Chapter Text
A couple of years back:
You left your abusive parents' house at only sixteen years old, with nothing but a blanket and no other family. Nowhere to go.
Ten years had passed and you still slept on the streets every night. You just sat on the side of the road all day hoping someone would give you a little money for food.
It was a cold, snowy January night. Everyone else was inside with their families, warm and safe, you had no one. You were laying down on the floor of a dark alley staring at the night sky. You had been trying to fall asleep for hours but no matter what you did you couldn't fall asleep. You felt watched, as if someone was about to attack you. And the snow kept getting in your face.
When your eyes finally closed you were woken back up almost instantly. It was a man, probably in his thirties, who had jumped on you. “why hello there, pretty girl, whatcha doing out here? wanna go back to my house? I'll take good care of you” He had his hand on your neck and he smelled like beer. It kind of reminded you of your dad, who severely abused you when you were younger.
He was wearing a mask, only his big brown eyes visible. “No! I don't want to go with you” You struggled to speak as he was covering your mouth with his hand. “This is the day, the day that I'll die. And no one will know until they find my body” you thought, tears now streaming down your face. You tried to scream. He didn't like that and pulled out a knife. Before you knew it your wrist was cut deep. Blood dripped out almost immediately.
You were still screaming but deep down you knew that no one would hear you. Everything started spinning. Someone wearing full black walked past the alley you were in. They heard you. When they saw what was going on they immediately ran over and shoved the man off of you, kicked him in the stomach a couple of times until he stopped moving, and checked to see if you were okay. When they noticed the cut they carefully picked you up and carried you somewhere quickly. You passed out.
You woke up the next morning with a light headache. In a bed with fluffy pillows. It was quiet and it was warm. There was a slight pain in your wrist.
What happened? Where am i?
You couldn't remember anything from the night before. The only thing you remembered was that you fell asleep in an alley and were being carried somewhere. You turned your head to the side and saw that there was someone next to you, sitting on a chair reading a book.
It was a man, wearing a red cassock, a cardinal? He had a mustache, sideburns, his lips and eyes painted black. He noticed you looking at him.
“Oh thank satan you finally woke up. I was worried about you.” He said with an Italian accent. You noticed his left eye was white, and wondered how.
“Who are you? And where am I? What happened?” You freaked out a little. He put his book down on the nightstand next to you.
“You don't remember? You were attacked last night. If my Ghoul hadn't found you, you would be dead by now. My name is Copia, but you can call me C if you want to.” He said.
“Oh, that explains why I feel like shit. I’m [name].” You sat up.
“Be careful, your head must be hurting right now?” He asked, you nodded. “Stay right here, I'm going to tell my brother you woke up and get you some painkillers.”
He left the room. You gently ran your fingers against the bandages around your wrist.
Damn it hurts.
After about ten minutes you heard multiple footsteps outside of the door. It opened and someone came in, followed by Copia. He was short, about 1,60cm, had skull paint on and was wearing a robe. You recognized him somehow. Was he on tv once? He seemed relieved when he saw you awake.
“Grazie sathanas! I was so worried. A Ghoul heard screams and found you in that alley last night. I'm Papa Emeritus the third. Call me Terzo”
You smiled at him. Not really knowing what to say.
“My wonderful younger brother took care of you when I had to work.”
“Thank you.” You said with a soft smile, still a little confused.
“You're welcome. Here, have something for the pain” He handed you a small pill and a glass of water. They both sat down on a somewhere.
“Why were you on the streets that late? It's very dangerous out there.” Terzo asked.
“I’d rather not talk about it.” You glanced at the ceiling.
“Oh, it's okay.”
“Do you have a home?” Copia asked.
“No..” You said.
“You can move in here. You don't have to do any work yet, I'll give you a few months to settle in.” Terzo said.
“But… huh?.. All the sibling dorms are full. Where will she sleep?” Copia asked his brother.
“The Ghouls have a room left. She can stay there.” Terzo said.
You were confused for a second. What the heck is a ghoul?
"Fratello no!. She can't just move in there right? Sister would never allow it. And they might do something to her, I mean, our Ghouls are friendly but Secondo’s and Primo’s might not be." Copia looked very worried.
"It's alright. I'll talk to Sister and let the ghouls know she's coming. It will all be fine"
“What is a Ghoul?” You asked.
“You’ll find out. They are quite nice. They are a kind of demon but they are very human-like. They were summoned to spread the word of satan. And they can play instruments.” Copia said. “But sometimes they can be a pain in the ass.”
~~~~~~
You spent the rest of the day reading a book Copia gave you, about the history of the ministry. He got you a mattress to sleep on. You spent the night in his room while your room was being prepared. He came in to check on you once in a while.
A sister of sin brought you food. Her name was Amelia. She seemed very nice and you had a short conversation.
She looked a little concerned when you told her that you were going to stay with the Ghouls.
“The ghouls? Woah, good luck. I've never met them before, I'm not allowed to. But the sisters who have are always complaining about them.” She said.
She left after half an hour because she needed to get back to work. The next day Copia woke you up. You were a bit startled at first since he was leaning over you, he quickly stepped back a bit.
“Oh, good morning. It's time for you to meet the ghouls"
You yawned. “Morning..”
Copia was holding a pile of clothes. "They want me to give you this."
You rubbed your eyes and got off the mattress. He handed you the clothes. There was a letter on top of them:
Dear [name] We can't wait to meet you! Here are some new clothes. See you soon! - Sunshine, Mist, Cirrus, Omega and Swiss.
"Aww that's so nice. I'm already starting to feel at home." You smiled brightly.
"I'm glad. I will wait outside of the door so you can get ready." He turned around to leave and then stopped. "I almost forgot, Here." He handed you a hairbrush from his pocket. You smiled and he left the room. You put the letter aside and tried on the clothes. They fit perfectly!
(it's the same black outfit that the ghouls in era 4 wore)
You brushed your hair and opened the door. Copia was waiting outside. He smiled when he saw you.
"You look amazing! Let's go."
He brought you all the way to the other side of the building. You stopped in front of a big metal door. Copia opened it up and you followed him inside, onto the Ghoul commons. There were a lot of Ghouls in the room. Some were playing games, reading books, chatting, watching TV or sleeping. Copia clapped his hands and everything went silent. Everyone turned their head to you.
"This is [name]." Copia said. "I need to go back to work. Have fun! Tadaa." He waved and left the room in a hurry. He was late.
The Ghouls approached you as soon as the doors closed, yes, every single one. They introduced themselves. Sunshine gave you a little tour. You were walking through a long hallway together. The floor was made out of black and white tiles. The walls were black with paintings of Satan, baphomet and other demons.. You stopped in front of a dark brown wooden door.
"Here is your room." Sunshine said.
She opened the door and waited for you to enter. The walls were white and the one next to your bed was black. There was a couch, a bathroom and a bed.
"We all worked on this room together," She said. Smiling softly.
"All of this in one day? That's so impressive!"
"Yeah! See that bass over there?” She pointed at the wall. There was a gorgeous black Rickenbacker bass. “It’s all yours now, one of Primo’s Ghouls gifted it to you since they don't perform on stage anymore.”
“Oh my.. That's gorgeous!”
Back at the Ghoul commons…
Sodo had been talking to you about every ritual and holiday they had. He sighed. "Have you met Papa Nihil and Sister Imperator?"
"No, not yet." I'm nervous though."
"There's no need to be nervous. They are very nice people." Mist said.
"I can't agree on that" Sodo mumbled. “They hate me.”
You spent the entire evening listening to the stories they told you about the history of the ministry, the band and that the den needs to be locked every three months due to the heat cycles they have. you noticed that one ghoul hadn’t introduced himself yet. He seemed a bit distant. He had been staring at you for a while now though.