"Where the hell are we?"

Remi is pacing in circles through pure white light, waving her arms around and stamping her feet down on the floor. Nothing but a bright white room surrounds us, a lack of images or anything distracting on the walls. Almost as if we were dropped in the center of a white cube.

I dust myself off a little bit and adjust my long, wrinkled sleeves. "We have to be quick or the others are going to find our limp bodies and someone's going to flip their lid."

The confused girl is too distracted to hold up her angry front. Remi looks over at me with nothing but curiosity and drops her hands. "Won't Meika know where we are?"

I shrug.

To be completely honest, I didn't know the answer to that question. Given my relationship with the Witch, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if her reaction was to panic and mourn me. Being the only person she considers family at this point other than Lindon, she's bound to think the worst first.

"Where are we, Ira?" She asks again, softly and more delicate than any time before.

I take a deep breath and hold out a hand for her to take.

She accepts, following me through the never-ending room to a singular recliner.

The only black thing in a world of bright white and purity.

"Sit," I beckon, guiding her down with my hand and setting her down into the chair. It's smooth, polished leather puffs with her weight.

Remi gives me a solid once over before leaning back. Her trusting demeanor seems to be seeping back out again, the childish behavior likely exhausting when mixed with real grief. Her eyes a drooping a little bit, I observe all of the ways heavy sadness clings to her more swollen features.

"What are we doing here?

I smile, face softening. "We're inside of what Lindon and I lovingly refer to as The Vortex. It is the collective of all our memories, an archive that keeps everything stored and organized for us to make decisions on the planet. With everything that we've experienced, we help navigate evolution and mitigate disaster so that Humans don't completely drive themselves to extinction."

Her eyes sparkle a little bit in wonder, distracting her from grief for seconds. I can see the weight lift off of her shoulders temporarily.

Lifting my hand gently, mana drifts up from my palm and swirls around Remi's seat in a slow gust. Once surrounded in an air-like tunnel, color pools to life inside, almost appearing to be like a rainbow against a hurricane.

Her finger pokes it a few times.

I chuckle to myself and snap my fingers.

Everything begins to whirl to life, images flickering in front of her. They solidify into a scene, the images similar to that of a projector screen and coming into precise focus.

Without being able to handle Theron's final moments myself, I take a few steps away and leave her in the throws of his sickness.

In a way, guilt consumes me for breaking my promise. Letting Remi witness his pain even as he begged me not to do so feels like a crime, yet I can't think of a single way to make her believe me. To regain her trust, I have to prove myself some way or another.

The truth is the only way I can see.

"If something happens to me, I need to know that Remi is going to be safe, I need to know that you'll look out for her. Even if that means taking her with you to find Lindon, even if that means locking her up for her own good... I need to know she's going to be safe, Ira..."

I hear the words in the background and stifle the tight feeling in my neck and chest. Remi is beside herself, the cries beginning to pick up again. More raw pain than I had heard in the passing days altogether.

This is torturous to both of us, but there is no other way.

There's a time lapse in the memory, brushing over what happens with Meika and the nurse, bringing Remi immediately to Theron's final words. Him begging with those words that break my heart every single time.

"You tell her I love her," he says. "You tell Remi I loved her so much, that I would've wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."

The young girl screams when Theron speaks.

I think about all the implications of those words. Of marriage, of children and love, but more importantly everything they couldn't have now. The life they wouldn't live together, no matter how much either of them wanted it.

Remi cries as if she'd felt the same way, even if I'd never asked or known.

Tears run down my cheeks, my back turned to the scene and mind racing. The ringing grows louder and louder in my ears before the vision flatlines and collapses to the floor at Remi's feet.

Real grief now. The difference is strong and potent.

Remi coils into herself and grips at her clothing. The fit in front of me almost appears as though she's trying to escape the confinement of her physical body. As if trying to join him. Her clothes don't do anything but stretch and wrinkle, her fingers tight but weak in general.

Slowly, I drift over to her and gently grab her hands off of her shirt. "Breathe." I murmur, smoothing over the back of her hands with my thumbs. "I need you to breathe."

Her face scrunches up and she stops squirming, sobbing quietly into one of the cushions.

"He's dead..." she cries out. "He's dead, he's dead... Why...?"

I pull her into my chest as I did once before, preparing for the likelihood that she would push and shove me away and curl up again, Instead, Remi locks her arms around me and digs her fingers into my shirt, breathlessly breaking down into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she whispers.

I just nod, my words locking themselves up tight. My body shakes, trying to contain the emotions pushing their way to the surface.

"We need to get back," I say. Not only running from my own feelings but attempting to distract her from hers. "They're going to be worrying about us soon and I don't need another lecture from Meika today."

Remi leans back, her lips trying to smile and failing. Even then, she rubs her eyes and gets ready to stand. When she does, she wobbles a bit. Dizzy and disoriented, she digs her fingers into my bicep.

When I take us out again, Remi falls back and hits her head on the dresser in the room. "Ow, shi-"

"What the hell happened to you two?" Daniel demands, pacing into the room.

The final straw finally breaking him into one of the five stages.

Anger.

I don't understand why everyone is falling into anger first.

Taking a deep breath, I touch his arm and watch him closely. "I was just showing her something... Theron asked me to do something for him and I found the best way of doing so, but that required going into my head."

"Going into your head?" he asks in confusion. "What, like you both literally went inside your head?"

Remi nods almost eagerly but finds herself distracted with growling in her stomach. Without so much as another word, she graces Daniel with an awkward stare before pushing past him and leaving us alone.

Meika is likely making dinner by now or so I would guess.

This leaves me alone with the angry Demigod. Clearly in control of himself though, Daniel follows after her with his eyes and then looks back at me. The frustration melts away to concern.

"I was worried something had happened to you."

I sigh, frowning. "I know, I tried to be as fast as I could so as not to be caught by either of you. Did Meika worry?"

He shakes his head and sits on the corner of Remi's bed. "No, she didn't know just yet. Every time I asked her a question she shushed me and kept making soup like there was some strange science to it."

"Or witch magic," I laugh slightly. "Still, I'm sorry I worried you. It was the only way I could truly bring her closure."

"It's okay..."

My eyes narrow in on him and I turn to face him fully. "Are you sure about that?"

Daniel nods, eyes darkening. "Yeah, of course."

Already emotionally drained from Remi, I take the answer. If Daniel has a problem, I'm sure I'll find out about it later. Especially given all the effort, he's still going through just to distract himself.

"You'll tell me if you need anything, right?"

Daniel's gaze snaps up to meet mine instantly, far more guarded than any time before. "How do you mean?"

A defeated feeling consumes my chest. None of them really felt safe with me now, not that I expect them too. Dan had never fully seemed to in the first place. Though the secret of why he still feared this town grinds on me every day.

Intuition says we're all about to find out.

This doesn't change the uneasy and almost uncomfortable sensation pouring through me. Just considering the energy around that situation sends my body into a cold sweat. Nothing makes sense.

Still, I retract away from the love my heart wants to show. Everyone is going to get hurt this way.

"I just mean, if you need something, I'm here for you..." I explain. "I don't entirely expect to be anyone's favorite person right now, but it doesn't change how much I care about either of you."

"Ira, I-"

"Please don't," I say, stopping him mid-breath. "I don't deserve to hear it."

Without waiting another minute, I slip out into the kitchen with the girls, knowing full well he'd attempt to stop me. Daniel tries to reach for my wrist but narrowly misses before we're both in front of the eating women.

Their deep in a conversation about different types of vegetables and which things couldn't be achieved out in the charred lands of Mexico where I'd found them.

It distracts Daniel long enough for me to maneuver away and weave myself between Meika and Remi's thin frames. Once behind the island, I start picking through the bag on the counter left out.

When the conversation dies down, Remi takes a bite of her soup and looks back at me. "Do you know when we'll be able to bury Theron...?"

It was the quietest whisper, but Meika and Daniel also gave me their attention.

I stare through the wall where my room would be and close my eyes. "Whenever you want. The remains were given to me this morning."

The girl slinks closer to me and grabs my hand. "Can we do it tonight?"

My lungs scream no, but I swallow it back.

"Yes," I agree, barely breathing. "Yes, we can."

Hey Everyone!

Yes! This will, in fact, be the first three-part chapter I've ever done.

I hope you all are enjoying the story. I know it slowed down a little bit, but after a death like that, how could we really go straight into stress? You'll see...

Don't forget to vote and comment if you enjoyed the chapter and let me know what you think about everything going on! Thank you all for sticking with me so long. 

Have a great day everyone!