Progression of Evil

Chapter 12
Re: Birthday

I have to get out of here. I have to…have to remember. Something I have to do when I get out of here. Something important…

The yellow color pulsed. Suddenly, a scrap of memory..

Church bells? Why church bells?

"Len, it's tea time!"

Len? Who is that? Is that…me?

Blinking, now suddenly he remembered his existence. He was Kagamine Len.

"I am…Len?"

"You are remembering."

Sighing, Len called out, "Go away."

Who exactly Kagamine Len was, he didn't know. But it was a start. He had a name now.

Len examined the room he was in more closely, the spring in particular. There was light at the end of it, and the light seemed a bit brighter than when he'd last looked at it. He reached up towards it subconsciously…and found himself restrained by thick metal chains.

Curious, he examined these. The ones that bound his wrists burnt warm, like he'd set his wrists next to a fire, and they were the exact shade of freshly spilt blood.

Surely, this must be blood that someone has spilt.

The chains encircling his ankles were cool and shiny, and colored a saddened blue, like tears just leaving a girl's eyes.

These are someone's tears, cried at a horrible event…but what?

Len looked around, but there was nothing else to behold; he was dressed in rags and his hair was tied back away from his face. He seemed to be the only presence in the room.

"Alright," Len called out. "When can I get out of here?"

"When you atone for your sins."

"But first I have to remember those sins."

"Correct," said the voice, and something clicked in Len's mind…

He blinked. "I've heard your voice before. Who are you?"

"When you remember, you will understand."

Sighing, Len frowned. "Fine."

So he tried to remember what he had done to earn him his place here, chained in blood and tears, with a presence here that seemed to know everything about him.

Church bells, tea time, yellow, and a voice…a voice that subconsciously made Len smile, because it was the voice he liked best. Whose voice it was, he didn't know, but it was sweet and charming, and so innocent…

Innocent. Innocent. Len wasn't innocent, but he was. There was something…

If she is evil, then because we are twins, I share that same evil blood.

Twins? Evil twins? Len was evil.

But no…Len was only evil if she—whoever "she" was—was in fact, evil. People had been calling her evil, but it wasn't her, Len remembered suddenly. It wasn't her fault. She wasn't evil.

And he wasn't evil. But they had done evil things. Like…like…Len couldn't remember.

He opened his eyes; he hadn't realized he'd closed them in his search for his past, his memories. The room was brighter—the light at the end of the hole in the ceiling had grown larger.

He bit his lip, trying not to sigh again. It was exasperating, these memories that came with tantalizing hints about who he really was, and left without giving him real information. How in the world was he supposed to atone for something he couldn't remember?

Len leaned his head up against the wall, listening to his chains shiver with the movement, and closed his eyes.

"Look, look!" Len said, his little legs pounding as he ran up to someone. "Look, I made you a crown!"

"A crown?" her voice said, the sounds like the tinkling of bells in the small boy's ears.

"Yeah, a crown! A crown of flowers for…for you," Len stuttered on the last part, bypassing what he had really thought.

She smiled, a smile bright as the sun above him, and took the little flower crown from his hands. "Thank you, Len! It's beautiful!" And she put it on her head, a head topped with bright yellow hair…

Hands came down out of the sky and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her firmly away from him. Len cried out and ran, ran towards her. She would not be taken from him!

But another pair of hands restrained Len, held him back from her, his favorite person. A voice said softly into his ear, "It'll be alright. You'll be back together soon. But she has a destiny greater than yours, and she has to go for now."

Len fought still, not listening to the voice, his tears flying everywhere as he thrashed and thrashed against his captor. "I don't want her to go! I want her back! I want-"

"May I have this dance?"

She nodded and Len led her out onto the dance floor, hoping against hope he didn't miss a single step. He'd been practicing and practicing with Lady Luka, practicing his waltzing skills so he could share this night with her. He wanted to make this, her last night of innocence, the best night of her life.

He danced with her, expertly maneuvering her closer to him, all to keep her safe from the wildly twirling couples, of course. Her little white ruffled dress was loose about her body; she'd lost weight as her figure had suddenly begun to mature, maybe not to Lady Luka's proportions, but enough to distinguish her from the little girl she had been, when she and Len were closer, inseparable…

"We can't do this, it's not right!"

"I can't stop the way I feel, Len!" she cried relentlessly. "Have you never wondered why I never look at other men? Have you never wondered why you have never once considered dating another woman?" She clutched at his shirt for a moment, his fine silken shirt, and her hands were gloved, expensive silk gloves. "We are fated to be together for all time. I don't care if it's wrong. For God's sake, Len, I'm the Daughter of Evil!"

The Daughter of Evil. Len considered this. The daughter of evil. Not the evil itself. She had done some things that couldn't be forgiven, but it was in her nature, wasn't it?

No, because she wasn't born evil. She was born pure, just like he was. Pure, whole, and untainted.

Then why was she evil?

Who was she?

She had been taken from him at a very early age, to assume her destiny. Her destiny to be evil? No…

"It was they who were evil," Len said viciously. "They separated us. They committed the ultimate sin. They took her from me, and she was corrupted. They separated us! They stole Rin!"

A silence followed Len's inner proclamation, a silence more profound than he had ever heard, that he had ever remembered. His eyes widened in surprise at what he had thought, and what he had shouted furiously aloud.

Rin.

Rin.

Rin, the Daughter of Evil, the sweet blonde girl, the crying queen, the only girl he had ever had eyes for. Rin, his twin sister.

"Rin…" Len said aloud, tasting her name on his tongue.

"Rin," the booming voice said.

Len looked up at the ceiling. "Am I on the right track?"

"You are remembering."

Nodding, the blonde boy replied, "Good. That's good then." He settled back against the wall, but when he closed his eyes, there was a light that persisted. Opening them again, he peered upward at the spring.

The light was brighter and larger. Its cold illumination almost reached Len's toes. There was something special about the light, Len was sure, but right now he couldn't comprehend what.

"Rin is my sister. My sins have to do with Rin, and she is evil. I think. Maybe. But, no, she's not!" Len tried to stand, but the chains held him down. "She's not evil!"

"But what about her destiny?" the voice said.

Len blinked. "Oh, so now you say something more than 'you are remembering?'"

"I'm trying to help. We're not trying to keep you here. We know it's not your fault."

"We?" Len looked around. "And who are you? I've heard your voice before. I know I have."

The voice paused, but when it continued, it changed as if two people were now blending their voices together to make this one, distinctly female and yet distinctly male. "If you remember, you will understand everything. We promise we're not trying to keep you locked up. We want you to be reborn."

Sighing, Len slumped against the wall. "I have heard both of those voices."

"You have. And when you remember who we are…"

"I know, I know!" He shifted a bit, the chains clinking and rustling along with him. "Her destiny was to be the Daughter of Evil. She knew this at a very early age, and so did I, because I was destined to be her servant. Nothing more. Not even her brother, even if we are twins and share the same blood! The same blood that makes her evil makes me evil as well! But I wasn't even allowed to be her brother in public, and I had to sit back and watch as she got hurt over and over again, every day, all day! The people dragged her into this, and the people ran her to insanity, and to her execution!"

"You sacrificed yourself for her."

"Because she's not evil!" Len shouted. "Rin is not evil!"

"And you are?"

Those words made Len stop and think a second. "…I am." He looked up at the ceiling, where he imagined the voice originated. "I am evil. I didn't stand up for her. I left her alone when she needed me most. I didn't understand her problems, because I didn't try to learn. I…I killed for her. I thought it would save her. It didn't. It escalated everything, and she was hunted because of me. I tried to protect her, but instead I robbed her of her only confidante. I have tried and tried and tried, but nothing ever worked! And now she's alone. Alone in the world, afraid to raise her head for someone might recognize it and lop it off. It's my fault. It's all my fault…" He placed his head in his hands, his fingers gripping his hair fiercely. "I felt it was fitting that the servant who looked so like her should die, especially because the servant was more evil than the queen."

"She impoverished her people and ordered a war because of a silly green-haired girl."

"It wasn't her fault!" Len cried defensively. "She had to act her destiny! The Seed had been planted, and she had to give in to it. If anyone had seen her in private, as I did, they would have thought differently of her evil nature. She shook in fear every time she had to meet someone, she cried after every single peasant she turned away, and she hated her fine gowns and cold-hearted act. She hated it!"

"Did she really? Or was it an act itself?"

"I don't know!" Len shouted at his loudest, fingers ripping at his lank hair in anguish. "I don't know what was an act or what wasn't, but if I can't trust my twin sister to tell me the truth, then I am denying a part of myself!"

There was a silence so loud it deafened Len for several moments. He was breathing heavily, but his heart rate was slowing. He touched his face, surprised to find there were hot tears running down his cheeks. His shock calmed him down even more, and soon he was quiet and still, waiting for his face to dry.

"…Am I dead?"

"What do you think?"

The blond boy tried to remember anything about his last moments, but all he could see was Rin, and her tearful eyes under his cloak. "I don't know."

"I want her dead. Kill all the women with green hair if you must, but I want that girl dead. Do you hear me? I WANT HER DEAD!"

"I think…" Len said slowly. "I think I'm not dead yet. I think that my body has died, that's no question. But I don't think I'll be allowed to die until you free me, right?"

"When you atone for your sins, you will be freed."

"Okay. What will happen to me then?"

There was a pause. "Whatever you choose."

Len didn't know what to make of that. "I don't understand, but you're not likely to be forthcoming, so…" he thought a moment. "I'm ready to make my final statement."

"Go ahead," the voice said, but now it was only a male voice, and it came from just ahead Len, from the darkness his eyes couldn't pierce. A blue light came up, and illuminated the silhouette of a tall, stately man.

"We're ready to hear it," a harsh female voice said from Len's left. A red light came up, illuminating a warrior's silhouette.

"We'll help you through this," a soft, gentle female voice came from Len's right. A green light came up, illuminating a princess.

The blond boy sighed, collecting his thoughts. "I remember everything now. I remember everything I've ever done in life. I remember Rin. I remember our rule over the Yellow Kingdom. Yes, she was considered evil. I do know, though, that the real Rin was soft, and gentle, and loving. Whatever this Evil Seed was, it made her do the things she did. She doesn't remember starting the war; I think she was possessed by jealousy, by evil, at that point. In comparison, I was the more evil of the two. I never tried to sway her from her course. I never tried to reach the depths of her soul. I loved her as more than a sister, and yet I failed to prevent her immense heartache. I loved someone else…I loved a princess, a princess that was not Rin. I loved Miku-sama, and that distracted me from my sister. I…I followed every order she had, every single one, from the silly to the destructive. I helped her carry out her evil deeds. I…I killed Miku-sama. I killed the Green Princess myself. I may not have drove the dagger through with my own hands, but I as good as killed her. I killed so many green-haired maidens…all on her orders. I regretted it then as surely as I regret it now. I thought that by ridding the world of me, I could redeem myself, just a little bit, in the eyes of God. I failed to redeem myself. But I did not fail at keeping her safe, and that has been my intention all along.

"I regret and repent every single act I've ever done," Len said, looking at the people around him. "Except one." Eyes blazing, he looked up at the spring, where the opening with the light had been getting wider and wider as Len confessed. "I cannot repent of the most heinous sin of all, the fact that I loved my sister as a lover and not as a sibling. I cannot deny my feelings. The night before our destinies took hold…it was the best night of my life. I loved Rin fully…and I love her fully now. I am sorry for everything else I've ever done, but I'm not sorry for the way I feel. If that condemns me to Hell, then so be it."

Len paused, a single tear leaking out of his eye. "My one wish, since I was child, was to be reborn next to Rin. If I cannot be with her in the next life, there is no reason to have lived at all."

There was a long silence, not as deafening as the last, but equally as tense. Len felt the light touch his hair. Then, all of a sudden, Len heard crackling, felt the chains on his wrists and ankles crumble to dust. He stood awkwardly, rubbing his wrists gently.

The light from the spring was bright and cold, and it illuminated everything in the room, down to the last speck of dust.

It was a plain room, made of four walls. In front of him, a tall, blue haired man stood in front of a tunnelway lit by blue light. To his left, a woman clothed in red armor stood in front of a red-lit hall. To his right, in front of a hallway lit green, stood a green-haired woman in a gown stained with blood.

Len analyzed this, looking at the three of them in turn. "Commander," he said to the red-clothed woman. "I am sorry we wrecked your home. I'm sorry you had to see her in so many guises. She knew, you know. She knew who you were, every time. She's been to me so many times… That's what she said."

Next he turned to the blue-haired man. "Kaito-oujisama. We were once your servants in your palace. You knew us before we were evil. Please find it in your heart to forgive us of our sins."

Then he turned again. "Miku-sama," he said with a touch of sadness in his voice. "I loved you once. I love you still. I'm sorry that circumstances couldn't be different, that we couldn't have had a chance. But I love Rin more, and I have to be with her. Forgive me. Forgive her."

He turned again, and faced a new hallway, lit with bright yellow, that opened on the wall he had been leaning against. The bits and pieces of his shackles were still there, still on the floor. "Rin," Len said softly. "I'm coming home."

Before he could take a step, Kaito called out, "Len-san."

The boy turned, apprehension in his eyes.

"You have chosen well. This hallway will take you to your new life. You may meet her there again. Today…today is your new birthday, Kagamine Len."

Len smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Kaito-oujisama." And he turned, and began walking the hallway to his reborn life.

"Rin? Rin? Riiinnnn…."

She grunted a little, turning over in her sleep.

"Rin, get up, you sleepyhead."

Slowly, she opened her eyes and sat up, taking in her surroundings. She was dressed in black shorts and a white sailor-collar top. She looked to her left and saw a smiling face that so closely mirrored her own…

"Len!" she leapt into his waiting arms and he swung her around, holding her tightly. He had waited for this, waited for her, and now they were together again.

"I'm home, Rin."