Awkward Reunions, Iris's Past

Gowther, Iris, and Nuri make it to the level with the loose fire boars. There seems to a dozen or so, and a small army of people are trying to catch them. Gowther's about to ask Iris if they should help when she calmly approaches three of them and pulls down her shades. They make eye contact with her; and an invisible force comes from her and hits the boars. They are knocked unconscious. Gowther uses his invasion ability to knock out two more, then they get out of sight before anybody else notices them. Gowther wants to get another glimpse of her face, or at least her eyes. However, she puts her shades back on.

"You can use Haki now?" asks Nuri; "When did this happen?"

Iris makes the sign for purgatory. Nuri is beside herself after learning what had happened two years ago when her old friend transmitted her thoughts to the vulacish. All this time, Nuri truly believed that the two De Santis sisters had been killed, when in reality Artemis had "rescued" them and hide them in purgatory. This doesn't sit well with Nuri at all, who's never trusted Artemis. Unlike her purely evil older sister, the vulacish knows that the goddess means well, but she's never trusted her judgment and believes she's unintentionally doing more harm than good.

"You know I don't like you using sign language with me;" says Nuri; "Use your voice."

Much easier said than done, Iris thinks to herself. She then makes the sign for "remove". Nuri knows exactly what this means. Iris has the power to remove Nuri's curse, and they had planned to do it two years earlier. However, Nuri held back as she had decided to wait until after their mission was completed. Now, Nuri has that hope again, but she doesn't believe she deserves it. She tells herself that it's her fault that her friends nearly died, and that she'd much rather take her faint into her own hands then involve them again.

Iris thinks back to two years ago. She had learned of Meliodas and Elizabeth's curses and was actually on her way to Britannia with Jasmine to remove them, as well recover the Stone of Destiny as a secondary mission. However, they both had to drastically weaken themselves to be able to enter the barrier, and to not accidently cause catastrophic damage to the island and its inhabitants. That's when warriors from the fortress claiming to work for Artemis ambushed them, including her daughters. As to what their goal or orders were, was very conflicting. A couple claimed they were to kill them, while Arwin and Stormy both shouted that they were supposed to capture them alive. Nuri had arrived to help, but the goddess Lucy/Nemesis, had followed her. The mysterious goddess/demon hybrid known only as Nico, a supposed "friend" of Nemesis, also arrived and further complicated things. The weakened sisters took the blunt of the attacks. Jasmine was pronounced died when Stormy attempted to rescue her.

In the mist of the chaos, Nuri lost her rage and created a massive lava pool. Jasmine and the fatally wounded Iris accidently got knocked into the pool. Since Jasmine was declared dead, nobody, not even Nuri who knows that a 'dead' vulacish will be revived by lava if they have just the very slightest spark of life in their bodies, believed that she didn't survive due to them not rising from the lava.

Gowther detects one of the minds down the hall that was heading to rescue his captain. However, she seems to have been separated from them and is being taken someplace to recover. Gowther learns from her where the others have gone. They find the trap door, and Iris forces it open.

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In the lazy river tunnel, Willie, Hawk (back to normal), and Melidy (on her brother's belly) nearly keep dosing off, except that a number of unexpected waves, waterfalls, and other artificial water features keep hitting them. Inuyasha also keeps getting squeezed and chocked by the dragon sin's sleep Elizabeth 'hugging'. Hawk's surprise to learn that his long-time tavern partner has been doing this recently. During the ten years he was with Meliodas prior to meeting up with Elizabeth and the other Sins, Hawk never witnessed Meliodas doing anything like that while sleeping. It was quite common during those years for the dragon sin to pass out in the early morning hours after bartending, drinking, and partying for hours. Hawk would often drag him up to his bedroom and put him to bed. Never once did Meliodas do anything like that to him.

"Hey, uh...In..u..sha? I'll take Meliodas if you'll hold Mel..."

He floats underneath a waterfall, followed by the half-demons. Melidy coughs, as does Inuyasha. "What's with all these damn waterfalls and stuff. What is this a water amusement park?" Meliodas squeezes him extremely tightly again, calling him Elizabeth. "Please, take him."

They wiggle the dragon sin out of Inuyasha's tube and onto Hawk's back as the half-demon takes Melidy. However, it isn't long before Meliodas starts "hugging" Hawk. The pig tries to be patient and tolerate it, but then he actually feels nibbling on his back, followed by a huge bite. The famished Meliodas is now literally trying to eat him!

Meliodas constantly tortured the poor pig for eleven years with jokes and threats to cook and eat him. The fact that the dragon sin's favorite food was pork and was constantly eating it on purpose in front of Hawk made the jokes and threats worse. But never did Meliodas follow through with any of that, he'd just smile and laugh (although never funny to Hawk).

Now, however, Meliodas has taken an actual chunk out of the pig's back, and he's starting to take another one. Hawk hollers out in pain and accidently causes Meliodas to sink.

"Oh goodness!" Hawk immediately grabs his friend by the shirt and brings him back up. Meliodas grabs him again and starts chewing on his feet.

"HELP!"

Willie comes over to them and gets out of the inner tube. He offers to put the dragon sin on it. While in the process, they hear a voice shouting at them in a different language. Another person down here relaxing isn't happy about the interruption and creates waves, sending them several yards back against the current.

Inuyasha's tube bumps into yet another one, this one containing a lady. She slaps him and quickly paddles away from the group. "Odd time of night for people to be down here.

"We're ones to talk;" says Hawk; "Wait, where's Meliodas? Melidy! Where's Melidy?!" He hears his sister's screams from up the river. He quickly charges, swimming upstream against the current. He suddenly bumps into something, or somebody. The pig is shocked to see a familiar face in front of him, holding Meliodas.

"Captain Scraps Disposal."

"Gowther?" Hawk blinks his eyes a few times to make sure. "It's really you!"

"What's wrong with the captain?" Gowther asks. Meliodas is almost covered in black mass again, and his face looks flushed and even a little sunken.

"It's a long story. Wait, Melidy!"

A much calmer piglet is swimming towards them. Right behind her are two figures in red cloaks. Nuri lets go of Iris, who gently swims towards the pig with her back hand right behind the piglet. As Hawk embraces his sister, he realizes who the person is in front of them. 

"Scout, is that you? How did you get here?"

Iris quickly stops the bleeding from Hawk's wounds with her power, then swims towards Meliodas, taking him in a cradle like hold. She feels around his entire chest. Five of his hearts have stopped beating, and the two remaining ones are weak. She puts her hand on his chest, and seemly starts to suck out the darkness. Inyuasha, having ditched the inner tube, is swimming furiously upriver with Willie, who's actually almost swimming on his own, holding on to his robe.

"What's going on here? Do you guys know how hard it is to swim against the current?!" They then notice the stranger with the dragon sin, as the darkness on him gradually lessons.

"Who's that?" wonders Inuyasha, then realizing something's familiar about the stranger.

"Scout?!" says Willie; "You're here. Meliodas will be fine now."

Hawk watches remembering what he learned from Scout's journal just the other day. Hawk had a hard time believing and processing that information, especially since Iris is so polar opposite of Meliodas.

Willie then notices Nuri. He starts to cry and swim towards her, ready to hug her, but her look of warning stops him from getting too emotional. He can see the sad look in her eyes, knowing full-well that she really wants to embrace him, but doesn't want to risk it.

"Hi, Nuri;" Willie says as casually as possible.

"Hi, Wildelfredrico;" she replies looking down.

"I'm glad your safe."

"None of us are safe, Wildel."

"Why so grim?" ask Gowther innocently.

"None of your business, doll." Nuri replies rather rudely. She then realizes that Willie is actually swimming. "When did you learn to swim?"

The monk actually forgot he was and almost starts to sink but remembers what Meliodas told him. "Meliodas taught me the other day, in the Nile."

The vulachish is surprised. "That joker taught you how to swim?! And he didn't try to drown you?"

"No. He's a little more right in the head then Herman."

"Nobody's as screwed up as that....harpy;" she replies.

Inuyasha ignores them and watches with Hawk as the darkness disappears from Meliodas. Soon everybody turns their attention to them, and all the blackness finally disappears from Meliodas. All of his hearts start to beat again. Everyone, including Nuri, call out his name as he slowly comes too.

"Hah? Wh...what's going? I thought I was eating...Who are you?"

Underneath her shades, tears of joy fall from Iris's eyes. She begins to give into the urge to hug him when Hawk jumps on them.

"MELIODAS! You had me so worried!"

The others start to come help, but Iris brings them back above the water.

"(Coughing) Hawk? Am I still dreaming? Am I even awake?"

"Of course, your awake, you nucklehead. You were trying to eat me!"

Meliodas looks very disoriented. He had indeed been dreaming about eating a bunch of pigs. His stomach roars so loudly that it practically shakes the tunnel, and he nearly passes out again. Iris catches him and notices the cuff still on his right wrist. She immediately undoes it, surprising everybody except Nuri, who already knew.

"Hello, a little help here;" goes Inuyasha showing his cuffs. She hands her brother over to Gowther and undoes the half-demon's cuffs.

"Captain! It's me, Gowther."

Meliodas can barely make out the goat sin's outline and rubs the water out of his eyes. "Gowther, is that really you?"

"Of course, Captain, we've been looking for you."

Meliodas grins and gives his friend a huge hug. "GOWTHER! How did you get here? Have you seen Elizabeth, Ban, the others? Zeldris? Are they ok? Are they here too?"

"No Captain they're not here. They're fine, aren't they Captain Scrapes Disposal?"

Confusion goes through the minds of the others, even Iris is baffled by Hawk being called 'Captain Scrapes Disposal.'

"Yes, they're good. By the way Meliodas, Elizabeth's pre..."

Iris puts her hand over Hawk's mouth, shaking her head and reminding him through her thought transplant that Elizabeth wants to be the one to tell him. She also tells him not to reveal her identity just yet.

"Elizabeth's what?! You know where she is?" Meliodas realizes that he's really talking to Hawk and grins. "Hawk, it really is you! Come give me a hug buddy."

Hawk's not so sure given what just happened, but Meliodas is awake now. So, he swims over, and they embrace.

GRRROOOWWWWLLLLLLL!

"EEK!" Hawk immediately pulls away, shaking with fear. A curious Melidy swims to close to the dragon sin. In a daze, Meliodas grabs the infant piglet and nearly shoves her in his mouth. Iris quickly grabs her as Nuri slaps him. Gowther gets in front of Hawk to prevent him from attacking his captain. Melidy buries her head in Iris' chest, crying with fear.

"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO EAT MY SISTER, YOU PIG!" shouts an anger Hawk. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

Meliodas is leaning on Gowther, hugging his grumbling belly and taking deep breathes to try and ease the pain. "I...I really don't know...did you say sister?"

"Yes, that's my sister. Please say you're sorry."

Meliodas notices the frighten piglet and rubs his dizzy head. "Sister, as in born from the same life force cradle as you? Really?"

Yes, really."

The dragon sin's mouth drops open. He looks over at the stranger holding the scared piglet, then at Hawk again. "Hawk, I'm sorry. Congratulations big bro. A sister huh? Nice dress masked stranger."

Meliodas grins and gives a thumbs up. Iris looks down because the dress didn't come from her.

"Masked stranger?" Meliodas looks again as the 'masked stranger', who shyly looks down. "Have we met? What's going on. I remember being in a perfect cube with Inuyasha. Where is he?"

"I'm right here;" replies the Japanese half-demon. "You really had us all worried? You should really thank Willie and this pig, and that goat wherever she is. And this stranger here, they saved our butts and your life."

Meliodas, at the moment having no memory of Caelestis or what she said about his mother, is confused and looks around at everyone. Then his stomach roars again, worse than ever. "Ohhhhh. Please, can we get out of here and get some grub? I really don't think I can hold out much longer." Meliodas isn't the only one who feels like they're about to faint. Inuyasha's stomach won't be quite either, much to his dismay, even Nuri's stomach is acting up. It's the early morning hours. Everybody's exhausted and they really need to find a place to hide and rest.

Hawk remembers something. "Oh yes, Bluey said to let the river do the work. The end can't be far."

"Further then you think;" gruffs Inuyasha; "we got pushed backed remember."

Two people in inner tubes float by them. "Hey you;" shouts Inuyasha; "where's the way out of here?" They give the group puzzled looks, and one speaks in Greek. Willie, Nuri, and Iris all understand Greek and Willie asked again. The man says there are several exit points, but the end of the river lets out at the spa.

"A spa?" ask Inuyasha.

"Maybe that's where we're supposed to meet Bluey;" says Hawk; "let's keep going."

"I'm ready to get out right now!" replies the half-demon.

"Same here;" adds Meliodas rubbing his belly.

"I agree with Hawk;" says Willie; "we should go until we get to the end."

"Let's vote on it;" Hawk suggests; "all in favor of going to the end say I."

"Getting democratic, aren't we Hawk;" says Meliodas giggling.

"Very funny. All in favor raise your hand."

Hawk raises his hand (foot) as does Willie and Iris. Nuri wants to stay out of this nonsense. Meliodas and Inuyasha vote to exit now, Gowther, who doesn't care one way or another, goes with his captain's vote.

"It's four to three;" exclaims Hawk; "we keep going."

"It's a tie moron;" says Inuyasha; "That girl over there didn't vote."

"4 to 3;" argues Hawk raising his sister's paw.

"She doesn't count! She's an infant!"

"Nuri;" ask Willie; "What do you think?"

The vulacish had wanted to stay out of this but huffs and says they should go to the end, much to the dismay of the two half-demons. Inuyasha huffs and grabs a tube. "Let's go."

"All man." A disappointed Meliodas gets onto a float that's not an inner tube. Willie also takes on of these inflatable floats. Hawk keeps floating on his back with Meliody on his belly. Gowther and Iris decide to float and swim without support, as does Nuri even though she's weak and nearly out of gas.

Inyuasha floats past Iris. "Hey you, didn't I see you in that shrine the other night? You're related to Meliodas, aren't you? You look like him." Iris, who's not under the amulet's spell, doesn't understand much Japanese, but guesses what the half-demon's asking and goes under water.

"What was that?" asks Willie overhearing. Nuri paddles over to him and whispers into his ear.

"Meliodas is her what?!"

Meliodas gives a loud sneeze. "Damn. Are you guys talking about me?"

"They are;" says Inuyasha bluntly as he suddenly gets drenched by a dump bucket. Meliodas laughs when he too is drenched. Iris surfaces right next to him.

"Hey, have we met?" asks Meliodas. "Oh yea, you were in Cleo's kitchen, weren't you? You're a girl, right? Do you have boobs and curves?"

Iris actually trips in the water, being startled by such a question. Out of curiosity, Meliodas reach for her breasts, only to receive a hard slap.

"OWE!"

Everybody's upset with the dragon sin's actions, especially Hawk who for years, usually unsuccessfully, tried to keep his habitual pervy friend in check, especially after Elizabeth came into the picture. 

"Meliodas, how dare you try to touch your own relative!" shouts Inuyasha.

Everybody gasps. Iris has wrapped the cloak over her chest with her arms tightly crossed. She looks away from everyone completely embarrassed.

Meliodas isn't sure he heard right. "My what? Relative? Are you serious? I've got another cousin?"

"Captain, she's your sister." Gowther then realizes that he let it slip. Iris disappears underwater.

Meliodas hears the word sister, but he doesn't take it seriously and laughs.

"Yea right Gowther. Nice trick getting everybody involved. Thanks for attempting to cheer me up buddy, but you really need to come up with some new jokes. That trick won't this time."

Meliodas is referring to when Gowther's creator, the original demon Gowther, had altered everybody's memories into believing that the demon king had a third son named Estarossa, who in reality was the archangel Mael, who also believed that he was the brother of Meliodas and Zeldris until the spell was broken. Doll Gowther had been the only one who was aware of this. Meliodas is assuming that Gowther's attempting this trick to cheer him up and keeps laughing. Nuri can't take this and furiously turns his inner tube over. Inuyasha grabs him from underneath the water and is about to hit him when a thought entered his head. Gowther's asking everyone to stand down and to let Iris handle it. Nuri doesn't listen kicks Meliodas hard in the crotch. The dragon sin doesn't even try to hide his pain. 

"Really, what's your problem you pervert?" shouts Hawk. "When are you going to learn that your dirty habits that you view as playful kicks are so wrong and unwelcomed?"

Meliodas is helped backed on the float by Gowther. "Can we please save the lectures for when I'm not so famished? I'm really not in the mood for any right now."

"Hey everyone, where's Scout?" asks Willie.

"Meliodas scared her away;" Nuri says bluntly. She gives a seriously threating look to Meliodas, and he has a feeling she's not kidding at all.

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Iris has swim down river. She's shaking and cries with embarrassment, throwing up stomach acid since nothing else is in her stomach. She never imagined meeting her brother would go this way. She couldn't bring herself to interact with Zeldris in Amalfi but had no other option with Meliodas. What's she supposed to do now? She takes out the locket that belonged to their mother. There's a picture of Isabella, as well as a young Meliodas and baby Zeldris. An added picture was added just a few years ago of Iris as a 'newborn', taken 18 years ago right after her 'rebirth'.

3,264 years ago, Isabella had been part of the Wiseman Clan of Belialuin, the same clan that would eventually spawn Merlin. After spawning several full-demon sons that hadn't survived due to the demon clan's then excessive inbreeding, Barbados learned that some demons and goddesses who had breed with humans somehow produced purer, stronger, and healthier offspring, something about the elements of human blood mixing with the others. Deciding to try that himself, he searched and specifically choose Isabella. She was spirited, cheerful, a bit cheeky, but also kind, if a bit shy around strangers. She was smart, but a bit naive and innocent. She was also beautiful, a virgin, and gifted with water-based powers and healing abilities.

The demon king was attracted to her and make a deal with her father, as well as her people, to give them extensive knowledge on magic and science. Isabella never liked nor trusted the demon king but was given no choice in the matter. The experiment worked and produced Meliodas. A few years later, deciding he needed a backup vessel, Zeldris was conceived.

Isabella, who'd been kept alive and young by a curse and imprisoned all those years, never got to meet either of her sons face to face, except for pictures or the few times she was able to spy on them. She had been allowed to name her sons and heard them cry when they were born, but she was never allowed to see them, touch, or make contact with them, not even straight out of the womb. When Meliodas betrayed the demon clan, Barbatos was furious and decided to take no chances. He impregnated Isabella for a third time. When he learned that the child she was carrying was female, however, the demon king went ballistic, not wanting a female vessel and also believing that a female offspring would be too much of a burden. He planned to have his own daughter killed once she was born, then try again. However, some sympathetic demons, at the risk of their own lives and families, finally managed to help Isabella escape after so many unsuccessful attempts. They even got her out of Britannia. 

Isabella set out to find Azarath, who'd been banished from Britannia not long after Meliodas was born for plotting with Artemis to end the so-called holy war. Azarath had been like a brother to Isabella and did he best to support her until his banishment. He had made several attempts to return and rescue them, but never succeeded, and eventually couldn't enter Britannia at all due to a specific shield that prevented outside demons and goddesses from entering. When Isabella finally located him in Egypt with the help of kind strangers, she was severely weakened and ill from her journey. The infinity spell was also no longer in effect, and she was aging rapidly. When she went into premature labor, Barbatos and his best doctors couldn't save her. They had to cut the baby from her womb, who was very premature and barely alive. The very last thing Isabella saw was the tiny, tiny face of her daughter, said her name was Iris, then died, making her piece with God and going straight to heaven with the hope that one day her children would be united and free from the demon king. 

Moments after her birth, Iris also died. However, Azarath managed to save her premature soul and sealed it for protection. Isabella's locket was also put inside the seal, which resembled a small jar. Azarath entrusted her soul to descendants of Isabella's brother, who had immigrated to Transylvania. They hid the jar in a church, there it remained, passed down from one entrusted relative to another. Over the next 3,000 years, Azarath prayed and wondered when his niece's soul should be released, but never felt that the time was right. It was only when he received an unexpected visit from Merlin about 19 years ago that he learned the truth about Meliodas, Zeldris, and Elizabeth.

Several months after Merlin's visit, a mysterious earthquake struck the church in Transylvania. Barbatos had a vision and immediately went there. He and the 'soul keeper', Andrei, direct descendent of Isabella's brother, discovered the jar to be broken. They then heard a baby crying. There was Iris, reborn as a newborn infant in an identical body as her original! Isabella's locket was around the baby's neck. Providence had spoken, it was her time.

At that time, Egypt was literally crawling with bounty hunters who were after human-demon hybrids. Those in power at the time literally believed that hybrids were the devil's children, especially demon-human ones, who had the highest bounties. Azarath handed his niece (who was born with one human-like heart) over to his friend in Amalfi, Pastor Enzo, who's adopted daughter Jasmine had been praying for a sister. Iris would be safe there. A few years later, power switched hands again in Egypt, and hybrid hunting was made illegal, as well as restoring their rights as people and citizens. Iris and Jasmine made yearly trips to Luxor, which has become a second home to them. They were especially close to Cleo, and Azarath was a devote uncle to "both" of his nieces. Both girls see Pastor Enzo as their real father.

From an early age Iris had dreams about her birth, her mother, and two boys that she assumed where her biological brothers. She was always aware of her half-demon heritage but had little awareness growing up of how much of humanity viewed their mankind cousins. She had faced little discrimination and judgement being half-demon in Amalfi and Luxor. As she grew, it became apparent that her human genes were more dominant, although she did inherit some strength and power from her demon side. She also inherited her mother's gifts with water, and healing, as well as her unique beauty. It's unknown exactly how long her natural lifespan may be. She'll almost certainly live much longer than humans, probably not as long as her brothers expected lifespans, but it's still possible.

Azarath told Iris and Jasmine the whole story when she turned 15, including everything he knew about her brothers. In addition to her natural inherited abilities, Iris has a rare additional gift that was granted to her as a young child, known as the Gift of the Dove. It's the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, that every so often appears and chooses a barrier of this special power, a power she's only beginning to harvest and barely understands.

Iris puts the locket around her neck and turns back around. She takes off her hijab and ties to around her lower face, the takes her sun-kissed auburn hair out of its messy bun, ducks underwater to get it fully wet, and combs it out with her fingers. This allows her shoulder length hair to form into its natural, loose curls. She must force her usually silent voice to speak. It's time for Meliodas to know the truth.