Life in Lunarvale"Well..." Ellen said as she left the Velvet Room with Alex Meyers, Alex Brandshire, and Mark Hawthorne. Currently, the three Persona Users and the woren were in the Joy Street Shopping district, watching the mixture of both humans and demons milling about, living together peacefully. Truth be told, Ellen was astounded by how the humans in Lunarvale got along peacefully with the demons that had stayed in the mortal realm, rather than going back to The Other Side. "Now what, guys? You both said you had some info for me, concerning my parents..."
"Ellie..." Mark said as he removed his hat. "I... think it's best if we went to the Police Station, and let the Captain tell you himself."
"What? Why?" Ellen asked the other two Persona Users. Alex Meyers placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Ellen..." Alex said softly, while keeping his face neutral like he usually does in any situation. "... It's best that way. ... C'mon, my car's waiting outside..." Alex Meyers just gave his friend another look before he and Mark left the Joy Street Shopping District.
"Love?" Alex Brandshire said as he looked at his girlfriend carefully. "... Maybe we should see what happened while you were gone..."
"Yeah... I think we should, hon..." Ellen said as she rested her head against the woren. Alex carefully put an arm around the Persona User as they both followed Mark Hawthorne and Alex Meyers out of the shopping mall.
********************* "We're here!" Mark said as he turned to look at the Persona User and the Woren. If one were to look at the station that moment, they would have been able to see a dark green Ford Focus pulling into the parking lot of the LPD. A few moments later, three Persona Users and one woren piled out of the four door vehicle and stretched, before heading into the front doors of the Lunarvale Police Department.
"Wow..." Alex Brandshire said as he looked at the lobby of the LPD. This was actually the first time that the woren had seen the Lunarvale Police Department while it was still intact. The last time that the elder Brandshire was in Lunarvale, he was helping his friends save Ms. Smith from the Snow Queen. Back then, the Police Station wasn't exactly in the best of conditions, considering that Guido had summoned demons into Lunarvale. The woren wandered around the lobby of the LPD while Alex Meyers and Mark continued to talk to Ellen.
"Ellie..." Mark said as he looked the blond Persona User straight in the eyes. "The captain said he'd be waiting for you in your dad's office... Do you want us to go with you?"
Ellen just shook her head before looking at the two Persona Users. "Nah, I'll be okay. I just need to head up to STARS and check with the captain. ... " Before Alex or Mark could say anything else, Ellen had made her way into the back area of the station.
"STARS???" Alex Brandshire asked as he made his way back to the two Persona Users. "What do constellations have to do with Ellie's dad?"
Mark just let out a laugh before tilting the bill of his cap. "Naw, man. STARS is the unit that Ellen's dad was assigned to. I mean..."
"What Mark's trying to say... is that Mr. Johnson was a great officer, Alex." Alex Meyers told the woren while maintaining his usual neutral look. "STARS stands for Special Tactics And Rescue Services. There are branches of that within most cities here in the United States. One of the more famous branches was the one located in Raccoon City, Oregon. You know, Frank has a relative who worked there... They kinda look alike..."
"Wait... back up..." The elder Brandshire said as his tail flicked back and forth impatiently. "What do you mean by... was? Isn't Mr. Johnson still alive?"
"Alex..." Mark said quietly as he looked toward the ground. "... Ellen's parents are..."
********************* "WHAT?! No... please tell me this is all a bad joke... PLEASE!!!" Ellen yelled before sinking into the chair at her father's desk. The Persona User just rested her head in her hands before sobbing lightly.
"Ellen... I'm sorry... ... We recently found out ourselves... We've been trying to contact you, but you just disappeared from town during the incident..." The captain of the Lunarvale Police Department continued to pace back and forth through the STARS office while he tried to keep the Persona User and what was left of the Lunarvale STARS team calm.
"... How?" Ellen said quietly as she picked up a photo from her father's desk. "How did he die? ... And where?" The Persona User continued to gaze at the photograph, which was taken when she began school at St. Hermelin that year. It was taken in front of the Lunarvale Museum of Natural History, where her mother worked.
"He died in the field, Ellen... ... Trying to protect your mother and some other civilians from demons... ... All I can do is offer my condolences... ... if you need somewhere to stay... And someone to talk to... We're here... ... Ellen, your father was a damn fine officer... Don't you forget that..." The captain said before taking a puff from his cigarette.
"... I won't, sir... ..." The blond Persona User said quietly as she stood from her chair. She took the picture from her father's desk, and made her way quietly out of the office, making her way past the surviving members of STARS Delta team. As she left the office, she noticed that many of the demons that had stayed behind in Lunarvale were now members of the police force. It kind of surprised her to see some Nekomata, some succubi, and some other types of demons helping to uphold the law. However, that was the furthest thing on her mind at the moment. A few minutes later, she entered the LPD's lobby, and was immediately taken into a great big tiger hug by her boyfriend.
"Ellen..." Alex said quietly as he wrapped his tail around her. "Hon... I'm sorry... If there's anything I can do for you..."
"Just... don't let go, Alex... Don't let go..." The blond Persona User buried her face into the woren's chest and began to sob uncontrollably.
"Ssh..." Alex said quietly as he continued to stroke Ellen's ponytail softly.
"Ellie..." Mark said as he approched the couple. ... "We're going to take you to your place now... ... You need to rest..."
Ellen just sniffed out a reply to her friend before following Alex Meyers and Mark out of the police station.
There was no doubt that the ride to her home in Lunarvale was extremely silent, save for the few sobs that came from one Ellen Johnson.
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