The Ink Family Legacy: Generation 2 Chapter 6
So. I know I said that this chapter would be up yesterday, but I am clearly not to be trusted with telling time. Also, I thought that taking the final exam meant class was over. >_> I didn't get out of class until 10 pm! So that's why this is a tad late.
And, well, I'm not usually one for spoiler titles, but...
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India had died that very night.
Performing a concert for her fans, she had dropped onstage and could not be revived. Surrounded by hundreds of crying fans and not one of her family members, India died.
She turned, seeing for the first time a dark cloaked figure.
"Your time has come, India Ink."
India smiled wistfully. "You have quite the timing. My daughter in law is nine months pregnant, you know."
"I am well aware of your life. I also know that your son thought it clever to cheat me and allow you to see two of his children already. Now come on, into your grave."
India hesitated, then said, "May I ask a favor of you?"
"You may. I do not guarantee I will grant it."
"May my husband at least live to see this next child be born? I don't want to leave Finn and Star alone with three children..."
Grim held out his cold, skeletal hand. "In exchange, you may not return to this realm until he joins you in death."
India firmly took his hand. "That's fine."
"It may be years."
"I know."
"Very well. Let's go, India."
So, with a flash of golden mist, India disappeared with the Grim Reaper.
A girl with a love for music...
...and love for her husband, Leo.
India dearly loved each and every one of her four children.
The founder of this legacy. Who knew that it would even get this far?
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Of course, it was only so long before the family was called. And there was only one person who could retrieve India's grave.
Leo.
"D-damn it India... I...I was supposed to go first!"
No one could go near Leo as he openly mourned his wife. Even India's most fervent fans stood to the side, misty eyed. Silence reigned.
Finally Leo wiped his tears and picked up the grave marker.
It was time to bring her back to her family.
And so the grave was placed in a quiet corner of the place India called home, beneath the cherry trees she so loved.
Leo was still devastated, of course. Coming home, seeing Ophelia and her likeness to India... And of course, the fact that he would have to tell Finn when he got home from work.
Poor Julie couldn't even go to bed that night. She was too used to Grandma India tucking her in when Finn worked late at work. How was she to start school the next day?
And Star? Star was particularly hard hit. Although Julie was already a child, Star felt like she didn't know enough about raising children. How was she supposed to do this? Even Kiki had raised her competently enough until Star was five. What if she was genetically destined to mess it up from here on out?
And all that stress just got worse.
Star couldn't believe it. This baby would be born the day India died?
The baby wouldn't wait, however, so Star was set to deliver her third child into the world...
And it was a boy! It looks like Finn would get his first chance to name a child.
Star carefully cradled her newest child in her arms and tried not to cry, but the tears still came, falling down onto her son's face.
But then, suddenly, she had another sharp pain.
"Oh come on!" Star yelled to the heavens. "This can't really be happening, right?"
But, alas, it was.
And Star gave birth to another little boy that night.
Unable to even start to deal with the mental stress, Star put her two boys to bed and went to lay down. Perhaps in a few hours she could get up and face reality.
And Finn? Well, he had quite a lot to face when he got home.
Leo tried to calmly tell Finn everything. For his part, he only could stare blankly ahead. India, gone? Two new sons?
"Finn, please. Just...try and be strong. You're a father and the head of this family. They depend on you."
Finn knew that much was true. But at the moment, all he could do was to hug his hysterical daughter and read to her until she fell asleep.
Star finally got it together enough to put Filly to bed, since everyone, intentionally or not, was avoiding her.
"Love you, sweetheart. Good...goodnight."
"Night, Mama! Hey, will Gramma India be back tomowow?"
"Th-that...I...t-time for sleeping, Filly."
Star had barely made it downstairs before she started crying again. She couldn't stay upstairs...
...or the sound of crying would be too loud for the light sleeping Juliet to sleep through.
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Morning came, as it always did. But to Finn, it was the first morning without his mother. He had to stand so his quiet crying wouldn't wake up Star. But soon he heard her crying behind him as well, muffling it into the pillow.
When Finn got downstairs, he was surprised to find Leo in full uniform, heading off to work.
"Dad, you're..."
Leo gave a wavering smile. "They need me. After all, Juliet started her first day of school, right? I had to get up so she could."
After all, Juliet, brave as she was, had wanted to skip school. But seeing her grandfather get up and go to work after India died inspired her. She would not be a coward.
And Grandpa Leo was still waiting for that picture.
Finn still had the business of naming his sons. He picked up his firstborn, holding him close and fighting more tears.
"Orion. That'll be your name, buddy. Star will think it's silly, but..."
His younger son was harder to name, so he started searching through the names of the stars in the Orion constellation. His knowledge of astronomy was pretty vast.
"You'll be Rigel then. That's a good name, huh?"
And then Finn went over and tossed Filly in the air. His little daughter, usually so quiet, was the only one laughing in the house. Finn made it his mission to keep that going, even if the grandmother she took after was gone.
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Time passed.
Ophelia learned to walk and talk like a big girl, and her shy charm eventually warmed the house back up again. After all, wasn't this proof that India wasn't really gone?
And soon it was time for the twins' birthday! Star could hardly believed that so much time had passed since their birth and India's death, but at least the wounds had started to heal.
Julie cheered hard for her baby brothers...
...and found herself with two active little toddlers!
Orion, like his father, got excited about everything that happened. With Finn's sandy hair and Star's golden brown eyes, this mischievous guy got into everything. His love for trouble was only matched by his love for the outdoors.
Rigel wasn't as wild as his brother, but was certainly a friendly little baby. He inherited his grandfather Jebediah's brown hair and had Finn's brown eyes. He liked to play, but often forgot what he was doing halfway through and abandoned it.
After the party, Juliet got back to work...
...while the twins got to play. The brothers already got along very well, always playing with each other.
Their personalities were quite clear. While Rigel was a sweet, gentle boy...
...Orion was a little devil. He was going to give his parents some trouble in the future.
A future, that it turns out, Leo would not get to see.
Everyone saw the black mist seeping through the house and immediately feared the worst, only to see it confirmed at the top of the stairs. Leo couldn't decide if he was lucky or unlucky to be surrounded by his family in death. Seeing their faces broke his heart.
"P-please Mr. Reaper! D-don't take my Grandpa Leo! He's the only one I have!"
"The contract has been fulfilled. Leonard Ink, your time has come."
Leo made one last plea. "Please, please grant me just a little longer! My grandsons just became toddlers, and Finn and Star still need so much help..."
The Grim Reaper was unmoved.
"You have already received one extension. You have no more. Now come."
Seeing that it was futile, Leo wearily rose and took the reaper's hand. With another flash of black mist and golden dust, Leo too was gone.
A dedicated doctor...
...that dearly loved India, the woman who's life he unknowingly saved.
No one could say that he didn't love his children just as much as India, even though his work saving lives kept him from them.
From the moment he fell in love, Leo was an important part of this legacy.
And now they were together again.
"I will love you even after I'm dead."
Forever.
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To say that life went on would be a fact. To say it was easy would be the darkest of lies.
Finn fainted no less than three times in a row from shock, essentially leaving the children to Star.
Who, of course, had just lost the man she considered her father since she about eight.
This was especially hard to take when confronted with Rigel, who clearly had the genes of both her beloved fathers.
But she was a mother before a grieving daughter. And so the three toddlers were put to bed, clueless as to why Mommy was crying.
But their dreams were free of death.
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There is no time to mourn with three toddlers and a child. There were always lunches to pack, diapers to change, and training to do.
And these three always went cheerfully about their days.
Filly perfected her xylophone skills and even could repeat the melodies Julie sang to her.
Orion loved to play with the blocks, and by play, I mean he smashed them together and made huge messes that Rigel and Filly picked up.
And gentle little Rigel liked quieter games.
Whenever Julie got home, she instantly took to playing with Ophelia. Ophelia was nearly a child and could keep up with some of the more elaborate doll plots.
When kicked out of the dollhouse, Rigel could easily play with Orion. Orion even calmed down a little bit when his twin came to the table.
It was sights like these that slowly healed their parents' hearts.
Of course, homework always awaited the eldest child. With a bit sigh, Juliet got up to do her work, wishing that Filly was old enough to come to school with her.
And, as it turns out, that day wasn't too far away!
As shy as Ophelia was, it quickly became clear that she got excited about little things like new songs on the radio and her parents coming home from work. A clumsy, shy, excitable little girl was what the second Ink girl had grown into.
Filly was finally as old as her sister, and would perhaps grow to be as beautiful as her grandmother was in her youth.
But for now it was time for bed.
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I...yeah. Despite me having played the sims since August, these are the first ones I've had die on me. So...yeah.
Please comment.