Aphmau attempts to reassure herself the rest of the way to Phoenix Drop, ignoring the tiny little fox party on the path. She seemed so anxious about returning, which makes sense considering she just witnessed New Meteli being attacked by beings she didn't know existed until a couple of hours ago. Deep down, I know there's nothing I can really say to ease her mind, but I still kind of feel horrible because Vincent and I caused this. Curse me and my big fucking mouth.

I manage to settle with, "Aphmau, I'm sure they're fine. You and I both know Dante more than likely trained the guards and Malachi and Levin to protect themselves at any cost," She doesn't respond.

"C'mon, horse! Can't you go any faster?!" Just as she said those words, we approached the gates of Phoenix Drop. It was relatively deep into the night by the time we'd reached it, "We're here! Oh my god, we're here...!"

A head pops out from between the pillars of the gates as Aphmau calls up, a familiar set of brown bangs topped with a white bow with pink borders on the sides. There's a confused look in her pink eyes as she looks down, her face seemingly scrunched up as she tries to make us out in the dead of night. She presses her hands to the side of her mouth as she shouts down, "Who goes there?!"

"Oh my gosh, Alexis, you're safe," Aphmau sighs out in relief as she dismounts from her horse. I hop down beside her, sending Alexis a wave from our low position, "Alexis, it's us, Aphmau and (Y/n)!"

"Aphmau, (Y/n), what're you doing outside the gates this late at night? We weren't expecting you back for a few days!" It's hard to make out her facial expressions from where we stand, but it's easy to see her head bopping around as she moves about atop the gates, "Hold on one second and I'll let you in!"

"Okay!" Aphmau calls back, turning away a bit as she catches her breath. She lets out a sigh of relief, "Thank Irene, they're safe. I mean, she's perfectly fine so maybe the Shadow Souls haven't popped up around Phoenix Drop just yet..."

Her head disappears as she moves away to activate the system, leaving the two of us at the front to wait for her. Aphmau's breathing calms down a bit, but I keep my hand on her shoulder as reassurance. I move to stand in front of her, setting my other hand on her shoulder as I make eye contact with her, "Aphmau, are you good to go in?"

"Y-Yeah... Just a little shaken up, but everything seems fine for now so...," She gives a hesitant nod, averting her eyes to the ground.

I feel my eyes narrow at her attempt to underestimate her feelings, my hands lifting to give her cheeks a light smack with my palms. She jumps at the motion, squeaking as I give them a squeeze and tug her face closer to mine.

"Why do you care so much?!" Zenix tugs his hair in frustration before pushing it back. His bang falls right back on his forehead, but it does little to hide his frustration as he stares me down with ominous, crimson eyes. They glow ever brighter in the dead of night, a trait once beautiful now sure to keep me awake for a few nights, "Why do you care so much about a woman you barely know? Who bumbles around and barely knows her own name?!"

"I wish more people in the world were like you,"

The gates lift behind us, the machinery heavy enough to make its foundations creak as it heaves. As the gates open we move to grab our horses, using their reigns to lead them inside.

Once we're inside the walls, Alexis makes her way down from the top of the gatepost. There's a worried look in her pink eyes, glancing beyond the walls a few times just in case she missed something or someone, "Where is everyone else? Are you okay?"

"We're perfectly fine-,"

"-A little battered-,"

"Is everyone here okay?" Aphmau's grip tightens on her horse's reigns. Her posture tenses up as she awaits Alexis' answer, her auburn eyes glazing over a bit as the memories of just a few hours ago cross her mind.

The event traumatized her. Aphmau will remember it...

"Y-Yes, everyone here is perfectly fine! We had an issue with some demons outside of the gate earlier, but we made quick work of them," She responds, sweating a little at the memory. A small smile forms on her lips as she reminisces on it, taking a quick glance at the wall behind us before relaxing a little, "Thank goodness the wall were here, for we might have been overwhelmed by them..."

"Wait, demons?" Me and Aphmau chance glances at one another, a knowing look passing amongst us. Her lips form a thin line as she turns her full attention to Alexis, "What did they look like?"

She goes into full detail in describing them, each detail matching those of a Shadow Soul. Alexis' smile drops the more she states, a bit of a faraway look coming to her face. Her words begin to drift off as she begins explaining how they never got past the wall, all her words dying out as she attempts to find the words to say what they did.

The creatures that spill from the portal are familiar with the sheer fear they cause to rise in my chest. It's even worse to see them up close, almost mindless as they desperately claw their way through the world. I remember the villages they'd been willingly sucked on by Zane, feasting as though they'd been starving for many moons on the innocents of the village. My only safety from them is Vylad and Zenix, who have staged me between them so they keep all my sides covered, but part of me knows one of them would actually give his form to protect me from them while the other would happily throw me to them for experiment's sake.

"Take your bow out. I'd recommend some of your stronger arrows"  Zenix speaks up, unable to hide the smirk in his tone as his dark brown eyes stare back at me. Vylad doesn't spare me a glance as he steps away enough to form an opening, emerald eyes keeping a firm watch on each of the demonic creatures while his hand keeps a strong hold on his weapon, "Aim like you're going to kill a man before they kill you."

A part of me deep down knows the many plausibilities...

"I need to speak with Levin and Malachi," Aphmau stated after a beat, turning towards the village before beginning to make her way there on her own.

"Absolutely. They're at their place having a meeting about the whole ordeal right now with Dante. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you. I-I'll escort you there," Alexis quickly moves to get ahead of us, a nervous look making its way to her face. Aphmau pays it no mind as she stares straight ahead with the obvious main thing on her brain being her maternal instincts.

I decided to be the mature one and ask, "What about your post?"

"Kyle is on lookout up on the wall, so I have a few minutes to spare to help you guys out," She reassures.

The two are a ways ahead of me before I finally move to catch up, their paces a little faster than normal as she leads us to the boys' home. Kyle shuts the gate just as we begin to walk away, a loud KLANG echoing out.
~~~~~

The walk there doesn't feel as long as it normally does, the very few lights that illuminate the village at night coming into view as we approach. Aphmau is still relatively on edge, worrying the hell out of Alexis as we follow her. Even I was starting to feel anxious from the vibes Aphmau was putting out. I had never in my life been more happy to see the entryway to the main village than I had been at that very moment...

"Here we are," Alexis announces, coming to a stop just outside of the entryway and turning to us with a small grin, "I don't believe you need me to escort you back here," She gets a little bashful, her eyes averting to the ground as she continues, "However... After what happened today, I just feel safe doing this for everyone. I'll see you later, Lord Aphmau and Lady (Y/n)."

She goes past us to head back to her post, leaving a proud feeling to well up in my chest from her proper guard members. I'm sure even Garroth would be impressed, touched even, with such mannerisms, "She's such a good kid."

"The sweetest," Aphmau responds, but neither her eyes nor her tone holds any playful teasing. She's staring straight ahead, through every home in the block to where her sons reside.

"Oh, here...!" Before she can get her foot into the threshold, Alexis comes rushing back to us with something in her hands. She stops in front of us, breathing deeply, and holds the device out. She presents a sturdy rope, "Take this to tie up your steads. Take care."

We thank her once more as she heads back to her post, a small hop with each step she takes.

Aphmau and I tie our horses up near the town's main well. I do a double knot of both so they won't escape while Aphmau attempts to keep her cool. As I stand, footsteps approach us. The person in question makes Aphmau jump, his name falling from her lips in a desperately worried tone, "DANTE!"

"APHMAU?! ARE YOU OKAY?!" He's equally, maybe even debatably more so, as worried as she.

"I'm fine, Dante," Aphmau reassures, resting her hand on his shoulder with a small smile. Dante gratefully returns it. As soon as he does, she places her other hand on his other shoulder, gripping it tightly as her smile turns into a frown, "Are YOU okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine, Aphmau. M-My apologies. I'm just shocked to see you return so late at night." He cocks his head to look past her, a look coming to his eyes as he realizes that only the two of us are here. He removes her hands from his shoulders, "Where are Laurance and the others?"

"They're in Meteli, but umm," Aphmau chances a glance at me, our eyes meeting. Hers are looking for reassurance, an affirmative on whether or not to tell him. I nod, "Just the two of us came back after we were attacked."

"ATTACKED?!" His navy blue eyes widen at the information, darting between the two of us.

"The same things that attacked you earlier attacked us as well."

"Those demonic black creatures? They attacked you as well?" His eyebrows knit together as the inner cogs of his brain attempt to think it through, "Do either of you know what is going on? Levin, Malachi, and I just got done with a meeting where we discussed what we thought those things were. We managed to find and destroy their source, thankfully, but there might be more around."

Aphmau and I glance at each other, an understanding passing between us. I can see the burn in her auburn eyes, her nose deeply inhaling, before she makes eye contact with Dante once more. She takes the lead, "Those creatures were Shadow Souls and they're the first things to leave from an open nether portal."

"They're what's left of a Shadow Knight's body after they've been destroyed and the search for bodies to feed and take power from to regain their original forms," I add on, fighting the urge to grit my teeth as memories of the creatures' tyranny cross my brain.

I had never seen such amusement in Zane's icy blue eyes as I did now, his fingers tightly gripping his white robe as they balled into a fist. The veins on his pale skin look ready to burst, containing themselves in the same manner he's trying to contain himself. Lillian and Janus remain unmoved beside the carriage, the other guards around having their heads turned aside with tense postures in preparation to move. I knew not to move from my spot beside him while the black creatures ransacked and demolished another village, a warning to the lord for not making true to their agreement...

"...The Nether Portal has been opened...?" This is the first part Dante processes of our words, which kind of makes sense as the starting point. The next is, "Those things are the first to appear before the Shadow Knights... T-This is worse, much worse than I thought..."

"Everything should be fine since we managed to close what seemed to be the nearest Nether Portal," I mention in an attempt to comfort him.

"W-Who could do such a thing...?" Dante does calm down a little, resorting to instead thinking it over. He hasn't changed in the aspect, his eyebrows knitting together as his eyes stare off while he tries to make sense of what's going on. His eyes glaze over, his forefinger resting just under his lower lip as the ideas tossed around in his head in jumbled pieces. As the idea formulates and finally comes to, his head quickly lifts in an almost comical manner, fingers snapping and ending with his index finger pointing in the direction of whoever he's talking to, "COULD IT BE ZANE?!"

We both grow quiet at that question, Aphmau stiffening while I feel my posture slump a little at the reminder. Dante immediately regrets his idea as soon as the words leave his mouth, his lips creasing into a small grimace.

"Um... I don't know..." Aphmau mumbles, "I don't think it could be when we left Zane in the Irene Dimension with... Garroth."

"...I see," Is what he settles with, looking down with a humorless smile, lips quivering a little. He sucks in a shaky breath, his eyes glistening as he looks up. His voice cracks with his next words, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up Garroth,"

"Dante, are you okay?" The shift in Aphmau's tone hits me like a bucket of cold water, her own sadness mostly gone as she attempts to console him.

Dante turns away from us, also caught off-guard by her quick pick-up of his emotions. He releases a cough, following it up with the sound of his throat clearing as he gathers the words, "Sorry... Garroth was like a brother to me, to us," He starts, sparing a glance in my direction at his description before continuing, "A brother I never got the chance to love LIKE a brother..."

Garroth isn't shy to flick the lid of his bottle, a hearty laugh leaving his chest before he professionally throws the bottle back in the same manner I'd watched him do countless times before. He downs it in a few seconds, not even close to his usual record time, and tosses the glass in the trash without even looking at the bin. Laurance and Dante's eyes go wide as he reaches for another like it was nothing. I'm unable to hold back the small laugh in my throat as he flicks the lid to the next bottle, "Holy shit, Garroth. You're gonna scare them."

He finishes the second with his eyes closed, laughing as he sets the glass down on the table. He gives a smirk, "Sorry, sorry. I thought we were celebrating Dante," He gets up this time to toss his glass in the trash, wrapping his arm around Dante and leaning into him with a proud grin. He ruffles his blue hair between his gloved fingers, giving Dante's rosy cheeks a small smack before handing him one of the more expensive drinks in the crate, "To our new brother in arms. To Dante!"

The rest of us raise our drinks in solidarity, a flush coming to the younger boy's cheeks as he cradles his own drink between his hands, "To Dante!"

Dante humorously laughs, taking in another deep breath to mask the sob he wants to release, "I miss him dearly, as dearly as I missed you guys..."He has a small smile on his lips as he finishes, deep blue eyes staring fondly down at his hand. After a beat, his smile drops into a frown, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he continues, "Listen, I know what seems to be a few days to you was really 15 years for us... T-Try not to do anything to put your lives in danger again? I know it's hard for you not to but... Aphmau, I can't be there to protect you anymore. I'm Levin's guard now and..." He takes a deep breath, "I know you never really let me go as your guard, but I feel a sense of responsibility for you... Just, please... Be careful...? And (Y/n), I know you'd throw your life away for Aphmau if it came to it, but don't? Please? Rely on Laurance, he's the only one of the original group left that would understand what either of you is going through."

"No promises,"

"Dante, I can protect myself," We both respond separately.

"I know, I know... but...," Dante takes hold of both of our hands, a fond smile painting its way onto his lips while a pained look meets his eyes, "You are my sisters. Maybe in another situation, we could have been more...," I ignore the small flashes of memory to those few days we had been locked in Malachi's castle, where the two were a little more intimate than two people who had just met should've been, "But you have always been family to me when I lost mine," He starts fighting back tears, inhaling deeply before breathing out of his nose, "Just... don't forget about me, okay?"

"Neither of us will, Dante," Aphmau says with a small smile, this one actually reaching her amber irises. She visibly relaxes as she states it, her stature now calm and tired now that the events of the past few days are finally allowed to catch up with her.

"Good," Dante is relieved as he, too, notices the shift. The crow's feet around his eyes stretch as his smile grows wider and more at ease, "Now, please... I need to go see my wife and daughter. I know they're worried about me after today's events and I just want to hold them right now. You should go see Levin and Malachi," He gives our hands one last squeeze before finally releasing them, his movements as slow as they are hesitant to separate from us. He gives one last bow for the night, "Good night, m'ladies."

"Take care, Dante" Aphmau nods in his direction as he straightens.

"Rest easy," I also respond, both of us watching him take his lead.

"It's good to know that Dante and everyone are safe," Aphmau sighs once he's out of sight. The exhaustion in her eyes, once she turns to me, tells me enough as I link our arms, turning her towards her old home and allowing her to take the lead. She leans some of her weight on me, yet I still worry she may fall from her fatigue, "Now to just check on Levin and Malachi."

"And send your ass to sleep?" I tease, met with a groan. The Aphmau groan of approval for when she's too tired to argue.

I open the door for us, letting her take her time to step inside. Once I'm sure she's steady, I follow, closing the door behind me. The crackle of the fire is our first sign that someone is still awake in the late hours, the warmth of the room slowly filling our senses and warming our skin to the room's temperature.

The person in question is sitting on the main couch in the living area, his seafoam-colored eyes protectively watching the door with a hard stare. They soften as he makes eye contact with us, specifically when he takes in the sight of his exhausted mother. She, however, lights up at the sight and quickly moves to his side, "Malachi, hey!"

"Mom!" They meet in the middle, just outside of the square area formed by the blue-cushioned couches. They embrace once they reach each other, Aphmau's hold on her eldest tight and his just as tight in return. After a moment, Malachi processes that we aren't supposed to be here, "Mom... What are you doing here so late?"

Aphmau explains everything from New Meteli and Malachi responds in the same manner as Dante did when he learned of everything. The difference, however, is that he dwells on the revelation for less time as he pulls out a familiar substance from his pockets.

"Wait..." I start.

Aphmau barely continues with, "That's.."

I inspect the weird stuff Zenix had passed off to me, the texture crisp and flaky like something that had been burned. The scent was smokey in a way that was nearly traumatizing as it flooded my nostrils and invaded my smell sensors. Like before, I was only allowed to hold certain materials, and Zenix made well to comment that this stuff that had been colored similar to obsidian would do very little to harm me. Usually, I'd be confused about whatever unfamiliar thing they'd put in my hands, but this time... This time it had been a little too familiar and just as unfamiliar all the same.

"Hey, Zenix?" I turn to him, his dark brown hair bobbing along as we travel forward. He humors me with a small, aggravated hum, "What is all this stuff you have me carrying anyway?"

"Zoey says it's 'shale'. We found it at the source spawn of where those Shadow Souls were. It seems it is being used as a substitute for obsidian," Malachi explains, his eyes still inspecting the material as he holds it between all of us, "We don't know how, but if someone found a way to do this... then what could they possibly hope to accomplish? The only thing they'll do by opening the Nether is releasing the Shadow Lord."

We remain quiet after his last comment, but none of us dare to address it further. Aphmau changes the subject to a more pressing matter, "Malachi, how did you manage to stop the Shadow Souls?"

"We would've been wiped out completely if it wasn't for the wall you guys had rebuilt," He starts before going in-depth in explaining how they'd managed to fend the dark creatures off. He tells us about Logan transforming into his werewolf form to take them out immediately before they had to retreat behind the walls due to so many continuing to appear. He continues on by explaining how they'd climbed the walls and took them out with arrows one by one until it was safe for him, Levin, and Dante to go out and search for the source while Alexis and Kyle took care of everything back at the gate. They destroyed the source as soon as they found it, taking pieces of the remains and handing them over to Zoey for her opinion on them. At the end of his explanation he pipes up a little, eyes widening for a moment, "Speaking of... Mom, Aunt (Y/n), I have to go and talk to Alexis and Kyle right now... But you'll find Levin upstairs if you want to talk to him. Zoey is asleep in her room downstairs so I wouldn't bother her, but Levin might still be awake if you catch him soon. I need to be off now- I'm sorry this is so sudden. Be safe outside, Mom... And I guess you too, Auntie."

"You be careful, too, okay?" Malachi gives her one last hug before he heads off, giving her cheek a quick peck. He sends a nod my way, rushing out the door to handle his part of political matters.

Once the door closes, Aphmau rushes up the stairs without a word. She's out of sight once she reaches the top of the staircase, only stopping when she reaches the entryway of the room. It takes me a moment to also get up there, met with the sight of Aphmau fondly smiling as she takes in the sight of her sleeping, younger son.

"He's sleeping..." She responds almost absent-mindedly, carefully approaching as she takes his form in.

I stay in the doorway, taking a peek to ensure nothing is out of place, and head back downstairs after a moment. As I hit the bottom steps, the wistful sound of Levin's old music box permeates the air. I immediately feel a tiredness wash over my body.

My body slumps into one of the couches in the living room, the plush cushions welcoming me as they adjust to my weight. They ease the tension from my shoulders, coaxing me further into falling asleep. Before long, my eyes begin to droop, tugging my brain into slumber.

~~~~~~

The first thing I feel is a soft breeze across my face. The next are the light touches of someone caressing my face. A pair of lips press onto my forehead, so gentle that I just barely feel them. The owner's hair tickles my chin until they pull away. My eyes open as they flee, emerald orbs meeting my own (e/c) ones in calm bliss.

"Someone's finally awake," He teases, lips quirking upwards at the tips. It's hard to fight down at smile that fills my face, even harder to calm my beating heart as I take in the face above mine.

I had fleeting dreams of waking up and seeing sparkling emerald every morning and every night, dreams I had locked away deep inside and thrown the key away to. Yet, here I am, day after day, meeting those beautiful eyes in new locations I could've never imagined.

"I'd be up sooner if you didn't keep me up so late," My palm presses against his face and lightly pushes him away so I can sit up. My eyesight blurs a little once I'm fully seated, adjusting quickly to take in our surroundings.

We're very obviously in a small area, wooden and old. It's moving, the occasional bumps and rocks reminding me each time I dare to forget. A small bit of light shines through above us, enough to illuminate the area but not enough to hint what time of day it is. I can only assume we're in a cart of some sort or the back of a carriage, some sheet like material covering us from the peering eyes of the outside world.

Vylad is to my right, staring out of a small hole in the wall every so often. On my left is a very unconscious Zenix, the frown that seems to be etched into his face the calmest I've ever seen it. He's breathing softly, the low shade highlighting his features in a way that makes him really pretty. A little too pretty for me to comfortably admit out loud.

I hear a soft inhale from Vylad, causing me to notice that I've gotten closer to the most dangerous person in our little group. Or, what I believe to be the most dangerous person just from what I've seen of our band of misfits. Zenix is always angry and there's always something crazed twisted into the colors of his eyes. I've watched him stab a guy a lot too many times for me to see his calm face so... Cute?

My face warms at the thought, enough for me to jump back away from his sleeping form. My back presses against Vylad's chest, his arms automatically wrapping around my body and holding me close. When I glance up, he's still looking out of the peephole. His face is just out of my view, unreadable to me as he continues to glare out at the outer surroundings.

"We've still got a long while until our next destination," He speaks just loud enough for me to hear, looking over my head to our extra passenger. His lips quirk up in a small smile as he looks him over, one of his hands coming up and caressing my cheek. He softly presses my chin upwards so that I'm looking directly at him, his emerald eyes meeting mine in the same fond look he was holding for Zenix only moments before, "He'll be out for another few hours with the way he's breathing. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" I feel my brows furrow as I rack my brain to sort through what he could be referring to this time. Nothing seems to stick out to vividly for him to be asking me that-

"You just killed someone for the first time, (Y/n). We can talk about how you're feeling," He mumbles lowly, pressing his face into my hair. His hand eases down my neck, thumb lightly running along a vein and ending at the base. A shiver racks my body after, a warm and comforting feeling washing over me as I relax into his hold.

Soon, the memories are rushing towards me all at once. The smell of copper, the crimson red of blood painting my skin, and the rough edges of the daggers handle digging into my skin as I stood over the body of my victim. I don't remember the exact details, everything's black when I try to think back that far, but I remember the limp body laying under me as the blood pooled under their body. I remember being angry and suddenly having it all washed away with the feeling of relief. Or, maybe, it wasn't anger, but another prevalent emotion that caused me to act. Regardless, I remember the relief and I remember their faces.

Vylad's was mixed and complex. He was obviously relieved I was alive, content I was okay. Yet, he looked conflicted as I stood before them, uncomfortable even when he took my form in for too long. Zenix, however, was ecstatic. More than ecstatic even. He was over the moon and took to letting me know how proud he was I'd taken the plunge and tore the flesh from an individual. I didn't really know if I had really torn flesh, can't tell when I try to think of the person I'd wounded so badly they ended up dead, but I don't think he really cares either.

I remember the feeling of Zenix's hands taking my face into their hold, his skin warm. His eyes, brown and fiery with a hint of copper, dilated in a manner I'd only seen when he talks about bloodlust.

Too suddenly, a hand firmly grips my shoulder, tugging me towards them and into their chest. I feel it rumble as their low laugh makes way to my ears. Their arm wraps around my front, rough hands holding my cheek as he leans over me, "You're being over dramatic, Vylad. She was just giving in to the temptations of her nature. Just like the rest of us."

"She's not like us, Zenix," Vylad reiterates, his eye's immediately narrowing as Zenix holds me closely. The fondness that once sat there now replaced with the hatred of a thousand years.

It's crazy how they interact with one another, seemingly filled with hate for one another at the drop of hat but lovingly gazing when they think no one's watching. It's even more complicated when I'm in the middle of their petty feuds, but each moment makes my chest squeeze and my heart soar in a way that's almost uncomfortable and hard to breathe. Even now, it's hard to focus on their words when I'm squeezed between them like this. Yet the way I'd wish for us all to be is on the rare night when everyone gets extremely vulnerable under dwindled stars.

"You're just scared that she's exactly like us, Ro'Meave. You're going to have to face the facts one day."

"I told you to stop referring to me like that! I'm not a Ro'Meave anymore! Vylad Ro'Meave is dead!" Then the cold bucket of water drenches me from head to toe at the declaration. I should be used to it by now, no matter how rare and few it is for him to state it so boldly. And yet, he continues to speak of his past like a separate person with the twinkle behind his emerald eyes now nonexistent while their bright shine dull expeditiously. I'm sure our drivers up front (who I'm more than positive are Sasha and Gene) can feel the thick tension themselves.

I close my eyes, burying my face more into the bosom of my captor. My shoulders scrunch up, body clenching as I try to make myself as small as possible. A hand runs over the top of my head, smoothing out my (h/c) hair, and pulls me closer into them. The action has a calm wash over me, almost like a relaxing spell was placed on me.

"Every peek into your past leaves me distressed for you, little (Y/n)," The soothing voice of Soteria calls from above me, her arms wrapping around me in a hug. At least it confirms that I'm dreaming, away from the memories of Vylad denouncing his humanity to prove a point again. I can hear the way her lips quirk up into a grin as she continues speaking, "No wonder you're so protective of your current set of friends. That's not just my influence..." She lifts me up so we can see one another's faces, "You've got some abandonment issues stored in there, I see. You're just like me for real."

"What am I doing here now?"

"Oh? Straight to the point," She hums, settling me onto the ground. She gives the top of my head a few pats, walking ahead of me. Out of instinct, I follow.

The walk feels like a long trail of silence, the path a never ending maze of open cloud fields. I know I won't fall through due to the last time I was there, but the nudging feeling of worry in my chest never leaves as we walk further and further along the cloud meadows. The air has a sense of serenity about it, the atmosphere causing me more peace than I've felt in years.

Eventually, we come upon an older version of (S/n), which has seen more battles than I could fathom.  Even through it's wear and tear it still sparkles and shines like it's well-loved. She carefully taes the weapon between her (s/t) fingers, turning to me and motioning for me to hold my hands out towards her. I do as told and she places it into my fingers. 

"I do hope it is to your liking, little (Y/n),"The metal makes my fingers tingle, the weapon slowly fitting into my hand the way it was made to. A bright light encases it as it shifts it's appearance, the wartorn look changing into a newer, better version of the weapon. I can feel Soteria smiling down at me as I take the sight in of the beautiful weapon. My name is ingrained into the side of it with a tiny smiley face, "When you wake up, some things will feel a little different about you-"

"(Y/n)!"

~~~~~

"(Y/n)!" The sudden shouting has me gasping as I sit up, suddenly forced awake as the person beside me shakes me. Without much thought, I grab the person's hand, using it to flip them onto the ground as I hop on their back to hold them down. Out of instinct, I grit my teeth and lean into them, adding pressure into the hold as I shift their arm in a way that could dislocate if I pushed enough.

"Someone's still got guard training built into them," I hear someone tease above me, a hand setting itself on my shoulder and lightly tugging me away from my current victim. It does very little to move me, only encouraging me to hold on to the person tighter, "That's not gonna work, Levin. She's still half asleep."

The hand on my shoulder is removed, replaced instead with a sudden sting on my cheek. It takes a moment for the feeling to properly register as pain, my hand quickly releasing the person under me to grab hold of the affected skin. I lay back with a groan, eyes opening wide enough to catch sight of a chuckling Dante and a worried Levin standing over me. I can really only manage a soft glare, "It might bruise, dipshit!"

"Morning to you too, (Y/n)," He responds back with a small smirk, holding his hand out to me. I gratiously take it, both of us lifting me to stand to my feet, "You could've killed the kid if I didn't."

"Yeah, yeah..." Malachi is stretching his arm out on the floor beside me, a grimace on his face. I send him an apologetic smile, offering him my hand in truce. He takes it and stands next to me, only to keep hold of my hand and flip me back onto the ground. The other two laugh at the display while I stay laying on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. It almost feels betraying, but I can't help but feel proud of the display, even if it was through my downfall.

"So, do you wanna help us investigate where those Shadow Souls are coming from?"

A/n: Yo! This is very very late and that ending is a little rushed, but I was very ready to have this episode over with 🫠 For anyone who somehow doesn't know, Puppy Love is my LEAST favorite episode of season 2. I absolutely hate hate HATE the episode with a passion and I have no clue. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! MCI out, Peace 😜