A few days later...

"How is everyone doing so far?" Olivia asked over the phone. I sighed in response

"Otto's definitely taking this really hard..." I replied. "He hasn't even left his room now from what Ivor told me. He doesn't want to see anyone, not even his sister..."

"Oh, the poor guy..." Olivia said sadly. "He and Hadrian must've been really close..."

"Best friends" I stated. "Basically brothers. I just hope he'll be OK at the funeral..."

"When is the funeral?" Olivia asked me. "I want to attend" I smiled sadly. She was the first of the order who wanted to attend, Lukas was still debating it and the news hadn't reached Axel nor Petra just yet as both had gone on a quick trip into The Portal Hallway for a quick, casual adventure. However, my smile faded almost instantly when I thought of when the funeral was held. Technically, we didn't have a date for it. Inefficient, I know, though we had our reasons, and a good one at that

"It'll be about a week after Mevia wakes up" I stated. "Despite wanting to give Hadrian a proper goodbye, Otto and Harper don't want to start the funeral without Mevia since she is Hadrian's wife after all"

"I understand" Olivia replied. "How is Mevia doing? Will she wake up anytime soon?"

"The doctors check in on her occasionally, but all of her wounds have healed" I explained. "They think she may have suffered brain trauma which is why she's still in her coma, though there's no internal bleeding. However, the doctors did specify that she did suffer damage in one part of her brain. I don't remember the name of it, but... It's the part that stores all your memories... She may have amnesia when she wakes up..."

"Are they just figuring this out?!" Olivia asked, alarmed and slightly annoyed. I nodded, even though we were chatting over the phone and she couldn't see me

"Apparently, yeah" I answered, strangely casual. "They were so focused on her external injuries that they never considered her internal ones. They're still checking for any other trauma caused, though nothing seems out of the ordinary" Olivia sighed a little

"I can't believe that..." She said. "Oh... I hope Mevia doesn't wake up with Amnesia. If I was her, I would rather know my husband has passed on than to attend a funeral of someone who I am supposedly close to but can't remember..." Once again, I nodded in agreement

"Agreed" I spoke. "I'm more concerned on how she'll react to it all once she does wake up. Imagine being asleep for almost two months, then suddenly waking up, hearing the news on your spouse's recent passing and everything else that had happened while you were asleep... It... It would be hard to swallow..." I heard Olivia gulp, most likely upset by the thought I had now plagued her mind with

"Y-Yeah..." She muttered. "I hope-" Olivia suddenly turned her attention to something else. From the muttering I heard, she was speaking to Calvin. I heard her sigh a little as her attention was brought back to our conversation. "I have to go Jesse. Another argument started between the dang school boy and disco stew..." I giggled a little. Olivia still called them by the nicknames we had come up with when we first entered Redstonia

"That's fine Olivia, you better break it up" I replied. "I'll text you the date of the funeral when we know when it is"

"Thanks Jesse" Olivia replied. "Tell the others I send my condolences. Bye!" Olivia hung up. I sighed and put my phone away, sitting down by the bed where Hadrian once laid. In the few days after his passing, Radar and I had been trying to inform all his friends as quickly as we could, prioritising Otto and Harper, and now sending the message to anyone else he was either close to or that assisted him in some way. Once I called Harper only an hour after his passing, apparently when she spoke to Otto about it, he... He just broke. He hasn't left his room and refuses to speak to anyone... I felt quite bad for him and was starting to worry for him as well. I didn't want to see another friend of mine delve into depression, especially after hearing about what happened to Aiden. I may have not been there, but from what I heard, he... He wanted to... I didn't want to think about it, at least not now... Harper was taking it all fairly well, though from what Ivor told me she's quite saddened by Hadrian's passing but is trying to stay strong for Otto. At the very least if Harper was to fall into depression, Ivor would be there to catch her and pull her out of it all, and with Harper steady, she can help Otto with his grief. Other than Hadrian's closest friends, everyone has been shaken by his passing. Radar was saddened by his death and shaken from it all, but even though I offered him a break to visit his family, he shook it off and said he wanted to keep working. Lukas, while he still admits he doesn't like Hadrian for what he did, he does feel remorse for his friends and offered to help us whenever possible. Hopefully, he'll be attending the funeral. Everyone else I intend to inform hasn't gotten the news just yet, but hopefully I can at least convince them to attend the funeral, if not for Hadrian, but for us. It was Lukas' main drive to join me there as I was very distraught over Hadrian's passing, so hopefully that can convince Axel and Petra to come. They did feel sorry for Hadrian, especially after hearing that he wouldn't make it, but they were certainly bitter about what he did at The Games... I'll admit, I am as well, but more because I now knew that isn't who he was. That Hadrian was someone completely different. Finally, I was able to meet the real Hadrian, but just as I got to know him, he passed on...

I looked over to the side table, where his cards once laid, but were now neatly packed away for the time being. Right now, the table was decorated with pure white lilies, incense and a candle as part of the funeral services, which was odd to me, but a very welcoming and heart-warming approach. Also placed on the table was a nice framed photo of Hadrian that Harper brought in from her lab. From what she said, the photo was taken not to long before his change at The Games, which was quite sad... To think the smiling, sophisticating looking man in the photo would be driven mad to the point of trapping, kidnapping and torturing the poor competitors... I teared up at the thought. Now that I knew who Hadrian really was, I never wanted to think about what he did at The Games ever again. I wanted to only remember him by our interactions here, not the ones at The Games. I only sighed sadly as I viewed the photo. I tried not to show it, but I was broken from his passing, utterly broken from it, especially after the interactions we had, not to mention he was another friend of mine to pass away in the hands of my own, this time a little literal, but also in a figurative way. Everyone I knew that had passed on I had failed to save, and Hadrian was the latest, but hopefully the last of my friends to die this way... And hopefully, he gets the funeral he deserves, and from what the services have given us so far, they seem to be giving us a unique and pleasurable funeral for Hadrian, which I appreciate. All we needed now, was Mevia to wake up from her coma, then the funeral will be held a week after. Only then will Hadrian finally be resting, and only then can we all share our grief and help one another...

*CRASH*

I sat up, startled by the large noise. I heard someone let out a startled scream and immediately identified the person as a female. No way would Radar be able to pull off a scream like that, though he has come close... Even so, he was out checking on Ivor, Harper and Otto for me, so it couldn't be him. No one was visiting, unless-

No...

I jumped up and sprinted to the spare room and flung the door open. I gasped. There she sat on the floor, the IV toppled over beside her. She was awake

Mevia was awake

Mevia looked up to me, her eyes filled with fear and confusion. Once she saw who I was, she gasped and backed away

"P-Please don't hurt me!" She screamed. She tried to stand up, but collapsed, most likely since her legs were numb for not moving for almost two months. Slowly and calmly, I approached the panicking Old Builder, who only shuffled backwards back into her bed, the cords from the IV and other items (Which I had no clue on what they were called) following, slack. Mevia was panting heavily, scared like cornered prey. I offered my hand to her, though she only looked at me in fear

"It's OK" I told her. "You're awake now, you're wounds have healed"

"Get away!" She shouted, slapping my hand away. "Where am I? Why am I here? Where's Hadrian?! What did you do to him?!" I winced at the last two questions, but answered the first two as calmly as I could

"You're in the Order's temple" I told her. "We found you and Hadrian unconscious by the riverbank, injured from the recent forest fire" Mevia went silent for a moment as if the fire incident flashed before her eyes, before she gasped

"The fire!" She exclaimed. She looked down at herself, now knowing why she was attached to so much equipment. Without a warning, she ripped the cords off of her, causing her some pain as at least one of the cords was dug into her skin. Now with a bleeding pin point on her wrist, Mevia struggled to stand on her feet, her legs shaking like crazy. Before she fell once more, I caught her and helped her balance. Her breathing was still heavy, however she seemed to be calming down a bit now

"It's OK..." I told her. "You're OK. Everything will be OK..." Mevia looked up to me, her piercing onyx eyes hitting me hard. They only reminded me of the Mevia I witnessed at The Games, but like Hadrian, I doubt that's who she really was... Not only that, her eyes were filled with confusion and hurt, like she had committed another bad deed. I bit my lip. I knew what was coming, and I dreaded to answer it...

"Is Hadrian OK?" I froze. I looked down, unsure on how to answer such a question asked by the spouse of the deceased. Mevia caught my concerned look and frowned

"What's wrong?" She asked me. "Is he OK? Where is he?! Can I see him? Please?!" I sighed sadly. There was no point in beating around the bush. I looked up at Mevia, making sure I knew I had her full attention. I took a deep breath

"Mevia..." I started, then paused for a moment. I had to continue. "I... I'm sorry but... He didn't make it..." Mevia's face went completely white. Her expression was blank as she processed what I had just said, her breathing slowed and shallow. Then, it sped up rapidly as the reality hit her; Hadrian was dead

"No..." She whispered. "N-No, it..." Her breathing was fast and heavy as tears immediately welled up in her eyes. Her hands started to shake as she looked down at her wedding ring. She stared at it for a moment as tears started to flow down her cheeks. She was shaking all over, her legs looking like they might give way any second. Mevia's blank expression suddenly shifted to guilt and grief

"NO!" She screamed. In an instant, she collapsed and burst into tears, her loud, sad and regretful sobs instantly filling the room. "N-N-No..." She sobbed. "H-H-Hadrian..." She only continued to cry. Tears instantly filled my eyes as I watched her cry over the loss of her husband. I kneeled down beside her, and without a thought, pulled her into a hug for comfort, which, to my surprise, she returned immediately. She buried her head into my shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. Soon, I broke and started to cry myself, though I tried my best to keep my sobs minimal. Even so the reality of it all was hard to take in, one I was struggling to accept, and one Mevia was devastated over; Hadrian was dead, he was gone

Forever...