrong. I was wrong to treat everyone as if they were the cause of my problems. But it wasn't you, I failed to see you as myself and you used me. But I don't want to go down that path anymore, I understand now that I have to do this with you together. Please, I found a man that I love, I want to return to him even though he's human. I want to see Kouta, Yuka, Nozomi, Nana and Mayu again, because they're my family. I want to see Caren, Lilian and Elrya and smile with them. I want to see Routa and hear his happy voice. But I can't do that now without help, so please…I ask of you…I once again need your help.

And I need it for revenge again, so it should be easy right? But this time this revenge is not for me but for others, so please help me."

…

…

"…_Tsk…you have changed…"_

She speaks back, the person inside her, the person that represented Kaede's voice. It's the same, it's after just like her, filled with derision and mocking, a blurred image of younger version of her stares at her. Her black eyes have changed, there is a hint of a soul in them, something that was not there before.

"…_I have changed…"_

Yes, they both went through things that they could never have thought possible.

So now it's time to grasp hands again, this time for the same cause but a different reason, and show Onyara the meaning of the term "most powerful Diclonius."

…

…

And then it ends, the boat piece that were floating around drop, the wind regresses back to the pink haired woman as her vectors return to their origin and increase in power. Hack and slash, that's they ever do, it's been easy really. But she can no longer use her hands in such a manner against this opponent, fail now and it'll be over. This is her chance, the energy that erupted around now covers like a bright white blanket, her vectors are like waves that splash around her skin, giving her an angelic white glow. Eyes are now pitched black and yet the shine within that darkness.

She regenerates huh? Then she'll just have to make sure she can't regenerate.

"This is boring, are you waiting for something?" The woman asks scornfully.

"_**Yes…" **_Her voice is like an echo now.

And there something remarkable happened. A circular wall of such intrinsic design it would of made an artist envious. Lines of clear light traced themselves around the area of the circle which stood within six meters in diameter, glowing fervently as several circles emerged within it. Garder who could not see it, nevertheless was at a loss of words for himself, and though he kept his composure, even he was surprised. Aurelius, being bombarded by what he thought was impossibilities, was just as speechless though his ire at Onyara not having killed those who dare to look down him was also showing. But the woman, Onyara herself was starring in disbelief at what she saw.

"**I'm going to mercilessly destroy you."**

"DON'T YOU…!" Onyara began and then all was light. What short forth from the circle behind her was light vectors turned into arrows. Small but containing the compact power of the Queen of Diclonius, the ruptured through the woman without pause. Flesh was peeled off, her side split and splashed organs and blood to the floor, her lower face near the left side was blown off, her tongue dangling in the air just for a moment as spear of light blew it away. The right leg was torn off then as it floated in midair it was broken apart by the calf. Dozens of beams of lights, all compact vector burst through the woman's body who's defensive measures could not hope to match up to such overwhelming power.

And then after only a total of five seconds, Kaede had to stop. Her body exploded outwards from the sheer pain as she buckled under her weight, reaching out to stop her fall while gasping. "Haa…Haa…Haa…" Heavy breaths permeated the silence, her right arm was heavy as if a weight had been put it on it, even the skin was waxy and sickening to look at it. Pulling back her vectors Kaede understood that if she had kept that up even a moment longer, her body would've melted under the strict entropy. But it was worth it in the end, to make the woman who tortured her friend pay.

* * *

There on the ground, Onyara was but a shell of her former self. Her lower jaw was missing, everything from the waist down was gone, her left breast was burst, her neck was torn up, her right arm dangling form sinews and her left arm sliced off from the elbow. Organs trailed out of the open wound that was her open gut while blood, spittle and intestinal juices gargled from the area where her mouth would've been. It was over in those five seconds and the battle had been decided.

…"Gurah…Orahag…gihihgh….!" Onyara tried to speak, an impossible task without her tongue.

"Shut it you, just die already." Kaede growled angrily. In terms of skills, Onyara was way past Kaede's level it was why she had to use such power. She could not hope to beat Onyara in a fair fight, she had to get her at a point where she unguarded and attack relentlessly before she could counter. It was all but a bet, to attack when Onyara's guard was at its lowest, to attack before the woman could attack and to hope her power was enough obliterate any defenses that the woman might have. Now what lay meters away from her was a bloody carcass, spitting up the last pints of life she had in her.

"YOU BITCH! HOW CAN YOU LOSE! GET UP AND KILL THEM! THEY DARE TO MOCK ME AND YOU...!" Aurelius roared, kicking the pitiful pile of meat and then pointing over at Kaede and Garder. Garder at this point wasn't even interested in him anymore, he was a nuisance and Kaede thought the same thing too. It was like listening the ramblings of Kakuzawa again and the less she had to hear of that the better.

"I AM THE MESSIAH! PRAISE ME! PRAISE MY HOLY NAME! PRAISE YOUR GREAT LORD AND PROSTRATE YOURSELF! OOOOH! OOOOOH!"

"...Garder, I can't really do much right now, that last attack took everything I had. Can you shut this bastard up for me?" Kaede stated firmly.

Garder raised his hand, his legs bending to that he could lunge. It would take less two seconds to reach him and then rip out his heart, he had done it countless times against opponents much more dangerous than this pile of filth. But Garder would not be killing him, neither would Kaede, but the fate of Aurelius Denotos had now been decided. Kaede was taken aback when Onyara's broken hand gripped Aurelius leg and pulled him down. Losing his balancing he smashed against the ground as the corpse crawled her way over to him, looking like some something from a horror movie. To even be able to move in her condition was astounding and Aurelius was at a loss again for words.

"Kuh! Wh-What are you doing!?Get off of me you freak!"

"Orogoh…gigahahagah…" She spluttered her juices and vomit on his face and then pressed her faced against his own. Maybe it was a like a kiss, if such a thing could be so wretched and Kaede's stomach lurched at what she saw. A kiss is what it might've been had Onyara still had her lower mouth, instead she had to smother her upper jaw across his face and then.

"OOOOAAAGURAH!"

Anything Aurelius wanted to say was cut off as bile filled in his throat. No, that was incorrect Onyara was vomited down his throat, filling him with her own essence and at the same time retrieving the essence back. She mixed herself within his body, spitting up her innards and gastric juices and then sucking them back up like some freak spider. Through it all the vomit choked him, the insides of his body were twisted as the black lines of veins were already peeling from his skin. She needed it, the warmth, drifting back into her body, she needed to have it all and she took it all without pause.

***K-Krack!***

The sound was almost as horrible as what had happened. Aurelius was split, his ribcage was opened up and spread out like a blooming flower, flowing crimson everywhere. The veins shook around him as the woman ate and grafted into his final memories nothing short of despair.

"ahhh…ahhh…gugah…g…gah…" The words were unintelligible but his thoughts screamed.

"_**HURTS! HURTS! HURTS! STOP IT! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! GOD STOP IT RIGHT NOW! AHHH! AHHHH! AHHHH! HURTS! HELP ME! HELP ME! HELP! FUCKING HELP ME! AHHH! AHHHH!**_

Aurelius' mind was ripped apart and devoured along with the rest of his body. As she chewed on him, the veins wrapped around, her wounds regenerated and she took him into her. The last thing she ate was his now dead mind and finally stood up. Naked but all wounds having vanished, her body fully restored she licked the lips that held blood and smiled over at Kaede.

"…"

Nothing could be said, only shock, surprise, horror could be done. This was the end, she had given everything she had in that one attack and it had failed. Even if she could use her powers now, it wouldn't matter, the monster wouldn't fall for the same thing again. Onyara rubbed her face, the caressed her body practically sexually to the point where she was even gripping herself between her legs.

"…Oooooh…" She moaned, squeezing herself as the red blood slipped from her lips. There can be no denying it, Onyara Kiriashu has been reborn again, her wounds which should've killed her have vanished and the only thing left of Aurelius Denotos is something that cannot be called human anymore. His form is nothing more than a rotted corpse that has been split open. The ribs forced to open, he lays on his back like an open flower, split down the middle open and his organs gone except a few piece. His face his also split, a third of his brain devoured by the woman and the only eye staring blankly to the side.

But he is alive. The man had had hi form turned into mush but despite his brain nearly gone, he is still conscious. Not only that but he is completely aware, not even the gift of insanity has allow itself to reach him. He doesn't know why he' there, he doesn't know what's happened, he doesn't comprehend those things, but his ragged broken mind is still screaming.

"**HELP! HEPL! HELP ME! FUCK! FUCK THIS! WHERE AM I? WHERE THE FUCK AM I!? HELP ME! GET oooo OFF OF ME! GET oooo OFF OF ME! WHERE IS oooo WHERE THE…!" **

He is blind, and he cries to be released from this tormenting agony. His memories are gone, but he has his mind and he isn't allowed to go insane. Why can't he die? Why is his body still alive after being tormented so much?

"You look so pitiful…" Onyara muttered to the carcass, walking over to him as the others starred at her in disbelief. "I needed you…" She whispered, tracing her finger over his face. "I needed your help, thanks without you I couldn't return my body, my regeneration has limits. But don't worry I still need you, so I can't let you die."

"…**P-P-Please…"**

"Sorry, you can't die yet, you're the messiah of the world, you have to live forever right, hehehehe…"

"**K-Kill…m-me…"**

"…Sorry, but I can't…here, this is what you wanted right, little man…" And she laid herself like a lover on the bleeding open flower of a man. She moved her hips up and down and licked up his consciousness. The veins picked around his body, absorbing them into her form. In no essential reality, she raped his corpse not only physically, but mentally as her veins transferred his broken consciousness into her.

But he did not die, she took his mind, memories and experience and ate them whole. What was left was only the body forever to rot away. Aurelius Denotos however lived permanently in her, his voice never reaching, and from that point onward, the only response from him that would never be heard was…

"…**I want to die…I want to die…I want to die…I want to die…I want to die…"**

…

…

"Wh-What…are you?" Kaede after witnessing the massacre questioned sanity itself.

Rising up, he threw her hair behind her and began to walk towards Kaede who backed away with every step that Onyara took.

"How lucky am I? I didn't thank you would come to me, oh…now I can return back to Lagusa, she'll be so happy to see me."

"Who…?" Garder asked, stepping in front of Kaede and pushing her back and taking his stance.

Onyara tensed up, despite the fact that her body was healed she was still tired and though she could take on Kaede as long as she was weakened, Garder was another story.

"So you want to know? Filth! You dare speak to the goddess like that and expect me to answer your silly questions? Foolish man, prostrate yourself to me and…oh, hehehehe…" She shook her head and laughed. "I apologize, his consciousness is still having a little effect on me, I didn't mean to be rude there. You want to know though?

Listen well, there exists two of us. There exists myself and then there exists my sister Lagusa. We were twins born in the womb of our mothers we could connect with one another. Diclonius twins, the half and the other half you refer to as the voice, that was me. But we were different and we loved each other, wanted each other and had each other. Although we lived separately at times, our bonds could not be broken."

She laughed and continued.

"…I want…to fuck everyone! I want to fuck the world so much! I want to cradle them between my legs and release myself upon everything. I want to fuck it hard over and over again until I've orgasm everywhere. But you don't know what I'm talking about? I want to change the world into those like me, those who are pure like me and my sister. I will impregnate myself and then I will deliver myself to my sister.

But I'm being confusing aren't I? I'll simply explain it. I want to birth a world of true voices and then lust the world with them. I want to fuck hard you know!" She said biting her lip and making the same sickening motion between her legs.

"…But I can't do that alone, you see I'm the only one who can collect the essence of others and my sister is the only one that can give birth to them. Oh she's no Queen but her body is only capable of this.

This has been our dream ever since were in the womb.

"I want to…"

"I see…" Garder interrupted her. "To think that someone more out of their mind than Cents exists in this world. Do not speak more woman, you are clearly insane as well as your messed up sister. The only thing I will thank you for is ridding me of that man Aurelius, it saves me the trouble. But to me, your voice is irritating beyond belief.

I will end you, like have ended so many others and I will be done with it."

Onyara stopped smiling. "You still say that? Even after you've seen my power, even though you can't win, you still say such things?"

"Of course, Kaede…stay back. You aren't supposed to be here anyways and now you're a liability. I will…" But the handling that would be done could not come. The worst of luck happened as Garder's body ruptured and he fell to his knees, giving only a loud groan.

"Garder!?" Kaede yelled. Even Onyara was surprised as she couldn't understand what was going on.

"Kuh…damn…" Garder thought, straining his muscles and shaking uncontrollably. "…Time's up already…" Garder's ability was known as 'Synchronized Reflexive Simulation' an ability that transferred a chemical from his coin into his body, allow for inhuman abilities. But he has exhausted that supply now and has forced his body into a state that he normally can't handle. It is a combination of the overuse of his power without realizing it and his very old frame.

The horror sinks in, their last defense has now broken.

"Damn…I've overused my powers, that's never happened before." Indeed, he's never tried to force himself to use his powers for longer periods of times and now it's struck him harshly. He releases his body back to normal, aching but at least able to move he stands up and but does nothing. He can't fight this woman without using his powers and he can't use his power right now. She realizes this after a second and giggle manically.

"I win…hehehhe…I win…I win…come here Lucy…"

"Don't call me that…!" Kaede hissed, hating to be called that. There was only one person that she didn't mind calling her that and that was Nana and that was mostly because she was used to her calling her 'Lucy' same with Kurama. But this woman, she didn't have the right to call her anything nor would she come over to her.

But there was little else they could do. Garder cursed himself for allowing the fight to be prolonged as such. Kaede didn't have the energy to use such a devastating amount of power and he would have to wait for his body to relax before he could start using Synchronized Reflexive Simulation again. Really, this was the first time that he had over abused his powers. He should've killed her while he had the chance, attacked her head when she was feeding and taken it off. That might have stopped her from returning to her original self.

Garder moved his body, preparing for the fight as the woman laughed at him.

"Why try? You can't win…can't win…can't win…" She mocked.

"I don't know what's about to happen, but do not let her touch you Kaede." Garder ordered.

Kaede stood her ground, her body tensing up.

"…Nothing you can do, oh I can't wait, oooh, yes it's going to feel so good. I want to…"

**KARA-BAM!**

Where did it come from, she couldn't see it, only that something had struck her right in the head. The force was enough to send her flying, landing harshly on the ground, she spat up a globule of blood from hitting the ground so hard. "Guh! Wh-What the hell is it now!?" She growled, raising her head to punish the one who would dare attack the goddess.

"Shaa…" She hissed angrily, rising up to face the people who had come. Miriana, hesitantly holding the tranquillizer gun in her hand was next to Lilian who's vectors were out, dangerous waving around, her killing intent was aimed at Onyara. To the right of them was Roy, glaring at the messed up woman with his bullets floating ominously around him, clearly disgusted at the thought of this woman doing anything to Kaede.

Lastly, Elrya stepped up, the eyes coldly starring at her and thus the group had arrived.

Onyara was now surrounded.

* * *

Author's Notes: And there we have it, the end of chapter 25 as well as the end of Aurelius. As you can tell, Onyara is completely messed up in the head and with the way this chapter went I'm going to have to change the rating from T to M now. So what will happen next on "Pinpoint Conviction?"


End file.

Elfen Lied, Suspense