The Son

Pilate held Victor firmly by the shoulders, trying to rouse him.

They stood behind a dumpster outside of the guild, ironically the place Pilate had initially encountered Victor.

Victor was still in a near catatonic state, his eyes blank and mouth twitching. He didn't fight Pilate’s guiding hands as he drug him through the guild, but he was practically dead weight on Pilate’s shoulder.

Exhausted, he let Victor fall against the wall as he gasped for breath. Victor may had been thin, but he was still too heavy for Pilate.

“Come on, Victor,” Pilate whispered, “You gotta snap out of this.”

Victor whimpered softly in response, rocking forward.

What happened in there? Pilate thought, stomach twisting. Victor's gentle, calming smile was gone, and he looked like he was going to burst into tears at any given moment. Whatever had happened had shook Victor to the core.

Victor was fervently swaddling himself in a silken, bloodstained shirt, as if it would protect him. He pressed the fabric against his nose, taking in its scent. He seemed to grow more frantic every time he took notice of the shirt.

Pilate sighed as Victor drew away from him, breaking from his well-meaning grip.

A noise broke Pilate’s concentration. He peeked around the corner, watching the rickety door leading to the guild tremble and click. Someone was trying to get out.

“Victor, I gotta go, okay?” Pilate said slowly, waiting for his friend to nod in understanding, “It was really nice meeting you,” he murmured, rubbing the side of his arm, “I really care about you. I hope everything turns out okay for you.”

Swallowing as he glanced over his shoulder, Pilate pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket. He scribbled on it with a spare pen and tucked it into Victor's shirt.

“Here, this is my phone number. If you ever need me, just text me. I'll do anything to help you,” Pilate whispered.

Finally, Pilate wrapped his arms around Victor, squeezing his chest tightly. Taking a deep breath, he let his embrace linger, as he knew it would be a long time before he could do it again.

“Goodbye, Victor Mortis,” Pilate said, slipping off into the alleyways.

----

Victor hugged his knees, letting the concrete wall behind him support his body. He felt numb. Nothing around him felt real.

He heard footsteps. The noise was garbled over the ringing in his ears, like he was hearing everything underwater. Weakly, he crawled forward, blinking to focus his vision.

Matthew, Aunora, Esper, and Seraph stood huddled before the guild, and Umbra was slung over Aunora’s shoulder. Victor's stomach dropped. His family was alive.

Victor opened his mouth, but his vocal cords were locked tight. He couldn't speak.

Unsteadily, Victor forced himself to his feet. The world spun around him, and Victor teetered dangerously, but didn't fall. He pressed his hand against the wall for stability.

Feeling nausea lurching through his stomach, Victor came forward with difficulty. He rounded the corner, gasping for breath.

Matthew blinked, catching Victor in his gaze.

“Victor?!” he cried, pulling away from Aunora and running to his son, “Baby! You're alive!”

Victor fell into Matthew's arms, hiccuping through tears. Matthew rubbed his back, softly kissing his cheek.

“It's okay, you're safe now, I got you,” Matthew purred, picking Victor up as he stood. Victor buried his face in Matthew’s shoulder, unable to allow himself to see Umbra's near-dead form. He trembled violently as Matthew held him firmly.

Facing Aunora, Matthew withdrew a knife from his pocket. “We've got to get Umbra home, now. We'll talk to Infinity later.”

As Matthew sliced into the air, Victor's consciousness started to slip. The warmth of his father lured him into the comforting darkness, and Victor went limp before they even teleported.

Author's Note- so, what little plot points/mysteries have i hinted at? what are your theories about the:

-spooky stuff matthew and umbra are doing

-"boss"

-Circle of Life

-weird stuff with matthew in general

-strange lack of the überdragon of death

thanks for reading this up to here!!! it means a whole lot to me. thanks for coming this far :) there's still some chapters left before i wrap this up, but we're in the home stretch guys!!!!!!