"She sure does like to sleep..." Jack muttered, looking upon his wife. Sometime between their chat and now, she had drifted of to sleep. Perhaps to relax and forget the events earlier? "Come on you..." He said with a smile, putting an arm underneath her legs and another behind her back. Struggling slightly, he lifted her up, and began to carry Emmy up the stairs, slowly approaching the bed.
He lay her down on the mattress, before placing the covers over her, making sure she was comfortable.
Melissa stood at the doorway. "Is she alright?"
Jack turned his head to the direction of the voice. "Yeah..." He replied, keeping his voice down. "She seems a little depressed though. Something seems to be bothering her..."
Melissa walked in, standing beside Jack. "I know. It bothers me too."\
"Hmm..." He nodded. It surprised him; the connection between Melissa and Emmy. It seemed a lot deeper than his. It was almost as if they were twins, just separated by a large gap of time. "I don't know what it is... But, from the way Emmy puts it, she doesn't want me to know either."
He crossed his arms. "I can accept that, but... I can't really help her when she feels down because of it..."
Melissa stroked the sleeping Emmy. "If you knew, what would you do?"
"I would try to help her as much as I could... Specifically, it would depend on what it is, though." He closed his eyes. "I just want to help her... But... I feel completely powerless to do anything."
Melissa looked up at Jack. The butterflies on her dress seemed to move. "Why do you feel so powerless, then?"
"Everything I say or do doesn't seem to really affect her that much..." He looked at Emmy, who lay there peacefully. "Without understanding the cause, you can't solve the problem, really..."
Melissa rubbed her eye. "If there is no cause, then how can a problem be solved?"
"Why would there be a problem, if there is no cause?" He replied.
Melissa looked down. "...I don't know."
"I'm sorry..." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "It's just... There must be something to do that can help her... But... What..."
Melissa grabbed hold of Jack's arm. "I can see into the future, you know."
"You can?" Jack said, somewhat surprised. He looked at her, remembering the fact that she can control time. "Yeah..." The surprise drained out of his voice. He stood, and thought for a second. "Is it... Is it possible for you to tell me what happens to Emmy, then?" He replied, wondering how stupid he sounded. "Like... Does someone find a way to fix her depression, or something like that?"
Melissa looked up, dazed. "She's going to die. That's all I know."
"What?" Jack said, stunned. "When?!"
"Seros." Melissa shook her head. "It's still unclear. I'm not even sure how she dies, or if she really even dies at all."
"Seros...?" He thought, struggling to overcome the torment as his mind argued over what to do. Two options presented in his mind: To avoid Seros - of which she may just die another way, or to go to Seros - where it would've been possible for her to live if they didn't go there.
He was brought down to his knees, struggling in the debate of choice and choicelessness.
Melissa looked sadly at Jack. "Now you know how she feels."
"But... She..." Jack said, confused and stunned. "I can see why she's depressed..." He stood up, a tear going down his face. "I don't know how. But we've got to help her. We /have/ to."
Melissa looked back at Emmy, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Enjoy it while you can..."
"Melissa. Don't say things like that!" He snapped, annoyed by her words. He instantly recoiled, having realised what he had done, glancing over to see if he hadn't disturbed Emmy. "I'm.. I'm sorry..."
Melissa patted Jack's arm. "You... You won't die on me too, Jack, will you?"
"Heh..." He smiled. "I should be asking you about that. But, I'm not planning on doing so." He held her hand. "That's the last thing I'd do to you; make you have to go through the torment of losing both parents." He closed his eyes. "I should know... I've been there."
Melissa nodded. "There must be a way to fight fate..."
"The only way I can think of is not going to Seros... But we can't abandon the others like that..." He paused, thinking about it. "The only other solution is to go, but make sure your mother doesn't fight, or something like that..."
Melissa closed her eyes, and the air stirred. "If she doesn't fight... We'll all die."
"Dammit..." He muttered. "What happens if we don't go then?"
Melissa frowned. "...I don't know."
"We can't just..." He thought deeply. "We can't not go... Everybody else will die... But if we do go... Emmy dies..." He looked at Emmy, then up out of the window, before looking back at Melissa. "Nobody should have to make that choice..."
Melissa's eyes clouded. "I suppose I was right, back then. Everything does end in pain, and sorrow."
"Not everything... What about the rest of us... I mean we live-" He stopped, bringing his hand up to his head. "How could I say that. How can everything be pleasant after one of the greatest things to happen in my life is torn away from me?"
She continued to stroke Emmy's hair. "I suppose all we can do... is watch, and wait until the time comes. When it happens, we help Emmy to the extent of our power."
"Then I'll do so. With all the power I have, I'll do so." He replied, looking at the sleeping Emmy. "Nobody should have to know heir days are numbered..." He then looked at Melissa. "And nobody should have the power to see when their parents die... Or be able to see anything like that." He looked upwards. "Is this some sort of joke, or some sort of test?"
Melissa said nothing.
"This is cruel, and unreasonable!" He continued, looking out of the window. "What do you want me to do? Give me a sign here!"
The rain continued to fall, beating down on the trees and flowers.
He sighed. "I guess all we can do is wait, and do what we can when the time comes..." He turned back, and stepped over to Melissa. He crouched down, lowering himself to her level. "I want you to promise me that you won't let your mother know about this. She wanted to protect me from that knowledge, and it won't help her if she knew I had found out." He stood back up, and walked towards the doorway, stopping quickly.
"I need to prepare the best I can for this." He said, removing the Control Glove from his hand. "I need to see how much I can get done on this to help."
Melissa looked up. "I'll help you!"
"Okay then." He smiled, remembering how she had commented on the Glove. "Perhaps you can help me make it a little less crude."
She grinned, and walked past him. "I'll get the table cleared, and some tools out in the library."
"Melissa's no nine-year-old..." He muttered, looking at her as she walked off. "In some ways she's like Emmy when we first met..." He turned to look at Emmy one last time, and walked off to the library.
Melissa was taking books off the table, and putting them on the floor. A tool box was there, and so was what looked like a wire-frame spider, with very sharp legs.
"What's..." Jack started, walking into the room. "What's this then?" He gestured at the spider.
"It's a spider." Melissa replied.
"I can see that..." Jack sighed, picking it up. "I mean, what's it's purpose? The legs are..." He felt one, accidentally cutting his finger. "Ah... Sharp."
"It does what I want it to, once I finish it." Melissa moved some more books, and hurriedly put them in their place.
"And... What do you plan on having it do then?" He said, placing it back down on the table, and starting to help with the books.
Melissa shrugged, then saw Jack touching the books. "Stop. I have a system going here. It would be best if you didn't help..."
"Okay..." Jack said, stunned and slightly annoyed at the tone of voice he was getting from his daughter. He sighed. "Fine then..." He placed the books back down on the table.
Melissa finished up clearing the table. All that remained was the toolbox, a few orbs, some paper, and the spider. She walked over, and sat down.
"Right then..." He said, walking over and sitting beside her. He placed the Control Glove infront of them, and picked up a screwdriver.
Melissa looked at the glove, closely. "Alright, what are you planning to do?"
"Hmm... The first thing I need to address is some of the Glove's primary systems..." He said, unscrewing the back of the arm. "It's meant to be able to amplify my strength and agility, as well as my magic, but only seems to be doing the latter."
Melissa thought for a bit, remembering what she had learned from some of her magic books. "I suppose that those first systems won't be noticeable until you get more magics that are more physical."
"Hmm..." He thought for a moment, remembering what the Elder of Delacrimo had said, that magic was split between power and ether. "That's an interesting point..." He took one of the pieces of paper, marking down the various affinities that had been added to the Glove. "I see... Four for ether, One for power, and 3 classed under both..."
Melissa looked up. "Right."
She frowned at the gloves appearance. "We should make it look better...." She remembered the armour that Jack had. "How about we have it so that it fits with the Armour, instead of being under the Armour?"
"Hmm... That's a good idea." He said, quickly messing with some of the internal workings of the Glove. He re-attached the backing of it.
"Also, have you transferred all the magics into the Orb that the glove uses?"
"Most of them..." He replied, looking back at her. "I use two orbs. One that gains the magic, and then that is applied to the orb in the Glove." He held up the GLove on his left arm, and paused for a second, thinking. "The orb you placed your magic in a few days ago is the other orb, and that magic hasn't been applied yet."
"I see." She stood up, and walked out of the room.
"Where's she going to now?" He muttered, turning his eyes back to the Control Glove. "I don't get it. Why doesn't she treat me like her father..." he sighed, before starting to note down some ideas for the Glove.
After a while, Melissa returned, wearing Jack's armour. Jack looked at her, slightly confused. "How... How do you fit in there?"
The armour opened up, and Melissa fell out. "I don't fit well."
Yeah, I thought so." He said, offering her a hand up.
She took it, and stood up. "Well, it's here. We should get to measuring."
"Hmm..." He said, looking at it. "First things first..." He reached for the orb in the centre, taking it out. "Excuse me one second." He said, taking the orb and placing it in contact with the orb on the Glove. Once again, the orb began to glow, this time a mixture of deep blue and black, before the colours drained from the Glove and shot up Jack's veins again, flowing around and then fading out.
Melissa examined the left arm of the armour. "...Amazing... this armour is really complex... Jack, can you hand me some tweezers and a knife?"
"Yeah, sure." he replied, recovering from the absorption. He walked over, his head spinning a little, and grabbed the requested tools. He then walked back, cautiously holding the knife-blade.
She took them from Jack. "Thank you, daddy." she said sweetly.
"You're welcome." He smiled, looking at her as she started to work on the armour. He couldn't figure it out, but something about being called 'daddy', and his daughter doing what he himself did at the same age felt amazing.
"So... What are you currently doing to the armour then?"
She gritted her teeth. "Trying to separate the glove section of the armour from the rest of the arm. You see, the armour is separated into sections, which are connected with many wires and joints." Her stomach growled. "...aaah. I'm hungry."
"Right, hang on then." He said, smiling. "You carry on with that, I'll go and fetch something." He didn't want Melissa to stop working. Not for the benefit of the armour, just the privilege of seeing his daughter work. He got up, and walked towards the stairs.
Melissa was lost in her task. Slowly, everything seemed to fade away from her. Each wire had to be severed so that it could be re attached to the glove. The metal plating dropped to the floor, bit by bit.
Jack returned shortly, a few sandwiches with him. He entered the room, looking at the mess of metal that lay on the floor, and smiled to see that Melissa was lost in her work. He placed them on the table, and watched her.
Most of the black metal had dropped away from the wrist section, and Melissa was focusing on slicing through the leather that held it all together.
Jack watched on, unsure whether to ask if Melissa wanted a hand or not.
Melissa sliced through most of it, and looked up. "Jack, can you please hold this for me?"
"Yeah. Of course." He replied, smiling. He walked over, and held onto it, making sure not to get in her way.
Using the tweezers, she pulled at the sockets, and then cut the out. Soon, the left hand of the armour was detached.
"Okay then..." He said, letting go of the arm briefly. He took the Control Glove back off, and handed it over to her.
She spotted the sandwiches. She put the glove on the table, and grabbed one. "Thanks for the sandwiches, daddy!"
"You're welcome." He replied, picking up a sandwich himself. "However, the really good sandwiches are made by your mother. They're amazing."
"I like the sandwiches that you make. You don't have to apologise, daddy." She smiled.
"Heh..." He beamed. "Trust me. You try them, and you're hooked. Emmy's sandwiches are /that/ good." He took a couple of bites, and after realizing that it wasn't bad at all, he continued digging in.
"You know, Jack... Have you examined that suit of armour? It's a masterpiece. Whoever made it is a genius." Melissa said, half way through her second sandwich.
"Yeah, I was amazed as well. The internal drives and systems are incredible." He looked over at the armour, looking more deeply at it before turning back to Melissa. "It's creator was your grandmother. Emmy's mother."
She nodded. "I see. Emmy told me about a shrine that she had built around here. I want to see it before we leave... Can you take me there after we finish this up?"
"Yeah. Of course." He looked out of the window. "I think I remember the way." He finished off his sandwich, and got up, taking a look at the work Melissa had done on the armour.
Melissa finished her sandwich and examined the control glove. "Let's see... I wonder if I can..." She got up, and gathered the metal fragments that dropped off from the hand of the Armour. "I'll need more, though." Taking the hand, she began to take off the rest of the plating.
"Converting the Glove /into/ armour, instead of just attaching it... Very clever." He smiled, walking over to the toolbox. "How do you plan to attach them?" He said, quizzing his child on her knowledge.
"Using the left over wires, I plan to assimilate the glove into the main system of the suit, so it can power the suit- and also be powered by the suit. However, the glove can still function alone."
"You are good." Jack replied, proud. "However... I have an idea that I would like to try out. Mind if I...?" He gestured to the Glove.
Melissa was handed Jack the glove, a little reluctant.
"I'm going to take your idea with the wires..." He started, taking some of the left over wires and applying them into the glove, attaching them to the inner-workings. He then got some seperate wires, and combining these with those that remained in the arm he created several clips out of the wire, making sure they were sturdy. He took the Glove, and attached it to the arm, making sure the connection was strong, and didn't break. "There. Easily detachable, incase of an emergency."
Melissa smiled. "Good idea. I suppose it should be easily detachable for safety reasons." She took the glove from Jack again, and kept working on fitting the plating on the glove.
"Right. It also means that incase I need to give it to someone else, I don't have to hack away at the armour."
"Can you pass me that orange orb, please?"
"Yeah. Here." He said, handing her the orb.
Taking the Orb, she used it to shape some of the metal, moulding it, to fit better.
"Well... That's a new technique." He smiled, watching her work again.
When she reached the fingertips, she shaped the metal into sharp triangles, almost like claws.
Jack grinned. The Glove looked much better now, and fit well with the armour. He hoped his father didn't mind him saying this, but he went ahead anyway. "You could be better than my dad."
Melissa grinned. "They say that children are meant to out-do their ancestors."
"Yes, but normally not at your age." He replied, smiling back. "I guess that's one of the few downsides of being a parent. Your child is always better than you."
She shrugged. "Then again, you never know. Look at my grandmother!"
"Good point." He replied. "I'm not sure how much inventing your mother does, but I would /guess/ that your grandmother was better." He stopped, and then regretted that. " /Guess/ . Actually... Don't tell her I said that. In case it makes her mad."
Melissa laughed, and handed Jack the Control Glove. "I'm finished, but I'm going to give you one piece of advice; you shouldn't wear it all the time anymore."
He looked at it, and put it on. The only noticeable difference, apart from the appearance, was that it was quite a bit heavier, due to the metal plates. "Okay... Why not? Or is it due to these things?" He asked, fingers outstretched to reveal the "claws"
Melissa nodded. "No. As it increases in power, it becomes dangerous to have it on all the time. The same reason Emmy doesn't wear the black dress all the time"
"I see..." He said, taking it back off again. "Good point. I did wonder - rather foolishly - why your mother didn't wear the dress that often; only for battle. She looks beautiful in it."
The butterflies on Melissa's dress seemed to flutter a little. "So, can we go to the shrine, now?"
"Yes, sure." He smiled, holding out his hand for her. "I just want to check if your mother is awake first, so we'll go in a second."
Melissa nodded, and walked beside him.
Jack walked in, slowly walking in as not to disturb Emmy if she still was asleep. He looked at her, only to see her still peacefully asleep, having only rolled over onto her side.
Melissa slowly stepped next to her, and took Emmy's umbrella. Taking off her hat, she lay it on Emmy's desk. "Alright, lets go." she whispered.
"Okay then," he whispered back, yet again holding out his hand for her. He smiled at her, somewhat amused at the way she did not understand the gesture.
Melissa smiled back, still not understanding. She stood beside him. "Lead the way, captain!"
"Captain?" he repeated, slightly confused. He decided to go along. "Fine then. Follow me, first mate."
Melissa rolled her eyes. "You ruined it." she stuck out her tongue.
"Fine then." He replied, playfully. "I demote you to the ship's cat."
She purred. "Perfect. The ship's cat is the most powerful of them all!" She raised Emmy's umbrella in the air.
"Really... And if the cat isn't fed?" He said, as they approached the front door.
Melissa laughed. "Touché." She opened the umbrella, and stepped out the front door.
"As I said to your mother, who needs umbrellas?" Jack said, stepping into the rain while remaining perfectly dry.
Melissa shook her head. "But that ruins the whole fun of it!"
"Maybe..." He replied. "But I like it this way."
Melissa looked at all the trees around her. "Wow... it's... Beautiful."
"It is..." He repeated, looking around them. "Did your mother tell you that she planted all these trees?"
Melissa shook her head. "No, she didn't."
"I guessing she must've done it when she was your age..." He smiled.
"I bet she must have wanted to get here during spring... but even so... She must have really missed it here."
"Yeah... She seemed very excited to be back. This home means a lot to her, and I guess being back here is very nostalgic for her."
Melissa looked a little sad. "She really wanted to see this place again. How long has it been? 10 years?"
"I think so..." Jack said, recalling what Emmy had told him. "She went on the maiden voyage of Fenrir, only to have the ship crash and her knocked out... And then she met my father..."
Melissa continued "And that didn't help her much, either."
"No... They fought; my father had at this point gone insane. They were pretty even in terms of magic; she was reverted to a body not that dissimilar from your own after the attack..."
Melissa followed along, but was shocked at one thing. "What?! Did you just say that your father was as good a mage as Emmy?"
"I'm not sure... It's possible. Emmy said it herself that she had to use her strongest attacks to defeat him." He paused. "Then again, he was trained by the Elder of Seros..."
Melissa closed her eyes. "Oh. That's it. You forgot that Emmy had said she had been weakened. Silly you."
Jack laughed. "Yes... I thought I was forgetting something. It doesn't make much sense otherwise." He thought for a moment, and couldn't remember Emmy saying that before. He shrugged, and carried on walking. "But still, she was laying there for almost 7 years, I think... And then we found Fenrir."
Melissa sighed. "It's quite the story. Where were you before that?"
Jack thought for a moment, thinking about the escape from Seros. "We had just escaped from Seros; me, Takkun, David and Jess. We had taken David's boat, the Juggernaut, and left the island."
He paused. "By chance, we just so happened to be approaching Delacrimo, a small crescent shaped island, when Takkun noticed the crashed ship. Me and him went to explore it, and found Emmy asleep inside."
Melissa nodded. "I see. Oh!" she pointed up ahead. "Is that the shrine entrance?" up ahead, was some steps, and then an arch, marking the beginning of the shrine.
"Yes. That's it." He replied smiling. "It's a beautiful place. Come on."
Melissa ran ahead, gracefully hopping up the steps.
Jack followed, slowly walking behind her.
When Melissa reached the top of the stairs, she gasped. "What's... wrong with this place?!" she said, horrified.
"What?" Jack said, beginning to run.
"Look." The shrine seemed normal, but all the colour had faded from it- the cherry blossoms were a light Grey, the wood a dark Grey. The rain didn't move, and hung in the air.
"That's..." Jack caught up with her. "This?" He looked about. "This was the work of the Maker. His approval to my marriage with Emmy..." He trailed off at the end of his sentence, unsure of his words.
Melissa shook her head. "No, it isn't. Emmy described it to me in clear detail. This is not what you think it is." She breathed in. The air was stale.
"Then what..." He looked about. "It's as if Time has stopped..."
She ran to the main part of the shrine. "This... was a beautiful place. It's lovely." she looked around. "However, this is disturbing..."
"Hmm... Something is amiss..." He said, looking about. "What's happening here..." He looked at Melissa. "Could you try starting Time?"
She stood by the altar, and focused her magic. "Nothing. I can barely get any magic to work."
Jack tried, but couldn't cast any magic. His feet remained firmly on the ground. "What's going on..." He said, feeling uneasy. His hand hovered over his scabbard.
"Don't think about it. Whatever is happening, the worst option is violence." She saw something that perked her interest. "oh? Look, Jack. The rose inscribed on the Altar is glowing red..."
"I don't want violence either, but you get the feeling at a time like this that something is causing it... Something that attacks..." He moved over, looking at the rose.
Melissa was entranced. "It's... amazing..."
Jack looked at it. "I've seen that before... Somewhere..." It snapped in his mind, and he brought up his hand, looking at the ring on his finger. The rose etched onto it also glowed red.
Melissa extended her hand, slowly. "What does it mean...?"
"I... don't know..." He said, looking at the rock, then to the ring, and back to the rock. He moved his hand closer, and placed it against the rock
Nothing happened. "Well, that was anti-climactic." Melissa remarked. She touched the rose. "Still, I wonder what this is. It might be some really complex spell of sorts.."
"I guess Emmy would know..." He said, moving his hand back. "This is... bizarre, I must admit." He stepped back, and looked at her. "I don't know. I personally think we should wait until Emmy wakes up, and ask her about it. What do you think?"
Melissa shook her head. "Emmy doesn't know, either."
"Then... I'd have to ask her about this ring then... Although I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do..."
Melissa's eyes clouded. "The ring was her mothers. She had said to give it to her 'special someone', and that Emmy would eventually understand what love is."
"Wow..." Jack said, unaware that the ring had such a history. It made it more special to him, the way that Melissa had described it. "Then... It must be something to do with her mother..." He thought for a moment. "Perhaps... I'm meant to do something? Or she wanted whoever had this ring to do something, or something like that?" He scratched his head, unsure of how he sounded.
Melissa shrugged. "It's a glowing rose, and a time freeze. Who knows?"
"Hmm... I sure don't..." He replied, somewhat defeated by the riddle.
Melissa laughed. "I wonder what's in those doors?" in front of them, were two wooden doors.
"Funny... I don't remember these being here last time..." Jack said, walking towards one, and attempting to open it.
The door swung open. "Is this... the inner shrine?"
"I guess it must be..." Jack replied, cautiously moving in.
The inner room was dark. "Jack... do you smell something?" She breathed in deeply.
Jack smelt the air. Unlike the stale air surrounding the shrine, there was a distinct aroma here. He paused for a second, and thought. "Roses..." He finally replied, slightly confused.
Melissa took Jack's hand. "This... is scary..."
"Don't worry, I'm here." He reassured her, holding her hand firmly. He wasn't afraid; he was more confused and curious than afraid. Something didn't add up.
Behind them, the doors closed. "I wish we could see..."
"Hmm..." He replied, trying to look about. It was impossible to see anything.
Jack's ring glowed. Melissa was shaking.
"We'll be fine." He reassured her, somewhat unsure himself. He raised his free-hand infront of his face, looking at the glowing ring.
The ring dimly illuminated the room. Melissa gasped. In the center of the room, was a stone coffin. "Who... is this?"
"I... don't know." He replied, curiously took a step forwards, attempting to take a closer look at the coffin. Engraved on the top, covering the entire case, was a rose - designed exactly like the one on the rock in the shrine and on the ring. "I think I could hazard a guess, though..."
Melissa traced the engraved rose. "So can I. I wonder why this place was sealed off...?"
"I don't know... I'd assume because this is probably sacred ground." He replied, looking closely at the coffin.
Melissa leaned closer, inspecting the coffin. "It doesn't have a lid. It's... solid."
"That... That doesn't make sense. It's useless if it's solid, unless it was sealed... But why would that happen?" He looked over at the far wall, where hung up were pictures. Beneath them lay incense and candles.
Melissa rapped hard on the coffin. The sound was dull. "It's hollow, though. I suppose it's sealed." She looked up, and saw the pictures. "Are these...?"
"Yes, they are." He said, looking on.
Melissa sighed. "So this was Emmy's mother..." One of the photo's showed a smiling, brown haired woman, holding hands, and running with a laughing girl- presumably Emmy.
Jack looked about, looking at the various pictures of Emmy's mother. He still couldn't understand why, but judging on what had already occurred, someone wanted him here.
Melissa pointed to the several candles resting on the floor. "Do you have anything to make fire, Jack?"
"Not with me..." He replied, slightly disappointed. He raised his hand, and looked at it a second, but dismissed the thought.
Melissa looked around, looking for something... "I found it!" she held up a small box. "matches!" She struck one, and lit the candles, one by one. "I suppose they use these to light the incense, over there" she pointed to a small pot.
"Hmm..." He said, watching her, starting to worry less about their current situation and more about the risk of Melissa burning herself.
Melissa cried out, and quickly blew out the match. "Owww..." She stood up, and took a good look around the room. "Amazing..."
Jack sighed, wishing he had stopped her. He took Melissa's finger between his index finger and thumb, running water around it. Doing so, he looked around with her. "Wow..."
Each wall was painted, giving a view of the steps leading to the shrine in each season- spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Lying in the corner, between spring and winter, was an ornate spear.
"I guess that must've belonged to your grandmother." Jack commented, gesturing over to the spear.
The shaft of the spear was made of a dark wood, and had several lines circling it. The spear head was a light silver, and was ornately decorated. Two white tassles were attached right below it. "Most likely. However, none of this explains what's happening, at all."
"No, they don't..." He replied, looking at it. He kept close to Melissa, still running the water. "The only link I'm seeing is the rose symbol..." He thought for a moment. "Why have we been brought here?"
Melissa shrugged. "I don't think there is a reason. Whatever happened, is the result of some spell cast a long time ago."
"I guess." Jack agreed, looking at the walls again. He admired them briefly; the artwork was stunning. "Then... I don't know. Perhaps we should leave soon; Emmy might be awake."
Melissa laughed. "And how do you propose we get out? The doors aren't here."
"What?" Jack said, looking over. As she had said, the doors had disappeared. "Then... How do we get out?"
Melissa sat down. "I... don't know."
Jack sat beside her, making sure not to lose contact with her finger. He was about to comment on the situation, but didn't want to worry Melissa, and so held off.
From out of nowhere, the room began to glow, until it reached blinding levels. "Melissa!" Jack called, raising his free arm over his eyes. "Don't move!"
Melissa closed her eyes. She felt warm. "It's peaceful, here."
Jack sat still, and after a few seconds realised what Melissa meant; the room seemed warmer. He held onto her finger, making sure they wouldn't be separated.
The light died down. Melisssa stood up. "...and there's the door." The doors had reappeared, open. outside, the rain pounded the stone path.
"Well... That was... Odd." Jack sighed, standing back up. He let go of Melissa's finger; it should've stopped burning by now. "Was... There a point to all of this? There probably is but... I've no idea what it was, except for informing us of this place..."
Melissa pointed to the altar stone. "There's a letter there."
"Hmm..." He walked over, and picked it up.
The letter crinkled slightly- it was old. It read:
To the betrothed of my dearest Emmy- I hope you like my gift! Take good care of her. -Vanessa
"Take good care of her?" Jack repeated, re-examining the letter. He smiled. "Of course I will. For as long as I can do so..." His words sent a chill down his spine. He paused for a moment, wondering by what "gift" meant. Could something had happened? Or was it a metaphor for Emmy?
"So? Anything interesting?"
"It's... A little odd, I must admit. But us coming here; it was planned." He replied, looking at her. His voice sounded off, and the pupils of his eyes had gone yellow, but quickly faded to their regular blue. He handed Melissa the letter, allowing her to read it as well. "I'm not sure exactly what she means, but I believe that the mentioning of a "gift" is referring to Emmy." His voice had returned to normal.
Melissa laughed. "You know what this is called? A pointless encounter with the supernatural."
"Hmm..." He smiled, looking at the coffin. "I wouldn't say pointless..." He looked back at her, grinning. "Just that we can't understand what the point is."
Melissa opened Emmy's umbrella, and stepped out into the rain. "Whatever happened, Vanessa must have been a wonderful person."
"Yeah." He looked back, catching one last glimpse at the pictures. The candles were slowly burning away. He turned around, and stepped forwards. "Best go find Emmy then."
Melissa nodded, and began to walk down the stairs. "Whatever comes, we'll be ready."
Jack and Melissa perform some work on the Control Glove, intergrating it into the Aegis Armour. They then go to the shrine where Emmy and Jack got married, only to discover something odd...
They find the grave of Emmy's mother, Vanessa, of which left there is a cryptic letter for Jack. The two leave, determined to stop Emmy's projected fate...
