Persephone was quite a mess. Not that she had been beaten up badly--all she got was a slap to the face--but emotionally, she felt pretty battered. A while ago, she had been kidnapped and broguht somewhere--what had transpired between her captivity and release...she positively had absolutely no idea. Sure, she had amnesia, but she had retained all normal functions and memories, right? She went to Shokushu, she knew who her friends were, who her annoyingly clingy sister was...her past and everything else she needed to know.

So who was Lillia Darkcrown?

Today, apparently, was Lillia's birthday and all the girls who knew her were getting flowers for her and putting it in her old room, since she was still missing. All the girls, but Persephone, who should have brought the most flowers there, since they had been the best of friends in their freshman year together. One thing led to another and eventually, Persephone was left alone to ponder over the person named Lillia Darkcrown.

Who was that person? How did she know her at all? How had they become friends? The more she thought about it, the more pained her head felt. It was as if something was blocking her memories. There were events in her head that often had blank spots. Times when she felt with certainty happened one way and then, all of a sudden, they'd change in her mind to happen another way. It was...disconcerting.

It was night time now and Persephone laid in bed, wearing a little pink sleeveless night gown. She was tired and sleepy, but worried. The lights were off and the only thing lighting up her room, was the stars and moon outside her window. It seemed awfully quiet that night and nary a cricket chirping outside. The girl sighed and turned to lie on her side, unable to get to sleep at all. At this moment, she remembered someone who used to sing to her. She couldn't put a name to the face and she couldn't quite get a grasp on the voice, but she knew it had been sweet and charming. And there was perfum, too...like sweet lilies...

Siferus stared at the moon, high in the sky, wondering how his daughter was on her birthday. A light was on in a dorm room below him. Descending down to the lit room he noticed a beautiful young woman laying on her bed, obviously lost in thought.

Slowly he opened the window and snuck into the room where the woman lay. Closing the window behind him, he threaded the window shut to prevent the potential escape of the woman.

Well, lonely night?

Persephone had begun to be lulled into sleep at the thoughts of a soft, soothing voice as well as the linger smell of lily perfume in her memories.

"Lillia..." she murmured, almost close to dozing right off finally when something startled her. She jerked upright in her bed, her long pink hair whipping about her as she tried to locate the source of the voice that spoke to her. And then those wide, innocent blue eyes landed right on the creature in her room. Those baby blues widened and she opened her mouth as if to scream for help...

...but then...something surprising happened.

She looked away and rubbed at her eyes, which were starting to fill with some tears.

She couldn't even work up the energy to be frightened at this point, not that she would have. Normally, she'd be all over this one, saying how cute it was. After all, she loved spiders and anything that pertained to them--even random mutant spiders with other parts that weren't really spidery at all. However, she did manage a little smile. Maybe she was asleep already and dreaming, she thought.

"A little lonely," she answered.

Lillia... Siferus heard the girl murmur just moments before he spoke.

Lillia? Does this girl know Lillia? She may be able to help me. I suppose that I'll play the therapist. She obviously looks confused. Daughter first, rape second. He thought to himself as she rubbed her eyes.

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Siferus Darkcrown, and I'm here to help you. You obviously look lost, and I have a history in psychotherapy. You mentioned a woman a moment ago. Lillia was her name? Do you remember her last name?

Persephone looked at Siferus in curiosity, wondering what it meant to th monster whether or not she knew Lillia Darkcrown, but it couln't hurt in telling him anyways. There was no Lillia on this island anymore, as far as most of the students were concerned. She had just diappeared into thin air, as if she had never been, only to remain as fragments of memory.

"Um...My name's Persephone..." the pink haired girl replied, sitting up properly in her bed. "And Lillia...I think her last name is the same as yours, now that you mention it..." The girl paused, tilting her head to the side. "...You're not related to her, are you?" she asked, rther innocently, as if talking to a monster was a normal thing for a human girl to do. Then again, Persephone had never been quite normal to begin with. This was, after all, the girl with the strangest luck streak in the history of the school.

Persephone, you say. I like that name. Elegant. And yes, I am related to her. You see, I am her father. We look different now, because of the labs here turning me into what you see now. But, Lillia is my daughter. Do you know where I can find her, Persephone?

Siferus had come across his first lead to finding his daughter. This filled with a stifled joy. He may have found someone who knew her, but it was uncertain how much he could find out from this girl. Siferus found himself eyeing her body, wanting to play with her, but knowing that he had more important things to do first.

Please tell me everything you can remember about her.

Persephone stared at Siferus, the idea that any one of the girls being related to such a creature easily passing in her head. Why not? Strange things were quite capable of happening, no matter how unlikely. Once you eliminate the impossible, there rests only the possible, improbable as they may be, as they say. No, she wasn't staring in shock over this revelation, but more in a sort of...sad way.

After all, until a few hours ago, Lillia Darkcrown didn't exist in her mind.

"I...I'm sorry. I don't know. You see...I...I lost some of my memory a while ago...and while I'm capable of functioning like a normal person and I still know who I am...I have no idea who Lillia is..." She paused a moment, then looked at her hands, which had begun clenching at her bedsheets. "...even though everyone says that we were friends...I don't remember."

I see. Well, what does she look like? Close your eyes and try to envision her and tell me what you see when you think of her. Anything. What she is wearing. Any smells you can think of. Tell me every detail. I can help you get some memories back, I'm pretty sure.

When Persephone closed her eyes, Siferus took the opportunity to maneuver his tendrils around to get ready to grab her, never touching her skin.

What can you see? Any smells?

Persephone furrowed her brows, unsure about what she was told to do. Should she really close her eyes just like that? But eventually, she closed them and tried remembering what she could of this mysterious Lillia...anything of her realy. Lillia...Lillia...what could she recall of the girl she couldn't remember? Of the girl who didn't exist in her own personal world?

Unaware of the tendrils surrounding her, all she recalled was someone singing her a lullaby during a storm and also...

"Umm...I remember...Lilies," she said. "When I think of Lillia...the mslle of lily scent perfume comes to mind. And...singing...I have no idea what the voice really sounds like...it's all garbled in my head...but...I hear singing..."

Persephone nodded, keeping her eyes closed, allowing her mind to roam free. Was there anything else she could remember? Anything that would come surfacing back--

All of a sudden, fragments started flashing in the pink haired girl's mind--needles, pumps, things being inserted into her body--tests after tests--a girl's white hand being ripped from her grasp as they were pulled away...

...a face she couldn't even see the features of....like a ghost in a photo...

Frightened by the images she didn't recognize, she screamed, throwing herself away and into the tendrils nearby, obvious scared by the quick flashes she had. As soon as they had come, they disappeared and her chest heaved with a few frightened sobs.

Siferus was ready to grab her when she suddenly screamed and threw herself back into his tendrils, which he could pass off as trying to catch her to keep her from hurting herself.

What did you see?

Persephone shook her head, too shocked by what she had randomly seen to put it into words. The poor young woman was shaking so bad the tendrils that had caught her would have felt it! She couldn't even open her mouth to say a word, which was rare for the pink haired student. Normally, Persephone was seen as one of the braver ones amongst the school populace, but what she had seen was so terrifying it even had her shaking in terror.

The girl just curled up, unable to say anything, since she was so shaken up. Her head was starting to hurt her as well, as if the mental block wasn't just because of the severe trauma that had been dealt to her. There was more to it!

The tendrils did indeed feel her shaking. Siferus had pushed her too far. She was mentally shutting down.

I'll give you a few minutes. If you still want my help, I will continue to help you. Believe me, it benefits both of us. What he didn't bother to tell her was if she didn't want to continue the therapy, it would be time to move onto the raping of this beautiful girl.

Persephone sniffled and nodded. Right now, she just wanted to get a breather, because what she had seen--gods, was it terrifying. But soon enough the memory was gone from her mind and she was barely even crying anymore, but one thing was for sure...the student wasn't ready to remember those times spent in the NICE labs!