Song: Room of Angels by Akira Yamaoka

The right wall was covered with computer screens, all running some program at the same time. Millie immediately went in front of the consoles and tapped buttons like there's no tomorrow.

"Master," her tiny voice came from the speakers installed behind us. "The Soul Analyzer is ready."

To my left were rows upon rows of tanks. Inside each was a naked girl floating like a fetus in an artificial womb. Like Millie had said before, all of them had the same face.

When Hector saw me looking, he stepped ahead to one of the tanks. "Astounding, aren't they? They are my life's work. Much, much better than the infusing artificial souls into dead bodies." He wrinkled his nose. "I wasn't able to perfect the cloning process until last year. Although, I would still have to work on some points, especially emotional stability, instinct, self-preservation."

Closing his eyes, he pressed a hand on the surface of the cylindrical glass. I remembered seeing him smiling for the first time. I mean, really smiled. Not the usual creepy grin.

"Perhaps, you are wondering. Why go through all this trouble? Why not just find a dying person, make eternal pact; the whole red tape." He gestured for me to follow.

Without ado, Alessandra tagged along. My eyes kept searching right and left, scouring every face inside the vat.

What are you looking for? I demanded. You'll be in one of those before you know it.

"Instead, Master Hector, I am curious as to why they all look similar." That sounded so... not-me. Good thing Hector didn't know me very well.

Sadness filled Hector's eyes for a fleeting moment.

"It's a very beautiful face," he answered, turning his back on me so it was impossible to read his expression. "Do you know how many familiars I've lost in the last seven hundred years, Aramis?"

"No."

He kept walking and said, "Forty and two, not including Apple and the seventeen thousand, seven hundred and eleven defective artificial souls I created. And can you possibly know what that does to a person; watching your comrades die forty two times?"

Alessandra could only shake her head.

Hector stared at the upper monitors. "You would think with this especially long life, you would forget someone's death over the years and move on. But you won't. You will remember every single death for the rest of eternity. So that led me to this research: creating the perfect familiars with artificial souls, who are difficult to kill and who would not suffer in Oblivion if they die. I am trying to make a miracle here, Aramis."

He finally faced me.

Behind him was a tank larger than all the others. A tangle of pipes scattered about the floor, connected to its base. It had its own monitors and sensors detecting the levels of whatever was in the fluids.

The girl inside didn't look like the other clones. She looked like me except for the straw-colored hair that billowed under the water. Her eyes were murky brown and her skin, unlike mine was olive.

My eyes widened. Alessandra made me walk past Hector. A gasp escaped me upon recognizing the girl in the tank.

It was no girl to begin with. It was the Swarth that drowned me. The Swarth that possessed Carter. The same one that attacked me during one of our patrols in Centralia.

I did remember that Vincent sent its head to Hector for examination. But then, it had somehow managed to grow an arm and torso. If she had grown feet too beneath that long tattered dress, I couldn't tell.

I remembered Alessandra's hatred making my blood boil as she approached the tank. Alessandra tried so hard to keep my body from shaking, but it was no use.

"Oh, that?" Hector laughed behind me. "It's special. See, it used to be a head when Vincent sent it to me. Just a head. Usually, Swarths die when they are beheaded. But that one, it stayed alive. So I placed it in a Helcium vat-where it couldn't escape-filled with synthesized ectoplasm substitute and voila! It began to regenerate."

If Alessandra was listening, I couldn't say. My eyes just watered all of a sudden.

As if awoken from a deep slumber, the Swarth blinked and looked at me. It swam towards me and placed her palm on the glass, mouthing something.

Involuntarily, my hand moved towards hers. Suppressing a sob, Alessandra whispered, "Together..."

The Swarth blinked again, nodding.

Is that-

"My sister," Alessandra told me mentally.

I thought long and hard to the point that made my head hurt. My thoughts raced so fast I couldn't keep up with them.

So you were trying to find her all along! And that's why she kept following me: because I have her sister's soul. She's trying to get it back. When the Swarth last attacked me in Centralia, it didn't actually try to hurt me. Together... That was exactly what it said to me. The two of you... All this time, you're just trying to get back to each other.

"Yes."

Hector went to my side, admiring the Swarth. I was so absorbed in my internal conversation I almost forgot he was with me.

The Swarth swam backwards. It looked to me like she was afraid of Hector.

"Just try to imagine it: familiars regenerating on their own, without having to borrow life force from their masters. It would mean an experimental breakthrough!" he raved on, going around me. "The only problem is, even artificial souls become tainted. And believe me when I say I tried everything to resolve that little glitch. On second thoughts, perhaps not everything."

I remembered Alessandra backing away from him.

He raised a brow. "For one, I haven't tried studying you. Yet."

I remembered bolting away from Hector. I remembered heading for the doors.

The Swarth in the tank became agitated. It clawed on the glass, letting out a shrill shriek that only sent bubbles to the surface of the tank.

"Let her go," Alessandra said, my voice coming out firm.

His right eye twitched, as if to blink for once, but not quite. "It's not going anywhere. It's mine. And now, you too."

Alessandra made me retreat until my back hit the tank. She started to summon my Cataclyst, but nothing happened.

We're surrounded by Helcium. It's no use, Alessandra.

Hector wagged an index finger, flashing his abnormally perfect pearly whites. "Uh-uh. I told you. No one's going in or out. You need to understand, Aramis. For the betterment of all immortals, I have to know why and how you aren't turning into a black flying creature just yet."

The corner of my lips lifted. "Then, it is to my great displeasure to inform you, Master Hector; it is too late."

Spinning on my heels, I reached for the tank's controls and started pushing buttons. I didn't know what I was doing and I was pretty sure Alessandra didn't know jack squat either.

"Oh, no you don't!" Hector grabbed me from behind and dragged me away from the controls.

I elbowed him in the chest. Alessandra did, technically. I clenched my teeth and gave him a head butt. It was becoming an all-time favorite. Turns out, I really am hard-headed.

Hector doubled over, staggering. He wiped his mouth and beamed. His perfect teeth were bloody.

"Bitch!" he growled.

I ran for the controls again and punched every button I could lay my hands on until I triggered some kind of alarm. The monitor started displaying numbers and gibberish.

"Master Hector," Millie called from the speakers. "I detected an error with the Swarth vat. Containment may not be viable."

"Damn it!" Hector shouted angrily. "Initiate manual override, Millie. Load eighty percent SoulSiren with the ectoplasmic infusion."

"But Master, the Swarth may die in such high concentrations of-"

"I don't care!" he roared. "Just do what I tell you!"

"It is only a matter of time now," Alessandra said unblinkingly, stepping away from the tank.

Hector looped his arm around my neck and dragged me backwards.

My heels grazed against the floor, my eyeballs rolled upward. I couldn't breathe. I struggled and tried to get his arm off me, but it just exhausted what strength I had left.

Across the Swarth tank was another containment device. This one looked like a glass elevator with several consoles attached to it.

Hector threw me inside. With a push of a button, the door closed.

I gasped for breath and coughed. I leaned on the walls to get to my feet.

"Done." Alessandra's voice was barely a whisper inside my head.

"Alessandra, wait!" I tried to call her. "A little help here?!"

She lurched back to her imaginary cave, ignoring my every call. I could feel her becoming dormant, falling into a deep sleep out of sheer exhaustion.

In one blink, I was shoved out to reality, back in control of my body.

"No, no!" I knocked on the glass door. "Let me out!"

Hector was having the time of his life pianoing the controls.

I remembered trying to summon my weapons. Still, nothing happened. Weakly, I sagged in a corner. Back then, I could still hear the Swarth banging on its tank.

"Great, Alessandra! Just great!" I threw my hands in the air. "When stuff gets screwed, you decide to give me my body back and take a nap?"

Which would bring us back to main question: how did I get here? That was how.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi! It's been a week since I started this new book. First and foremost, I'd like to apologize for not being able to reply to all your private messages. I know... I'm such a slowpoke and you probably hate mu got time to waste or just wanna tell me off more quickly, please reach me thru my twitter @Simply_shim and my facebook pages /ShimSimplina or /ReapersChronicles.

BTW, Here's a poll for a filler I'm making. If I get enough queries, I might post it by Thuursday :) Ok. So here.

IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO ASK VINCENT AND ARAMIS A SLAMBOOK QUESTION, WHAT WOULD IT BE? It has to be a SLAMBOOK question okay? Otherwise consider it ignored. Ready? Go!