Natalia didn’t know where to start or where to begin. So, she had to start from day one when she was introduced to syndicate, “I understand I’m not an approachable person. But you have to realize something. I never knew my birth parents. I was only three months old when my mother died. I didn’t really remember her… My teacher, who I owe my life to, always said I looked exactly like her. Even when I look angry.

“My father, who knew exactly where it was and how I was doing, wasn’t really there technically. He was there for me in a different way. Out of fear, he never actually treated me like I was his daughter. He would instruct me and take care of me, but he would never actually acknowledge me as his own. I never really knew him as a father but as a great military leader.

“My aunt, who acted as my superior, always put me at a high standard and used to scold me every chance she got. In a way, she resented me. Only to find out, she hated how my father handled the situation. She wanted her brother to be a man and raise me as his daughter and not as his prized pupil. We never really got to share that father-daughter moment. I know I’ve done a lot of terrible things to people. Even to my own comrades and friends. In the end, I deserve everything that ever happened to me, because it was so simple.

“All I had to do was open up and let the right ones in. That atmosphere that we all grew up in was toxic. I could’ve left the Oleander Syndicate; he became anything I wanted to be. Instead, I bought into the never-ending nightmare, and I let myself become the monster they all wanted me to be.”

Everyone intently listened to Natalia as she continued, “When I woke up from a coma that day, I was informed I was raped and beaten. There were so many things that were going on in my mind: Regret. Revenge. Disgust. I needed to kill the monster that was inside of me and the monster who impregnated me. Yet there is a part of me that needed to exorcise the demons that were surrounding her and be repented for my sins, so she wouldn’t have to carry them in the future.”

Kayla ground as she looked away, hearing such ghastly details.

“You don’t have to tell me anything that I didn’t know already because I do,” Natalia admitted. “I’m not a perfect person, nor I never wanted to be. In fact, I never wanted to be a mother or an operative or even a team player. I just wanted to be me. I wanted to settle my problems with my own two fists, running into danger in being free while doing it. I was such a fool. You couldn’t imagine the times I was brutally assaulted, and the pregnancy scares that came along with them.”

“Lucky you. But when you dodge that bullet too many times, eventually it will hit its mark,” Ayeka related as Natalia nodded in agreement.

“In a way, I was glad that I was in a coma. I was glad that the doctors wanted to keep my unborn child alive. She wanted to give me that choice. Meanwhile, many others try to make that choice for me. Whether they were on my side or not.”

“What…?” Ayeka questioned.

“I guess Adrian didn’t tell you what actually happened on that day. Like every other birthday I ever had, it always ended badly. I would later discover somebody wanted to terminate the pregnancy while I was still sleep giving me a massive injection of Prostaglandin and Epostane. The same kind they use to terminate pregnancies in dogs.”

Ryoko gasps as Ayeka was mortified by the news. Kayla, however, just walked around and showing no emotion.

Natalia started to remember her living nightmare in full detail, “I mean, I pretty much knew who did that, and it was out of spite. I was going through contractions while I was running through the halls, the leaky faucet feeling between my legs while leaving a trail of amniotic fluid and blood behind me. Giving up trying to walk, I tried to crawl to safety while hearing everyone around me dying and screaming in agony. When I was going into labor, I was looking for anyone to help me. To take notice of me… And someone did--”

“M-maybe, we need to take a break…” Ayeka interrupted, Natalia continues.

“I looked up at him: The Beast. He was tall, still chiseled and muscular. Still had his short platinum blonde hair, his dark beard, and glowing purple eyes. Still, have that same smile. But underneath that smile, scared me,” Natalia describing Alastair. “He was enjoying what he was about to do. He was savoring this moment. I pleaded with him why he was doing this? I even said to him to spare my child that I was about to give birth to. That evil smile he gave to me, I swear… He said to me… He said to me… Shut up, bitch!” The frightened Natalia yelled as she started to cry.

“Natalia-chan…” Ayeka groaned.

“I didn’t even think about it. I try to conjure up enough energy as I could, and I shot a lightning bolt at him, knocking him back. I began to crawl because I couldn’t stand anymore. I wasn’t so much pain. As I was making that attempt, he sat up, laughing again at me why was crawling away from him. The lightning bolt did no damage to him at all. As he got to his feet, someone arrived to help me. It was your Revan and her kids. Another day, he told me with an evil smile on his face. Another day…” Natalia concluded.

“It was then you had to deliver the baby?” Ryoko followed up.

Natalia nodded as she wiped her tears away, “You all saw me before our castle was burned to ground… Hours after the fire, I had to deliver the baby through the birth canal. I already lost too much blood, and a cesarean section was out of the picture. It was agonizing. It went on forever. Hours later, I gave birth to my daughter, but she wasn’t crying or screaming. I would then find out that my baby daughter was stillborn.”

“It only took me a week to recover as my energy came back to me. Physically I was medically cleared. But mentally and emotionally, I wasn’t. I didn’t want to even see my daughter, who was in the morgue. In fact, I didn’t even see her as my little girl. I saw her as a reminder of just how weak I was. It was a reminder of how we have all lost. It was also a reminder of him and me. I didn’t want that…”

“And then, the great collapse…” Kayla pieced together as she shook her head in disgust.

“I guess you can say… Nothing really stays the same… When Dolph made me the new grandmaster that day, I knew it was over. I said my goodbyes to all of you. I burnt the royal palace down. I said goodbye to my old self. I did a lot of soul-searching over the past five years. I ran into a lot of people that I hated and made amends. One, in particular, was Alastair--”

“The man who raped you?!” Ayeka exclaimed.

It took her a while to answer the question, but Natalia had to, “yes. You see, Adrian loved creating monsters. And just like her, I created Alastair into a monster. I don’t expect you all to forgive him. But please, it took us a while to forgive one another and finally put the past behind us…”

With a stern look on her face, the enraged Ayeka rose from the couch and faced Natalia, “Where is he now--?”

“Gone! I don’t know where he is!” Natalia frantically defended.

“If you are protecting him, you don’t have to! You tracked him down, and he answered you. Now he has to answer to us!” Ayeka demanded.

However, with her head hung low, Natalia shook her head, “what was done, is done. But both of us can’t take back what we’ve done to each other. I moved on, and so did he… I heard he wants to do something peaceful with his life and live off the grid.”

There was a sudden eeriness across the room. If Natalia playing house with somebody’s kid started snowing in hell, this would’ve started a nuclear winter. Now more than ever, Kayla was convinced that Natalia was either lying or not real. Natalia was coldhearted and cold-blooded. She would have ripped the heart out of Alastair and shoved it down his throat if he ever when I found him. Especially what he had done or claimed he had done.

Natalia took a deep breath and concluded her confession, “well… Now you all know what I’ve been through in the past five years… Hopefully, you understand.”

How could they understand? How could they know the new and improved Natalia Silvestri? But then again, it’s not like they had much of choice. In the end, it was her decision. If she wanted to put the rape behind her, that was her choice. If she wanted to drop the charges and move on with her life, that was her choice. And of course, if she wanted to confront her rapist, hear both sides of one story and find a moment of clarity with the same vein of finding both peace and forgiveness, that was her choice.

Ayeka couldn’t be her avenging angel anymore. Although she had concurred with her sexual assault, Ayeka could never really act on her behalf because, at the end of the day, Natalia was Natalia and not Ayeka.

“Thank you, Natalia-chan. For sharing with us,” Ayeka relented.

“Yeah, we got your back, Natty!” Ryoko encourages.

Then everybody turned and faced Kayla of what she had to say.

Of course, she didn’t say much, “we are all with you…” Yet there were times they wished Kayla shouldn’t say anything at all.

“Natalia-chan, you go ahead and get some rest. I’ll talk to Adrian-sama when she calms down. She hates it when she’s not the first to know about everything,” Ayeka offered.

Natalia didn’t say much of anything but nod her head slightly.

Seeing this, Ayeka knelt down before Natalia and gave her a hug as she spoke into her ear, “remember these words: I’ve been there, and you will get through this. Trust me, you are stronger than you think. Stronger than me.”

And that was the truth. Not many victims of rape ever track down their assailants and confront them in a non-violent matter. But Natalia did. Against all the odds, she did the most productive thing by getting closure.

All for the girls were very exhausted and decided to call it a day.

“Since we're all medically cleared, we are going to head back to the hotel and rest,” Ayeka said as they all agreed.

Ryoko, Ayeka, and Kayla head to the apartment door and leaves. Walking down the street, the three tries to digest what they just heard.

“Man, I never knew Natty had it so rough…” Ryoko reflected.

“Yeah, if only that were true…” Kayla counterpointed.

This made Ayeka stop and face Kayla with the blank expression, “I shouldn’t even be surprised at you, Kayla-chan.”

“First of all: there are so many inconsistencies with her backstory; nothing makes sense!” Kayla argued. “For Christ’s sake, how the hell can somebody carry a full-term pregnancy for less than one month? I couldn’t do it!”

“Diaras and Nephalems can!” Ayeka defended.

“Oh, okay! And last time I checked, neither was Alastair. So why in the blue fuck is he pinned for raping that lying bitch for the second time?! It’s obvious she is beating a dead horse and protecting somebody else who has power over her!” Kayla accused.

Ayeka said nothing but shake her head in discontent and walk away from Kayla.

Yet Kayla had other plans as she feverishly walks beside her, “Five years is a very long time, you don’t think somebody flipped her?! For all we know, the Emperor of the Nether or the Daemon Archduke may have taken turns skull-fucking her--!”

Ayeka had enough of Kayla’s bullying ways as she took her by the collar, “what if that was you!? What if it were your daughters?! You have no idea what it’s like to be taken and thrown away!” She growled. “Of course, you don’t. You are one of the lucky ones… You were never raped in the line of duty…”

“I do know, Ayeka. I have read your mind before, and I felt your pain,” Kayla defended. “And yet for some odd reason, Natty’s mind is like a steel trap. It was not like that before. I wonder why that is now?” She wondered.

Letting go of her collar, Ayeka had enough of Kayla for one day. At least for now, she just wanted to be left alone. Ryoko stood by and did pretty much nothing, but what could she do. Alastair was always a sweet and lovable guy, and yet he was labeled a rapist by Natalia, the same woman that always hated him when she was a kid. All she could do was watch as her own team falls apart in front of her very eyes.