The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 3 Chapter 7
Welcome back everyone! We're here with another chapter of the Inks. Incidentally, this entire chapter takes place before I installed Late Night.
Last chapter there were adventures in France, hope for Solstice, and the birth of fragile little Clover. What's next? Well, Sol's got a ghost to revive...
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Not long after Clover was born, it was time for another Ink to travel abroad. This time it was Solstice, going alone to meet Edith in China.
He felt horrible to leave his sister when she was going through all this, but she could tell he had this trip on his mind and told him not to let her hold him back.
China was overwhelmingly beautiful, but he tried not to let his surroundings distract him too much. Sol was on a mission.
"Okay, she said the second floor of the bookstore, right?" he said to himself. If he was wrong, he was in trouble - he didn't exactly speak Chinese, and finding he would be near impossible if this was wrong.
But as he climbed the stairs, he felt a little reassured. This seemed like the type of place Edith would be - heck, it was a place he would like to be with all these books.
He was sorely tempted to read them, but he had to focus! Ah, it felt like his mind was going in a million different places all the time.
Sure enough, Edith was there at the top of the stairs, staring out the large window. Samuel was there too, quietly leaning against a nearby bookcase.
"Ah, took you long enough." Edith said, standing. "Did you manage to sort things out at home?"
"As much as I can at this point." Sol replied.
"You better be committed to this!" Sammy chimed in. "This isn't something you can do halfheartedly!"
"My heart's in it...it's my brain I'm worried about." he admitted. "But I'm going to focus."
Edith smiled slightly. "Glad to hear that you've decided. Losing focus here could be deadly. But if you're still up to it, I think we can recover your Claire."
"You're sure?"
"Providing you hold up your end, yes. That, and you have to survive. Still up to it?"
"Of course. Just tell me where to go."
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Well, Sol would have never guessed that he would be sent to a giant dragon-shaped cave with only a faded map and vague instructions to follow. However, this was the only lead he had gotten in years, and he had to at least try to follow it through.
Edith had warned him that the entrance was hidden behind a wall - she had failed to mention that all there was was a wall. Ten minutes in and he already had no idea what the hell he was doing.
"I feel stupid." he sighed. "What am I even looking for here?"
Frustrated, he slammed his fists against the wall...
And was astonished when the wall began to crumble away.
"I...whoa. Uh, I guess that works too."
And past the rubble was a rusted set of stairs, mostly obscured by overgrown branches. It looked very suspicious and generally dangerous - yeah, this was probably the place.
The halls looked very old, filled with dull and cracked artwork. But beyond that, strange as it seemed, Solstice sensed a humming energy. It was an unsettling, chilling force, very similar to how he used to feel around ghosts when he first started seeing them.
"Must be getting closer then, huh." he murmured, turning the corner.
Weird. Was it getting warmer...?
Ooooof course there was fire.
Well, to be fair, Edith did say things could get deadly.
Solstice steeled himself for the crossing. As long as he was extraordinarily careful, nothing should go wrong.
Don't freak out.
The flames flickered mere inches away, giving him a path less than three feet wide to transverse when things were calm. Worse yet, there would be flareups where he had to stand absolutely still and pray that the fire around him would not choose to do the same.
Of course, even without him burning up, the air itself felt saturated with heat and soot. Keeping calm with deep breaths meant fighting off the panic that rose whenever he felt that molten air rushing down his throat.
Finally, he was clear. The fires still raged, but at least he could get more than a few inches away from them now. He pulled out his map, now wrinkled and creased with soot, and squinted at it.
"Okay, so there are some circle things here, and...sparkles? Stars? Dammit, I should've gone over this with her again..."
Solstice looked up and around for anything similar to the pictures, and surprisingly found a suspicious looking hole in the wall. Well, the only way to go here was to stick his arm in elbow deep, right?
"Whoa!"
Not seconds after he reached in, he felt the familiar chill, but this time it was accompanied by needles of cold punching into his skin. When he withdrew his hand in a panic, he found a surprising sight.
What was this gold thing? It pulsated and glowed softly, twinkling in the dim light. He had never seen anything like it.
And then, slowly, the cold turned to warmth as the light dissolved into his skin. He could literally see gold sparks winding up his veins before fading away.
He felt stronger, somehow. Like he had after he banished that ghost back home. Like he had felt shortly after Claire disappeared.
Was this some sort of creepy ancient ghost energy, then? He really hoped that there wasn't some horrible curse associated with it, after all the trouble he went through to get it. But Edith didn't seem the type to go that far out of her way to hurt anyone - she seemed more the direct type.
So for now, Sol would trust her and gather this energy. Eventually, it would save Claire.
Solstice started to spend his days in the depths of the cave, resurfacing only to eat and sleep.
There were fire and electricity traps, of course, but sometimes the tunnel was a bit more crafty in it's ways of hiding the energy. Sol found himself clearing rubble from entryways and hallways to get around, sometimes in nearly pitch black tunnels.
Then, reward.
"Oh joy...swimming." Sol groaned.
Growing up with a hydrophobic mother meant he spent as little time as possible around water, and the idea of diving down a well and following an underwater passage was terrifying to normal people.
He managed to get around his aversion, however, and was soon an expert in retrieving energy even on the bottom of the deepest well.
And then, reward again!
The whole sequence was nothing less than exhausting. Days blurred into weeks, weeks into months. He called home often, but sometimes he felt like he was out of the time stream completely, drifting along in a timeless space.
Drifting, drifting...
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Two years.
Solstice had been here for two years.
He felt strong, stronger than he ever had. He could turn on and off his powers now, and when they were on he could see ghosts from hundreds of years ago. Most encouraging yet, when his powers were at their best, he could catch a warm orange glow every now and then, a faint smile here and there...
But he missed his family. He missed his father's cooking and playing chess with his mother. He missed being babied by Filly and picking on the kids. Hell, he even missed Miles. But he had put in too much work to give up now.
"Trouble sleeping, Solstice?"
Sol had gotten quite used to Edith's silent approach. It used to make him jump every time.
"Just thinking. My sister's kid is almost a toddler now. Last I saw her she was just a tiny preemie in a glass box." he said, looking over the city with faraway eyes.
"It's ready, Mom."
Edith turned and smiled. "Thank you, Sammy. Go ahead."
Sol looked up curiously. "What's ready?"
"I think we're ready, Solstice. You're strong enough for this to work now."
"You mean...!"
"Yes. It's time to bring Claire back."
"Really?! We can do this without horribly mangling me? Because every time I've asked you these past couple years, you've said that I'd probably rip my soul out of my body and end up on some astral plane."
Edith chuckled. "And it would have been true. But now you're strong enough to restore Claire and stay alive."
Sol grinned. "So what do I have to do?"
"Er...you sure all I have to do is sleep? Seems kind of anti-climatic after two years of life-threatening adventures..."
"And you still want to risk your neck more, is that it?" Edith said, bemused. "But trust me. This process is very, very complicated and I can't have you screwing it up. So you sleep, I'll do the work."
"Well...okay..."
And so, Sol slept. Slipping into a dream, he had only closed his eyes for a second...
...only to open them to this.
Was he still asleep? He must have been, but it felt so real here. Wherever 'here' was - a garden, perhaps? He looked around to orient himself, but there were no landmarks - or buildings - as far as he could see.
A sudden burst of wind scattered the butterflies and almost hid a soft voice from him.
"...Sol...?"
Solstice whirled around, breath hitching in his chest. Claire. It was her, she was real, she was there...
"These butterflies are pretty neat, aren't they Sol?" she said, oblivious to his open stare. "Nothing like this in the Riverview Cemetery."
Before she could get in another word, Solstice rushed up and grabbed her hand.
"Claire. Claire, I'm finally here." he said. "I'm here to take you back."
She smiled. "Took you some time, huh? I've missed you."
With that, he pulled her in close. "Sorry. So much happened since you left."
She giggled into his shoulder. "I know. I saw most of it. Guess I wanted to tease you a little for it."
"What happened?" Sol asked, releasing his grip. "I passed out, and when I woke up I was gone. The other ghosts tried to tell me what happened, but I want to hear it from you."
"Well, I was stealing too much of your energy, Sol. I was staying up the whole day and had started walking normally instead of drifting everywhere. It took me some time to figure out that I got stronger in direct proportion to how much weaker you got. So I had to give you your energy back. I just got stuck halfway."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"It wasn't so bad. I actually spent a lot of that time in this weird garden. Time never passes, so these plants never grow, but oh well. It was difficult to see you miss me so much without being able to tell you that I was there, though."
Sol smiled. "You know if you go back with me, I'm never gonna leave you alone."
"I think I can live with that."
This time, she took his hand.
"Let's go back, Solstice. Wake up."
Solstice bolted awake, nearly tumbling out of bed with his momentum. The dream was gone, and he felt exhausted.
"Whoa there kid - don't want to fall, do you?" Edith said. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've been hit by a truck." he groaned.
"Well, considering you were out for a week, that's pretty good I'd say."
"A week?!" Sol had already been feeling out of the loop - this was not going to help in the slightest.
Edith smiled. "C'mon, get dressed and come with me. There's someone you need to see."
He didn't need to be told twice.
Solstice had seen some weird things in his life.
In fact, you could argue that his life was defined by strange, extraordinary things. He had even spent the last two years of his life roaming China for ancient spirit energy.
But this? This was almost too strange to believe.
"Claire." he breathed. "She's here. She's human! How did you...?"
"How do ghosts roam among us? How do you and I see and speak with them? There are many very complex and nigh inexplicable things in this world, Sol."
"Is that your way of telling me you don't want me to know?"
Edith smiled. "You'll have to forgive me for that, but I think it's best that my knowledge and your powers stay separate. Together they would cause too much trouble, I think - got a glimpse of that while bringing back this girl."
Their conversation must have been loud, because soon enough Claire was stirring and sitting up groggily, blinking against the morning light. Sol made a move to go to her, but Edith held him back.
"Calm down, she's still newly revived. This is the first time she's woken up human since the day she died, and you'll only rile her up. You need to eat anyway. Go do that and wait downstairs - I'll help Claire get ready."
Sol tried to sit quietly - after all, he had been patient ten years or so, what was another hour? But here he was squirming like a nervous boy about to take a girl to the dance or something.
"Calm down, Sol." Sammy said, idly reading. "My mom's not going to abduct her or anything."
"Sorry kiddo." Sol laughed in return.
Finally the old woman peeked into the room. "Well, Sol? Ready to see who you've been working for these past few years?"
"More than ready."
"Make him promise not to laugh!" came a high voice from the hall.
"He won't. Now come on Clair, let's..."
Claire stepped shyly into the living room, eyes locked on Sol. She was no longer decked in earthly tones - she was wearing pink and white in a loose sundress.
But the most drastic change was in Claire's hair - it was cut to chin-length and was just about as short as Sol's hairstyle.
"I look silly, don't I?!" Claire panicked. "Edith said I needed a fresh look for a new life, but I think I went too far with the scissors..."
"Claire, you could be bald and I would still consider you the most gorgeous woman in the world."
Claire smiled brightly, and Sol could feel the relief washing over him. It was her, and she was real. Not some weird clone or zombie, but simply the woman he fell in love with so long ago.
Claire wandered out onto the balcony, looking with wonder at their surroundings. Sol wondered if she had only ever seen Riverview.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Overwhelmed, I guess." she admitted. "There's so much that happened in your life while I was frozen in time. With all that's passed, I'm just surprised you still care for me."
Solstice swept her up into a gentle kiss, happy to find that she returned it.
"You don't seem very convinced that I love you, Claire." he said when they parted. "But if you can trust me, you'll find that I love you every bit as much and more as I did when you agreed to be my girlfriend all that time ago."
"We've got each other, and we've got the rest of our lives. Let's enjoy it."
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There was still some time left before their return to Riverview, and Sol and Claire spent every minute of it in each others' company.
Claire was still as intensely curious now as she was as a ghost, and he often found himself telling her everything he learned about China the two years he'd been there.
Sometimes, though, they would just quietly stroll along and sight see, holding hands.
Well, sight seeing isn't all they did.
They did have a lot of catching up to do, after all.
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It was the night before their departure, and Sol and Edith briefly discussed their plans on where to go from here.
"I'm going to quit working for the RSES." Sol said. "I've gotten what I wanted from them anyway. I can go back to being a regular sci-fi writer. But what are you going to do, Edith?"
"Well," she said. "I think Sammy and I will remain in China. I can't go back to that awful organization. I only put up with it for so long because it paid the bills."
"But you're different from me, Sol. You are truly a man who sticks to his ideals. My reasons for doing things were but for knowledge - you work to achieve active results. That was an inspiration to me. I've learned a lot from you in two years."
"Likewise. Take care of yourself, Edith, Sam."
"Take care of Claire, you."
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"Well, everything seems to be in order here. I'll ask one more time just to be sure - are you sure you're ready to take Clover home, Mr. and Mrs. Ink?"
"Are we, Miles? Maybe we should do this next month, just in case..."
"Lia, relax. We haven't spent the last two years learning all that for nothing. We can take whatever Clover throws at us."
Filly laughed. "Well, I guess you're right. C'mon, let's go pick her up..."
"Ah, I can't wait until we get her home and into a proper crib."
"Wouldn't you like that Clover? A nice crib is much better than these glass boxes, aren't they."
"Cwib Daddy?"
"Miles, turn her this way so I can get a good picture of her."
"Alright - say cheese for the camera, Cloves!"
"Cheeeeese!"
Clover had beaten what seemed like impossible odds to make it to her toddler birthday! Like Ethan, Clover got black hair from Miles, but was unique in getting her grandfather Jay's gold eyes. She also had a dusting of fair freckles, thanks to Filly. Clover (or Chloe, as the twins called her) was a very bright little girl, but due to her heart condition she didn't move around very much.
Things they had taken for granted with Ethan and Paige, like being able to put them to bed every night, were that much more special with Clover. Seeing her in a normal crib and without a tube down her nose was a great relief to them.
Miles and Filly were almost as hesitant as Chloe when it came to bedtime!
And although she slept very well...
...Filly couldn't help but check on her all the time.
It was pretty safe to say that Clover was spoiled rotten by both her grandparents. They were always with her at a moment's notice, reveling in her adorable smiles.
And while Reina definitely wanted nothing to do with her, Miles' father Jay was very interested in his granddaughter.
All in all, Clover led a happy life. Well, except...
...for the crying.
The doctors said that it was probably due to chest pains from Clover's weakened heart. And, as small as she was, it probably wasn't safe to give her the pain medication that adults would receive for that.
As heartbreaking as it was to hear her cry, at least she was alive and generally very happy. And hopefully by the time she was five she would put on enough weight to qualify for the medicine.
In the meantime, they would just have to focus on the happier times.
Which basically translated into lots and lots of pictures of her being cute.
And you can bet that the minute Sol was back from China he took to this kid. He was yet another that fell for her toddler charm and pretty much did whatever she wanted.
"I think I'm spending too much time with you, kid." Sol laughed. "I'm starting to get the crazy notion that I wouldn't mind a kid of my own."
"Uncwle Sol pway?"
"Sure kid, we'll play in a minute. Just gotta let my guest in."
"Clover's pretty much attached to your hip, isn't she?"
"Ah well, what can I say?" Sol replied with a grin.
Yes, now that Claire was back and living in a small house in town, she found the time to come over every day. The family was a bit shocked to find out that Sol had such a long term girlfriend, but accepted her nonetheless.
Seeing her around the house was becoming a staple these days.
As was seeing these two flirt. They did a lot of that.
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Afternoons in the nursery pretty quickly became 'twins monopolize Clover' time.
"Where am I, Chloe? Hey, where did I go?"
"Where's Efan? I no sees yew!"
"Here I am!"
"Eeep!"
"Efan is magic! Again again!"
"Alright, but no peeking this time, ok?"
"Efan gone again!"
"Don't scare her too much, E!" Paige teased. "If she gets the hiccups again, Mom's gonna be mad."
"Me? Scare Chloe? Never." Ethan jokingly replied.
A call came from the kitchen. "Kids, cake time!"
Ethan and Paige hopped to their feet, straightening up a few things before they left.
"Yew go bye bye?" Clover asked, worried.
"Only for a little bit, Chloe. We'll be right back!"
"Be good. No chewing Ken."
"I is always good!"
"Efan hug too!"
"Alright, alright."
"And happy birfday Efan and Paigey!" Clover chimed in.
The twins smiled. "Thanks!"
Oh yes, it was birthday time alright. The twins were about to embark on adolescence, something no one was quite prepared for.
"Hmm, I wonder if Dad would buy me a bass..."
"I finally get to run track in high school! Ah, I'm so excited!!"
"Wait, uh, if that sparkly thing has to happen to me, I change my mind. That looks painful."
"I said I change my mind!"
Paige grew up to look strikingly like her father, inheriting his eyes and facial structure. Therefore, she did look a fair bit like Reina Croix, a fact not lost on the high school population. Unfortunately, she picked up a bit of a bad, compulsive habit...
Ethan was less bad habit, more encouraging them. As a teenager he found he had the penchant for praising people so as to subtly get them to do what he wanted. Not that he ever really used that - he was still the eccentric kid who never really said much in class.
Straight after their birthdays, the twins set off to their respective hobbies. Paige started working on getting in shape for the track team...
While Ethan worked on his latest invention, apparently having upgraded to wielding a blowtorch without goggles.
Watch out world. The gen 4 twins are teenagers now.
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Staring at Clover gives me diabetes. Blood sugar...spiking... I'm also quite pleased how the twins grew up! I knew from day one that Paige would get Miles' face, but it worked out quite well for her! And Ethan got Filly's eyes, which works for him (and makes him less of a clone).
Next chapter will have Bridgeport! And...I'm not quite sure what else, as I haven't played it yet. XD Please comment~