POV EROS
It's been a few days since we rescued Victoria, and things have been better since then. It's been easier for us to do commissions inside the hollow since we had someone other than Hecate cover us.
Though there is a downside, if she used too much blood, she would pass out. I had to ask Summer if she could prepare some blood bags in case we had to do an emergency injection.
Currently, I'm in the infirmary with Victoria, holding her hand as her blood is being drawn. "You're doing great, Victoria, you're almost done."
"Really? That's good, can we go outside?" She asked weakly, her voice was hoarse from the constant blood draw, and her pale skin was turning more pale.
"Yeah, we can." I said while rubbing her hair. Victoria smiled and leaned into my touch, letting out a quiet hum of joy.
My heart ached at the sight. Every time I do this, it feels as if I were abusing her. But I didn't show her my guilt; instead, I kept smiling and comforting her.
As I was focused on Victoria, I heard the door slide open. Turning to see who it was, I saw Belle and one of her bangboo companions.
Belle carried what looked like food, while the bangboo carried a box full of bandages. "Hey, sorry if I came at a bad time."
I only shook my head. "It's alright, we were just finishing things here." I said, soon, one if Summer's drones floated closer, signaling that the blood draw was done.
It then proceeded to remove the needle and cover the hole with a new gauze, making sure it's secured.
"Victoria, we have a visitor." I said, focusing my attention back on her.
"Really?" Victoria then saw Belle and the bangboo, but she focused more on the bangboo.
"Hello, Mister Rabbit, did you bring gifts for me?" She asked, smiling at the bangboo. The bangboo had its eyes form a joyful expression, nodding at her words.
It set the box down and soon looked up at Belle, raising its hands at her. Belle giggled and handed the food to it, which then rushed to Victoria.
"Ehna-na na ehna! Na na na-ehna!" It said, placing the container down and removing the lid.
Inside, the scent of dumplings began to fill the room. While steam rose, still warm to the touch.
"It's saying they hope you get well soon." Belle translated, smiling at the sight. Victoria then looked at me, as if asking for permission.
Instead, I grabbed one of the dumplings and held it in front of her. Upon seeing what I had done, I bit into the dumpling, chewing slowly.
Her eyes widened at the taste, and a bit of color returned. "Its yummy." She said and gently took the dumpling from my hand.
As I took a bite, I hummed at the taste. It tasted well, the meat and vegetables were cooked alright, but it was still good.
"Did you make this?" I asked Belle, who shifted in place and nodded.
"Y-yeah, I wanted to make you some food. And to help Victoria feel better." Hearing this, Victoria smiled.
"Thank you, I hope I can make you a gift as well." She said and soon grabbed the blood bag she had filled.
A small amount of blood soon seeped out, and it soon formed a small bloody flower. "Here, for the food."
Belle was hesitant, staring at the crystal flower. But she soon took it, holding the crystallized blood.
"Its… very pretty." Belle said, staring at it with awe, forgetting that it was made of blood. "I'll cherish it."
Hearing this, Victoria smiled before finally closing her eyes to rest. As we left, Belle continued to stare at the flower.
"Does it have to be her own blood?" Belle asked before staring at me with tears. "Can't she control all the blood?"
I sighed at her question. "Sadly, she couldn't. We even tried to have her control the same blood type, but the results were the same."
Belle tore her gaze, focusing back on the crystal flower. "Its not fair, she didn't do anything wrong."
"She's not the only one." I said, recalling the sinners who didn't deserve this. "None of them deserves to be seen as a monster."
"How many?" She asked, her voice lowering to a whisper. I only raised my head, my eyes slowly turning distant.
"Too many." Was all I said. "I sometimes wish it were a nightmare, a dream I could wake up from."
"But each day, it's the same." Belle reached out, her hand holding mine. "Yet, I don't intend to stop."
"People will call me naíve, but it's what I want." My eyes soon held determination. "I want to help them, give them a home, give them a sense of belonging."
"They deserve to feel normal, they deserve a home." My hand tightened around hers. "I want to save the sinners."
"Thats… really noble. But… what if you can't?" That simple question, I heard it multiple times.
"Someone has to, if not me, then who else?" The next second, Belle hugged me, her arms held me tight.
"I'll help, I don't know much about sinners, mania, or the world you live in, but I want to help." I was about to reject her, but her eyes showed that she wasn't taking no for an answer.
The two of us stared at each other, a silent agreement forming. But something else happened, unfamiliar, but it was there.
I could see the small details, bits of her hair were swaying as she breathed. A red hue slowly appeared on her face and her eyes.
They somehow looked beautiful, like a clear ocean. If I hadn't known she was human, I would have seen her as a bunny thiren.
Bit by bit, I could feel the air slowly turn warm, and I somehow felt myself slowly lean forward.
The same could be said for Belle, she slowly raised herself, while her eyes turned hazy. "Heyyy you two~. I got some good news!"
Hearing Summer's voice, we stepped back and tried to act normal. Though it was more difficult for Belle, she was shaking like a leaf.
"And what is the good news?" I asked with ease while stepping in front of Belle to hide her from Summer.
"Well, I took the time to reverse engineer the w-engine, and I was able to make some improvements." She said and handed it to me.
The second I took it, I felt the mania react, not violently like last time, in fact, it was subtle. I could feel the mania flowing through my body, energizing me.
After feeling it for a few more seconds, I looked at her with a grateful look. "Seems you made it easier for me to fight."
"Ding ding ding!" Summer smiled, flying upwards and flipping through the air. "Sadly, that's as much as I could do, anymore, and we'd most likely have an outbreak." She sighed.
"I wanted to try and add more functions, but it's as if something was preventing me." She pouted and crossed her arms.
[The few times I'm allowed to step in, thanks for that!]
"It's fine, you did what you could." I replied and smiled. "I think you deserve a break." Summer nearly fell when I told her she could take the rest of the day off, but one of her drones was able to catch her.
"Who are you and what did you do to my Chief?!" She shouted, but then laughed and soon left. "Thank you, I'll buy you something later!"
"She really is a handful, huh?" Belle giggled. I could only nod in agreement, but I smiled nonetheless.
"She's a good kid; she deserves to have a break once in a while." I said, however, the situation became awkward between us.
"I-I should go." Belle said, but stopped before rounding the corner. "It was nice seeing Victoria, she seems to like you."
"I do what I can." I said and accompanied her to the door, but before she could leave, the door was forced open.
"Eros, bad news!" Nicole shouted, clinging to me as if I were a lifeline. "We need your help!"
"Slow down, breathe, and tell me what happened." Nicole, who was breathing too quickly, nodded and took deep breaths.
"I had the idea to act as the representative of the people who were abandoned in the dead end hollow, had to strike while the iron's hot." She explained.
"They agreed instantly, and I was already building a case to make an easy win. Only to be given this!" She then shoved a piece of paper in front of us.
On it was a cease and desist order, preventing Nicole from acting as a prosecutor.
"Honestly, I think it's for the best." Belle said. "You don't keep your end of the deal with multiple clients."
"Belle, I am offended." Nicole placed her hands on her chest, with a look of hurt on her face. "These people are victims, nearly killed in one big conspiracy."
Hearing this, Belle winced and nodded at Nicole's words. "Right, sorry about that."
"Apology accepted, anywho, the vice president of Vision has already hired a lawyer, and a damn good one at that." She then pulled out her old phone and soon showed it to us.
The lawyer had multiple successful defense cases, and not a single loss. "That is problematic." I said.
But when I saw the name and image on who was going to defend Pearlman, I widened my eyes in shock.
The image showed a man with white air that ran towards his neck, with a bit of grey mixed in.
His eyes, while looking kind and warm, were actually sharp and calculating. Like a chess player planning their next move.
And finally, his attire consisted of a white vest and pants, with a black dress shirt underneath.
"Nicole, you did a huge favor for me, and may have gotten yourself in a large rabbit hole." I said.
"W-why do you say that?" She asked nervously, even Belle herself was looking nervous.
I only sighed. "The lawyer that vision had hired is a sinner." The second I dropped the bomb, both of them looked shocked.
"What?!" I wasn't surprised, but with both of them screaming, I heard a ringing noise bounce in my head.
However, Nicole grabbed me by my shoulders, shaking me back and forth with fear in her eyes.
"What do you mean that the lawyer is a sinner?!" She cried. "How did Vision find him?!"
Belle soon pried Nicole off me, and I was able to fix myself. "As much as I would love to answer your question, I'm just as confused as you are."
"But what I can assume, Pearlman must have hired him long before I woke up." I said and soon guided them to my office.
"So, who is this sinner, and what can he do?" Nicole asked, sitting on one of the leather chairs.
"The sinner is named Mr. Fox, a successful lawyer back in my world." I said and pulled out files.
"His assigned rank is A, as to why? Because his ability is not as dangerous." I said and soon sat down.
"Mr. Fox can influence anyone with his words, and his words alone. All he needs to do, is say the right thing." However, this caused them to look at me with confusion
"Isn't that just manipulation?" Hearing Belle ask, I realized I had made a mistake with my explanation.
"Sorry, what I mean to say is that he can command anyone with his words." Both Belle and Nicole widened their eyes in fear and soon hugged themselves.
"He can make us do anything he says?!" They both shouted.
"Yes, but he's not like that." I said, trying to console them. " He uses his ability for different reasons." I said.
"So, what's the reason for him to have a dangerous ability?" Nicole asked, and Belle was also curious to know..
"He forces people to create false evidence to win any case, which is why he has such a perfect record when it comes to acting as a defense attorney." Hearing this, Nicole's face paled.
"There's no way I can beat him, is there?" I only shook my head, seeing this, she could only grab her head in frustration.
"Can't you expose him, put those shackle thingies on him?" Nicole asked, her eyes showing desperation and hope.
"Sadly, we don't know where he is located." I sighed. "And even if we did, he's not going to abandon the case. Once he's hired, he'll see the case through."
Nicole could only land on her knees and look dazed. "Then… what do we do?" She asked, and somehow, her soul was slowly rising from her mouth.
[Hey hey, hello there. Uh… how do I put it this way? Well for starters, the author has become worried that you'll accuse them of using A.I to make this story. But that is false, fake, lies, so don't come after them. The reason why their spelling and grammar improved js because they are using Grammarly, a type of A.I that proof reads, and check spelling.]
(A/N) Yup, that's right, and I've noticed more and more people using A.I to make stories, and I gave to admit, it does make me feel anxious, so I want to clear the misunderstanding before it gets too far, I don't use AI to make my stories, these are one hundred percent genuine writing skills, thank you for reading this