Where after having his soul almost snatched, talks again with Salazier, tries to find closure and being abruptly brought back to reality, Geno is soon going to start realising that the REAL struggle to prepare for his destiny is only about to begin.
14040 words. this is a large chapter so maybe you will feel the need to take breaks. don't forget to vote and comment. enjoy.
No one's POV:
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Geno woke up and saw the darkness surrounding him. He stood up normally and looked around. The horrible realization of where he was most likely, hit him like a punch in his magic 'stomach'.
"I'm DEAD again!" He thought panicked. But he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Alright. He could do it. Like the last time. He could wait around until he was brought back to life.
There was no reason to panic or worry. He had survived that so many times. He had managed to remember that he was bleeding badly on the deck of the Reapers before passing out. It seemed like all previous extreme bleedings he had.
If it was again the same, he had faith he would wake up soon. He started walking ahead, not really minding where he was going. Apparently he didn't bump into any dead monsters. Unlike the last time, where they were all over him, now he was alone.
"I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known..." He sang to himself to kill the time non-monotonously walking.
He suddenly heard a giggle behind him.
Geno turned sharply ready to use magic. But nobody was there. He looked around confused. And creeped out.
"Who the heck-?"
There it was again, once again behind his back.
Geno kept turning to all directions confused and slowly panicking more and more. The laughter instead of ceasing was growing louder. But that situation lasted for only 20 seconds.
Cold silence prevailed next.
It was so abrupt someone could think they had lost their hearing suddenly.
Geno stood on guard and listened closely. Nothing. He took a few steps backwards and finally decided to turn around and walk normally.
"Hi!"
"AAAH!" Geno yelled and fell backwards startled. Somebody was standing a few steps away from him. He looked at them. A short skeleton, WAY too short for it to just be a short adult. A kid?
That kid in question wore a mainly black sweater with white stripes and sleeves that were covering the whole arms. Beneath, it wore light brown trousers but was standing barefoot. Standing and looking at Geno cheerfully. It giggled again.
"Did I startle you?" The smaller skeleton asked. Geno stood up, barely holding back from cussing.
"Who are you?" He asked dusting off his clothes. Instead of an answer, the kid started walking slowly towards Geno, who started stepping back.
"Strange. I thought Alter would have told you." It just commented, staring not exactly at Geno's eyesocket, but maybe a little lower than that. With these words, Geno looked at the other skeleton with a questioning look. It suddenly hit him, just how much this kid looked like Alter but seemingly more squishy.
"Samael? Is that your name?" The siren asked with wide open eyesocket and stopped walking.
"That's what you see. That's who I am. That's who I'm trying to be again." The smaller skeleton said with a smile which by the second from pure, innocent and cheerful was becoming more wide, wicked and unhinged. "I've wanted for sooo long to live again. Walk. Run. Feel. All of it taken away in an instant. Such a shame I trusted my old friend. Pretty sure however they run and play in Heaven. ₩HIŁƏ I'M §TUCƘ ƁƏTWƏƏN ŁIFƏ ÆNĐ ĐƏÆTH!" He suddenly yelled wildly and stopped walking. Geno took 2 more steps back feeling the mood changing abruptly, not like it didn't already feel threatening.
"Al talked to me about a sweet, innocent and kind kiddo, what is this???" He thought and gulped. Samael raised head sharply to look at the siren, his expression reeking anger and annoyance.
"I will never find peace in the situation I am. At least not until perhaps the idiot who ordered to kill me dies. I will not feel like when I was completely alive, nor stop feeling pain and suffering like if I was part of the monster afterlife. I move between the 2 realms without belonging to any of them." Suddenly he smiled again and his eyesockets went empty. "But here I am, with the solution right in front of me."
"Solution? What do you mean?" Geno asked. And there Samael started walking again towards Geno, who started stepping back. "Hey! Stop talking with riddles and get to the point! Don't come any closer!"
"Then you make it more difficult for me to get to the main point." Samael looked up to Geno as he kept approaching him. "You know... I didn't really believe that crazy story Bernard told us all. With the world about to end in 66 days. And even if it is true, let me tell you: I don't care." He started laughing again lowly. He suddenly stopped. "Nothing matters to me more than now. If the world dies, let me at least feel it!" He clapped his hands once and looked at Geno raising brow. "So. We can do this the easy way or the hard wa-."
"Alright, that's it. You're creeping me out, leave me alone and let's go about our day." Geno tried to compromise but ready at any second to just slap the kid across the other side of the afterlife. And there Samael lost control. He laughed even louder and more crazily.
"You think I tracked you down all this way for nothing?!" He asked. And then in front of the siren's horrified eyesocket, he saw the small skeleton melting while still laughing, slowly becoming a grey blob. From that blob emerged another little entity, which to Geno's shock he reocgnised immediately. "Thə hærđ wæy ıt ıs thəŋ."
"You?!" Geno pointed at the black flower, who hadn't stop laughing like a maniac. And not long after it started growing taller and bigger. Vines cracked out of the floor and started crawling towards Geno who finally remembered he had legs and started running for dear life.
¥ Œ U R § Œ U Γ
I §
M I I I Ŋ Ə
Flowey's voice hunted him from behind. Geno had to constantly jump, bend and maneuver his way out of the evil flower's vines to not get caught. There were a few times where he could feel the vines making slight contact with his legs, scratching him from the thorns they had.
"Ever since I left Hondaribbia, SUDDENLY everyone wants my soul! What the heeeck!!!" He thought as he kept running. Exaggeration with "everyone". But it had surprised Geno that even with that little part of soul left inside him, there were beings out there who just wanted to snatch it for themselves.
His thoughts were aggressively interrupted feeling the vines finally wrapping around his legs and lifting him upside down in the air. The siren attempted to struggle, but the more he moved, the more the thorns were piercing his bones. Terrorized he saw Flowey's face approaching close to his.
"If ª þæthətıc sıcƙły bəıng łıkə yœu hæs mænægəđ tœ łıvə fœr sœ łœng wıth thıs frægmənt œnły, thən ıt must ɓə þœwərfuł ənœugh tœ just brıng mə bæcƙ tœ łıfə!" The vines wrapped around Geno's arms too, keeping him completely motionless and even more unable to fight back. "Ŋœrmæłły mœnstər sœułs shættər æłmœst æt thə sæmə tımə thəır hœst đusts. ßut thıs łıttłə þıəce œf sœuł. It's sþəcıæł. I'm þrətty surə ıt wıłł łæst whıłə I təær ıt œut œf yœur bœđy!"
"HELL NO!" Geno yelled, receiving Flowey's mocking laughter. He watched as some vines were raised and formed a spear. Directed to his chest.
"Đœn't wœrry þrıncəss. I wıłł tækə VƏR¥ gœœđ cærə œf ıt whən yœu'rə gœnə!" Flowey said and as he kept laughing the vine spear had flew back ready to charge at full speed and sharply penetrate Geno's chest.
*FWOOSH*
"AUGH!" Flowey yelled as he saw the vines he had formed to stab Geno falling on the floor burned. Geno tried to look around and find who had temporarily saved him.
He didn't find who, but he saw another fireball hitting Flowey very close to his face, who hissed. Geno felt the vines holding him relaxing and with a little bit of struggling he managed to free himself and land on the floor.
"Stop hunting this soul pathetic wəəđ." He heard a voice, which although he had barely ever hear, he recognised.
"Salazier!" The siren yelped surprised.
"ßæcƙ œf həłłgœæt! I fœunđ hım fırst!" Flowey hissed at the goat man, who just calmly and chilly took from his pocket a pair of glasses and started cleaning them on his sleeve.
"Oh, I don't want him for myself weed." Salazier commented and put on the glasses. "It is the last of my interests at the moment to take my life back. Like you. But I will not let you take what my Captain wants."
"¥œu məssəđ wıth thə wrœng fłœwər ıđıœt!"
"Oh really? ßəcæusə I thıŋƙ yøu məssəđ wıth thə wrœng əłəmənt." Salazier said sarcastically and started fighting Flowey. Yes the flower looked much more massive and threatening with all these vines. But against the goat man's fire, he looked pathetic.
Geno watched in surprise as little by little Salazier was decreasing Flowey's mass and power while dodging all sharp and fast attacks as if they were in slow motion for him. Soon all that was left from Flowey was himself. No more vines.
"This *huff huff* isn't over!" Flowey said tired, glaring at Salazier.
"I can make it over now if you like." He suggested and summoned a flame in his right hand, throwing it immediately at Flowey. When the fire vanished, there was no sign of the flower anymore.
"You incinerated him out of existence!" Geno yelped as he stood up.
"No. The weed prevented to dig itself out of the afterlife. Đrœgæ." Salazier commented annoyed. He walked closer to Geno and stopped 2 steps away with hands behind his back. "So. Dead again?"
"I mean, we're in the afterlife."
"Between life and death from a first observation. Give me your hand." The goat commanded calmly. Hesitantly Geno obeyed. He didn't know why he half-trusted that monster. Salazier just ran his fingertips to the edges of Geno's fingers. He hummed. "Hmmm, no. You're kept together efficiently. You will live." He commented.
"Ah. Yay." Geno just did and let his hand fall. He looked up to the taller with a confusing look. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Salazier raised eyebrow at the smaller.
"So I was going to ask. Or rather, how did you end up here this time."
"I asked first!" Geno insisted. "It's ok that I bump into ya twice, but if that keeps happening in the future it will stop looking like coincidence!" Salazier chuckled.
"Hmmm, indeed. But it is no coincidence at all that we meet again Genocide." He suddenly got serious. "I sensed you were in trouble." Geno's eyesocket widened up.
"How did you know?" He asked.
"My Captain. She put me in charge to check up on you everytime you fall in the monster afterlife. She knows the conditions of souls. She understands when you are between life and death. She keeps a very close look to your soul specifically."
"Creep." Geno growled.
"Everytime she senses you fall in the monster afterlife, she sends me. I have learned to read and know the aura of your soul too. That's how I find you. In this situation, you're lucky I could do that so easily." Salazier commented glaring to the direction he had thrown that last fireball to hit Flowey.
"Is she really this desperate to have my whole soul?"
"Desperate sounds exaggerated, but I sadly agree with you. Yes, she does want you and the last piece of soul you have, intact. At any cost. Without the whole thing, she cannot accomplish her plans."
"Great." Geno rolled his eyesocket.
"But until that day comes to see if you manage to keep what's left of your soul, tell me. How did you end up here this time?" Salazier asked casually. Geno didn't really want to talk with him. But he didn't know what else to do to kill time. Also, what if that crazy flower was finding him again? He sighed.
"Let's walk. I'll tell ya. Got nothing better to do."
And so the little skeleton narrated all that had happened from the marriage, from trying escaping with Alter, to getting tortured and then to Alter's crazy homicide. But there Salazier snorted sarcastically and annoyed.
"Just like his 'dear sweet' mother. Hmph." Geno looked up to him surprised.
"Pardon?"
"Oh, so you don't know huh?" The goat looked ahead smiling sarcastically. "I would tell you, but since we're in here, it had better she tells you herself. If we find her. But pardon me for interrupting, tell me more." He encouraged Geno.
The siren avoided to mention Tefra's almost death by Alter. He narrated next how together with Red and Edge they escaped on a whale's back to return to the Reapers and how the caravels were hunting them.
And when he started describing how he destroyed the first 5 with the help of the animals, he was talking with pride and satisfaction. Salazier listened silent with hand on his chin and a smiley expression that was showing however he was impressed.
Geno slowly lost his enthusiasm though. He remembered Alter's condition. He recalled how he saw him almost helplessly struggling and hurting. He lowered his head and exhaled from his nose.
"My friend is now probably somewhere around here. He's struggling to stay alive. He's like that because of me." He said quietly. Even though Geno didn't see it, for a few seconds Salazier looked at him almost sympathetically. But he soon looked at the smol with apathy and spoke like that next.
"Well, since you're here, you could probably tell him a last goodbye before you find your consciousness." Geno looked up to him sad.
"You don't think either he will live, right?"
"He broke the siren blessing's rules. I've heard stories about siren-blessed guardians, but if I knew of one who has survived after using it wrongly, I would tell you if he had even the slightest of chances to survive." He stopped walking suddenly and Geno looked up to him confused.
"Are you ok?"
"The Lady is calling me back. I shall return to her." The goat man informed. "Thank you for allowing me your company. I will call someone to keep an eye on you until you wake up." Salazier placed his hands near his muzzle ready to call somebody out. "Calistooo." He said lowly. Geno raised brow. The goat seemed to understand the smol's confusion. "If a monster calls the name of a dead one in here while having their appearance in mind, they will come to you. Keep that in mind next time you end up here and want to call someone you know and trust. Or at least you're familiar with."
"Good to know." Geno nodded. "But why her? You seem to hate each other." Salazier chuckled.
"She has nothing personal with me. So do I. But she acts like that towards me because of who I serve and what I do when I'm not chatting with you." Geno gulped silently. The goat man turned his back. "Até nos encontrarmos novamente." He wished and started walking away. Geno looked down thoughtful for a few seconds. Suddenly he raised head and turned to look at Salazier.
"Wait!" He called. The goat stopped. Geno looked down again to collect his thoughts. "If we weren't on opposite sides, if you weren't under the commands of the monster who wants my soul, would you still be this... chill with me?" He asked. Salazier guffawed.
"Well, maybe I would never even aknowledge you exist if I hadn't given myself up to the Lady. Or for that matter I would never even meet you if I didn't meet her. I would just be a sad essence roaming around this eternal home for the dead. But if I was still able somehow to travel between life and death, more dead but still a little alive, I think I would still find it interesting chat every now and then with such an interesting young monster like you." He smiled lightly but then sighed. "Or maybe, if I was in the condition I named, the same one that crazy black weed is, I would probably be out for your special soul too."
"Not you too!" Geno groaned and covered his chest indignated, receiving Salazier's laughter.
"I'm an honest goat-." Suddenly his sentence was cut short and he bended backwards as a pointy bone was flying right above him. If he hadn't bend, that bone would have stabbed his face.
"O que você está fazendo aqui de novo Infernal?!"
"Alright alright! I'm out!" Salazier said calmly raising hands in the air, only soon forced to bend once again because another bone attacked him. Geno turned to look behind him. He gasped and walked towards the newcomer, stopping 5 steps away.
"Miss Calisto, wait!" He called her, raising hands in the air as high as he could, barely reaching the skeleton woman's neck in height.
But he had managed to get her attention. As she was now holding another pointy bone, she looked down at Geno glaring. However in her expression, she showed signs that she had recognised the smol. Momentarily. Then she looked at Salazier again, who hadn't actually moved.
"₩hæt wərə yœu đœıng wıth thə bœy?" She asked and the goat man casually chuckled.
"We had a nice chat, nothing to worry about." Calisto slowly turned to look down at Geno.
"Ænđ ıs thæt truə łıttłə œnə?" She asked.
"Mhm!" Geno nodded. The woman sighed but still didn't throw down the pointy bone. She crossed her arms and kept glaring at Salazier.
"Spləndıd. Ŋœw tæƙə yœur łəævə."
"Pleased to see you again Calisto." The goat man commented and suddenly vanished in thin air. Geno looked at the direction Salazier was standing a while ago.
"Little one."
Well sh*t.
The siren turned to slowly look at Calisto and gulped loudly.
"H-Heeey..." He did and accidentally his voice took a higher girly pitch. "Oh stars she's massive. Please don't kill me." He thought.
"What's your business with such a creature like him?"
"I-I... well, we are in the awkward position of him looking after me if I end up here. He has made it clear that there is his Captain who wants my soul badly, but he's doing nothing to me! That's our strange relationship!"
Calisto stared at Geno for some more in a heavy silence. Suddenly she threw away the pointy bone she was still holding, fell on her knees and her face approached Geno's. Her empty eyesockets that were a while ago daggered now were almost wide open. She seemed... concerned.
"... Are you alright?" She asked. Her hand approached Geno's cheek, ready to touch it.
But she didn't. Instead she moved her hand and touched the fingertips on Geno's right hand. Her hand went through the smol's. Geno shivered feeling that. But looking at the skeleton lady's concerned face, sweet and caring, he felt a clench in his soul.
"No, at the end of the day, she's Alter but female and long time now dead." Geno thought sad.
"Thank God, I don't feel your touch. You will live."
"Said the goat himself too." Geno commented only to soon regret it as Calisto's expression went mad. "Why do you dislike him so much?" He asked hesitantly. Calisto looked down and away huffing.
"Little one, the Captain this man serves steals the essences of the dead monsters and combines them with the souls of other dead monsters or humans she keeps."
"She WHAT?!" Geno yelped.
"If you can steal an essence and combine it with a soul, you revive in a wicked way the dead. But that woman does it to create fake impressions. That someone who died is still alive. They don't matter. She just tortures the essences..." She glared at Geno again. "Any more questions of why I don't want that goat around?"
"No ma'am!" Geno yelped and his voice took again a girly pitch. "I mean-! No. Ma'am." He said now in his normal voice.
But his attempt to stay cool cracked a smile on Calisto and she chuckled gracefully. Geno pouted, but hearing the familiar pattern and pitch of Alter's laughter, just a little more female, he sighed sad.
"What's wrong?" The skeleton woman asked. Geno looked at her and wrapped his arms around himself.
"Miss Calisto. Have you seen Alter? Your son? I'm looking for him." He asked. Calisto's smile dropped and stood up. She turned her back. Geno could see her clenched fists shaking.
"When a monster dies, usually the first one who will sense them falling in the afterlife will be their closest family related by soul. Yes, I know where he is..." She paused for a moment. "I don't think I caught your name the first time. Mind telling me?"
"Geno. It's Geno." The smol siren said. Calisto hummed.
"The half-siren. The so called chosen of the first Royal Ocean Prophesy. Or so I've been told. Huh... Very well. Yes, I will lead you to my boy. As a matter of fact, he was calling your name." Geno flinched.
"He was?!"
"He sounded really worried. You are his friend, so you're safe to let you see him. You may follow me." She said and started walking ahead. Geno walked next to her. For a few seconds they didn't exchange any words.
"... How is he?" The siren asked and the woman sighed.
"Close to dying. Not completely yet, but he's close." She said. Geno gasped.
"He didn't die yet?! Thank the stars!"
"VOCÊ NOVAMENTE?!" A loud voice was heard asking. Geno stopped dead on his tracks seeing the tall skeleton who almost made him fish souvlaki with his trident the last time. He hurried to stand behind Calisto, who huffed.
"I'll handle him."
"CALISTO, WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?!" The tall male skeleton asked and gripped the trident in his hands tighter.
"Oh nu." Geno thought.
"Felix." Calisto said as she walked closer to him.
"ISN'T HE THE SAME SKELETON WHO WAS HUNTING YOU?!"
"Felix!"
"LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE SKELETON! JUST BECAUSE YOU LOOK LIKE THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU AREN'T POTENTIALLY STILL DANGEROUS!"
"Wow thanks a lot!" Geno thought sarcastically.
"Este macho..." Now Calisto was standing in front of Felix impatient and annoyed, but the taller was still glaring at Geno.
"ARE YOU COMING FROM THE NIGHT SHIP?! I HEARD RUMORS AROUND HERE THAT YOU WERE SEEN TALKING WITH SALAZIER INFERNAL! YOU'RE OUT FOR MY WIFE'S ESSENCE, AREN'T YO-?!"
"£ƏŁIX!"
Finally the tall male looked at Calisto surprised.
"WHAT?!" He asked. Instead of an answer Calisto cupped the taller male's cheeks and kissed him.
"Augh!" Geno did covering his eyesockets. Calisto let go of Felix who was blinking fast and surprised. It might not was obvious as he was dead and colorless, but he looked down. Suddenly he seemed flustered. Calisto looked at him strictly.
"Don't worry about the little skeleton my brave knight in shining armor. He is alright. He's not from the Night Ship." Her voice lowered and crossed her arms. "He's Alter's friend. He wants to see him. We can allow him." She continued. The tall male's expression changed. The trident dissapeared from his hands and he sighed. He turned his back.
"PARDON MY OUTBURST! THE DEAD IS AGITATED WITH THE CREW OF THE NIGHT SHIP GOING AROUND HERE AND STEALING THE ESSENCES!" He said kind of bitterly and walked ahead. Hesitantly Geno followed.
But seeing Calisto encouraging him with a look, he walked closer to the tall skeletons, looking alternatively at them. The walk didn't last for long. Geno could now see further ahead a white figure laying down on the floor of the afterlife. He recognised him.
"Alter!" He called ready to run ahead. But one glare from Felix kept him on walking pace.
"Felix. It's alright." Calisto assured patting gently the taller skeleton's shoulder. Felix sighed and stood motionless. He signed with his head at Geno to walk forward.
The small siren approached Alter's layed figure and kneeled next to him. He looked at the priest's expression. Unlike in the living world, Alter looked like he was peacefully sleeping. Geno approached his hand towards the taller's. It went through and he gathered his hand back.
"It had better you don't touch his essence." Calisto said and sat on her knees next to Geno, staring down at Alter with a sad expression. "It had better none of us. Even though me and Felix can feel his touch, as he is almost as dead as us, the more the dead touches somebody who still has a little life left in them, they drag them faster to the afterlife." She clenched her fists again. "My boy. My sweet baby. I've missed you, but please, hang in there..." She monologued as she was staring down at Alter. Felix seemed more apathetic as he stared at his son, but the grief was slightly seen on his expression. The woman turned to look at Geno. "Tell me Geno. How did you 2 meet? Is it true what I've heard from other essences that Alter is a pirate?"
Geno hesitated to start narrating. Did he really want to crush that poor woman's so- eeerm, break her completely?
"Are you sure you want to hear?" He asked. The tall skeletons nodded. Geno took a deep breath. "It all began when the crew Reapers arrived to the village I lived, Hondaribbia..."
He narrated all that had happen the past month between him and Alter. Geno talked about his purpose and destiny but quickly so he could focus more on Alter and explain how and why they had to stick together. He confirmed that the priest was indeed member of the Reapers for 4 years.
He explained his role as his guardian, abour his gift and how he would stay by his side and defend him. The smol also assured that even as a pirate, Alter had managed to keep most of his virtues and had never taken any life, at least until a while ago.
But he avoided revealing that last part yet. Though he knew he would have to say that eventually and wipe the relieved expressions off Felix and Calisto's faces. It almost crushed Geno a lot more seeing the woman smiling lightly and relieved as she was looking at her husband.
But he had to bring this up, even a little slowly at first. He took a deep breath and looked at Alter's parents stably.
"Miss Calisto. Mister Felix..." He started, receiving the attention of the tall skeletons. "... If one of the things that matters more than anything else to you, is for Alter not to become a killer or loose his way, if he was killing anyone, would you still love him?"
"I'VE KILLED IN MY LIFE PIRATES AND SEA THIEVES WHO WANTED TO RAID THE SHIPS I LEAD WHEN ALIVE! NORD TOO! MURDER IS NOT ALRIGHT, IT WILL NEVER BE! BUT WHEN IN BATTLE FOR YOU LIFE LITTLE SKELETON, ANYTHING YOU DO TO SURVIVE AGAINST OTHERS WHO WANT TO HARM YOU BECOMES ALL MORALLY RIGHT!" Felix spoke, who had stayed silent all this time.
"O-Oh." Geno did, not sure if he was a little more encouraged by this to reveal what Alter did.
"Why are you asking this little one?" Calisto asked concerned. Geno looked at Alter and clenched his teeth tightly, staying silent for a few seconds.
"Miss Calisto. I'm sorry for what you'll hear next..."
There. He revealed everything. He revealed how Alter snapped and killed a small army of humans soldiers brutally and not stopping for a second as he had lost control from his anger.
He was looking down, not daring to face Alter's parents, not sure of how they felt, but he could guess shocked. When he stopped, he heard Felix moving. He looked. The tall male was now kneeled and hugging Calisto.
As for her she was looking down with wide open eyesockets and white drops, assumingly colorless tears falling on the floor. But she slowly raised head and wiped her tears. She bumped the side of her head on Felix's chest and exhaled from her nose.
"This isn't just quick slaughter of defense. He took after me in the one way I begged he never would."
"Just like his 'dear sweet' mother."
Geno's eyesocket widened up.
"Wait. What do you mean?!" Calisto and Felix turned to slowly look at the siren. The female sighed.
"Sins of the past committed by the next generations. You will look at the memory I will present to you and you will tell me if you understand what I mean." Calisto faced forward and snapped her fingers. Geno stared at her confused. And then to his surprise he saw the black of the monster afterlife getting filled in colors. Now they were in a forest.
"Where are we?!"
"In a past memory of mine." Calisto said.
"ALTEƏER!" The desperate scream of a woman was heard. To Geno's shock he saw a second Calisto running ahead, with glowing eyesockets and tears running down her cheeks.
"MAMÃE, MAMÃEEE!" A small boy's voice was heard from somewhere Geno couldn't see.
"SHUT UP YOU BRAT!" A manly voice was heard next and the sound of something hitting somebody felt and sounded like an echo.
The past Calisto stopped dead on her tracks. The tears stopped running. She was only looking to the direction she heard the small boy's voice with wide open eyesockets filled in cobalt and clenched teeth.
And suddenly she screamed in bloody murder. She stomped her left foot on the ground and a loud earthquake shook all trees and rocks around. The birds flew away and any animals around the area hurried to evacuate.
Past Calisto started running again ahead even faster than before. Soon Geno saw in the distance 3 humans who had fallen on the ground from the earthquake and struggling to stand up again. Laying a few steps away, was a small skeleton who was uncoscious and with a crack on his skull. Alter.
Past Calisto immediately dragged him in her embrace with blue magic and started healing, reducing the crack on the smaller skeleton's head. When she was done she snapped her head to the humans' direction. She let little Alter lay beneath a tree and ran towards the men.
"¥ŒU HÆRMƏĐ M¥ §ŒŊ £ŒR THƏ ŁÆST TIMƏ £IŁTH¥ §ƘIŊ§!" She yelled in a distorted voice.
"No, please, spare us! We will leave!" One of the humans begged.
But the skeleton woman didn't even let them continue. She ran up to them and silently started pulling apart from each man their limbs with her bare hands. Blood spilled, limbs flew to all directions, first legs, then arms.
When the humans were left with only their torsos and heads, barely alive, just enough to suffer in immense pain, past Calisto walked towards a large rock nearby. That rock was about 10 times bigger than her.
But once again with her bare hands, she lifted that rock as if it was a feather and kept it stably above her head. The humans looked at the large rock the skeleton was holding and started screaming again.
"NO NO WAIT WAIT WAIT!"
Past Calisto threw the rock at the humans, crushing them and made them sauce. Geno had his mouth covered all this time, but with what past Calisto had done with that rock, he proceeded to not just cover, but hold his jaw in one place so it wouldn't fall.
"Holy sh*t." He thought.
He watched as the skeleton woman was looking down, breathing heavily and shaking, her eyesockets still glowing cobalt blue. Slowly she fixed her posture and looked at her hands and dress. Then she looked up to the sky. She fell on her knees and started sobbing quietly.
"Forgive me Father in the sky. Forgive me father and mother. I couldn't avoid it. I couldn't help it. I only wanted to protect my baby.
"M-Mãe?" Little Alter was heard asking weakly. Past Calisto hurried to wipe her tears and walked towards her son, who had found his consciousness. He looked around him confused.
"Are you alright my baby?" She asked tenderly as if she wasn't screaming in bloody murder a while ago.
"O que aconteceu com os humanos que me levaram?" Alter asked.
"Don't worry little love. I... put them to sleep. That's all."
"Eles estão tendo bons sonhos?"
"Mhm. The sweetest." Past Calisto 'reassured' and picked up Alter. "Don't worry my boy. Mommy will protect you as long as she lives and her soul beats inside her chest."
"Você tem manchas vermelhas em seu vestido. O que aconteceu?"
"Ah..." The skeleton woman looked away for a few seconds. "Mommy on her way to rescue you, stumbled upon a bush of red berries. Silly me. But I was in a hurry to save you. Now let's go back to the village and get ourselves cleaned up."
The forest dissappeared and the cold darkness of the monster afterlife surrounded the 4 skeletons. Geno looked at Calisto as she had her head lowered and her eyesockets shut tightly.
"Alter was 4 years old then. We were in eras where humans and monsters didn't live so far apart from each other yet. Still, there were humans who would harm us monsters in every way they could. Our kids were disappearing. They would never return. We were assuming the humans were luring them away and killing them." She clenched the folds of her skirt with shaky hands. "I was one of the lucky enough mothers who prevented to understand her baby was in danger. I barely saw these men taking my Alter away from me, into the forest. I went mad. I lost consciousness and anything holy I had in me. I only cared to save Alter. I was so angry. And I uncontrollably let it all out on those humans." She covered her mouth.
More white tears were seen falling on the floor. Geno didn't know what to say. He rubbed the back of his skull and exhaled quietly from his nose. He watched as Calisto was letting her hands fall and she opened her eyesockets looking again at Alter.
"... So... from what I saw just now... You're telling me that what I witnessed back then with these soldiers wasn't just Alter's symbol getting the best of him? That this kind of violent behavior is something that... runs in the family?" The smol asked.
"In a way. It surely is also that 'blessing's' doing for driving my son do what he did. But my side of the family is first to blame..." She exhaled. "... We have a history of aggression. It is not just severe anger issues... We call it Agressive Bond. It's not a type of special bond like the basic 3. It's a soul condition. Somehow, in any part of their life, my ancestors came to a point where when any member of their closest family was in grave danger because of humans, they just commited, even once in their lives, homicide because of it. But not just a quick painless kill. Upon the rage and passion to save their loved ones, they lost control of themselves. They were coming to an ancient, unhinged state where anything that walks on 2, has flesh, colored soul and is close to the loved one in danger, they felt they had to wipe them out of existence until there was nothing else left of them. My father had done the same thing for me when I was 8. But unlike my boy Alter, I witnessed all of it." She revealed and Geno's eyesocket widened up.
"That's insane!"
"It is." Calisto sighed and looked ahead intensively, as if she was seeing something no one else could. "I watched my own father disemboweling 6 grown men who managed to lure me away and would harm me if he didn't find me in time. And while doing that, they were alive." Geno felt an ugly shiver running down his spine. The skeleton woman understood him. She shook head left and right. "I'm sorry. I won't describe any more. In the memory I showed you little one, I saved my boy that day, but the guilt remained. I didn't even confess this to the monster monks or anyone. Only years later I found the courage confess this to Felix and my condition..." She paused for a moment as she allowed the taller male to nuzzle her tenderly and she exhaled from her nose. "... And when Alter was older, I explained to him too what really happened that day. He didn't despise me. He didn't hate me for committing that sin. But I think it is what gently pushed him even more to choose the life of the monks. He concluded, that kind of anger, was triggered when it came upon family members, especially offspring. That such thing would never stop as long as we kept expanding our bloodline. He took it upon himself to never start a real family of his. He chose himself that such thing wouldn't stop him from ever loving or become apathetic, but if not making a family would mean that him and any next generations after him would stop committing homicides, he was willing to accept such life. Of course, he didn't want to become a monk only because of this. He wanted it even long before he learned of what I've done. And in all honesty, as much as he wasn't going to be our first son to bring in this world grandchildren, I felt relieved, thinking that maybe, at last, that horrible cycle of brutal homicides would be over. That finally, one member of the family would escape it."
"Guess even without making a family or having any close relatives alive, he still didn't manage to escape that. He still committed these murders..." Geno said sad. But Calisto shook head left and right.
"You're wrong on one thing here."
"Whadaya mean?" The siren raised brow. Calisto smiled gently.
"He didn't kill these humans just for the sake of a friend only. Or only because it was his responsibility to protect you. You became his closest family." Geno flinched.
"Me?! But we're not even related!" He yelped.
"After all, you don't have to be part of the same family. For us monsters, even 2 unrelated ones can develop real family bonds if they are together for long enough." Geno was ready to protest. But he remembered what uncle Asy told him. How even though adopted, him and Stephan felt like brothers birthed from the same parents. He thought of it for a moment.
"Me and Alter know each other for something less than a month only. Wouldn't such bond require, like, years to develop?" He asked. To his surprise, both Calisto and Felix shook heads left and right.
"You 2 proved that... no. You and my boy managed to form in this month only, an unexpectedly strong bond. Alter... his soul at some point started feeling you as family. And he came to the point repeat the sin, not just out of spite towards the mankind's cruelty, but also for your sake." Geno was listening surprised.
"But... But how are you so sure?!"
"I'm not making that out of my imagination. Your aura and Alter's interacting even right now, betray that to me." Calisto said smiling a little bit more. Geno looked at Alter and placed hand on his chest.
"He considers me... family?" He asked quietly, still unable to believe that.
"Mhm. Definitely." The woman's smile dropped slowly.
"... He never made it completely clear of what he considers me to be to him."
"KEEPING TO HIMSELF ALL HIS TRUE THOUGHTS UNTIL HE IS COMPLETELY SURE! YES, SOUNDS JUST LIKE ALTER!" Felix commented.
"Whatever fate brought you and him together little one, you surely are something incredibly special for his soul to get attached to yours." Calisto said staring at Alter. Geno touched his good eyesocket and felt the guilt eating him up.
"I didn't deserve this. We had a bad arguement before he... went mad. I blamed him while he wanted to help me get away and stay alive, even if he hurt me. And when that plan failed, when he saw me injured, almost without hesitation he 'exchanged' my eyesocket with his."
"He exchanged?" Calisto asked a little surprised staring at Alter. "So that slash on his eyesocket wasn't caused by anyone?"
"Well, he did that weird thing when I got blinded by one of the soldiers. I got my eyesocket slashed, then burned, so it wouldn't be able to heal because of my half-siren nature and its weakness towards fire. Alter placed his palm on my injured eyesocket and I felt like he was healing me, even though he was told it wouldn't heal. But a few seconds later I was able to see normally, though that burned slash appeared on Alter's left eyesocket a few seconds later." Geno tried to explain.
"He used Selfleshness on you!" Calisto said impressed.
"Selfleshness?"
"The combination of altruistic and healing magic. It is possible to remove completely an illness or an injury, even ones that are impossible to heal and carry on yourself. But the user must be certain and ready to sacrifice whatever they have healthy and intact, to the other. Because by commiting selfleshness they will bare the other's problem, whether that be temporarily or permanently. They must also be strong enough to bare the injury or the illness. In your case Geno, he sacrificed his eyesocket's condition for you, so you could see again." Geno looked at Alter even more sad and wrapped his arms around himself.
"Why why why... I feel even more horrible than before arguing with him..."
"An argument cannot determine if the other will keep loving and caring about you little one. But that's my boy. He forgets all bad and comes to help when the other is in need." Calisto said smiling gently.
"EVEN THE MOST LOVING FRIENDS, FAMILY MEMBERS OR COUPLES END UP HAVING ARGUEMENTS SOMETIMES!" Felix spoke. "BUT IF EVEN IN THOSE, 2 MIGHT LOOK ANYTHING BUT LOVED, EVEN THE ARGUEMENTS CAN STRENGTHEN THE BONDS! OR THEY HIDE BEHIND THEM JUST HOW MUCH THE OTHER LOVES YOU! ALTER DIDN'T MANAGE TO GET YOU TO LEAVE PEACEFULLY! BUT AT THAT MOMENT HE CARED MORE FOR YOU THAN HIMSELF TO LIVE! HE CARED MORE FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO SEE!" Geno let his hand fall that was previously on his good eyesocket and looked at Felix.
"I don't know..." He whispered. The skeletons stayed quiet for many seconds, all staring at Alter's uncoscious essence.
"Geno." Calisto broke the silence.
"... Yes miss Calisto?" Geno asked.
"I want you to know that if you ever find yourself in the monster afterlife again, you are free to call my name and I will lead you to stay close to us. For God's sake døn't hæng ærøund thæt gøæt." She said suddenly angrily.
"Uuuh. Sim." Geno said hesitantly and gulped silently.
"Even if he does nothing to harm you, he's still dangerous. Forgive me, I'm just worried." The skeleton woman sighed. "If Alter thinks of you as family, you're welcomed around us."
"AGREED!" Felix nodded.
"Thanks Miss Calisto."
"And just call me Calisto little one." The woman prevented him, smiling a little.
"And just call me Geno please." The siren said.
"Deal." Calisto nodded. Her expression got serious again soon. "... I want to ask you a favor." Geno raised brow.
"What favor?" Calisto looked at Alter.
"Concerning mainly about my son. If Alter's essence wakes up in here and he never comes back to life, don't bother." She looked back at Geno with a melancholic expression. "But... if there is a chance he manages to keep living, please, take care of him too. Be there for him. After these homicides, my boy will live with guilt for the rest of his life. It will stay as trauma in his soul. I fear he will not feel the same once he wakes up and remembers what he did. I felt awful myself after murdering these men for years and years, but I had my Felix and my boys to support me. Alter will have no one left, except you. Please, watch after my boy as he has done so for you. Be there for him. If he lives." Geno thought of it for a moment. Eventually, he nodded.
"I am not sure how will I be able to help him. But... I'll try my best." He said. Calisto's expression softened.
"Thank you Geno." The skeletons stayed silent again for many seconds. This time Geno broke first that silence, as a question he always wondered for its answer had come back in his mind, making him flinch.
"Have you seen around here a skeleton named Stephan?! He's my father." He asked. The skeleton couple looked at each other silent for a few seconds.
"PRINCIPESSA, REMIND ME IF YOU KNOW, ISN'T STEPHAN THAT SKELETON WHO IS CONSTANTLY SINGING IN A SAD TONE AND PUTTING OFTEN MEMORIES OF HIS IN FRONT OF HIM TO WATCH?!" Felix asked. Calisto thought for a moment. She quickly turned to look at Geno.
"Actually, if it is who Felix describes, we might have seen him around here." Geno started getting excited.
"You have?!"
"WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! CALL HIS NAME! HE DOESN'T RESPOND WHEN ANY OF US DEAD TRY TO CALL HIM, BUT MAYBE IF YOU CALL, HE MIGHT COME!" Felix encouraged.
That was right damnit! Geno was all this time in the afterlife and hadn't think to search for any of his family members. He stood up and cleared his throat ready to give it a try.
But before he could do that, suddenly Alter's essence started jolting and spasming aggressively.
He was glowing white so much, at times he looked like an unspecified shape before turning back to the state Geno saw him first. That, very very fast. The 3 skeletons looked at him completely caught off guard.
"What is going on?!" Geno yelped.
"His body is trying to reawaken him!" Calisto said with wide open eyesockets.
"GENO YOU'RE GLOWING INTENSIVELY TOO!" Felix commented looking at Alter and Geno alternatively.
The siren looked at his hands and body. Indeed he was surrounded by white light. Suddenly he felt light-headed and a little dizzy. He felt as if he was flying and at the same time drowning on the floor. And he remembered.
That feeling was the same he had when he revived the first time.
~
Bernard was sitting at the little sandy beach outside his house in São Miguel and staring to the horizon as the crickets were monotonously singing and the stars were shining in the dark night sky. The Purple Star, the sign of the mermaids and soon bringer of the Purple Moon Ceremony was stealing the most space and glowing stronger.
Bernard exhaled from his nose and fell backwards, laying on the sand. He stared at his hands and started making small shapes with blue aura as he recalled all that had happen today.
He suddenly felt something crawling on his nape and around his neck, but he didn't bother. He sat up again normally. He knew it was Flowey and indeed, the dark bloom was now staring at the half-skeleton with an angry expression.
"Hello."
"Hellelos!" Flowey snapped at Bernard.
"What happened to you? You seem hurt." The half skeleton asked concerned. Even in the dark of the night, he could see that Flowey's petals seemed slightly burned.
"Just encountered a stupid goat." The flower looked away. "The floofy dirtbag you could say-. Oi, whæt ærə yœu dœıng yœu ıdıœt?!" He suddenly asked as he felt Bernard's hand healing him.
"Healing you."
"Ugh..." Flowey did rolling his eyes but allowed Bernard to heal him.
"Better?"
"Shut up." Bernard hummed cheerfully. "Don't you laugh at me!" The flower hissed annoyed looking away. The 2 stayed silent allowing the crickets and the gentle waves of the sea be heard more clearly. But Flowey couldn't stay silent. His eyes daggered as he looked at Bernard. The half-skeleton raised eyebrow.
"What?"
"What was that back... then?"
"What was what and when?"
"Back at the caravel! You said a date of death! ¥œur đəæth!" Flowey hissed. "If you're trying in æny wæy to avoid the deal we had..."
"I do not. I will keep my word to the very end. I promised you what I promised willingly."
"Even if you do, I don't like how you said 14- æłmœst 15 yəærs! Do you really think I'm going to wait for that long like a fool until you give me what you promised?!" Bernard's expression darkened slightly.
"My death will have value only on the day I said so. More over it will have value for you. If you come back to your old self any sooner than that, Raymond will find out and kill you again. Once he learns you are back to life, you ƙŋow he wiłł. And you might not have the chance find yourself in the state you are right now which is open to chances come back to its old self, but completely dead! This can not be messed up. If I die the day I said, he also will have to die for you to stay alive."
"You do know that I will pretend to listen before I go mad again for not having soul and just go around killing randoms trying to find a compatible one for me, right?"
"Only to fail and have killed for nothing." Flowey stayed silent looking down angry and annoyed for a few seconds. "You do know that these souls will not give you permanently what you want. I am sorry if you feel like I can not understand you, I try-."
"Tch. Whatever. Blah blah blah." Bernard exhaled from his nose and looked down.
Slowly Flowey unwrapped himself off the man and rooted on the sand. The 2 stayed again silent for long. Bernard started whispering prayers, but soon after Flowey decided to just annoy him.
"By the way, I took a trip to the monster afterlife a while ago and guess what! I found that little bloody skeleton, Geno! He was still alive and his soul was with hi-!"
He was soon going to regret trying to annoy him.
The plants around the area suddenly started overgrowing and spreading all around. Flowey looked around surprised and then at Bernard. Now the man was staring down at Flowey with wide open eyes that from dark brown had turned completely black.
Even the white area of them. An imitation of hollow skeleton eyesockets. His whole expression was screaming murder. Even without a soul, the flower started shaking seeing him like that.
"Đıđ yœu try tœ tæƙə hıs sœuł?!" Bernard asked and now his voice too was murderous. "Đœ yœu hævə ÆŊ¥ ıđəæ whæt yœu cœułđ hævə cæusəđ?! ₩ə tæłƙ æbœut thə łıvəs œf thə whœłə wœrłđ £łœwəy!"
"Do I look like I can give a damn about the world?!" Flowey tried to ask, only for him to get grabbed abruptly by Bernard's hand and be brought close to his face.
"Thæt. Is. It. Mærƙ my wœrđs yœuŋg œŋə. I cæŋ ŋœt stœþ yœu frœm gœıŋg æftər æŋyœŋə tœ stəæł thəır sœułs. ßut frœm ŋœw œŋ ıf I həær œf ÆŊ¥ œthər đəæths, ıf Gəŋœ đıəs ɓəcæusə yœu just cœułđ ŋœt ƙəəþ yœur vıŋəs æwæy frœm hım, fœrgət œur đəæł æŋđ æny chæncə yœu mıght əvər hævə tœ ƙəəþ ª sœuł ıŋ yœu ɓəætıŋg. Vœcê. Mə. Əŋtəŋđə?"
He suddenly stopped. Flowey was literally crying and fighting to hold back his sobs. Bernard sighed and let go of him facing forward, his eyes slowly becoming brown again.
"Why does the second most certain and compatible soul I've ever met has to be of that little stupid skeleton's?!" Flowey asked between his sobs.
"You learned of him in a time the world will need him the most. We can't have him dead now." Bernard exhaled from his nose. "You can hold all grudges you want, but I will still apologise for my behavior. For shouting. I am sorry."
"You got tired of being nice, didn't you?" Flowey asked bitterly.
"Maybe I am slowly getting tired of the disrespect." Bernard rubbed his eyes. "And I am generally tired." He turned to look behind him, he saw how the plants around the area had grown agressively. "Go back to your places." He commanded calmly and the plants retreated to their previous states. "Thank you." He turned to look at Flowey. "I do not want to ruin that deal between us really. But please show understanding. Patience." Flowey rolled his eyes.
"After managing to make me actually feel fear? Certainly." He turned his back at Bernard. "Have a terrible night with even worse nightmares."
"Good night Samael."
"Ŋœt thæt ŋæmə." The black flower dissapeared under the sand leaving Bernard alone. The man faced forward and stood up wiping the sand off him. He started walking back to the house heavy from thoughts.
"What am I going to do with you?" He thought and sighed deeply.
When he had gotten fully siren-blessed, Bernard had started finding out the difficulties of baring the symbol.
He had realised that quite enough times when he was trying to focus on something important, past memories would sometimes haunt and distract him from his work, causing him deep sadness and desperation. But with the power of praying he would quite easily overcome them and focus again.
That until 2 years ago when he met Flowey. He had hear him crying near the beach of the house. Of course he had stopped when he realised Bernard was here. He had attacked him, especially when he saw what kind of soul he had.
He was in all ready to just take it, but Bernard prevented him. He managed to talk things out with the flower and ended up in a deal: if he could serve Bernard he would willingly give up his soul for him eventually. After all,
"It is not safe to be an alive monster when Raymond is still breathing."
Long before he met Flowey, Bernard was revealed the day he would die. That, plus wanting to prevent himself from dying sooner, not because of fear but because he had so much more to do for the monsters, he proposed that deal to the flower.
And somehow, that worked. Flowey agreed to work together. But it was not an easy deal for both sides.
Bernard had to tolerate Flowey's constant bad influence and accept the fact that he could not control the flower and prevent him from killing uncontrollably if he suddenly 'felt' to all the time. And Flowey had to fight very hard not to kill Bernard out of frustration for having to wait until he would give him his soul and end the deal. But despite so different, they could cooperate well.
Moreover, as a flower Flowey was and with Bernard's given abilities to control and command the plants, he could communicate with him from miles away and call him if he needed him to. The flower was mainly useful for gaining information, managing to pass unnoticable most of the time.
He was being Bernard's most valuable spy. Also sometimes they had a special time together, where Bernard would allow just a bit for Flowey to absorb only a little from his soul and feel for a while like a normal being.
That amount of magic the flower was taking away wasn't harmful for Bernard and it could regenarate after a while. Like for example when they take blood from you, but after a while the blood cells multiply back to their original amount in your body.
It was one of the few reasons Flowey had sticked around Bernard. He couldn't have his soul yet and he would have to wait for years as he learned today! But even if it was for minutes to feel, he was somewhat grateful for it. It felt as a little bit of reward for his services.
Not many knew about his existence. Or who he truly was. As a matter of fact, aside Bernard, only Tefra seemed to aknowledge the black flower and she wasn't happy one bit having him around. At least as long as they weren't getting on each other's nerves they were kinda tolerating each other.
~
Pequeno milagre do meu mundo
vale mais que o ouro
Eu vejo seus olhos nos meus
brilhando como estrelas no céu
Eu te abraço e sinto a parte de mim em você
The child sang as he stared outside the window of his room to the night sky. A lullaby he would hear his mother singing for him every night before falling asleep. At least when she was home, thinking he was asleep. He had learned it fully and singing it to himself everytime he wanted to console himself, or waking up from a nightmare.
Quando os dois se tornam um
o amor une suas almas
Através do vínculo que duas almas compartilham
como você, nascem pequenas maravilhas
Eu te abraço e vejo a parte de mim em você
Tears started running down his cheeks as he kept singing. He had Cobalt and Monsoon, he had Bernard more often, but... his soul was always calling out only for his mom. He felt connection only with her.
And yet, she was the one who was out more often for her work. Way longer than when she was actually home. He was told that she would be back in a week, but that only made him long for her more.
Mesmo que as distâncias nos separem
eu sei que nossas almas não podem realmente esquecer
Uma verdade em minha alma eu sempre guardei
de meus pais eu conheço e ouvi, como uma lei.
It hurt him in ways he didn't know how to express or describe not having mother around. Monster children growing up with parents who aren't near them often were making the family bond unhealthy, causing them to feel incomplete and fall into depression.
E eu percebo isso, quando eu te abraço.
E eu entendo isso, quando eu sinto você.
E me sinto mais tranquilo, quando te vejo.
Eu sei, minha alma nunca esquecerá que você é parte de mim. E o seu sempre reconhecerá o mesmo.
It made sense for a young monster like him. He was 4, still in age where bonding with his closest family was crucial. And with the only one he felt bonding was his mom. He couldn't think if something was wrong with him, but he just couldn't find any strong bond with his older brothers or Bernard.
Sim, é assim que me sinto desde que você veio a este mundo.
E espero que esta melodia te ajude a perceber o quanto eu te amo.
The boy stepped away from the window. Sniffing he wiped his tears and climbed on his bed. Big and spacious, but empty, so empty for him, who only wanted to feel his heart and soul being filled with love and the sensation that he wasn't alone.
He layed on his side facing the window and tried to get himself to sleep again. Even with difficulty, he felt soon the sleep weighting him and allowed him to rest. How long would that last without another nightmare waking up, who knew.
The door of his room slowly opened. Tefra entered and looked at the boy, her son, as he was sleeping. Silently she approached his bed, climbed on it and sat next to him. She just stared at him for many seconds. Her hand uncosciously touched again her burned neck and recalled 'Guido's' words.
She remembered the impact of the realisation about dying and leaving her baby orphaned from the last real parent he really had left. Her hand approached her son's head and caressed gently. Her vision blurred. She remembered the mistake she was doing from the moment her son was born.
Even when she was with him, as much as it hurted her soul, she was avoiding him. She feared to bond with him. Touch him. Hug him. She feared the pain she would feel if she lost him as she had lost her love.
Her real one. She wondered if she had any chances left to fix that. If she was able to properly bond with her boy. If his soul allowed him to. A quiet sob escaped her mouth. She took her hand off her son's head and turned her look at the door.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry my baby..." She whispered and started shaking.
"Mamãe?"
She flinched and hurried to wipe her tears. She slowly turned to look behind her. Now her son was staring at her with confused, tired and perhaps a little surprised eyesockets.
"You're lucky everyone believes he got them from Bernard's half monster nature and not Alvino..."
Tefra didn't say anything. Just kept staring at the boy, the tears ready at any second to climb again up her eyes.
"You're back!" The boy said and a small smile rose in his adorable muzzle.
He crawled closer to Tefra and his tiny skeletal hands reached out to touch her cheeks. While many times Tefra would just get away from the boy when he wanted contact, this time she didn't move and allowed the small fluffy child to place hands on her cheeks.
"Him... but the hands are smaller." She thought and closed her eyes exhaling from her nose quietly.
The white pupils inside her son's eyesockets glow brighter. It didn't take long for him however to observe his mom's neck. Seeing the scorched fur his expression started changing from worry.
"Quem machucou a mamãe?" He asked as he crawled even closer to her ready to touch her neck. But Tefra held his tiny hands in hers. Fur against bone. She closed her eyes.
"Don't worry child. Mommy just... messed with fire more than she should. I'm ok." She said. That didn't calm down her son. His bottom jaw started shaking and seemed ready to cry.
"Mamãe está machucada." He said in a shaky voice.
Tefra felt like a complete fool for questioning a while ago if her son wanted to still keep their family bond after all she did, by avoiding him even in this house. She looked at how her boy was staring at her with concern, caring about her well-being.
Just wanting to be close to her. She remembered once again all words Guido told her. She allowed herself to think that in this very moment she was now, she would never be here if she was dying today.
Too late to fix her mistakes and commit becoming a more present mom, for the greatest gift and blessing she was ever granted in this cruel land. The tears she fought back to not cry in front of the smaller monster, rose up once again.
And this time she couldn't hold them back anymore. She closed her son in her embrace and allowed the tears and small sobs escape her. The boy was caught off guard by that action, forgetting that he was about to cry seeing Tefra hurt.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." She whispered shakily. "I'm sorry I am not there for you often. How could I do this to both of us until now? I'm sorry..." The boy stayed motionless, progressing his mother's words. He slowly wrapped his small arms around Tefra's waist, returning the hug.
"Não chore mamãe. Eu te amo."
So simple and few words. And yet Tefra felt her whole existence light and free like a feather. She finally smiled and with just placing her hands on the boy's cheeks, she looked at him.
"Eu também te amo meu garoto." She said softly planting a gentle kiss on the child's forehead. Her son reached out to her and kissed her cheek. Mother and son pressed foreheads next and stayed in this position for many seconds, enjoying in silence each other's contact.
"You are back so much earlier mamãe. Did they allow you to leave sooner?" The boy finally asked. Tefra sat on the bed, legs criss-crossed and pulled her son sit on her lap.
"For this time, yes." She sighed and placed her one hand on the back of her son's head. "... I know I wasn't always interacting with you. The work had to seperate me from spending time with you. But even when together, I still didn't give you so much time. But this time, it will be a little different."
"How so?" The child asked raising eyebrow. Tefra smiled a little wider.
"Your father... today he managed to make a special agreement. You are still very young and it's complicated to explain it all. But with that agreement, what matters the most for you to know, is that I will be here more often than at work." Her son looked at Tefra with perked up eyesockets.
"More time to spend with mamãe?!" He asked excited. Tefra nodded.
"Yes. I will still have to go to work because mommy has very important duties to accomplish. But still, more time for us. It will not be forever though-." The boy squealed excited and buried his face on Tefra's neck, not letting her finish.
"Yaaay!" He did. Finally Tefra allowed herself to chuckle lightly. "Thanks mamãe!"
"No. Remember. You have to thank your father. He is the one who accomplished that." Her son fell back on the bed's matress giggling happily.
"Papai loves us very much after all to allow more time with mamãe!"
Tefra looked away momentarily sad. She remembered again the conversation with Bernard. Specifically when concerning about her son. Eventually she had to tell him. But he was still so little. Would he be able to keep the truth to himself, without anyone else knowing?
Especially not reaching the wrong ears?
No. Not yet. Her child deserved the truth, but she needed him to grow up more. If he heard the truth now, she didn't know how well he would take it without perhaps feeling his world collapsing.
When he would be a little more understanding and careful enough to not accidentally let the truth come out. She turned to look at her son again and layed next to him, receiving his confused and surprised expression.
"You'll sleep here with me?!"
"Mommy had a long day. To celebrate for what your father accomplished, having from now on more time together, the first thing we will get to do as mother and son, is that for tonight we will throw a royal slumber." The boy giggled and hurried to snuggle close to Tefra. The goat wrapped her arms around him.
"Boa noite mamãe."
"Boa noite querido."
And the 2 slowly drifted into a peaceful warm sleep. Long later when Bernard entered quietly the room to check up on the boy and saw him with Tefra cuddling and sleeping, he smiled. Very carefully and quietly he closed the door of the room and let the 2 in each other's embrace.
~
Geno stared at the dark sky sitting on the tallest mast and watching the stars. He recalled how the day before passing out went. But mostly, he couldn't take out of his mind the conversation he had with... Ramirez. He had woken up in the one of the 2 beds of the medbay. It was dark, only a lantern was giving light in the room.
Right next to him on the other bed was Alter, who was spasming and throwing his head to all directions. Ramirez had come up to him quickly and without much hesitation kept with one hand his head motionless while with the other stabbed the priest on his forehead with a needle.
Soon after Alter fell back on the bed, limb like a human corpse, except his eyesockets were wide open and empty. Geno had really think the doctor killed him. But he was assured by the dog that he had injected him with a liquid mix of harmless, mild drugs and painkillers.
"Just how long was I passed out?"
"From the moment you returned to the ship after chasing the caravel, 10 hours."
"Well damn."
It felt like way less when he was in the monster afterlife.
"Now that you're awake, describe me in as high detail as possible all that happened before coming back to the ship. I need to determine the seriousness of my observations upon the priest by knowing where did all these wounds on him come from exactly."
Geno wanted and was ready to ask in what condition exactly was the priest now. But he had followed Ramirez's request. He had said how they had come to a point seperating with Alter. Before that they were both blown in the air but the taller had taken most of the fall damage.
If he hadn't secure him with his body as they were both falling, the siren would be the one with most broken bones. He painfully recalled the bullet shot Alter had received and for a while had stayed dead before coming back to life, assumingly thanks to the siren symbol's properties.
How... how he murdered a bunch of human soldiers and after that he had started spasming aggresively, cracking everywhere and bleeding from the siren blessing's impact. Ramirez was listening silent while looking through a clipboard, seemingly apathetic.
Only when Geno talked about the murders he got his attention, he saw him clearly raising eyebrows. But he didn't say anything. He slowly looked again through his clipboard and stayed silent.
"That's pretty much all of it-"
"You described me everything, except from that slash on his eyesocket. And it seems a little peculiar. It looks like more than just a sword did such damage."
Geno lowered his head and wrapped his arms around himself. He remembered what Calisto told him about what Alter did by taking the scar upon himself.
"Selfleshness..." He had mumbled. "That slash was previously on me." He described the small torture he went through, how and why that slash looked like that and that he would have stayed almost completely blind from both eyesockets if it wasn't for Alter sacrificing half his vision. Ramirez sighed.
"I should have expected such from him." He said, lowly growling. Geno had turned to look up to the doctor.
"Will he stay alive? Can you revive him completely?" He had asked in agony. Ramirez thought of it for a moment.
"It will be obviously challenging. But I can do that. And... he's strong too. The siren magic really underestimates science and medication today, that it isn't unable to save lives. What that short part-mermaid said about «He AiN't GoNnA hEaL» and that «He WiLl FaCe ThE iNeViTaBlE.», is total and absolute bullsh*t."
"So he will make it for real?!" Geno asked looking at Alter, slowly with hope building inside of him.
"Sometimes, he will start spasming as you saw him a while ago before I injected him. That situation is his body trying to aggressively come back to its senses after being in fallen down state and reawake the soul too. Without interfering, he can die from pain or from hurting himself by colliding with anything around him. But with me keeping my eye on him ready to give him anesthesia, he will stay stable and by preserving him from dusting for good, I calculate that he will come back to his senses in less than a week."
"That's wonderful!" Geno was ready to sigh relieved.
"It isn't. You see, if I were the priest, I'd perhaps prefer to stay dead." Ramirez said coldly. Geno's eyesocket widened up.
"What do you mean?"
"I am not going to sugarcoat it. I said that I can keep the priest alive. But many of these wounds on his body have taken an impact on him which I can see I will not be able to ever heal or remove completely. The siren magic will not be strong enough to kill him, but the impact they will leave on him is higher than any skills I have. All wounds and cracks not related with magic aren't the most concerning. Like the ones from the fall damage and the bullet, these will heal overtime. But the ones related to the siren magic, if the priest lives they will mark him for the rest of his life."
"Oh God..." Geno did looking again at Alter with wide open eyesocket.
"There is more. You told me that the slash on his eyesocket was previously on you and he took it upon himself using selflesness magic. Now, when someone takes upon themselves an injury or a wound of somebody else's, in most cases, it will heal on the new host normally. But there are also cases where if an illness is impossible to heal, it can kill its new host too, even if they are stronger to handle it. Deadly for the first host? Deadly for the new one. The illness's effect stays the exact same way even after a new host takes it upon themselves. If it is a non threatening one, it will heal. If it's deadly and it comes to a new body, even a much stronger and healthier one, it will kill it too. Wounds usually are more easy to heal. If they are soft or heavy, they will heal in the same pace or a little faster when taken by a host capable to use selflesness. I leave aside the decapitations here. But this slash on the priest's eyesocket... this one is a more complicated case. But I suspect... I don't think that it will ever heal."
"But Alter is not a siren! Or mermaid! Maybe the burn mark will stay, but the slash?!"
"That soldier burned your eyesocket right after slashing it so it would never heal due to your siren nature. The priest took the slash in that exact condition. He took upon himself a wound that on you it would be unable to close. Heal. And because it would never be able to heal on you, it will not heal on him either. If I am right and the slash doesn't show signs of healing, he has doomed himself to stay with a blind eyesocket for the rest of his life." Geno covered his mouth.
"Oh no..."
"There is something else..." Ramirez walked towards Alter and placed his clawed hand on his chest. When he pulled it up, Geno saw Alter's soul slowly floating out of his ribcage. He looked at the glowing object thoughtful and silent for a few seconds before growling lowly and closing his eyes. "Hasn't changed one bit." He had said bitterly. The soul returned inside Alter's ribcage.
"What hasn't changed?!" Geno asked concerned. Ramirez looked at him.
"All these injuries, the siren magic and the slash, these all took a very serious toll on him. Until I could stop him from bleeding, he has loosen a lot of blood and magic. From that, aside that he will stay physically scarred for the rest of his life and permanently half-blind, I am almost certain he will also loose at least one magic ability, if not 2."
"WHAT?!" Geno yelped.
"And..." Ramirez had paused for a moment.
"What?! What else?!" The doctor exhaled from his nose closing his eyes. He walked towards his table and just placed hands on it staring on the wall, his back facing the 2 skeletons.
"... After checking his soul many times, I've come to the conclusion to fear that he is most likely going to loose his healing abilities." The siren's pupil inside his eyesocket dissapeared as he looked again at Alter.
"Oh no, not the healing magic..." For a monster to posses healing magic and any other subcategories, it was many times far more important than any other magic ability meant to be offensive. It was secret pride for a monster to be a healer.
Alter wasn't just Aoplistic, lacking magic weapons that most skeletons had more often, loosing his healing abilities too would possibly break him when he would wake up and learn the bad news.
"I warned him. I called it. He was pressuring himself way too much and taking sh*t meant for others. Sad the nature of the altruist..." Ramirez turned to look at Geno, almost glaring at him, judging him silently and mercillesly. "If he does loose his healing magic you will be lucky. Because if there is the slightest chance he actually doesn't, I will make him return the slash back at you and reverse the selfleshness. He chose to let you have your vision, but even I see that he didn't deserve come to this condition." He had said coldly and a low intensive snarl could be heard beneath his voice. Geno had lowered his head, the guilt consuming him whole.
"I know..." He had think. He got off the bed he was sitting ready to leave.
"While anyone else would be mad at you for how the priest is because of all sacrifices he made for your sake, he hasn't stopped calling your name. You're not going anywhere yet." Ramirez had walked towards the smol skeleton. "As long as he's uncoscious and still fighting for his life, you must stay close to him as much as possible. While you are the one who almost brought him his demise, at the same time you are the one who is going to keep him alive." Geno looked at him confused. "I observed when you and him were still both unconscious. Your souls are connected with a bond. And it is not just a friend bond. Somehow, whether that be way too quick attachment in the past month, whether again about the siren magic, you and the priest are unrelated family. And family bonds have healing capabilities."
Calisto was actually right! Geno and Alter had really formed a family bond! Then again it could be mainly the symbol that was given by Geno's mother upon Alter that helped with it. That was why, technically, with the priest carrying something from her, helped the 2 skeletons bond so well in such little amount of time.
"For real?!"
"Yes uneducated peasant. In fact, even when you weren't close to him and went to destroy the caravels, there was something else interesting." Ramirez took from the table of the medbay Geno's scarf and jacket, who only now remembered them. "Your clothes and assumingly the scent you've left on them, when I bandaged the priest with them, about a minute later the moment I was ready to complain that I needed more cloths and bandages, all bleeding stopped. I had think he would never stop, but I am almost certain only your clothes helped to stop that."
"Woah."
"So as a matter of fact, you must give your aid to him with your presence."
"I get it. Do I have to sleep near him?"
"Even allow him to cuddle you." Ramirez had said and Geno's eyesocket widened up, already blushing lightly and awkwardly. "Doesn't sound like me to suggest something like this huh? Well as a doctor before becoming part of this crew, in fact I would approve the close contact between 2 monsters, whether family-related, whether in love when the one of them was not alright. The healthier one can heal the other in need. Do the same with the priest and he might find his consciousness sooner."
Geno fell back and layed on the mast of the ship covering his face recalling all this conversation. He couldn't handle what Ramirez had told about Alter and how he would most likely live from now on, if he lived. But he had assured that he had high chances to live.
Especially if the small skeleton was following Ramirez's instructions to be close to Alter. He had done so and layed next to the tall skeleton for hours before leaving the medbay to get some fresh air and think again of all that had happen.
And of course see a sunrise. And once Alter woke up, would he still want to have the siren around? Or even hear of him? Would he hold grudge and anger for becoming the reason his life would not be the same?
But as the stars started dissapearing one by one and the light of the sun was peeking from the water blanket slowly, Geno sat again normally on the mast to wait for it. One last thought came to conquer his mind before he could see the actual sun appearing. One of Ramirez's last announcements.
When he announced him that Captain Reaper would give one month for Geno to be prepared and to learn fighting more efficiently. He would start the next morning. But that wouldn't be the worst thing for the siren. Having to be trained wouldn't be so bad itself if he didn't have the pirates to train him, while Alter was uncoscious.
But even if Geno had preferances to which pirate he would want to get training from and disliked less, until Alter was waking up and managing to heal enough, it wasn't up to him to choose. And his luck wasn't at all merciful hearing who his main trainer would be.
Ramirez himself.
For some, this adventure's end, didn't go as planned.
For some, the closure this adventure's end had, was consoling.
And for some, the adventure was only going to bring more struggle and danger on their paths.
congratualtions for reaching the end of this chapter. are you still alive? XD
hopefully i can hear your thoughts on this chapter :3
2 announcements:
1. the whole story is being rewritten and edited from the beginning to fix the cringiness it had. you could come back to the beginning someday and see the story being written diferently.
or even better, since it becomes anew, you can contact other friends and peeps you know, who are wattpad users and encourage them start the story and become part of the 'family-crew' we have here.
2. i slowly take my steps into the ao3 world, where i already am slowly posting chosen falls for a pirate. again? you might ask. however this story will be nothing like you've known. because geno, reaper, the pirates and generally the whole world of this story will be under the very dangerous and violent environment of what we know as "fell version".
ao3 will not just be home of cffap fell version though. in the future and if the ut fandom still exists and we do not grow bored of it, i will be posting ut stories ONLY THERE. the original cffap, for as long as it goes on will stay on wattpad, but if i am ever done with this adventure, this account will not post anything else related to ut.
if you want to follow me even on ao3, i will not give directly my account name like that. only whoever REALLY wants to find me there, drop a comment and just ask me. then i will lead you to my ao3 account.
no matter what you do and how you process this new information, stay safe, stay determined and i'll see ya until the next chapters come out little babes.
don't forget to vote :3
*pat pat x1000000*
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