by Max Jager
"Brayne, huh?" he asked, amused.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she crossed her arms as she blushed and averted her eyes from him in embarrassment.
"You know…" he continued, "your mother got my attention in a similar way to how you acted with him. You really are your mother's daughter…"
Mary looked at him in complete surprise as she spoke.
"That…is the first time you've ever spoken about her like that…since her death…"
"I know…" he said sadly, "I'm… I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when she died… I…was so consumed with my own feelings…I never stopped to consider how you felt…and I neglected you… The truth is…I didn't come back here just for you…but for myself as well… I needed to prove to myself…that I wasn't the horrible father you had described in that note you left me when you ran away…but…even then…I did…truly atrocious things upon coming here… That's…why…"
"That's why you told me about Abe's abduction," finished Mary, "That could have gone horribly wrong, you know… If Rachel hadn't taken Red down…"
"…he would have tried to kill me. Yes, I know…but what can I say…? I had to do it… I had to help you save your friend… I figured that…it would be a nice change of pace…considering I had already beaten up another one of your friends…"
Wake slowly stood up, and Mary watched as he walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"You're going to leave…aren't you?" she asked, "You don't have to, you know… After all…you were granted amnesty because of your helpful actions…"
Wake took in a deep breath and sighed before he responded.
"I love you… I have always loved you…and I want to do what is best for you…not for me… Staying here would…complicate things… You've grown up over the past several years… You have a job…and friends…and even a boy you're interested in…"
Mary smiled as she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Dad…!" she exclaimed as she blushed, making Wake genuinely laugh.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is…I don't need to be here to make things difficult for you…but remember this, Mary: no matter what happens to me…and no matter where I am…"
"…I will always love you."
Mary pulled her father in for a hug, and closed her eyes as she squeezed him tight and smiled the widest smile ever.
"I love you too, Dad."
Rachel's eyes squinted as she crawled through the vast expanse of dust and dirt. She was terribly exhausted, and her clothes were drenched in sweat and blood, but she knew she could not stop moving.
She knew she had to find her friend and make sure he was okay.
She groaned as she began to climb over a large rock that was both in her way and blocking her line of sight. She struggled quite a bit as she did so, but she knew going any other way would waste time, and she knew she had no time to waste.
She had no idea at all where her friend was, and she did not want to risk finding him a moment too late, considering that he had been in the direct center of the enemy's ultimate attack.
She gritted her teeth when she climbed to the top of the rock, and slowly lowered herself back to the ground. Unfortunately, her hand slipped from where it was positioned, so she ended up landing flat on her bottom.
She grunted as leaned against the rock, and panted as she rubbed her eyes, for some of the dirt floating in the air had gotten into them when she crashed to the ground. She rubbed her eyes for about a minute, and slowly opened her now slightly teary eyes.
She saw two figures before her, one standing and one lying down, but they initially were not clearly visible to her because of her teary eyes. As her vision slowly cleared up, however, she recognized the two people before her, but it took her slightly longer to register what had happened to them, for the dust in the air was insurmountable. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at the two beings in front of her, and her eyes slowly widened when she slowly realized what had happened between the two men.
One of them, a fair-skinned man with crimson red hair, stood up, while the man's foot rested on the skull of the other man.
Her mind initially did not register who the other man was, that is, until she saw his dark red hair, which was covered in ice and blood.
A shadow passed over her face when she realized that the other, motionless man…
…was the friend she had been searching for, and she looked at his seemingly body with her mouth agape.
No…
More tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at them, and she became incomprehensibly morose as the fact that her friend was more than likely lying dead before her began to sink in.
No…!
It was becoming too much for her, and her mind was beginning to crack.
As memories of her beloved friend raced through her mind, her breath rate began to increase, and she held her head as she began to scream in anguish.
"No!"
Rachel's eyes widened immediately, and she gasped as she quickly sat up in bed.
Tears filled her eyes as she panted heavily, and watched as Bandit quickly ran over to her and placed his hand on her cheek.
"You're okay," he said reassuringly, "It's alright. You're safe… You're okay…"
Rachel took a moment to catch her breath as she looked at him with anxiety.
"What time is it…?" she asked, confused.
"It's morning."
"What happened…?"
Bandit raised an eyebrow as he responded.
"…You…don't…remember anything?"
She was about to respond with a no, when all of her memories from her time in her demonic state quickly began to flood her mind. As they did so, the tears in her eyes streamed down her face as she looked at Bandit with an incredulous amount of guilt.
"Oh, God…" she said with a broken voice, "Oh, my God…! I…killed…Red… I…killed…"
Bandit placed both of his hands on her cheeks as she closed her eyes and began to cry.
She had killed the brother of the man she loved, and even though she had not been in complete control of her actions, she felt an enormous amount of shame and sadness.
Bandit remained silent as she cried.
"I'm sorry, Bandit…" she cried as he held her, "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"
Knowing just how she felt, just how much guilt and pain coursed through her mind and body, he remained silent as he embraced her, and shushed her before he spoke.
"You can't blame yourself," he advised her, "Your body and mind succumbed to your heartbreak and wrath… You weren't in complete control when it happened…"
"Oh, God…!" she cried, "He was your brother…! Your brother…and I…killed him…! What kind of a person am I?"
Horrified, her eyes slowly widened when she remembered what Bandit had done to make her revert back to her normal state.
"You…kissed me…" she said as her eyebrows furrowed.
Bandit swallowed before he responded.
"Yes…"
She looked at him in complete confusion before she spoke.
"Wha… What…? What are you…doing? I don't deserve to have you holding me like this! I…killed…your brother…! I don't deserve your love and affection…! How can you stand here and hold me like this? How can you even bare t-."
Before she could say any more, Bandit quickly placed his finger on her lips, and she looked at him in surprise as he spoke.
"…Rachel…" he began nervously, "…I… I don't know what else to do… I can't…make your pain…and your guilt…go away…but you need to know…that…I forgive you… that Scarlet forgives you…and you also need to know that…it isn't about what you've done… It's about where your heart is…and…for the past…I don't know how many years…my heart…has been…with…you…"
Rachel's mouth opened in awe as he took a deep breath and sighed.
"I'm still naïve…but there are two things I know for sure… One…no matter…what…you have always been t
here for me…will always be there for me…and I have been and always will be there for you…because…two…"
He shook his head as he looked at her with a small smile.
"…I love you…"
He continued to smile as he embraced her once more.
Rachel blinked back her tears as she felt the warmth of his embrace, and despite being hesitant to do so, she slowly wrapped her arms around him and returned his embrace.
"I love you, too…"
Somewhere in a spiritual plane of existence, her parents and both of his mothers sang at the top of their lungs, infinitely happy that their children had, after all of the pain and suffering they had endured throughout their lives, finally found someone to love them through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, and no matter what.
November 18, 1854
In the morning, Abe, who had finally woken up from his coma, lied in his hospital bed with his eyes closed.
As he lied there, he could not help but think about the deceased. However, he was not thinking of the large number of people who had died during the invasion of Virtue. No… He was thinking about people who died long ago…
He was thinking of his family, whom he had not seen in so very long.
Mom… Dad… Simon… It has been too long since I've seen you all… I wish I could see you all again… I don't know…why I'm thinking about you… If I had to guess…it's because the man who killed you has finally been killed… I really didn't think it would ever happen…or could ever happen… I didn't even think he was capable of being defeated by anyone, but…he has been…and now your deaths have…finally…been avenged… Truth be told…I don't know what to think…and I don't know how to feel… That was Bandit and Scarlet's brother, after all…and I'm fond of both of them… I love both of them… But I suppose there's nothing I can do…except be there for them…
Scarlet, Bandit, Mary, Brayne, and Rachel… These are my friends now… No…not friends… These are my family… Things are going to change from this day forward… I've met good people, and I'm going to make sure I'm there for them, so I don't lose them the way I lost you…so they don't become overwhelmed by their sadness and hardships… But I promise you…I will honor your memory for the rest of my life…until I get to see you again…
This…is a new beginning!
A New Beginning
March 24, 1847
Cardinal Blood sat handcuffed in Reppo Central Prison, in a special cell separated from all the other cells. He was indifferently looking down at the floor, when the door to his prison room opened. He looked up to see who his visitors were, and shifted around in his seat as he spoke.
"Well…look who we have here," he said as he watched his two sons walked into his cell.
His sons, Bandit and Red Blood, shook their heads as they closed the cell door, and walked over to their father until they stood only a few feet away from the bars of his cell.
Cardinal gritted his teeth irritably, and looked at his children fiercely.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, "I've already been sentenced to death... What do you want?"
Red swallowed before he spoke.
"I want to know why you did it," he said seriously, "I want to know how you could possibly have thought of doing such a thing…to your own wife…our mother…!"
"She was a good person…" said Bandit sadly, "She didn't deserve what you did to her."
Cardinal grunted as he looked away from them.
"So what are you gonna do, kids...?" he asked as he closed his eyes, "Kill me? Kill your own father?"
"Why not?" asked Red as he walked towards his father and stared right in his eyes, "You killed your own wife, and basically over a thousand other people. Killing you would be completely justified."
"Is that so?"
"Yes!" shouted Red, frustrated, "You betrayed your family! You took our little sister's mother away from her! You deserve to die!"
Agitated by his son's words, Cardinal gritted his teeth before he shouted back at him.
"But I'm not the only one who betrayed this family…am I?"
His eyes shifted over to Bandit, and Bandit's heart rate increased as his father went on.
"There's someone else in this room…who has betrayed us… Someone else…who deserves to die… Isn't that right…Bandit…?"
Red looked at his father in confusion, and then he looked at his brother, whose face had nothing but guilt written all over it.
"What…is he talking about?" he asked with suspicion.
Incredulously nervous, Bandit could only swallow in fear.
He wanted to say something, but he could not find the right words.
"That's right," said Cardinal as he looked at Bandit irritably, "I am not the only person who has betrayed this family… Your brother…is the one…who took her down."
Red's eyes widened in complete shock, and he looked at Bandit in utter disbelief.
Beads of sweat began to drip down Bandit's face as he tried to speak.
"I can expla-."
"I'm sure you can!" yelled his father, "Who are you to come in here and make judgments about me? You should be more of a man and take responsibility for your actions, instead of blaming others. You're the guiltiest one in this room, Bandit. I may have experimented on your mother, and I may be responsible for her genocidal actions, but you…you killed her…and to save someone who isn't even a part of this family… Rachel…"
He panted heavily as he looked at his son with as much hatred as he could muster. He knew full well that his son had done only what he thought was right, but he also knew that his other son would have tried to kill him had he not shifted the blame toward Bandit, so that is just what he did.
Tears filled Red's eyes as he watched his younger brother defend himself.
"Don't turn this around on me…" he began, "…I am guilty…but I had to protect Rachel because our mother deliberately went after her in order to make me kill her. I know I will never be able to completely justify my actions…but you know that what I did…was the right thing to do."
Cardinal smiled slightly as he shook his head.
"What I think…doesn't matter," he said, amused, "You should be more worried about…what he thinks."
Bandit slowly turned to look at Red, and his mouth opened when he saw just how much his brother was hurting.
He had never seen him look so incredibly sad, so sullen, so broken.
His heart was on the verge of shattering.
"No…" began Red as he shook his head, "No… Don't tell me what he said is true…"
"Red…" he began nervously, "I-."
"Go ahead, Bandit," interrupted Cardinal, "Explain yourself."
Angry at the situation unfolding, Bandit balled up his fists as he yelled at his father.
"Shut the hell up!"
Despite his command, however Cardinal continued to speak to Red.
"I put your mother in a horrible position!" he exclaimed, "There's no doubt about that…but Bandit… He chose to save some girl instead of her… He killed your mother! Doesn't he deserve to die, too?"
Bandit gulped as he watched a single tear stream down his brother's cheek.
"Please…" pleaded Bandit desperately, "Don't let his words influence you… He's just trying to keep you from killing him…! I'm your brother, Crim! I would never deliberately betray you…betray Scarlet…"
"But you did," said Cardinal coldly, "You turned your back on them. You took their mother away from them, and now, they will have no one to care for them, no one to be there for them, no one to love them…and it's all…your…fault."
Realizing that he lacked the ability to stand up for himself with his bastard of a father playing the devil's advocate, Bandit looked at his brother with overwhelming shame as he tried one last time to keep Red from shutting him out.
"Please…" he said as he shook his head, "Don't… Don't…listen to him…"
More tears streamed down Red's face as he looked at his brother in horro
r. After several seconds, however, he took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, and Bandit gulped as he watched him do so, completely unaware of how Red would react.
He soon received an answer to his question, however, when Red slowly opened his eyes and looked at him with the intent to kill.
"I won't…" he confirmed, "but I won't listen to you either."
Bandit had broken his heart in two, and now, Red intended to do the same to his body.