Chapter 23

"Narcissa!" Risa called her name, and she recalled when someone else had called her name in a similar situation.

"Oh my god, stop!" Risa rushed over, but stopped when Beatrix adopted a defensive stance.

Beatrix had stopped, sure, but she felt a cloud of violence still plaguing her mind. She couldn't break out, she couldn't see anything but threats all around her. 

"Narcissa?" Risa slowly inched forward.

Beatrix rushed forward, and Risa flinched, but Beatrix met her with a hug.

She didn't know what was going on, but she hated it. It was probably because she was in a siren's body.

She needed to get out of here if she couldn't control herself like this.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Beatrix fumbled her words, overwhelmed by what had just happened.

Emea passed out, blood leaking from multiple cuts. 

Risa removed herself from Beatrix's hug and rushed toward Emea, she needed to get help.

Beatrix froze in place once Risa had left.

She would never forget the people she had hurt.

Just like she would never forget what had just happened.

-

Tonight, she had a nightmare about her sister.

Like every nightmare, her family was still there, but this time it was strange.

Risa was there.

To be more accurate, her face was there.

She was watching her sister die in the fire, helpless as flames consumed her. It was a sight she had seen many times.

But this time her sister had Risa's face.

She was still looking at her pleadingly, desperately. 

But it was Risa silently screaming, burning, and frantically patting at the fire. She hoarsely coughed as smoke lay waste to her lungs and fire laid waste to her skin.

As usual, it was terrifying. And as usual, she couldn't look away.

-

When Beatrix woke up, she was sweating and breathing fast, her chest rapidly rising and falling.

She dropped her head down and held her face in her hands, tears seeping through the cracks.

Every nightmare broke her a little bit more.

It was hopeless, she now knew. She couldn't save her family, they were dead. 

But what else was she supposed to do? 

She could give up and finally reunite with her family; that might be nice.

Or she could keep going.

Beatrix sighed and left her room.

-

She had to do it this time, Beatrix thought as she walked through the lab's front door, following Dominic.

"How's Risa?" He asked.

"She's doing well. I feel bad for leaving her for so long, though."

"Well, now that you have legs, the commute should be easy." Dominic joked.

Beatrix chuckled and looked around the room. He had been busy.

"How's your research going?" She asked.

"As usual." He replied a bit sourly.

"Oh?"

He sighed and sat down with a large thump.

"I'm at a bit of a roadblock, I'm afraid."

"In trying to get humans to regenerate?" He had a noble cause, that's for sure.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to do." 

Beatrix pondered a bit, she'd like to help him in his research if she could.

"Maybe you could extract blood while the regenerative properties are in action?" She suggested.

"What?" He was surprised, then he looked outraged.

"Absolutely not!" Dominic raised his voice.

"I'm fine with it."

"But you know what you're suggesting, right!?"

"I know, and it's okay."

She would get hurt, and he would extract a sample while her wounds regenerate quickly. She didn't really mind some quick pain. Doing it would probably help him a lot.

"No." 

"I told you, I don't mind." She pressed a bit.

"No, and that's final." He looked at her sternly. He seemed a bit upset that she would suggest it in the first place.

They sat in a tense silence for a moment before Dominic broke it with a sigh.

"I don't want you to get hurt, ever." He looked her in the eyes with an overwhelming intensity.

Beatrix broke eye contact, flustered.

"...Ok."

"Narcissa… I want to be there for you, and -"

Beatrix suddenly stood up and left the room in silence; she turned back for just a moment and was met with Dominic's pained eyes.

It wasn't her name that he used, and for some reason, that hurt. She knew he couldn't help it, but it didn't change the emotional vertigo she felt every time.

-

It was only for a moment that Beatrix left, she quickly headed back into the room.

"You're back?" Dominic looked at her in confusion.

Beatrix didn't say anything, she just walked towards him with her nails sharpened, her eyes dull. 

She had come back for a reason.

She just needed to push it all down.

Her hesitations, her attachments, her emotions, and then she could do what she came to do.

"What's wrong?" He looked wary as he subtly inched backwards.

He remembered her claws as she lunged at him during their first meeting, and he remembered her covered in blood, it dripping down her mouth, after she had nearly killed a man.

At that moment, he was afraid of her. But it was more than that.

"Are you okay?" Dominic asked with worry.

Beatrix stood before him, completely still.

She needed to do it.

But she was stock still, just staring at him.

A sudden clang broke the tension as they both whipped around. Emea was there, hiding behind one of the lab tables. They were both so preoccupied that they didn't notice her.

She must have followed Beatrix.

Before Beatrix could move towards Emea, Emea rushed forward, towards Dominic.

She put her hands on his shoulders and froze in place.

She was trying to enchant him.

Beatrix instantly shot forward, pulling Emea back. Emea fell to the ground with a painful yelp.

Emea had incredible powers, she had likely injected so much power into him at once that he was instantly under her control, already in love with her.

Beatrix cupped Dominic's face.

"No, no, no…" She looked into his eyes desperately, but he was unresponsive.

Emea had pooled such a high amount of power into him at once that his body had shut down.