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[[Yay for writing course that forced us to write more than this, on harder themes, in under a week. lol. I'm all done ^^]]



“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Tari shot Saeslin a withering glance over her shoulder as she unlocked her front door.

“Sae, Ah’m foine,” she said, turning the key, and pushing the door open. She turned back to Saeslin. “Ah’m jus’ toired. Ah’m goin’ strai’ oop ter bed, Ah promise.”

She watched the dubious, worried look spread over his face and sighed. “Ah’m no’ goin’ ter fain’ again, no’ loike the other day.”

Saeslin sighed and reached out to touch her cheek, fingers grazing over her scales, making them ripple. “I know, I just worry.”

Tari chuckled and took Saeslin’s hand, squeezing it tightly for a moment. He was always so worried. It….worried her to an extent. That irony was definitely not lost on her. But, still, he was going to an early grave if he kept worrying. And she definitely did not want that. “We need ter unworry yer,” she teased. She bit her lip a moment and, despite the dizziness, she went up on her toes and kissed him quickly. Mainly because balancing on her toes like that was difficult. But it was worth it to see Saeslin blush.

Which he did. She grinned as Saeslin tried to hide it with a cough. “Well…I…ah…will see you tomorrow, then?” he asked, cupping a hand, this time, against Tari’s cheek.

“Ah weel,” she said, smiling. “Hast ye back, aye til ae fore.”

Saeslin shook his head as he stepped away and down the stairs. “You will have to tell me what that means tomorrow. Good night, Tari.”

“Ah weel,” Tari chuckled, waving as she shut the door. “Guid nigh’, Saeslin.” She shut the door and then leaned her head against it. Ugh, she really did feel horrible. But they’d stayed out late, and she had had a few glasses of wine. But not enough to make her feel this ill. Maybe she would leave a note for Christine, just in case. It was better to have someone poke their head in and fuss, rather than end up worse.

Though Christine really didn’t strike her as the kind to fuss. It would be nice, just for once, if Christine was a little more…lady-like. And if Saeslin would just stop worrying. For one day, at least.

Nevertheless, Tari wrote out a quick note and left it in the hall. Yawning and holding her aching head, she started upstairs and, rather gratefully, into her room. She was feeling warm, again. Why was everything in the south so hot?

She shed her clothing, quickly, and stumbled into bed, staying awake long enough to wind her heart and set her little clock, before dropping off to sleep.



Sleep didn’t last long, though. Tari woke a few hours later. She didn’t quite know why, other than that there was sunlight streaming through her window. Blearily, she staggered into the bathroom and splashed water into her face, careful that none dripped into her heart. Tari peered at herself in the mirror. Something seemed very odd, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She touched the mirror, wondering if there was a mark on the glass or something that was making her feel strange.
Which, didn’t make sense, but the compulsion to touch the glass was still there. Almost the moment she touched the mirror, she heard footsteps pattering outside the door. She turned as someone burst in.

“Christine, wot on…Christine!?” Tari stared at the short, blonde…man who stood before her. She fumbled around on the counter. “’ooe’er yer are…don’ yer come any closer!” she said, grabbing the first thing her hand grabbed, thrusting forward the very threatening…hairbrush.

The young man looked at Tari, eyes worried, hands rubbing together compulsively. “Tari, are you alright? I heard you up, which seemed out of character. And now you’re calling me, Christine! I think we need a doctor. You know it's Christopher.”

Tari stared at the…man. Chris…topher? “Wot es goin’ on, ‘ere? ‘oo are yer? Es some one playin’ a trick on me?”

Christine/Christopher shook his head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. This isn’t right, you have to be sick!”

“Ah…Christee…Chris, stop et!” Tari squealed, slightly, hitting the man on the shoulder with the hairbrush. “Stop et! Stop et. Fer one thin’, Ah can walk on mah own. Fer anuther, Ah’m no’ sick. An’ fer a third, Ah’m ‘oo are yer?!”

Chris just kept shaking his head as he marched her, albeit it gently, downstairs. “I’m taking you to Aislinn’s. Michael or Aislinn might know what to do. At the very least they can call Rhiannon or Laura.”

Tari flailed slight. She had no idea who any of these people were, though it seemed evident she was supposed to know them. Chris was talking about them so familiarly. However, as they approached the front door, Tari protested once again.

“No! Ah’m no’ goin’ ou’ ‘alf undressed!”

Chris gave her a wild look. “Oh goodness, Tari, you must be really sick! You didn’t even know you’re dressed!”

“Ah’m…wot!?” Tari looked down, in shock, to find herself wearing a truly hideous blue and white outfit. She made a face. Who in the right mind would wear this look? Not to mention the apron. What was she, a servant? Ugh, ugly shoes, too!

She didn’t get a chance to protest again, however, as Chris had dragged her out into the streets and started marching away from the house. At least, Tari mused, they were staying in Upper Caspern. Hopefully the people Chris had been talking about were fellow nobles she could get help from.

She followed Chris as best she could, until, finally, they turned up the drive of a familiar house. A very familiar house…that was covered in dogs? That wasn’t right! Saeslin and Angela kept cats. Tari looked around, confused. None of this made sense! Chris was a man and cats were dogs.

Maybe someone had played around with her wine.

She watched, nonplussed, as Chris dragged her up onto the doorstep and rang the doorbell. There was a quiet patter of footsteps behind the door before it opened to reveal a rather dowdy looking, short…man. A man that looked remarkably like Marcy.

“Marcy?!” Tari asked, wide eyed.

The housekeeper eyed Tari, confused, before looking at Chris. “Good morning, Mister Cathain. What brings yourself and Tari here, this morning?” she asked, quiet, dutiful. Not at all like Marcy’s usual fussing and, well, exuberance.

“She’s sick!” Chris said, frantically, going back to his odd, fervent, hand rubbing.

“Ah’m no’!” Tari protested as the two men ushered her inside and into the hall. “Woul’ yer all le’ me go! Ah don’ know any o’ yer! Where es Sae?!” A kitten suddenly skittered into the room, a bright white female, who ran through their legs, tripping her two assailants neatly. Tari hopped over the jumbled pile of limbs and bolted for the nearest door.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly the front door…

Tari stopped and stared at the person sitting in the parlour. A short, young man, with the same white-blonde hair as Angela, was sitting…knitting. He turned and looked over at her, timidly.

“Oh…ah…hello, Lady Tari. How are you…umm…this morning?” he asked, not quite meeting her eyes. Tari…simply continued staring, utterly nonplussed. This thing was…Angela?

“’oo are yer!?” Tari demanded. “Wot are yer doin’ in Sae an’ Angela’s ‘ouse?!”

The timid man blinked up at her, rather owlishly. “Who are…who are “Sigh” and “Angela?” he asked, bewildered. “Miss Tari, are you sure you’re…ah…alright?”

“Woul’ yer all stop askin’ if’n Ah’m arright!” Tari demanded, stomping a foot in frustration. “Ah’m foine, et’s all o’ yer tha’s ill. Why are yer all no’ the roight gen’er!?”

“Not the…right gender? Miss Tari, are you sure you’re alright?!” the timid Angela-man stood. Tari backed up, hands held out.

“Don’ yer come near me yer…yer…no’ roight…eugh…” she winced as she backed into something very solid and very tall. She sagged in relief. It definitely felt like Saeslin. At least he was…normal…

Tari’s eyes widened as she turned and saw the person she’d run into. Her mouth slowly dropped open. Standing before her, with roughly cut, short blonde hair, was a very, very tall…woman. Who looked terribly like Saeslin. She backed away, a hand over her mouth, as the woman stalked after her, rather jauntily, swinging a pair of goggles in one hand.

“What’s all the ruckus? Tari, what’s going on?”

Tari shook her head, wordlessly for a moment before swallowing. “’oo…’oo are yer?!” she demanded, eyeing the woman’s chest. Those were definitely breasts. She shuddered. Maybe she was going crazy. Maybe the heat in Caspern had finally melted her poor brain.

“Tari, are you kidding?” The woman laughed. “Come on, stop joking around. It’s me, Aislinn. We’re supposed to go test out the motorcycle today.”

“We don’t think she’s well, Aislinn,” the Christine-man said, stepping into the room. “We’ve called the doctors.”

“Sick? Our Tari?” Aislinn/Saeslin laugh. “I think you’re all worrying too much. She looks fine to me.”

Tari blinked. Well…that was different. Saeslin not being worried about something. She could almost accept that…except for the fact he had breasts. Ugh.

“Ah’m no’ sick, yer all are!” she said, backing herself into a corner. There, that way she could fend them off, somehow…

“Tari, what on earth are you going on about?” Aislinn askes, shaking her head. “Don’t let my delusional nephews get to you. You look fine. And so are the rest of us.”

Tari had the overwhelming desire to shout “nu-uh”. She stayed in her corner, staring at the people she had once called friends. They were all…wrong! So very wrong. Christine and Angela shouldn’t be so timid and odd. And they definitely weren’t supposed to be men. And, as nice as it was for Saeslin to be a bit more outgoing, he was not supposed to be a woman.

Maybe the fae had heard her wishing that Saeslin wouldn’t worry so much. And, of course, the fae were such tricksters, they must have changed everything like this, just to spite her while granting her wish.
This was all her fault!

“AH’M SORRY!” she cried, launching out of her corner and pushing past the monstrous people her friends had become. She had to get home, she had to fix this!

“Tari! Wait!” A voice cried out behind her. But Tari kept running, pushing past the monstrous version of Marcy and out into the streets. She skidded to a halt as she was confronted by the two women outside. One was dowdy looking and quiet, dressed more conservatively than anyone Tari had ever met. The other was a tall, brunette woman in an outfit that would have made Christine blush. Tari nearly shrieked.

What had the fae done to Doctor Laklas and Rye!?

“Miss Tari?” the dowdy woman asked. “Shouldn’t you be inside, resting?”
“Och, by Balor, no!” Tari cried, pushing past them and running as fast as she could for her house. She thundered up the steps, fumbling for her keys, glancing over her shoulder just in case one of the monsters had chased her. She stumbled into the house and locked up, before racing upstairs, panicked, hot and sweaty. She was so hot, suddenly. It was almost unbearable. Tari headed to the washroom first. She would cool herself off, quickly, then she would perform whatever rituals she knew, to beg the fae to turn her friends back.

Tari turned on the water and frantically splashed her face with it. A wave of dizziness overcame her and she shut her eyes for a second…

…only to open them and find herself staring up at a frantic looking Marcy and Saeslin. “Thank God, she’s coming around,” Marcy said, setting aside the bowl of water she’d been splashing Tari’s face with. A shaky looking Saeslin collapsed on the edge of her bed.

Tari stared up at them both, confused. “Ah…wot?!” they were both…normal again. And she was in bed and…what on earth had happened.

“Tari, why didn’t you tell me you were so ill?” Saeslin demanded, worry etched across his face as he took up her hand.

“Ah…wot?”

Saeslin glanced over at Marcy. She frowned. “I’ll go call Laklas or Rye, just in case. She should go to the hospital, but…” shaking her head and giving Tari a last, concerned look, the housekeeper left. Tari looked over at Saeslin.

“Wot…wot es goin’ on?” she asked, wondering why on earth she was so hot and tired. “Why are yer all normal again? ‘ow did Ah ge’ ‘ere.” She looked at his chest. Oh, thank the fae, he was a man again.

Saeslin squeezed her hand, tight, the look of concern etched deeper into his features. Had he been…crying?

“Normal? Tari…what are you talking about? Christine got your note when she returned home,” Saeslin explained. “And, for some reason, she decided to poke her head in to see if you were up. Thank God she did, otherwise you would have died.”

“…died?”

“Your heart had stopped, Tari. You didn’t wind it properly. So Christine wound it then came to get Marcy and I, since she couldn’t wake you up. We’ve been trying all morning,” he shook his head. “We thought we’d lost you.”

“A…Ah…” She hadn’t wound her heart? She’d been so sure she had, the night before. But, then again, Tari had been exhausted. There was the slight chance she’d only imagined she’d done so and had fallen asleep. She swallowed hard. If so…she’d had a lucky escape.

Which also meant that maybe, just maybe, it had all been a horrible, horrible dream. Tari dragged herself up and threw her arms around Saeslin, pulling him close. “Please…don’ e’er stop worryin’ abou’ me! An’…please promise yer’ll no’ e’er trun inter a woman.”

“I…what?!” Saeslin asked, hugging her back.

“Jus’ promise!” Tari demanded.

“I-I promise,” Saeslin pulled away slightly, looking at her face. “I won’t ever stop worrying about you. And…I most assuredly won’t ever turn into a woman.”

Tari studied his face for a moment before sighing and lying back, a small smile on her face. Good, everything was back to normal. It had all just been a horrible dream. One that she wasn’t too keen on having again.

Ever.

Saeslin frowned. “I’ll go and get you a glass of water. Don’t move.”

He waited until Tari nodded before leaving to go. She settled back and watched as Saeslin left the room

...swinging a pair of goggles rather jauntily in one hand…

((Slight gore and cursing. Beware. ninja ))




As Selene stepped through the mirror in front of her, a warm feeling enveloped her body, as always. Travelling through mirrors was always the fastest way to get around the world. She couldn’t help but wonder just what was so important that Ares insisted they speak about it in person. Honestly.

She sighed and stepped out of the mirror, placing her hands on her hips, all the while her eyes closed.

“All right, Ares, just what is so damned important that I have to take time out of my day to come over here?” the Goddess asked.

Selene waited for an answer. Yet she received none. Opening her eyes, she was about to chew Ares out for wasting her time when she realized she hadn’t ended up at Ares’ lair. She was in a place she didn’t recognize. She must’ve botched the coordinates again and ended up somewhere halfway around the world. Again.

“Geez,” Selene huffed under her breath, turning around to go back through the mirror. However, the mirror wasn’t there. All that was there was a dirt road leading into a town. Wait, she recognized this town, but from where? It felt familiar. It felt – evil.

It felt like home.

Grinning, Selene started to run into town, arms wide open. She was laughing, giggling. Home! It was home! She couldn’t believe it! It was supposed to be locked away for eternity, but here it is!

“I’m back!” she cried, to no one in particular. “I’m finally back home!”
Selene started to twirl around in circles, completely ecstatic, until she got dizzy and fell down onto her back. She laughed and laughed. She wasn’t going to ask questions. There was no need. All she needed to know was that she was home and it felt so wonderful to be back. It had been way too long.

Oh how she wished things were the way they were, back when she was a child. All the joys and wonders she loved had been locked away along with her home, supposedly to never been seen by her again. Her brother, her childhood, all had been stripped away from her.

As if she’d ever get any of that back. Her childhood was gone. It was a miracle that she had been able to get back home again. Ah, well. She was glad, nonetheless.

Hearing a voice call out her name – a familiar voice – Selene’s eyes flew open. Immediately, she stood to found out where the voice was coming from. There it was. In the distance, she saw someone running towards her, waving her down. As they drew closer, Selene realized it was her little brother, but he was still a child, not the adult he was now. Just what was going on? This wasn’t right.

“Tsukuyomi?” Selene called, immediately distrustful. It must be some kind of illusion, right? Maybe Yomi was playing a trick on her. He certainly would do that, that brat. “Yomi, stop it this instant! It isn’t funny!”

Running up to her, Tsukuyomi just smiled, hugged her tight, and said, “Welcome home, Selene!”

Selene just stood there, staring down at Yomi in shock. He felt real. Very, very real. It wasn’t an illusion. It was real! This really was Tsukuyomi! Grinning, Selene hugged him back, picking him up.

“Yomi! It really is you!” she cried happily, squeezing him tight. After a few moments, Selene put him down and let him go.

Tsukuyomi didn’t seem the least bit phased. He laughed and said, “Come on, Selene, we’re going to be late!” he cried, turning around to run in the direction he’d come from.

“Late . . . ? Hey, wait up!” Selene cried, rushing after him. Just what on Aria were they going to be late for? Were they expecting her to show up when she did? Everything was just so confusing. Maybe there’d be an explanation at whatever event was waiting for her.

As the two rushed through the town, Selene couldn’t help but take in the scenery, nostalgia hitting her hard. Over there were crumbling remains of when the town had been attacked by raiders. When she had been ripped away from her home, they had yet to repair the damage that had been down. Ahead was her favorite feature of the town, the fountain of blood.

“Yomi, wait a second!” Selene cried as she rushed over to the fountain to marvel at its beauty. There was just something about a pool of blood that warmed her heart, especially the wonderful coppery smell that filled the air around it.

Tsukuyomi stopped in his tracks and turned back around to see why Selene wanted to stop. Seeing her at the fountain, he shook his head. “You’ve seen it plenty of times before! Hurry or we’ll really be late!”

However, Selene didn’t respond. She was staring wide-eyed at her reflection. Was it her reflection? It was staring back at her, but it wasn’t her. It was faceless, hairless, earless, clotheless. In horror, Selene quickly clutched her head, only to grab a handful of hair. Feeling her face and ears, she was relieved to find they were still there. Glancing down, of course she was fully clothed.

That thing. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t her. It looked human-shaped, but that thing was nowhere near being human. She couldn’t bring herself to look away. It was disgusting yet intriguing at the same time. Just what was it?

Before she could figure it out, something started to hack away at the thing. She cringed, but felt compelled to watch as it was beheaded, dismembered, and gutted right before her eyes. It was only then that she realized it was another one of those things. It had killed one of its own.

Or so she thought. Despite the brutality of the attack, that thing was still alive, still moving. Each individual part, each covered in blood, were all writhing and squirming in what had to be unbearable pain. She could only assume it was screaming on the inside, as it had no mouth. It just had to be.

Selene’s eyes widened as the attacker didn’t stop there. It grabbed one of the dismembered arms and –

Having gotten tired of waiting, Tsukuyomi grabbed Selene by the hand and jerked her away from the fountain. “Come on! They’re waiting for us!”

Selene, now shaken and disturbed, allowed herself to be dragged. Just what was it that she saw? Why did she see it? Was it one of the many visions that plagued her? If so, was it true? She didn’t remember anything of that sort of abomination being alive currently or in the past. At least, anything that looked like that thing. There was something familiar about it, but this thing most certainly didn’t exist yet. If it was indeed true, then that had to be a vision of the future. Selene shuddered at the thought. Hopefully, it was just an illusion or a false vision. Hopefully.



As they made their way through the town, Selene noticed that it was completely empty. However, as they went further, she could hear a ruckus up ahead. Everyone had to be there. If she remembered right, the only thing this far into town would be the chopping block and the stocks. Why would they be there, though? Was there an execution? Was that what Yomi was making a big fuss about? This was all getting to be too nostalgic for her tastes. The last time she attended an execution here, her judgment had been required. She supposed since Yomi wanted her to get there in time so badly that would be the case this time as well.

Even so, Selene couldn’t get her mind off what she saw in the fountain. It was too disturbing to forget so easily, and she couldn’t help but wonder why she thought something about that disgusting scene was familiar. Not even the thought of an execution could get it out of her mind, no matter who it was being ‘put to rest’.

Selene, lost in thought, didn’t realize they had arrived at their destination until –

“Selene, the prisoners await!” Tsukuyomi said with slight enthusiasm, jarring Selene from her reverie.

“O-oh, right,” she replied absentmindedly. Prisoners? So there was more than one? Interesting. “Let – “

Before Selene could say anything further, Tsukuyomi took the liberty to announce to the crowd before them, “Goddess Selene has arrived to pass her judgment unto these prisoners before us! All hail Her Holiness!”

“All hail!” the crowd repeated, parting so that Selene can make her way up to the stocks and the prisoners in them with ease.

Selene watched the crowd as it parted. She didn’t recognize anyone here. She didn’t remember any of their faces at all. The only person she remembered here was her brother, Yomi, but she supposed that it was just as well. He was the only important person to her here. No one else mattered.

Making her way down the path that had been made for her, members of the crowd started to bow as Selene passed. She stopped in front of the stocks to examine the prisoners. There was two; one male, one female. One with black hair, one with white. They had their heads hung, so that she couldn’t see their facial features. As they were now, they looked like just any other person. She needed a better look.

“Raise your heads,” the Goddess ordered them, stepping closer to the two. They obliged.

Upon seeing their faces, Selene couldn’t help but stare, frozen to the spot. It was . . . them. They were the ones that had ripped her away from her home in the first place! They were the ones that forbade her from ever coming back here again! They were the ones that denied her from the one place that made her happy. Not only that, but they were also the ones that were completely oblivious to the world falling apart because of their actions. They had sealed off her home. Her home was crucial to keeping the world in balance. After all, a world without a place to store its evil will turn evil itself. These two bastards refused to believe that. Instead, they believed sealing it off meant no more evil. Those fools. Cutting off the source didn’t make things better, it made it worse. Much worse. The world was doomed because of them, but more importantly, her home was doomed because of them.

It looked as if they had been in the stocks for quite a while now, perhaps a week or two. However long it was, it wasn’t enough. They deserved to be there longer. They deserved to suffer for all they did. To be humiliated, to be starved, to be mocked and ridiculed, they deserved it all and more.

Her judgment was obvious, but she shouldn’t make such a hasty decision. She supposed she had to think about it. Damn.

“Amaterasu! Proteus! Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you here and now, and maybe I’ll consider letting you go,” Selene said, placing her hands on her hips.

The two captured deities looked at each other for a moment, before hanging their heads again.

Proteus shook his head. “I have no need to explain myself to the likes of you. You know very well that we do not deserve this. We did what we did with good reason. There was nothing done wrong. That is all.”

“Yes, exactly! It was good for everyone! There is no use immortalizing the world if it falls to shambles because of this wretched place!” Amaterasu agreed, struggling weakly against her restraints. “We are restoring the world to its former glory!”

Selene scoffed at this. “Former glory, my a**! Those things that you created that populated that glorious world were nothing more than – “

She cut herself off as she came to a sudden realization. The original ‘human beings’ that once populated the world, before mortality came into play, were similar to those things that she saw in the fountain. Not in looks, no, but in essence. That’s why she couldn’t place how she recognized it earlier. It didn’t look familiar, it felt familiar. Amaterasu and Proteus had convinced Isis to make humans the way they envisioned it, which resulted these disturbing creatures. It was a stretch to even call them living. They merely existed, there to take up space. The two deities seemed proud of their creations. Isis was ashamed.

Those things in the fountain, they were the same. They just seemed to exist. They had no face, no ears, nothing. Nothing at all. All it seemed they could do was move. Move and kill. Pointless. Their existence was pointless. Especially since those things didn’t seem to die, even when chopped into pieces.

Amaterasu and Proteus were responsible for the originals being created. It wasn’t much of a stretch to assume they’d be responsible for those things to be created sometime in the future, too. That is, if they lived to see that future. That settled it. Humanity didn’t deserve to be turned into an abomination because of their preposterous visions of the world. If her personal reasons to execute them weren’t enough, then saving the world was a damned good enough reason to go through with it.

Selene suddenly grinned. “Oops, looks like you failed to convince me to spare your lives! Executioner – “

“Wait, Selene, please! Do not go through with this! I beg of you!” Amaterasu cried, exasperated, desperate. “Please!”

Laughing, Selene shook her head. She had this crazed look in her eyes as she looked down at the two deities. “Are you begging me? Do you really expect me to change my mind just because you’re begging me? Don’t make me laugh!” she scoffed, yet continued laughing anyway.

“Selene, please. We have done nothing to warrant this,” Proteus said, trying once again to explain himself.

The laughing grew louder, more crazed than before. “You, too, Proteus? Ha! For millions of years, I begged and begged you both to let me come back home, and you expect me to change my mind just because you are begging me? Ha, ha, and ha! As if!”

It took a moment to recompose herself. Selene turned to the executioner with a grin.

“OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!”

The sounds of the execution were muffled by the loud roaring and cheering of the crowd. A chant of ‘All hail Goddess Selene!’ was chorused among the onlookers. Various objects were thrown in the air as celebration, and many had broken out the liquor to drink to this momentous occasion. Now that Amaterasu and Proteus were dead, their home was no longer cut off from the world! They were free, finally free!

Selene was celebrating along with the crowd, her loyal subjects, when she was suddenly pulled away by someone. Quickly finding it was Yomi, she smiled. “Isn’t this great, Yomi? Now we can finally live together in peace!”

However, Tsukuyomi didn’t respond. Instead, he kept pulling at her, insisting that she leave the crowd. Although confused, Selene followed after him into a secluded area, away from the commotion. She watched Yomi with worry.

“What’s wrong, Yomi? Aren’t you happy that they’re finally dead?” Selene asked him. He was still a child, but he was her brother! He had to at least appreciate that he got to be with his sister once more, right?

The child smiled warmly up at her with such an innocent look, and asked, “Do you like it here, Selene?”

“What? Of course I like it here! Why are you ask – “

“This place is special; you are special. We are here for you. We don’t mind being here forever, if it’s with you.”

Selene stared at him. Just what on Aria was he talking about? “Yomi – “

“Do you want to stay here, with us, forever?” Tsukuyomi asked her, watching her expectantly.

“Yes, of course! I want to stay here with you so we can be a family again!” Selene replied almost immediately. She really didn’t want to leave, not after just returning. She had been gone so long. There was just too much catching up to do. Why was Yomi asking all these weird questions? Didn’t he want her to stay here with him?

“There’s just one thing you need to do, one thing you must do if you wish to stay with us forever,” he told her. At that moment, the world around them dissipated and turned white. It was as if everything else hadn’t even existed. “You must kill yourself.”



Before Selene stood Sunil, with Ares at his side, sitting in his favorite chair with a book. They were back in Ares’ lair. It reeked of death, as usual, but was otherwise clean and picture perfect. Behind Selene stood a wall-length mirror.

Only Sunil seemed to have noticed Selene at first. “Finally done, are we?” he asked with a smirk.

Selene looked around in shock. Where was her home, her town, her brother?! Where did it all go! It couldn’t have been a lie, it was all too real! It felt real, it smelled real; it just had to be real!

“Done with what?” Selene demanded. “Send me back at once! I was finally home and you took me away from it, didn’t you?!” She stormed up to the blue-haired man and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him down to her level. “Didn’t you?!”

Sunil chuckled, not the least bit intimidated by the small woman. “You were told what you had to do to stay there forever, weren’t you?”

“I suggest you do it, Selene. If not for your sake, then for humanity’s sake,” Ares added, without looking up from his book. “You know what you must do.”

Although reluctantly, Selene let go of Sunil and took a few steps back, staring at the ground with wide eyes. It all began to sink in. Yomi had been telling her how they could be together as family, before they were ripped apart once more. Here, both Sunil and Ares were agreeing with him. They knew what had happened. Were they there? No, that didn’t matter. She had more important things to think about.

“Here.” Putting his book down, Ares held out a knife towards Selene for her to take. “We cannot do it for you. You’ll have to do it yourself.”

“Unless, of course, you change your mind about ‘wanting to be a family again’? Or maybe you don’t really want to save the world from Amaterasu and Pro – “ Sunil started, yet was abruptly cut off.

“Gimme that!” Selene huffed, taking the knife from Ares. As she did, she caught a glance at the title of the book he was reading: Given Life, Meant to Die. She couldn’t help but smile sadly. How fitting.