PART 8 ( Chapter 2 )
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Misfortune.
For as long as she can remember, Mary Kinohara was always an unfortunate child.

She was the daughter of a brewer named Julius Jordan.
A truly vicious and despicable man. Because of his job he was drunk most nights, as for poor little Mary, she was more of a victim than a daughter.
Being worked to the bone during the day, and abused, sometimes even raped during the night.

The only thing keeping her from escaping was fear.
Every time she attempted to, he found her in the end. Mostly thanks to his dog Buchard.
That wasn't a dog that was a monster! She thought.
It even bit her leg and left her unable to walk that one time, as that man laughed with her pain.
{Dear God, please! If you really exist, please help me get away. That's the only thing I'll ever ask} That was the single thing she would always think before going to bed. 
 

She thought of ending it all. To put the house on fire. She didn't care about her life.
Death would be her sweet release. She finally would be free.

But as she was ready, that day to end it all. Fire and chaos spread through the village.
Her house like many others was raided by an army of machines and swordsmen.
An army led by a brilliant man.
A genius scientist going by the name of Geppetto. 

He was wearing a lab coat and a pair of googles. With his long blond hair with grey strands here and there that went behind his shoulders, and a gracious smile. One filled with sympathy, that made him look like a regular friendly grandpa. He was crouching, carrying a huge yellow backpack on his back and a wooden cane that he was holding.
Mary was scared. She didn't know what was going to happen. But deep down in her heart, she was relieved. Thinking that her miserable life was finally over.

"Oh? And who do we have here!?" Asked the man with the goggles as he moved his face closer and adjusted his goggles to see her clearer.
Mary was speechless, she could only watch as she trembled.
"Little one don't be afraid, this is the power the will strive the world towards a brighter future" Said the scientist as he pet her head.


"Oh my what beautiful hair you have."
Hours passed and the raid was finally over.
"Are you alone here?" He asked.
Mary nodded as she observed the man. It was the first time in her life that someone was kind to her.
In her eyes, he looked like a messiah that finally descended from the sky in response to her prayers, to pass judgment to this man that held her captive for so long.


"The raid is over sir" Said a swordsman as he walked into the pub.
As he saw Mary next to Geppetto, he immediately went to grab her.
"How did this one get past us?" He asked looking at her as she struggled to escape while screaming things like "Let me go!!" or "Stop it!!".

"Hey..." As the swordsman started to get annoyed he quickly noticed his arm that fell off as Geppetto straightened his back.
"Did I ever permitted you to touch her!? " He was definitely angry.
Glaring at the man that was screaming in front of him, he quickly grabbed Mary as he walked forward and said to everyone outside:
"Listen here, everyone! From this point on, this is my daughter! Oh I know it was fate that brought us together! It was fate after all!!"
For the first time in her life, Mary was happy. She decided to follow the kindhearted scientist who had saved her yet again.
Lightning doesn't strike twice after all.

He took little Mary with him to his lab, and from that point on, she was named Mary Kinohara.
Geppetto said that was his wife's last name, Mary didn't believe it though. She never saw her mother after all.

The days she spent in the lab weren't bad. She wasn't allowed to go outside but her life was much better than before.
Some days she felt odd and occasionally she developed symptoms like anemia and headaches but Geppetto told her that it was normal and that she shouldn't worry.

Soon after she started training with him.
Geppetto was very strong for his age and that strength of his fascinated her.
When he was busy, a man named Keichi Harimura who preferred the nickname Wise-Man was her sparring partner. 
A clever man with short brown hair and glasses, who was now missing an arm.
"You see little Mary, life is a lot like swordsmanship. You must learn from every mistake you make and make good use of that knowledge or else you won't get better" Said Keichi during one of their sparring sessions, as he smiled towards her.
"I know that Mr.Keichi! You told me many times before, you won't get better if you don't bring out everything you have during a battle. But I try and nothing seems to work." She then tried to attack him.
As he did, Keichi got shattered into shards of glass pointing out that this was just a projection and not the real one. He then proceeded by striking on her back. 

"Gah! Hey! That was cheap! " Mary was annoyed that he didn't fight fair. Using Saku Energy was a skill she lacked.
"Always use everything you have! You may think of it as a cheap move, but the way I see it, it's my win" He said helping her get up.
"Never underestimate your opponents Mary. This is the worst thing to do in a battle."
"Let's take a break already! I'm beat!" Shouted Mary.
"Okay okay... Oh yeah on this topic there is this interesting story I want to share, but you seem too annoyed to listen" He said as he playfully teased her.
"Come on! Your stories are always the best! I forgive you so please tell me!" replied the girl moving her arms up and down.
"Alright then, here I go! I was alone in the desert during one of my missions, with a thousand mercenaries tracking me down..." He continued the story as Mary listened to him with excitement.

Keichi was always kind to her after they met. He would teach her about the outside world, filling her mind with adventures and strange encounters from his missions.
And every night, Geppetto would read her stories until she fell asleep.
Although as he said, one of them was always his favorite. The story of Pinocchio, from which he got the nickname Geppetto since his hobby was puppet making.

He always admired Geppetto. As he said "He is the greatest! The man was so passionate that he was able to create a machine that could think and act like a human. Essentially life! The dream of every scientist!" 

Mary didn't understand his passion but was happy to see him smiling like that.
That was until that fateful night.

Mary woke up from her sleep to visit the bathroom.
"Papa? She said yawning and rubbing her eyes. A loud noise was echoing throughout the lab.
The devastating and merciless noise of a circular saw.
Walking closer the noise became louder and louder.
But before she could reach the source, she accidentally tripped upon an object on the ground and fell.
Looking back to it she trembled in fear.

A human arm was laying on the floor.
It seemed fresh with the blood still dripping from the veins.
The sight scared her so much that she pissed herself.
Without a second thought, she started running. It didn't matter where. She rather be anywhere than witnessing what was going on inside that room.

She ran and ran without stopping.
Only when she was out of breath, she thought of stopping. But not before hiding first.
Walking a little farther, she stumbled across a huge room that she never saw before.
A gloomily dark room, with a big, half-open, obsidian colored door with a triangular pattern was guarding it.
However not much time she had, as footsteps could be heard behind her.
Not wanting to meet the one causing the heavy and crooked sound, she quickly hid inside the strange room.

However, inside, under the faint gleam of the moon, she witnessed true horror.
Countless puppets hang from the ceiling as cages upon cages filled with what used to be human were rusting on the cold floor.
But the scariest part was the fact that she wasn't alone.
There was another child figure inside the room along with her.
And it was feasting on a pile of flesh with many arms that was screaming for help upon seeing her.

Poor Mary was about to scream. But as she opened her mouth, she felt a chill through her spine.
Two bright red eyes were observing her as the creature that was feasting on the corpses, started moving towards her.
It looked like a young boy with short black hair, but it was vastly different.
He had scales growing on his face, along with four horns towards the top, The kind a demon would have. And a pair of sharp jaws that made him look more like a human-animal abomination. Sharp claws instead of nails, a black colored lizard-like tail, and a pair of huge malicious bat-like wings of the same color. This was the kind of monster, that was now moving slowly towards her, as a pair of intestines were hanging from its mouth.

That creature. She had seen it before. A drawing of it on a page of some diary her father treasured.
And as it was about to attack her, the door behind her opened once again and a pair of arms pulled her out.
It was none other than Mr. Keichi who was searching for her, since she was out of her bed.
However... He wasn't alone. That malicious old man going by the name Geppetto was standing next to him.
"That's unfortunate! How very unfortunate my child. For you to witness horror like that, I'm truly sorry that you had to see that" Said the scientist as he stepped closer hugging her tightly.

"And as I was about to wake you up to show you something truly magnificent! I got a present for you my dear" He continued as Keichi remained silent.
Something was different about him that night, Mary could feel it.
"Don't worry though. Little Grim over there won't hurt you now. And of course, if you would follow me, my dear! The present is still waiting for you!" Said the man with the googles as he held her hand and together they walked towards the lab.

Mary was feeling even more uneasy with each step. After all, the room they were heading to, was the one she was trying to get away from in the beginning.
She felt sick, and of course for the right reasons as she witnessed the macabre thought of a present that Geppetto had in store for her.
The surgical bed that he used for his experiments was stained with blood and there on the corner, her present was waiting for her.
It was a library but instead of books, the shelves were containing several severed body parts.

Arms,legs,torso,waist,eyes,tongues,teeth,hair. Each and every single one was labeled based on the quality of the product.
That was her present. What the madman named Geppetto considered a true present.
"My cute little Mary! Happy Birthday!" Shouted the delighted scientist as he spread his arms.
Mary once again was speechless. She couldn't think anything to say. That man was beyond crazy.

"Can't talk huh? But of course! I certainly made such an extraordinary present that left you speechless! Like the first time I looked at my wife, AH! It was fate after all!!" As he continued talking the madman started jumping around on his burst of happiness.
"No... I don't wanna... This is scary, you-you're insane..." Mary finally mustered some words in her mouth as she started to slowly walk backwards.
Her movement was interrupted though, by the large body of the man named Keichi who blocked the exit.

"Mr.Keichi... Help..." whined Mary with tears falling from her eyes.
It really was fate she thought. One that'll never leave her alone.
But Keichi was looking different. His eyes gleamed with a bright crimson color, And his face was emotionless. Like he wasn't a human.

"You see, I love crafting puppets my dear. Puppets are the best. Always obedient, they do what they are ordered to. And they live forever. So please my dear! Accept my beautiful gift, and let me make you the beautiful one! Let me make you perfect" The scientist screamed as the one named Keichi grabbed the girl and chained her to the surgical bed.

"I can see the cross that you bear little girl. You shall be the one to host the ultimate power " Said Geppetto as he grabbed his tools along with a specific page.
What followed was the worst surgical sequence imaginable.
Mary could feel the pain of her bones break, her veins being cut, her torso being opened, her eyes being removed.
She screamed up until her vocal cords were replaced as well.
And ever so slowly, a black mark of a cross appeared on her forehead.

After a horribly long amount of time, he was finally finished.
"Hmm... She looks good. Truly wonderful!! But... She's not perfect... Not yet"
"P... Please... I-I beg you...Please let me go... Don't hurt me anymore" Begged the girl with a voice that sounded more like screeching than talking, as she puked on her own flesh.

"Alright!" Said the scientist.
Was that really it? Was that man truly satisfied!?
"I'll let you go, If you beat me in a game"
"G-Game...?" Asked the girl, moving her almost torn head a little towards the left.
"Yes, a game! A Challenge of some sorts. If you beat me I'll let you go."

The girl tried to nod.
She didn't have any other choice. Lie or not she had to trust him.
And thus the game began. The rules were simple.
He would hide a coin in one of his arms behind his back and she would have to guess where is hidden.
"Now, where do you believe the coin is hidden!?" He asked.
There was no way to be certain. It was a game of luck.
"On the right arm" The girl took a wild guess.
Her body hurt way too much for her to think calmly.

"Wow, that was... pretty close! Congrats! But you see, I never asked which arm is holding the coin. The answer is inside AN arm" Replied Geppetto as he pulled out his right prosthetic arm revealing the golden coin inside.
"No...Please give me another chance! I beg you!!" Screamed the girl as the scientist started his experiments again.

After that, everything went blank.
The next thing she knew, was that she woke up on the surgical bed, but nobody was in that lab anymore.
No monsters, no mad scientists, no creepy robotic people, no more puppets.
Although Mary was safe, she knew that everything she felt was real.
That madman was her father and in the end, he was not very different than the real one.

After all the "I love you Mary" and the "My sweet little child" he told her.
It wasn't fair. He was supposed to love her like any parent...Any human would.
But in the end, those seemingly kind words that he spouted, were in fact poisonous lies behind his a mask of cruelty.

She also vaguely and faintly could remember a dream she had. Or was it? She couldn't say.
She dreamed about a garden, and in the middle, a woman was sitting in front of a round table. Drinking tea with the birds.
Her clothes were made of clouds and her long white hair was dancing on the wind like the waves in the ocean.
The sun was showering her face along with her black cross that was hanging around her neck.
Mary thought she looked really pretty. Like a goddess. But something somehow felt familiar about her. 

She invited Mary to drink some tea with her and Mary suddenly felt really anxious. Like she was about to present herself in front of a royalty or a celebrity.
The woman laughed and poured some tea in a cup.
"If it isn't my sweet little Mary! How are you my child!?" Asked the woman.
As she took a sip, Mary suddenly felt warm and opened up like she knew the woman all along.
She told her about her life until now, and what she had gone through.
Shared her pain but her happiness as well.
"Obedience huh? I know how much of a pain it can be, but it will help you for sure. Especially when you find your special one if you get me" Said the woman teasing her.
"W-What are you talking about!? I'm not interested in anything like that." Replied Mary sticking her tongue out.
"I'm speaking from experience here!" She pointed towards herself in response with a prideful expression on her face.

"It may seem like a curse now, but it will be there for you when you need it the most. Although judging by your attitude, he will be quite the aggressive one" As Mary was glaring at her she giggled a bit.
"So don't be sad little one! You'll grow up to be a fine wife I'm sure. Like me! And when you do that, all the pain you've gone through will seem worth it!" As she finished speaking, the woman hugged Mary just like a mother would.

Mary felt her warmth as some tears fell from her eyes.
As she fell into slumber once again, letting that moment of peace and happiness end.

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