Chapter six

Chapter six: The game starts here.



“Quite a nice place you have here, Grayson...”

“Haha, thanks. You know, I never expected you'd be the one I’m taking home tonight.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re so bloody beautiful. I thought you would be way out of my league.”

“You flatter me...”



Grayson’s apartment was dark yet exotic. Even though little light poured in through the stained glass windows, the room was bright and cosy. Motoko sat down on a chair closest to the door, and excitedly fidgeted with the velvet cushion beneath her.

“Is it alright that you’re here with me?” she asked.



“Yeah, it’s okay. I’m sure those kids will do fine without me, they’re in bed anyway.”

Grayson settled himself on the floor in front of her, dragging a bottle of wine and some cigarettes towards him.

“What about your girlfriend?”



“Oh, she’s in hospital. Ignorance is bliss right?”

“You’re so cruel...”

“Hey, you’re the one who seduced me! What man can resist feminine wiles?”



A chuckle rolled off Motoko’s tongue. “Is that so... Enough talking, let’s get on with this.”

Lissomely, she pushed herself up from the chair again, and paced towards Grayson with elegant strides. Then, she grabbed his warm, slightly sweaty hand and locked him into a firm embrace. She could smell a whiff of his cologne, and the cigarette smoke in his hair. Their lips met soon after, sharing a passionate kiss. It made her laugh, how gullible this man was. ‘Some really don’t think with their brains.’



All of the sudden, Grayson wavered. He jerked back his tongue and stared at the woman in his arms, confusion dancing in his black eyes. Her tongue, it had tasted like dead meat in his mouth. It had tickled his palate like millions of crawling maggots, and he also noticed the strange cemetery smell that hung around her. The odour made him want to puke.



“What’s the matter?” Motoko inquired with her honey sweet voice. “Don’t you like the taste of my lips?”

Her lips, they had also been odd. There had been something sticky on them that now clung to his own mouth.

“Very... bitter,” he stammered. “W-what did you d-do to me?”

His body did not want to move anymore. No longer would it respond to him. He felt weak, dizzy, and his insides burned.



“That’s called poison, dearie,” she replied sweetly, softly poking his chest.

Like a domino tile, he fell backwards, landing hard on the floor. “Why?!”



A smirk slithered across the doll’s face like a snake. “Because I have plans... and you don’t fit in them!”



She kneeled down before Grayson’s paralysed body, and lifted her venomous hands. “Now I just need to suck out your soul...”

Awesome! I still wonder, though... How exactly did Motoko come back from the dead (again)? And, in the first story, who was the brunette woman whose body she was using? And, of course, how did she get these powers? Those questions are going to be answered eventually, right?

Chapter seven

thanks so much guys <3 your comments always cheer me up so much.



Chapter seven: Death is unachievable for some.



Keiko stood motionlessly on her messy loft. Her brown eyes were fixated on the unused easel in front of her, while the tiny wheels in her mind worked hard to come up with a subject. Her whole life had turned around since she had met Mei-Lin. She had dropped her usual, punk appearance and donned a more colourful look, her childhood’s golden locks framing her face once again. A change had been necessary. No longer had she wished to be like before. Her old self was confusing, despicable — always dumped by boyfriends and screwed over by girlfriends. Now, she worked alone, unwilling to let any person in her heart again.



Painting was her biggest hobby now. She was hoping that someone would discover her soon and turn that hobby into a well-paying job. But she needed a new subject. To draw attention, she had to find something good to paint.



‘Motoko.

I’m going to paint Motoko.’



Shoving away countless pencils, pieces of paper and other drawing materials, she began sketching on the blank canvas. Motoko’s lifeless eyes had been terrifying, they pierced the soul. Even though her skin had been like porcelain, her interior wasn’t so flawless. What she hid in there was her tormented soul, both desperate for feelings and power.



Keiko frowned. Motoko was the oddest demonic being she had ever encountered. She had been a restless spirit with severely malicious intentions, able to overthrow every single thing that came onto her path. You see, in this world, after death, there were different ways to go. When someone died, they first would have to wait for final verdict. Most souls would reincarnate to live a new life. Others would be rewarded with Heaven, or cursed with Hell. However, none of these seemed to suit Motoko. Reincarnation and Heaven were undoubtedly out of the question. But as evil as she was, not even Hell had wanted her. And thus, she had easily broken free.



Stepping backwards, the blonde studied the painting. It wasn’t good enough, it never was. She dug her fingers into her hair and growled with frustration. “Where is my inspiration... how am I going to be a good artist like this?”

Motoko’s painted, marble eyes weren’t even close to frightening reality. They were flat and uninteresting. Still, they stared back at Keiko in an eerie way, making rows of goosebumps appear on her arms. Or was that because of the sudden, chilly breeze that curled inside through the open window?

“Who’s there?” Keiko bellowed. She had a feeling that she was being watched. There was something nearby, an empty presence that wasn’t in the least pleasant. “Show yourself!”



As if obeying her command, a tremor shook the wooden floor. Almost immediately after, there was the unmistakable sound of thick paper tearing. Keiko’s eyes snapped towards the painting, and indeed, the canvas revealed a large hole. Red liquid seemed to trickle out of it — at first she assumed it to be paint, but then she noticed that the substance wasn’t thick enough to be that.

‘Blo-blood?’



Then, suddenly, the canvas ripped even more. Bony fingers pressed their way through it, curving and stretching like spider legs. Before Keiko could respond, a being had writhed onto the loft, looking more menacing than ever before.

“You!” she gasped. “What do you want? Weren’t you back in the halls of the dead?”

Motoko chuckled wryly. “Did you really believe I would stay there? Seriously, my child... that place sucks. Besides, I have unfinished plans.”



“I thought you went back in peace, that you were fine with it. You left with a smile and promised us that everything was okay now. Why are you here? Are you intending to take revenge on Mei-Lin?”

“That’s right.”

“I won’t let yo—“



Keiko didn’t get a chance to finish her question. Motoko had lost her patience, and thrown her backwards with an immense force that she believed, wasn’t even close to the undead’s true power.

‘Ouch...’

“You cannot stop me,” Motoko announced. “I have bigger, better plans now. I won’t let anyone get in my way so easily this time. I already made sure that Mei-Lin won’t bother me... neither will Rush. And your handsome Grayson is dead.”

The blonde gasped in shock. Grayson? “What did you do?”

“Oh, Mei-Lin was in hospital. I made sure that she won’t remember me again. Grayson was a pain in the ass, always protecting those kids...”

“Nathaniel, Ali!”

“That’s correct. This time my revenge will be a bit more interesting...”



Quickly, Keiko jumped back on her feet and threw herself against the doll. It was almost like colliding with a wall, Motoko did not move a muscle.

“Leave those children alone! They have nothing to do with this!”

With amazing speed, she wrapped one hand around Motoko’s shoulder and pressed the other against her milky-white neck. Then, she pushed on, breaking the skin with her fingernails to hit sinew and bones.

“Argh!” Motoko groaned furiously. “You witch!”



For a moment, she wavered. Her shoulder burned terribly. And that was something which she had not expected to be possible. She was dead, after all... apart from that silly thing called love –or her very own wicked equivalent– there were no feelings inside of her. So what was this?

Panting, she lifted her head to look into the other woman’s eyes.

“You... you aren’t human?”

Chapter eight

annachibi: Definitely! Your questions helped me a lot, actually! n__n More stuff to add to my story, yay! Thanks!

Here's another update <3 ;D

Small time-jump in this chapter. Motoko isn't at 2 places at the same time. ^^ Following chapters will reveal more of what happened in the mean time.



Chapter eight: plan B.



The eve was beginning to grow old. Hours had faded into darkness, strewing translucent threads of celestial matter across the sky like scattering diamonds on a velvet surface. With her big brown eyes, Ali curiously studied every corner of the house they had just entered. This was her beloved Grayson’s place, and she had not been here before. It was dark, old but also exotic — everywhere she looked were the most beautiful plants and antiques. The floor creaked, the doors creaked, even the walls seemed to creak; but despite that, it was still strangely silent. No one said a word.



Until Nathaniel broke through the quietude, contempt visible on his young face. “Why did you bring us here? You know mom didn’t want you to, it’s too far away from home.”

Ali nervously smoothed her locks with her hand. Nathaniel was such a hot-headed kid, she hoped there wouldn’t be an argument now. Every time he had screamed at mother, Grayson, the teachers or even the mailman, his adopted sister would cringe. She hated fights. They reminded her of her abusive... no, she refused to call him her ‘father’. Swear words wouldn’t do either, though.



Grayson spun around, his face magnificently cheerful, and pointed at a nearby sofa. “Please, sit down. There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

Nathan moaned. “Whyyyyyy?”

“It’s important. Come on now!”



Ali didn’t refuse, and sat down on the green couch obediently. Luckily, when she did, her brother came too and copied her movements.

“This is weird,” he whispered. “Grayson acts differently today.”

She shrugged. She hadn’t really noticed a change.



“Well, children,” Grayson began animatedly. “It’s time for a story, one that Nathaniel here obviously knows...” he paused, grinning at the little boy’s frown, “... since you have been told before. Remember that one evening a lady came to see you and talked to you about your mom?”



Ali turned her head, giving Nathaniel an asking look. He was playing on the bench, kicking his legs and hardly paying attention. He remained quiet, and she was about to assume that he hadn’t heard the question when he suddenly replied.

“Yeah. Remember her.”

The raven-haired man nodded. “Perfect. Well, I’ll tell Ali too, she obviously doesn’t know it yet. Help me out here and there will you, ‘Niel?”

The boy instantly looked up. Grayson had never called him that before. The lady, however, had. Her sweet words still chimed brightly in his mind, “I need a new host, ‘Niel. This one is lifeless and old. At first I didn’t think I could possess human beings, so I used this doll. But then I learned that I could parasite on people too... It’s much more interesting. People have organs, and hearts. That’s why I want to be one again... although, it would be suspicious if I just took a random person, right? Their loved ones would start to question their strange, new behaviour. So I need someone who doesn’t have a set personality in the first place, someone I can change without raising bothersome questions...”

And he had said that Ali would be perfect for this. Since Ali was a 'nobody' anyway.



Grayson cleared his throat. “Ali... do you know what kind of person your mother is? No? I’ll tell you what she is. She is a betrayer, known to crush people’s hearts and break promises. When she was very little, she was nearly as quiet as you are now... nearly... hehe. The other students at school found her strange, and started to bully her. That was when she found a wonderful doll on her attic... a doll who resembled a real person. She acted like one, talked like one, and soon became your mother’s beloved friend. The doll, Motoko, would always protect your mommy, and always looked after her. But like so many children, Mei-Lin grew bored of her toy... and desperately tried to get rid of her. Motoko was terribly hurt, because she loved your mother so. Each and every one of her attempts to stay with her proved to be in vain.

“Poor Motoko was heartbroken... she felt so miserable that she tried to kill herself! Poor thing... but nothing, not even death, was able to glue the shards of her organ back together. Until this day, she still roams the earth, hoping to get back what was rightfully hers.”



Ali’s eyebrows knitted together in consternation. A living doll? Loving her mother? Honestly, the entire story sounded like it had been plucked straight out of a book. Like a fairytale... and an unrealistic one at that.

“I made a deal with Motoko,” Nathaniel suddenly piped in. “She told me that she would make me popular at school, and that she was going to bring Mommy and Daddy back together... if I gave you to her.”

Shock washed across the teenage girl’s face. What was this?



“That’s right, Ali,” Grayson sang. “You will be the next doll... Motoko wants your body, and when she has that, she will finally have Mei-Lin too!”

He burst into maniacal laughter.



Something wasn’t normal here. This had to be a nightmare... right?!

Well, I've got more questions for you, then! Did I already ask who made the original doll? I think I may have... Anywayz, why is Nathaniel platinum blonde when both his parents have black hair? And why in the world is he so weird?? And why would he trade away his sister like that? Seems like an awful kid.

Okay, I guess that makes sense then. I was thinking they were Japanese. You sure do have them change hair colors a lot! :D Also... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! How old will you be? :D