Pro No Evens - YOLMT 7
Pro No Evens - You Only Live Multiple Times 7
Memories can be stressful and hard to deal with, training happens, lost things are found, and someone who was trying to find herself returns.
Against All Odds is created by the lovely folks @royalflushstories and Royal Expectations is made by the stunning @trulymightypotato
Felix couldn’t sleep.
Marzia was curled up against his side, one arm lazy strewn across his chest as her head sat almost between his shoulder and head. He could feel her breath tickling his neck with every inhale and exhale. And he could hear her heart beat.
It took just a small pressing and he could hear it loud and clear, like his head was lying on her. The slow pound, the th-thump of Marzia heart beneath her ribcage was almost enough to lull him to sleep.
Almost.
Things were going well. He had Cry by his side where he could keep the faceless safe, he had Marzia with him and sending quiet, content vibes even now, he even had Ken supporting him and helping to keep the whole ‘practicing magic’ thing unnoticed by the public. He had everything he wanted.
So why couldn’t he sleep.
He cast his powers down to the floor, where Edgar and Maya were lying. They were curled in on themselves, their backs touching. Their heart beats should’ve helped too, they were his dogs, so innocent and free from the hardships of living.
But he remained awake.
He was being haunted again.
It had become so much smoother after getting the other three involved. Thoughts had stuck with him instead of flying off into the wind. He was seeing things clearly again, less of double-image overlap. He had almost forgotten what being lost in that tornado of Realms, the Loop consuming him.
It wasn’t quite the Loop, wasn’t the double-image problems. But it was Realms pressing down on him, smothering Felix the Alcohol Manufacturer, the owner of Pewd’s Booze, and shoving Felix the Protector into his place. Everytime he blinked, the darkness that greeted him was the inside of a building where statues of people he knew stared at him. He stared at himself, his own stone face, and reached to touch the cold replica of himself. His hand stopped right before it touched for fear of slipping right through and being faced with his own end.
He looked at the golden disc.
It was like an actual hole in him. Physically there now.
He opened his eyes back up and was greeted by his ceiling.
Felix sighed.
And blinked again.
Ethan desperately drew in air.
He was going to be so sore in the morning.
“Ethan you need to be a bit quicker with your scales.”
Virid offered Ethan a hand up and the younger took it. Claws gently tapped against Ethan’s wrist before they faded back into fingernails. Ethan’s had already disappeared long ago when he lost focus and ended up on the ground, arms raised to block any blows that Virid might deliver while he was down. Of course, Virid had never hurt Ethan after he had obviously lost the match. At least, so far they hadn’t. Who was to say for when they got farther in the training.
“I know.”
Ethan sighed, rubbing at the bruises on his arms. As he did he coaxed the scales to appear. They were a nice blue color, and every time he saw them they reminded him of something. Of the freedom of being in the sky and others with scales and wings and sharp teeth. Of being pulled close and hugged and loved. They weren’t his parents, and yet… they were. In a strange way.
He got the same warm feeling being around Virid.
“So, again?” Ethan rolled his shoulders, putting his fists back up and covering them with scales. He’d always been rather agile, but man was Virid fast.
But they didn’t get into a fighting position. Instead, Virid walked over to a patch of grass and sat down. They patted the ground next to them and Ethan, after a moment's hesitation, sat down next to them.
“I’ve missed this.”
Their training ground was a spot in the woods, the best area where no one would question what they were doing and they weren’t encroaching in mob territory. Ethan had had to ask the day off of work (though he would probably end up going to Freddy’s tonight) and of course Mark had been all too happy to give it to him. It had taken a while to get out here, and now the sun was on its way down.
“Missed what?”
Ethan ran his fingers through the untrimmed blades of grass. He knew why, sitting here, but he wanted to hear somebody else say. Know that somebody else thought it.
“The trees, the nature, the small little life everywhere.” An ant ran across Virid’s hand, inspecting it for food. “You lose some of that in the city. Maybe that’s why Hibiscus left. She was looking for home, and home was never in cramped places with so many people. Home was a small place in the middle of the woods helping raise children into warriors.”
“Wherever Mark is, I feel home.” Ethan leaned into Virid, almost subconsciously. Their hand came up and ran through his hair.
“You’re doing well, by the way.” Virid hummed. “I’m proud of you. This thing going on, it isn’t easy, it drove Hibiscus away and made me fear for my own sanity. Every moment I spend with you, Ethan, I feel a bit better, a bit more like I’m myself. I’m who I’m supposed to be.”
They sat together like that for far more than a moment.
“Hey Gar.”
Gar almost leapt to his feet, almost reached for a weapon he didn’t have, and a cold breeze suddenly swept through the area around him.
Wade just stood there.
Gar relaxed minutely. He looked away.
Ever since his last break down, he’d been avoiding, well, everything.
He hadn’t gone to another meeting for the Realms.
He’d called in sick to the police office.
He’d even avoided the faceless. His dad was probably worried, but what was Gar going to tell him? That he thinks he may be a demon from another life?
“Hello Wade.” Gar fought the urge to run away. He avoided looking Wade in the eye.
“Gar, it’s okay.” Wade sad down next to Gar on the park bench. Gar continued to look at what he had been looking at for a while. Wade followed his gaze to Mark, leaning up against a tree, probably asleep. A bunch of squirrels had surrounded him, making nests of his hairs and curling up in his jacket.
“I wish I never remembered.” Gar said in little more than a mumble. Lucky Mark, so free of this weight that Gar had on him. “Should we ever remember? Should we push this forward, try harder to remember? Maybe we shouldn’t, maybe we should leave this all in the past or different world or whatever. We’re here now, we’re who we are. How does remembering help us in the now, the present?”
“The others were talking about that.” Wade continued to watched the distant Mark. There was a squirrel wrapped around his neck like a scarf, several of them in fact. “After you didn’t show up the second time, they got to thinking why we were doing so much in our power to find out who we once were, whether or not it’s real. For hours we sat in Dan’s apartment, thinking about where to go after the revelation of you and the Demon Prince?”
“What did you decide?” Gar swore he could feel cold hand on his back, rubbing in circles, attempting to comfort him.
“We decided to keep figuring this out. And we want you to keep helping us.”
“Why?” Gar hand clenched into a fist. Cold enveloped it.
“Because of what you’ve done for us Gar.” Wade was looking at Gar now, eyes burning. “Gar, you saved Molly and me from the demon camp. You didn’t kill Molly after being ordered to. You fixed the magic of the Realms. Gar, you’re so much more than the Demon Prince. You’re one of my best friends.”
Gar’s hand clenched tighter. Dammit, he wasn’t breaking down again.
“I… I did that?” All he’d remembered was killing people, causing chaos, burning down towns and enjoying it.
“We’ve made a lot of progress since you’ve been gone.” Wade conceded. “We’re fairly sure that PJ has some kind of magic that helps that out, and whatever Mat has keeps things in an order.”
A squirrel peeked out of the bottom of mark’s pants.
“Gar, do you really not want to know who you are?”
The squirrel retreated back into the Fischbach’s clothes.
“No.”
Another squirrel was pawing at his glasses.
“Let’s go wake Mark up.”
“So, what else have you found out?”
Stephanie took the offered cup of tea and gently blew on it.
She’d been having regular meeting with Madam Foxglove for a while now, though she had started calling her Molly. There was just something nicer about it.
Together, the two of them had been figuring out what their significant other had been figuring out about the weird dreams. Neither Molly nor Stephanie had had much of them, just one here or there, but it would seem Wade and Mat were remembering a lot.
“Nothing too new, but, well, I found this on my way over here.”
Stephanie held out a golden disc.
“I think it’s a medallion.”
She stepped off the train and breathed in a deep breath of the polluted city air.
She missed the west already.
But if Virid had contacted her, it must be important.
Hibiscus tightened her grip on her suitcase and entered the streets of the bustling city.
