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Sigh, after a few difficulties offline, I'm finally back!

In part three of our story introducing Hieko, the action moves to Demon City 7, where our heroes must call upon the Slayers Organization and its beautiful genius Medical Specialist for some much-needed help. There's a lot of questions that need answers. The full truth will finally come to light, though, when the mystery girl who's heart of all of this talks about her dark and oppressive past!
---

"The Case of the Spider Girl!" -- Part Three!

--1--

Kikyo Sakai managed to talk to Hikari Abe Zong, CEO of the Slayers Organization, directly...he put her through to the redheaded Medical Specialist in his employ, and it didn't take long for things to be put in motion. Less than half an hour after that, an SO shuttlecraft arrived and picked up Hieko and EVERYBODY in Chiba. The moment they reached headquarters, Zong had immediate worries about whether the mystery girl or anybody in contact with her had to be quarantined for health reasons. A certain prodigy wearing glasses had to exert all of her patience to calm the suit's nerves and told him that just because they were dealing with a true unknown didn't automatically mean she could spread something! Still, ever erring on the side of caution, the Medical Specialist quietly did make sure that scanning the girl for any possible diseases or other possibly unhealthy anomalies was part of the thorough medical examination Hieko had to be put through.

Fortunately, most of that examination was reasonably unobtrusive...besides an inevitable blood sample that had to be taken painlessly, anything else Hieko had to offer came from her saliva, stool and urine. For the last two, the mortified girl at least had the consolation that she could, er, give such samples in the privacy of a bathroom. In the mid-21st Century, with all of the advances in the medical sciences both conventional and mystic, it only took a handful of hours for the exam to be done. But everyone would stay at the headquarters in comfortable rooms overnight because the Medical Specialist took almost twice that length of time to analyze the results of the exam thoroughly and triple-check all of her findings. This was a Demoness of a type never, ever seen before, and she needed to be thorough.

--2--

Finally, the very next morning, the Inazuma Fighters, Karin and Zong were invited to the Medical Specialist's office. Ever since her examination, Hieko was in a neutral bedchamber...Raya visited the girl several times just to make sure she was okay and was comforted by the fact that even though she was alone, help was never far away. As a result, of all of them, both Raya and Tobi didn't get much sleep compared to the rest.

Medical Specialist Leah Masters hardly got to sleep at all outside of a couple of brief naps as her highly advanced diagnostic equipment did their grind at times, and it showed only a little...any sign that she was tired was overwhelmed by her quiet excitement as she took a seat and regarded all of these heroes and her boss. Leah began, "Everyone, I've got a lot to report about Hieko...so sit back, this will take a while.

"First of all, I've confirmed beyond any doubt that Hieko was genetically engineered. All of the signs are there in her genetic markers that the girl was conceived in vitro using a radically modified egg and sperm. I've tried using my supercomputers to determine exactly what type of Demons her birth parents were, but they can't. The base changes were that radical! That's also the biggest reason why Hieko is completely unlike any being in my medical codex on Demonkind, which covers every type possible. Chronologically speaking, the girl is 17 years old, but I've determined she's spent her entire life in confinement. One key indicator of that is her unusual skin pigment. It isn't just a unique genetic trait, it's partly due to her never having been outside until Sensei Koyanagi and Soraya found her."

Pensive as heck, and even moreso than anyone else there, Hikari asked, "Can you say why, Doctor? What reason could anyone have to create that girl and keep her confined since her birth?"

Leah told him, "I can't tell you why, sir, because Heiko refused to answer any real questions I had about where she came from. But...she wasn't just confined. There are signs that she's been subject to years of experimentation, mainly from...the scars I took photographic evidence of on her body."

Soraya reacted to that the worst and moaned, "Gods...!"

Hikari then asked, "Considering she's such an unknown, is that girl dangerous??"

Leah gave the suit a quiet stare and told him flatly, "Sir, that girl is as relatively and reasonably dangerous as me, you, and any one of us in this office right now. There is nothing about this girl that marks her as an unusual threat compared to anyone else, and I'm speaking of the entire spectrum of people from Humans to Demons to Angels and so forth. She's no danger simply because she's different."

Hikari let some of the pent-up anxiousness in his heart slip out as he asked, "Well, does she have anything...ah, communicable??"

"No, sir."

"What about her, ah, eating habits? She is a Demon, so could she want to eat...uh...!" As Zong really grappled to find a way to complete that question tactfully -- since he's an asshole, that was a hard task! -- EVERYBODY including Leah was staring at him now.

Homare, one of the two Dynamic Demon Brothers, asked him flatly, "Dude, are you worried she's going to eat people?!"

Karin groaned, "Only Demons from the Hells eat people...I mean, they'll go after Humans, other Demons, Angels, and anything that isn't tied down! Civilized Demons born on Earth don't. I ought to know." Her beloved Soraya, a fellow Demoness, shook her head and sighed...poor Tobi looked mortified. Hikari coughed.

Kotoya, a Demon like his adopted bro, told Leah quietly, "It must take a lot of patience to work for Mister Zong."

With a gentle yet dry tone, Leah enlightened him, "More than you know, sir."

Hikari coughed again, "Ahem! I'm not trying to offend anybody -- !"

Chikage growled, "Too late!" Everyone there was getting just as impatient with the suit.

Hikari defensively said, "Excuse me for offending anybody's sensibilities, but we ARE talking about a girl who isn't even like other Demons! I felt the need to ask!"

Leah told him with pure certainty, "The answer is still no, Mister Zong."

"Okay, then!"

Leah's expression became a bit more serious as she continued, "Still...one thing I took note of when I examined her genome is that Hieko has the ability to Transform like any Demon can. I asked Hieko what she can become, and she honestly doesn't know. She described it a bit strangely, she said she wasn't put through the proper trials to see what else she could become. I'm sure whatever that girl could Transform into would be different from anything we've seen, too."

Fubuki asked, "Doc, does she have any special powers and abilities outside of that?"

Leah nodded. "Her uniqueness comes mostly in her mystically enhanced strength and speed, Fubuki; in fact, her capabilites are proportional to what everyone knows about arachnids."

Homare lit up and commented, "Sounds like something out of a classic comic book!" He quickly added, "I love American comic books. I mean the ones from the 20th Century. Anything after that sucks!"

Kotoya told him, "Brother, I'm sure no one needed to know that."

"Well, I felt the need to say it!"

Buki growled, "Guys, cool it! So Hieko's that strong and fast, huh?"

Tobi commented with humor, "It would certainly be easy for that girl to climb up a tree...!"

Leah said warmly, "Yes, sir. Besides her physical abilities, the girl has the potential to perform Life Absorption, which as you all know is really the draining of another person's spirit energy. That immediately indicates that one of her parents, perhaps her mother, is a Succubus." That was a power most all Succubi like Nia O'Dwyer had! "Hieko also holds a unique defensive adaptation of extendable/retractable fangs through which she can inject venom, very similar to a spider."

Hikari frowned and asked, "And you're SURE she wouldn't want to eat people???"

Leah answered with a heavy sigh, "Yes, sir!"

Herene commented, "Wow, he's DEFINITELY an asshat, just like Kyoko-chan said!"

Kiki growled quietly, "Hai. If only we can act like he isn't here...but that would be kind of tough...!"

Hikari coughed again, "Ahem!"

Leah was really trying to ignore him as she continued her summary: "I couldn't determine if she has other gifts, physical or magical, but that may be because they're still dormant. If she does have the potential to use other powers, they've been retarded because she was kept in isolation and captivity for so long. To be held in such conditions would be detrimental to anyone's well being. Now that she's free...well, time would have to tell what else Hieko is capable of!

"Some of the most remarkable things I've discovered about Hieko involve scans of her brain. That girl is incredibly smart, and I'm sure that's due to constant virtual reality training since birth. You can always tell the signs of advanced VR, and I could see it in Hieko from my scans of her synaptic pathways, which might as well be in overdrive. She's naturally, extraordinarily inquisitive and she can soak information like a sponge no matter how she processes it.

"As brilliant as Hieko is, she's never had the chance to develop practical socialization skills. She's a literal virgin when it comes to communicating with anyone due to her lifetime of confinement. You might have noticed that she can't help but make analytical observations from time to time?"

Soraya nodded and asked, "Yes?"

"Well, she couldn't help but ask me the oddest questions as I examined her. Out of the blue she asked me why I wear glasses, and she automatically listed every possible reason I'd need them!" With a self-conscious tone as she adjusted her specs, Leah said, "I was honest and said I mainly use them for reading since I've got a slight case of nearsightedness. But that's how inquisitive she is. That doesn't mean she's a genius, though. She'd need practical schooling, training and experience the same way me and anyone else would."

Karin asked the doctor who restored her legs, "Leah, do you have any idea where Hieko-san was born and...kept until yesterday?"

"No, Karin. I had forensic experts with the Organization take a close look at her suit as I was examining her, and they didn't find anything distinctive. All they could tell from soil samples on the bottom of her boots, among other things, is that Hieko came from somewhere here on the main island of Japan. Unfortunately, such things aren't specific enough for us to know exactly where she came from."

Fubuki snarled, "Crap. I'd love to know where she came from and find whoever was playing Frankenstein with her...!"

Shizuna nodded and testified, "Only the gods know how many more have been born and experimented on the way she was...!"

Hikari got very serious then and grunted, "Hmmm. Anything else to make mention of, Doctor?"

Leah answered, "No, sir."

"Final assessment?"

Leah's brow furrowed as she told the suit, "I can't give you such a thing, Mister Zong. To really assess Hieko I'd have to keep her under observation for days, even weeks, but I'm not going to do that. Like I said, all of the evidence is right there that she's been under some kind of draconian observation her entire life as she was experimented on repeatedly. If she managed to escape from that kind of horrible life, I'm not about to subject her to even more of it, even if it's for her own good!

"And even if I did have more time to observe and monitor her, I still wouldn't know much more than I do now." Leah concluded, "There's only one real way for us to know everything about Heiko...and that's if the girl wants to tell us anything more about her."

Marika was full of empathy for the girl who wasn't so much of a mystery as she once was as she said softly, "I can't even start to wonder what kind of life Hieko-san has had...if you can call it a life at all."

Shizuna said coolly, "That makes it even more essential that we find out everything we need to about the girl, if only for her safety."

Homare said with enthusiasm, "Hells yeah. Some monsters wanted Hieko-san born into the world to basically keep her prisoner, do all kinds of inhuman shit to her. We need to find her parents, whoever the F they are, so we can stop 'em!"

Kotoya grunted, "Amen, brother. Unfortunately, Hieko isn't likely to simply tell us. But...there is a chance she'll open up to one of us." He gazed to the quietest and kindest of the Fighters and finished, "To you, Soraya-chan."

Soraya reacted silently as everyone else regarded her with care. Chikage nodded and reported, "You and Tobi-kin did connect with her damn strongly. We all felt that. You might be the only person on Earth she'd want to talk to about her life."

Uncertain, Raya asked, "Are you sure, Chi-chan...?"

Close by the young warrior, her beloved Karin gently took her hand and said, "That's not the right question, dear girl. What you ought to ask is, do you believe you can get through to her...?"

Raya looked into Karin's eyes, became very serious, and answered, "I want to believe, Karin...for her sake!"

--3--

The pale young beauty who called herself Hieko sat in her isolated bedchamber. Waiting. Hoping. Then the door slid open, and Soraya Setsushi strode in wearing her signature green, and Hieko suddenly felt a billion times better. Raya greeted, "Hi!"

"Raya!" The girl moved quickly to the young lady and glomped the Fighter around her waist. Raya returned the embrace sweetly as Hieko said with a rush, "I'm so happy to see you! I missed you so much, it...it was starting to hurt."

Raya purred, "I know, Hieko. I totally understand how you feel."

Hieko's unique dark eyes looked into Raya's...and the girl said, "You really do."

"Mm-hmm. I hope you don't mind this, but...I really need to talk to you. I need to ask you some questions."

Hieko frowned a bit. "I know."

Soraya reassured with total honesty, "I promise you won't be hurt. Nothing bad will happen if we talk. If you're to believe anything, please believe that."

"I do believe, Raya. But..."

"Go on?"

Hieko tentatively asked, "Can Fubuki be here, too? Please??? She's so strong and gorgeous and it makes me feel good knowing she's there!"

Raya warmly answered, "Yes, that's no problem at all. Let me call her...!" It only took her a few moments to get her mobile device and make a call.

And it wasn't much longer after that the bold leader of the Inazuma Fighters came into the room...Fubuki Inazuma regarded the pale waif and greeted, "Hey, Spider Girl!"

Hieko arched an eyebrow and asked, "'Spider Girl'??????"

With a burst of concern, Buki said, "Hey, I didn't mean that as an insult, Hieko! After what Doc Masters told us, I thought that would be a cool nickname for you. If you don't want to be called that -- !"

Hieko urgently interrupted: "No-no-no, please call me that again, please! I...I really really like it!" The girl looked like she was fit to gush all over the place, much to Soraya's amusement.

Buki humbly nodded. "Your wish is my command, Spider Girl."

"Thank you...!" Hieko REALLY gazed at the team leader and said with such an endearing tone, "It does feel so good to know you're here...Buki."

Completely disarmed, Fubuki managed, "Thanks. Uh...well...!" It would have obvious even to someone blind, deaf and dumb that Hieko was quickly starting to develop a bond with Fubuki VERY different from the one she established with Soraya. Buki felt so much for the pale beauty, too...Raya had been a friend and fellow teammate for a long time, and she was pleasantly surprised to see Fubuki blush. She'd never seen the bold blonde do that before!

But as amusing and undeniably interesting as this was, Raya got serious and told her leader, "I'll take it from here, Buki-chan! Hieko..." She lowered to one knee before the girl and said, "We do know a few things about you because of Leah-chan. We...we know you were kept confined most of your life. We know things were...done to you." Hieko reacted with such absolute shame as she looked away...she looked like she had been attacked physically. Raya, who was no stranger to pain herself, moaned, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but we had to know such things. We had to know that you need help, and I swear, me and Buki-chan don't want anything more than to help you. That's all we want."

Hieko finally found the strength to look at beautiful Raya again and moaned, "I-I know...! It just hurts you knowing so much."

Buki kept herself stoic, but it was hard as hell to as she counseled, "Knowing may hurt, but knowing also gives a soul power, Hieko. Knowing what we need to will ensure that you'll never be hurt again. Do you understand...?"

Hieko nodded. "Y-yes."

Raya gently instructed, "Please, sit over here..." Hieko was guided to a big, comfortable seat and sat down. "Can you tell us...more about your parents? What are their names? What kind of people are they...?"

Hieko looked at Raya and answered very carefully, but with honesty: "My...my mother's name is Clarice. My father's name is Robert. They said they were my parents, but...they always acted so cold. They never wanted me to call them mom and dad. They wanted me to call them my...Supervisors." It took a moment for her to continue. "They were so cold, and they're nothing like you, Raya. I...I don't know if they can care for anything."

Hieko looked at Buki and continued, "They were never as nice and loving and kind as Raya even for a moment in my entire life. They just wanted things from me every single day. Mostly I'd never see them, but they said they were always observing me. They never, ever let me out of the place I was born in. I didn't even get to see the sky and how azure blue it is for myself until I escaped yesterday. I managed to get away, but...

"...but I can't go back, I don't ever want to go back, I...I..."

Raya sweetly urged, "Shhhh. It's all right, Hieko."

Buki asked, "Hieko...can you at least tell us what it is you're so afraid of? Why couldn't you say anything before now...?"

Hieko moaned, "It isn't just that I'm afraid. I'm...ashamed."

Surprised, Raya asked, "Ashamed of what?? You haven't done anything wrong!"

Looking like she was in genuine pain again, Hieko shook her head. "Y-you don't know. I can't tell you...I...!"

Fubuki looked at her with eyes so much more serious than you could imagine. She said, "Spider Girl...be brave. Be honest with us. Trust in us. Please tell us what you did."

Like squeezing toxic puss from a wound, Hieko really struggled to tell them what she knew she needed to. "It...it's what I didn't do. I didn't help Marieta and I should have...!"

With total shock, BOTH Raya and Buki asked virtually in stereo: "Who's Marieta?!"

"Mmmnnnn...!" In real agony now, Hieko's very being stiffened...and finally let go of the great weight upon her soul. "M...Marieta is my sister.."

The pale beauty looked upon both of the Fighters with her soft black eyes as she really started to come clean with them. "Marieta is my older sister. Our parents...our Supervisors told us we were both born the same way. In vitro. I'm not sure how much older she was, but...one of my first memories was seeing her crying in a crib next to me. Our...our Supervisors kept us together in the same room for a while. When we were old enough to walk, they put us in separate chambers. I remember they said in that cold way they always talked that it would help to see how we would each develop separately. They wanted to see how different we would be with a minimum of...interaction.

"We did get to see each other...a-at least once a week. But those times were so short, and it was when our parents took...samples and things from us. We hardly got to know each other when we were able to talk. But I could always see that Marieta...hated being kept in confinement. I was so afraid all the time, but...I couldn't hate. I had no idea why I was born or what it was all for, what did our parents want from us???

"Marieta didn't care about things like that. She didn't care about knowing. She just wanted out, and it was making her so angry that she couldn't be free...!"

Both Raya and Buki were absorbing everything Hieko told them very carefully. The team leader commented, "I'm surprised these 'parents' bothered to give you two names, Hieko-san."

With a sullen tone, Hieko managed, "They did...but they were names we didn't want. Do you want to know the name they gave me?" Raya could only gaze back at the girl with loving curiosity. She finally told the Fighters, "They named me Agnes Rosette Caron, but I never liked that name. I didn't like the name because...it was given to me by people who didn't even care. Marieta hated her name, and I'm afraid she might have hated our parents even more. So...me and Marieta gave each other our names.

"It took a while over the brief times we got to talk to each other, and we had to be really sneaky about it in case our parents were watching...but my older sister gave me the name Hieko, and I thought of the name Marieta for her. Finally we could have something that was just between us, something secret, something special, something that was ours.

"Marieta...wanted more than that. She needed so much to be free, and I asked her what she would want if she was. She said..." Hieko really frowned with worry. "She said she wanted to have the power to be free forever. Marieta wanted to be so strong we would never be hurt again...and she said she'd hurt anyone, she'd hurt everyone who would dare to hurt us." Raya and Buki both felt a strong foreboding -- Marieta was clearly developing a mindset that could only be called dangerous. Soraya recalled with haunted feeling how her sister Natasha had become so bitter and hateful, and that was even before one took into account her mental instability that finally drove her to do the most ruthless, heartless things to her own parents...to trying to kill Soraya one regretful night...!

Hieko's soft, introspective voice interrupted Raya's recall. "I couldn't be as angry as Marieta was. I learned so much about the world outside of that lab, I...I just wanted a life. I wanted to know if there was anyone who would love us, give us a real home. I wanted to know it was possible to be happy." The pale maiden really began to smile for the first time since she started telling these Fighters the truth...it was a pure, beautiful smile as she said with quiet joy, "I know that's possible now...because of you and Tobi and Buki, I do know.

"But..." Hieko's mood shifted violently to shame again. "I left Marieta behind."

Raya wouldn't judge her, she couldn't, and not just yet...she needed to know more. The Demoness asked, "Hieko, how did you escape in the first place?"

"I...I'm not sure. I was restless in my chamber, I really wanted to leave and I tried the door...and it just opened. I thought it was some kind of test at first. Me and Marieta were tested in all kinds of ways. It took me a while to finally realize my...I mean, the Supervisors weren't there. The only possibility was there was some kind of glitch in the security systems. All the other doors were still locked tight...their electronic encryptions were secure, including the door for Marieta's chamber. I couldn't get in and tell her I was out...!"

Buki needed to fully understand and asked, "Did you try to open her chamber? Did you have the strength to -- ?"

Hieko told them both urgently, honestly, "I really, really tried and I couldn't! I wanted to unlock it, but...but I was never taught anything about computers. I had no idea how to use it!"

Buki nodded as she thought of the Supervisors with increased loathing. "And naturally your parents wouldn't have told you and Marieta shit about little things like security codes."

"I was staying there longer and longer, and I had no idea when our parents would come back! They wouldn't let me leave, they might even punish me for getting out, and I had to get out! So...s-so I thought as fast as I could, and I saw a ventilation duct. It was easy to get up there and into it since I'm small...the real problem was trying to navigate through the ducts, and that took a while...!"

Hieko bowed her head sadly as she finished her story: "I finally did get out, but I left my sister behind. I know I'm a coward. I know I am, and I know you must hate me for that. That's why I couldn't tell you."

Neither Raya or Buki could hate the girl...hell, their very souls went out to Hieko. Anyone with a heart would have understood. Confined and kept prisoner her entire life, Hieko had been given the chance to get away from her personal hell...but it would mean leaving behind the only one who was family to her: her sister. But what could Hieko do? Would it have been called the 'right' thing to simply stay with Marieta and they both might never have had the opportunity to escape after their heartless parents came back? Unfortunately, there was no 'right' or 'wrong' in the decision Hieko made...she was damned if she got away without Marieta, and she was most assuredly damned if she risked staying there any longer. What would anyone have done in her place??

Soraya totally understood why Hieko would be so ashamed, consider herself a failure in spite of her strength and ability and potential brilliance...and she was loving enough to counsel, "You feel like you failed your sister...and you failed yourself." In total pain, stripped bare, Hieko could only nod as she began to cry. "Hieko, it's okay! You must know you can still make that right, don't you??"

Hieko quickly looked up at Raya and no, her wide wet eyes communicated she didn't as she nearly exclaimed, "How!? Please tell me how!"

Buki said with reassuring power: "We're gonna need your help to find your home so we can save Marieta-san!"

Hieko was jolted into near-PANIC at the very thought of that...she moaned, "I-I-I can't go back...I can't -- !"

That was when Buki snarled, "Hey! Do you WANT to be ruled by fear? Are you going to let yourself be so afraid, you won't do what's right!?"

"But...!"

Buki drew closer, but gently, as she said, "Listen to me, and I mean really listen, Agnes! The one real enemy you've got to face in your life is fear. Sometimes fear is a good thing. It sets boundaries. It keeps us from being reckless and stupid. Other times, though, you've got to get past fear for the sake of more important things. For the sake of doing what you've gotta do.

"Take my mom Enko. She's the most important person in my life. You know why? She'd give anything for me and she wouldn't let anything make her afraid to. She loves me that much, and that's why I'd never be afraid to do anything for her sake. You understand?"

Really taking the leader's counsel in, Hieko managed meekly, "Hai...!"

"I know you're not used to anything social outside of the lab you were raised in, girl, but believe this. In this world and the next, nothing's more important than family. Nothing." Buki warmly regarded Raya as she purred to Hieko, "You asked Karin if she was Raya's mom. Well, she ain't, but I'm damn sure she loves Raya just as much as family." Raya nodded earnestly, and yes, she loved Karin that much in return.

Buki then asked the Spider Girl point blank: "Now, do you love Marieta?"

That was hardly even a question for the pale beauty as Hieko answered without hesitation, "Yes! She is my sister! She's family!"

"Then don't let your fear get in the way of helping family. Your sister needs you, and we need to help the both of you because it's right. We're ready to give a lot to do that, and we're gonna have plenty of backup. But we're gonna need your help." With a much softer tone, the leader told the waif, "We don't need much...we just need to know where to go to find Marieta. You don't have to be involved. You don't even have to come with us when we come knockin' on the doors of the Supervisors who kept you both in a cage since you were born.

"We still need you to tell us so we can get to that finish line. Please help us help your sister. Push past your fear and tell us what we need to know, Spider Girl."

Raya implored with a heavenly voice, "Please, Hieko. If you help us, I promise you and your sister won't be hurt. Okay?"

Hieko's expression crumbled under the pure crushing weight of emotion as she managed, "I'm so sorry...I...I..." She absolutely burst into heavy tears as she moved forward to desperately hold Soraya...they embraced each other tight as the Spider Girl moaned into her shoulder, "I was so ashamed and scared...!"

Buki watched, so fit to cry herself, as Soraya gently consoled Hieko and whispered, "Sshhhh! Shhhh...it's okay. Gather your strength, Hieko. Be strong for your sister."

Hieko sniffled heavily as she whispered back, "I will be, Raya...for her...and for you..."

And the Spider Girl told them what they needed to know.

TO BE CONTINUED!
---
Next time, our heroes charge out to save Hieko's sister! How will things turn out, you ask? Hey, be patient...I'm not about to spoil it!

Giving credit where it's due!
XNALara created by Dusan Pavlicek; XPS by Dusan and XNAaraL

Models:
Mah girl Doctor Leah Masters is thanks to !
And Hieko, Soraya Setsushi and Fubuki Inazuma are all by their mom, !
Scenery by !

Description

Sigh, after a few difficulties offline, I'm finally back!

In part three of our story introducing Hieko, the action moves to Demon City 7, where our heroes must call upon the Slayers Organization and its beautiful genius Medical Specialist for some much-needed help. There's a lot of questions that need answers. The full truth will finally come to light, though, when the mystery girl who's heart of all of this talks about her dark and oppressive past!
---

"The Case of the Spider Girl!" -- Part Three!

--1--

Kikyo Sakai managed to talk to Hikari Abe Zong, CEO of the Slayers Organization, directly...he put her through to the redheaded Medical Specialist in his employ, and it didn't take long for things to be put in motion. Less than half an hour after that, an SO shuttlecraft arrived and picked up Hieko and EVERYBODY in Chiba. The moment they reached headquarters, Zong had immediate worries about whether the mystery girl or anybody in contact with her had to be quarantined for health reasons. A certain prodigy wearing glasses had to exert all of her patience to calm the suit's nerves and told him that just because they were dealing with a true unknown didn't automatically mean she could spread something! Still, ever erring on the side of caution, the Medical Specialist quietly did make sure that scanning the girl for any possible diseases or other possibly unhealthy anomalies was part of the thorough medical examination Hieko had to be put through.

Fortunately, most of that examination was reasonably unobtrusive...besides an inevitable blood sample that had to be taken painlessly, anything else Hieko had to offer came from her saliva, stool and urine. For the last two, the mortified girl at least had the consolation that she could, er, give such samples in the privacy of a bathroom. In the mid-21st Century, with all of the advances in the medical sciences both conventional and mystic, it only took a handful of hours for the exam to be done. But everyone would stay at the headquarters in comfortable rooms overnight because the Medical Specialist took almost twice that length of time to analyze the results of the exam thoroughly and triple-check all of her findings. This was a Demoness of a type never, ever seen before, and she needed to be thorough.

--2--

Finally, the very next morning, the Inazuma Fighters, Karin and Zong were invited to the Medical Specialist's office. Ever since her examination, Hieko was in a neutral bedchamber...Raya visited the girl several times just to make sure she was okay and was comforted by the fact that even though she was alone, help was never far away. As a result, of all of them, both Raya and Tobi didn't get much sleep compared to the rest.

Medical Specialist Leah Masters hardly got to sleep at all outside of a couple of brief naps as her highly advanced diagnostic equipment did their grind at times, and it showed only a little...any sign that she was tired was overwhelmed by her quiet excitement as she took a seat and regarded all of these heroes and her boss. Leah began, "Everyone, I've got a lot to report about Hieko...so sit back, this will take a while.

"First of all, I've confirmed beyond any doubt that Hieko was genetically engineered. All of the signs are there in her genetic markers that the girl was conceived in vitro using a radically modified egg and sperm. I've tried using my supercomputers to determine exactly what type of Demons her birth parents were, but they can't. The base changes were that radical! That's also the biggest reason why Hieko is completely unlike any being in my medical codex on Demonkind, which covers every type possible. Chronologically speaking, the girl is 17 years old, but I've determined she's spent her entire life in confinement. One key indicator of that is her unusual skin pigment. It isn't just a unique genetic trait, it's partly due to her never having been outside until Sensei Koyanagi and Soraya found her."

Pensive as heck, and even moreso than anyone else there, Hikari asked, "Can you say why, Doctor? What reason could anyone have to create that girl and keep her confined since her birth?"

Leah told him, "I can't tell you why, sir, because Heiko refused to answer any real questions I had about where she came from. But...she wasn't just confined. There are signs that she's been subject to years of experimentation, mainly from...the scars I took photographic evidence of on her body."

Soraya reacted to that the worst and moaned, "Gods...!"

Hikari then asked, "Considering she's such an unknown, is that girl dangerous??"

Leah gave the suit a quiet stare and told him flatly, "Sir, that girl is as relatively and reasonably dangerous as me, you, and any one of us in this office right now. There is nothing about this girl that marks her as an unusual threat compared to anyone else, and I'm speaking of the entire spectrum of people from Humans to Demons to Angels and so forth. She's no danger simply because she's different."

Hikari let some of the pent-up anxiousness in his heart slip out as he asked, "Well, does she have anything...ah, communicable??"

"No, sir."

"What about her, ah, eating habits? She is a Demon, so could she want to eat...uh...!" As Zong really grappled to find a way to complete that question tactfully -- since he's an asshole, that was a hard task! -- EVERYBODY including Leah was staring at him now.

Homare, one of the two Dynamic Demon Brothers, asked him flatly, "Dude, are you worried she's going to eat people?!"

Karin groaned, "Only Demons from the Hells eat people...I mean, they'll go after Humans, other Demons, Angels, and anything that isn't tied down! Civilized Demons born on Earth don't. I ought to know." Her beloved Soraya, a fellow Demoness, shook her head and sighed...poor Tobi looked mortified. Hikari coughed.

Kotoya, a Demon like his adopted bro, told Leah quietly, "It must take a lot of patience to work for Mister Zong."

With a gentle yet dry tone, Leah enlightened him, "More than you know, sir."

Hikari coughed again, "Ahem! I'm not trying to offend anybody -- !"

Chikage growled, "Too late!" Everyone there was getting just as impatient with the suit.

Hikari defensively said, "Excuse me for offending anybody's sensibilities, but we ARE talking about a girl who isn't even like other Demons! I felt the need to ask!"

Leah told him with pure certainty, "The answer is still no, Mister Zong."

"Okay, then!"

Leah's expression became a bit more serious as she continued, "Still...one thing I took note of when I examined her genome is that Hieko has the ability to Transform like any Demon can. I asked Hieko what she can become, and she honestly doesn't know. She described it a bit strangely, she said she wasn't put through the proper trials to see what else she could become. I'm sure whatever that girl could Transform into would be different from anything we've seen, too."

Fubuki asked, "Doc, does she have any special powers and abilities outside of that?"

Leah nodded. "Her uniqueness comes mostly in her mystically enhanced strength and speed, Fubuki; in fact, her capabilites are proportional to what everyone knows about arachnids."

Homare lit up and commented, "Sounds like something out of a classic comic book!" He quickly added, "I love American comic books. I mean the ones from the 20th Century. Anything after that sucks!"

Kotoya told him, "Brother, I'm sure no one needed to know that."

"Well, I felt the need to say it!"

Buki growled, "Guys, cool it! So Hieko's that strong and fast, huh?"

Tobi commented with humor, "It would certainly be easy for that girl to climb up a tree...!"

Leah said warmly, "Yes, sir. Besides her physical abilities, the girl has the potential to perform Life Absorption, which as you all know is really the draining of another person's spirit energy. That immediately indicates that one of her parents, perhaps her mother, is a Succubus." That was a power most all Succubi like Nia O'Dwyer had! "Hieko also holds a unique defensive adaptation of extendable/retractable fangs through which she can inject venom, very similar to a spider."

Hikari frowned and asked, "And you're SURE she wouldn't want to eat people???"

Leah answered with a heavy sigh, "Yes, sir!"

Herene commented, "Wow, he's DEFINITELY an asshat, just like Kyoko-chan said!"

Kiki growled quietly, "Hai. If only we can act like he isn't here...but that would be kind of tough...!"

Hikari coughed again, "Ahem!"

Leah was really trying to ignore him as she continued her summary: "I couldn't determine if she has other gifts, physical or magical, but that may be because they're still dormant. If she does have the potential to use other powers, they've been retarded because she was kept in isolation and captivity for so long. To be held in such conditions would be detrimental to anyone's well being. Now that she's free...well, time would have to tell what else Hieko is capable of!

"Some of the most remarkable things I've discovered about Hieko involve scans of her brain. That girl is incredibly smart, and I'm sure that's due to constant virtual reality training since birth. You can always tell the signs of advanced VR, and I could see it in Hieko from my scans of her synaptic pathways, which might as well be in overdrive. She's naturally, extraordinarily inquisitive and she can soak information like a sponge no matter how she processes it.

"As brilliant as Hieko is, she's never had the chance to develop practical socialization skills. She's a literal virgin when it comes to communicating with anyone due to her lifetime of confinement. You might have noticed that she can't help but make analytical observations from time to time?"

Soraya nodded and asked, "Yes?"

"Well, she couldn't help but ask me the oddest questions as I examined her. Out of the blue she asked me why I wear glasses, and she automatically listed every possible reason I'd need them!" With a self-conscious tone as she adjusted her specs, Leah said, "I was honest and said I mainly use them for reading since I've got a slight case of nearsightedness. But that's how inquisitive she is. That doesn't mean she's a genius, though. She'd need practical schooling, training and experience the same way me and anyone else would."

Karin asked the doctor who restored her legs, "Leah, do you have any idea where Hieko-san was born and...kept until yesterday?"

"No, Karin. I had forensic experts with the Organization take a close look at her suit as I was examining her, and they didn't find anything distinctive. All they could tell from soil samples on the bottom of her boots, among other things, is that Hieko came from somewhere here on the main island of Japan. Unfortunately, such things aren't specific enough for us to know exactly where she came from."

Fubuki snarled, "Crap. I'd love to know where she came from and find whoever was playing Frankenstein with her...!"

Shizuna nodded and testified, "Only the gods know how many more have been born and experimented on the way she was...!"

Hikari got very serious then and grunted, "Hmmm. Anything else to make mention of, Doctor?"

Leah answered, "No, sir."

"Final assessment?"

Leah's brow furrowed as she told the suit, "I can't give you such a thing, Mister Zong. To really assess Hieko I'd have to keep her under observation for days, even weeks, but I'm not going to do that. Like I said, all of the evidence is right there that she's been under some kind of draconian observation her entire life as she was experimented on repeatedly. If she managed to escape from that kind of horrible life, I'm not about to subject her to even more of it, even if it's for her own good!

"And even if I did have more time to observe and monitor her, I still wouldn't know much more than I do now." Leah concluded, "There's only one real way for us to know everything about Heiko...and that's if the girl wants to tell us anything more about her."

Marika was full of empathy for the girl who wasn't so much of a mystery as she once was as she said softly, "I can't even start to wonder what kind of life Hieko-san has had...if you can call it a life at all."

Shizuna said coolly, "That makes it even more essential that we find out everything we need to about the girl, if only for her safety."

Homare said with enthusiasm, "Hells yeah. Some monsters wanted Hieko-san born into the world to basically keep her prisoner, do all kinds of inhuman shit to her. We need to find her parents, whoever the F they are, so we can stop 'em!"

Kotoya grunted, "Amen, brother. Unfortunately, Hieko isn't likely to simply tell us. But...there is a chance she'll open up to one of us." He gazed to the quietest and kindest of the Fighters and finished, "To you, Soraya-chan."

Soraya reacted silently as everyone else regarded her with care. Chikage nodded and reported, "You and Tobi-kin did connect with her damn strongly. We all felt that. You might be the only person on Earth she'd want to talk to about her life."

Uncertain, Raya asked, "Are you sure, Chi-chan...?"

Close by the young warrior, her beloved Karin gently took her hand and said, "That's not the right question, dear girl. What you ought to ask is, do you believe you can get through to her...?"

Raya looked into Karin's eyes, became very serious, and answered, "I want to believe, Karin...for her sake!"

--3--

The pale young beauty who called herself Hieko sat in her isolated bedchamber. Waiting. Hoping. Then the door slid open, and Soraya Setsushi strode in wearing her signature green, and Hieko suddenly felt a billion times better. Raya greeted, "Hi!"

"Raya!" The girl moved quickly to the young lady and glomped the Fighter around her waist. Raya returned the embrace sweetly as Hieko said with a rush, "I'm so happy to see you! I missed you so much, it...it was starting to hurt."

Raya purred, "I know, Hieko. I totally understand how you feel."

Hieko's unique dark eyes looked into Raya's...and the girl said, "You really do."

"Mm-hmm. I hope you don't mind this, but...I really need to talk to you. I need to ask you some questions."

Hieko frowned a bit. "I know."

Soraya reassured with total honesty, "I promise you won't be hurt. Nothing bad will happen if we talk. If you're to believe anything, please believe that."

"I do believe, Raya. But..."

"Go on?"

Hieko tentatively asked, "Can Fubuki be here, too? Please??? She's so strong and gorgeous and it makes me feel good knowing she's there!"

Raya warmly answered, "Yes, that's no problem at all. Let me call her...!" It only took her a few moments to get her mobile device and make a call.

And it wasn't much longer after that the bold leader of the Inazuma Fighters came into the room...Fubuki Inazuma regarded the pale waif and greeted, "Hey, Spider Girl!"

Hieko arched an eyebrow and asked, "'Spider Girl'??????"

With a burst of concern, Buki said, "Hey, I didn't mean that as an insult, Hieko! After what Doc Masters told us, I thought that would be a cool nickname for you. If you don't want to be called that -- !"

Hieko urgently interrupted: "No-no-no, please call me that again, please! I...I really really like it!" The girl looked like she was fit to gush all over the place, much to Soraya's amusement.

Buki humbly nodded. "Your wish is my command, Spider Girl."

"Thank you...!" Hieko REALLY gazed at the team leader and said with such an endearing tone, "It does feel so good to know you're here...Buki."

Completely disarmed, Fubuki managed, "Thanks. Uh...well...!" It would have obvious even to someone blind, deaf and dumb that Hieko was quickly starting to develop a bond with Fubuki VERY different from the one she established with Soraya. Buki felt so much for the pale beauty, too...Raya had been a friend and fellow teammate for a long time, and she was pleasantly surprised to see Fubuki blush. She'd never seen the bold blonde do that before!

But as amusing and undeniably interesting as this was, Raya got serious and told her leader, "I'll take it from here, Buki-chan! Hieko..." She lowered to one knee before the girl and said, "We do know a few things about you because of Leah-chan. We...we know you were kept confined most of your life. We know things were...done to you." Hieko reacted with such absolute shame as she looked away...she looked like she had been attacked physically. Raya, who was no stranger to pain herself, moaned, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but we had to know such things. We had to know that you need help, and I swear, me and Buki-chan don't want anything more than to help you. That's all we want."

Hieko finally found the strength to look at beautiful Raya again and moaned, "I-I know...! It just hurts you knowing so much."

Buki kept herself stoic, but it was hard as hell to as she counseled, "Knowing may hurt, but knowing also gives a soul power, Hieko. Knowing what we need to will ensure that you'll never be hurt again. Do you understand...?"

Hieko nodded. "Y-yes."

Raya gently instructed, "Please, sit over here..." Hieko was guided to a big, comfortable seat and sat down. "Can you tell us...more about your parents? What are their names? What kind of people are they...?"

Hieko looked at Raya and answered very carefully, but with honesty: "My...my mother's name is Clarice. My father's name is Robert. They said they were my parents, but...they always acted so cold. They never wanted me to call them mom and dad. They wanted me to call them my...Supervisors." It took a moment for her to continue. "They were so cold, and they're nothing like you, Raya. I...I don't know if they can care for anything."

Hieko looked at Buki and continued, "They were never as nice and loving and kind as Raya even for a moment in my entire life. They just wanted things from me every single day. Mostly I'd never see them, but they said they were always observing me. They never, ever let me out of the place I was born in. I didn't even get to see the sky and how azure blue it is for myself until I escaped yesterday. I managed to get away, but...

"...but I can't go back, I don't ever want to go back, I...I..."

Raya sweetly urged, "Shhhh. It's all right, Hieko."

Buki asked, "Hieko...can you at least tell us what it is you're so afraid of? Why couldn't you say anything before now...?"

Hieko moaned, "It isn't just that I'm afraid. I'm...ashamed."

Surprised, Raya asked, "Ashamed of what?? You haven't done anything wrong!"

Looking like she was in genuine pain again, Hieko shook her head. "Y-you don't know. I can't tell you...I...!"

Fubuki looked at her with eyes so much more serious than you could imagine. She said, "Spider Girl...be brave. Be honest with us. Trust in us. Please tell us what you did."

Like squeezing toxic puss from a wound, Hieko really struggled to tell them what she knew she needed to. "It...it's what I didn't do. I didn't help Marieta and I should have...!"

With total shock, BOTH Raya and Buki asked virtually in stereo: "Who's Marieta?!"

"Mmmnnnn...!" In real agony now, Hieko's very being stiffened...and finally let go of the great weight upon her soul. "M...Marieta is my sister.."

The pale beauty looked upon both of the Fighters with her soft black eyes as she really started to come clean with them. "Marieta is my older sister. Our parents...our Supervisors told us we were both born the same way. In vitro. I'm not sure how much older she was, but...one of my first memories was seeing her crying in a crib next to me. Our...our Supervisors kept us together in the same room for a while. When we were old enough to walk, they put us in separate chambers. I remember they said in that cold way they always talked that it would help to see how we would each develop separately. They wanted to see how different we would be with a minimum of...interaction.

"We did get to see each other...a-at least once a week. But those times were so short, and it was when our parents took...samples and things from us. We hardly got to know each other when we were able to talk. But I could always see that Marieta...hated being kept in confinement. I was so afraid all the time, but...I couldn't hate. I had no idea why I was born or what it was all for, what did our parents want from us???

"Marieta didn't care about things like that. She didn't care about knowing. She just wanted out, and it was making her so angry that she couldn't be free...!"

Both Raya and Buki were absorbing everything Hieko told them very carefully. The team leader commented, "I'm surprised these 'parents' bothered to give you two names, Hieko-san."

With a sullen tone, Hieko managed, "They did...but they were names we didn't want. Do you want to know the name they gave me?" Raya could only gaze back at the girl with loving curiosity. She finally told the Fighters, "They named me Agnes Rosette Caron, but I never liked that name. I didn't like the name because...it was given to me by people who didn't even care. Marieta hated her name, and I'm afraid she might have hated our parents even more. So...me and Marieta gave each other our names.

"It took a while over the brief times we got to talk to each other, and we had to be really sneaky about it in case our parents were watching...but my older sister gave me the name Hieko, and I thought of the name Marieta for her. Finally we could have something that was just between us, something secret, something special, something that was ours.

"Marieta...wanted more than that. She needed so much to be free, and I asked her what she would want if she was. She said..." Hieko really frowned with worry. "She said she wanted to have the power to be free forever. Marieta wanted to be so strong we would never be hurt again...and she said she'd hurt anyone, she'd hurt everyone who would dare to hurt us." Raya and Buki both felt a strong foreboding -- Marieta was clearly developing a mindset that could only be called dangerous. Soraya recalled with haunted feeling how her sister Natasha had become so bitter and hateful, and that was even before one took into account her mental instability that finally drove her to do the most ruthless, heartless things to her own parents...to trying to kill Soraya one regretful night...!

Hieko's soft, introspective voice interrupted Raya's recall. "I couldn't be as angry as Marieta was. I learned so much about the world outside of that lab, I...I just wanted a life. I wanted to know if there was anyone who would love us, give us a real home. I wanted to know it was possible to be happy." The pale maiden really began to smile for the first time since she started telling these Fighters the truth...it was a pure, beautiful smile as she said with quiet joy, "I know that's possible now...because of you and Tobi and Buki, I do know.

"But..." Hieko's mood shifted violently to shame again. "I left Marieta behind."

Raya wouldn't judge her, she couldn't, and not just yet...she needed to know more. The Demoness asked, "Hieko, how did you escape in the first place?"

"I...I'm not sure. I was restless in my chamber, I really wanted to leave and I tried the door...and it just opened. I thought it was some kind of test at first. Me and Marieta were tested in all kinds of ways. It took me a while to finally realize my...I mean, the Supervisors weren't there. The only possibility was there was some kind of glitch in the security systems. All the other doors were still locked tight...their electronic encryptions were secure, including the door for Marieta's chamber. I couldn't get in and tell her I was out...!"

Buki needed to fully understand and asked, "Did you try to open her chamber? Did you have the strength to -- ?"

Hieko told them both urgently, honestly, "I really, really tried and I couldn't! I wanted to unlock it, but...but I was never taught anything about computers. I had no idea how to use it!"

Buki nodded as she thought of the Supervisors with increased loathing. "And naturally your parents wouldn't have told you and Marieta shit about little things like security codes."

"I was staying there longer and longer, and I had no idea when our parents would come back! They wouldn't let me leave, they might even punish me for getting out, and I had to get out! So...s-so I thought as fast as I could, and I saw a ventilation duct. It was easy to get up there and into it since I'm small...the real problem was trying to navigate through the ducts, and that took a while...!"

Hieko bowed her head sadly as she finished her story: "I finally did get out, but I left my sister behind. I know I'm a coward. I know I am, and I know you must hate me for that. That's why I couldn't tell you."

Neither Raya or Buki could hate the girl...hell, their very souls went out to Hieko. Anyone with a heart would have understood. Confined and kept prisoner her entire life, Hieko had been given the chance to get away from her personal hell...but it would mean leaving behind the only one who was family to her: her sister. But what could Hieko do? Would it have been called the 'right' thing to simply stay with Marieta and they both might never have had the opportunity to escape after their heartless parents came back? Unfortunately, there was no 'right' or 'wrong' in the decision Hieko made...she was damned if she got away without Marieta, and she was most assuredly damned if she risked staying there any longer. What would anyone have done in her place??

Soraya totally understood why Hieko would be so ashamed, consider herself a failure in spite of her strength and ability and potential brilliance...and she was loving enough to counsel, "You feel like you failed your sister...and you failed yourself." In total pain, stripped bare, Hieko could only nod as she began to cry. "Hieko, it's okay! You must know you can still make that right, don't you??"

Hieko quickly looked up at Raya and no, her wide wet eyes communicated she didn't as she nearly exclaimed, "How!? Please tell me how!"

Buki said with reassuring power: "We're gonna need your help to find your home so we can save Marieta-san!"

Hieko was jolted into near-PANIC at the very thought of that...she moaned, "I-I-I can't go back...I can't -- !"

That was when Buki snarled, "Hey! Do you WANT to be ruled by fear? Are you going to let yourself be so afraid, you won't do what's right!?"

"But...!"

Buki drew closer, but gently, as she said, "Listen to me, and I mean really listen, Agnes! The one real enemy you've got to face in your life is fear. Sometimes fear is a good thing. It sets boundaries. It keeps us from being reckless and stupid. Other times, though, you've got to get past fear for the sake of more important things. For the sake of doing what you've gotta do.

"Take my mom Enko. She's the most important person in my life. You know why? She'd give anything for me and she wouldn't let anything make her afraid to. She loves me that much, and that's why I'd never be afraid to do anything for her sake. You understand?"

Really taking the leader's counsel in, Hieko managed meekly, "Hai...!"

"I know you're not used to anything social outside of the lab you were raised in, girl, but believe this. In this world and the next, nothing's more important than family. Nothing." Buki warmly regarded Raya as she purred to Hieko, "You asked Karin if she was Raya's mom. Well, she ain't, but I'm damn sure she loves Raya just as much as family." Raya nodded earnestly, and yes, she loved Karin that much in return.

Buki then asked the Spider Girl point blank: "Now, do you love Marieta?"

That was hardly even a question for the pale beauty as Hieko answered without hesitation, "Yes! She is my sister! She's family!"

"Then don't let your fear get in the way of helping family. Your sister needs you, and we need to help the both of you because it's right. We're ready to give a lot to do that, and we're gonna have plenty of backup. But we're gonna need your help." With a much softer tone, the leader told the waif, "We don't need much...we just need to know where to go to find Marieta. You don't have to be involved. You don't even have to come with us when we come knockin' on the doors of the Supervisors who kept you both in a cage since you were born.

"We still need you to tell us so we can get to that finish line. Please help us help your sister. Push past your fear and tell us what we need to know, Spider Girl."

Raya implored with a heavenly voice, "Please, Hieko. If you help us, I promise you and your sister won't be hurt. Okay?"

Hieko's expression crumbled under the pure crushing weight of emotion as she managed, "I'm so sorry...I...I..." She absolutely burst into heavy tears as she moved forward to desperately hold Soraya...they embraced each other tight as the Spider Girl moaned into her shoulder, "I was so ashamed and scared...!"

Buki watched, so fit to cry herself, as Soraya gently consoled Hieko and whispered, "Sshhhh! Shhhh...it's okay. Gather your strength, Hieko. Be strong for your sister."

Hieko sniffled heavily as she whispered back, "I will be, Raya...for her...and for you..."

And the Spider Girl told them what they needed to know.

TO BE CONTINUED!
---
Next time, our heroes charge out to save Hieko's sister! How will things turn out, you ask? Hey, be patient...I'm not about to spoil it!

Giving credit where it's due!
XNALara created by Dusan Pavlicek; XPS by Dusan and XNAaraL

Models:
Mah girl Doctor Leah Masters is thanks to !
And Hieko, Soraya Setsushi and Fubuki Inazuma are all by their mom, !
Scenery by !