Vinny was a good man, he loved Ghost to a fault, and it was for that reason that he would never admit it hurt him to see her cry over another man. She hadn't seen Deysa in years, she didn't even get a chance to speak to him or see his face up close. Yet, she was bawling her eyes out after seeing him be impaled. Vinny pulled her into his arms and tried to keep her eyes off the crime scene on the bridge.

"There's no need to cry." General Eckerström spoke in a calming voice as he looked down to the body, "He'll be back, eventually. Death isn't permanent, despite what you may think. Though I will admit, it's always tragic. No matter what."

"That fucking idiot." Kuza scoffed, still coughing up water.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you." Chris replied.

The Wiccan grabbed his hand and removed it from their wound. "You've done enough for us to get by." Ricky said, "You should go help Mike."

He forced a bitter smile. "Thank you."

What was there to thank him for? He was the one that just saved their lives. Sure, it was his job. He was a healer after all, but no one ever said he had to have such a gentle soul. Chris was one of the most loving people you could ever meet. He was a good contrast to Kuza's anger; water and fire, forever.

Kuza batted away his hand, "I'm fine, I'm fine." His voice was very hoarse from nearly drowning. That wasn't the first time Deysa had done something like that, but that doesn't mean it's easy to get used to.

The Eclipse attempted to get up, only for the General to push them back down. "Stay down. You've done enough damage." With the venom in his voice, you wouldn't know that was the same man offering caring words to Ghost only a moment ago.

Though she was weak from crying, she tried her best to pull herself together. The vixen fearfully left the warm embrace of her mate. She approached the sopping wet mess on the ground. General Eckerström hesitantly stepped back. Despite what Kuza had told him earlier, about her being their sister, he was still concerned about trusting such a delicate woman around a villain like that.

Ghost fell to her knees in front of them. She gently cupped their head in her hands and brushed their hair out of their face. They didn't want to look at her, but they couldn't help it. When she saw their eyes, one black and one blue, she nearly lost it. "Casper..."

Hearing her voice, that made something click for them. She seemed to look much different than they remembered, but there was no doubt to them of who that was. "Devin..." Casper's voice quavered, tears welling up, "Devin- What- Why are you here? Why-" They set their hand over her's, "Why are you so much older, I- I don't understand."

"They remember Devin, which means I was wrong." Kuza sat back against the railing of the roof and ringed his hair out. "They weren't brainwashed, but I do think I know what happens."

General Eckerström gave him a dirty look for being so tight lipped. "And what exactly would that be?"

"If you don't mind, Sir, that information should remain in the family. I don't mean any disrespect. I hope you understand." He replied.

"It's fine." He said, though his tone suggested otherwise. "I saw the amount of trust Deysa placed in you. You're a good fighter as well. If you'd ever like to join us, you have an open invitation. However, I do believe you have a lot more peace to make with your past before then. All of you do. I will leave the Eclipse in your care. Just promise me you won't allow them to return to Demon's Card."

"Trust me, we won't." Ryan sneered.

"I should be going. I'm going to have to find a way to get that insolent fool out of prison, now." He grumbled. The General took off his hat again as he bowed to them, "Until we meet again."

Vinny and Chris quickly helped the Wiccan up to get them out of the way. It wasn't a second later that Matilda took off. The silver plated eagle took to the sky just as the sun was beginning to peak into the stars. It'd been a long night, to say the least.

"We're okay." Ricky muttered to the guys, "We'll be fine to walk."

The Eclipse grabbed onto Ghost's dress tightly, "Dev, please, I don't understand what's going on. Why are you with these people? They- They tried to hurt us."

She really didn't know what to say. Her eyes drawled over to the one who started all of this. None of them were here when the fight broke out. They had no idea what Ricky and Ryan's intentions were, or why they came to Regulus in the first place.

"We came here with the intention of talking them into leaving Demon's Card. They attacked us, so don't give us that look." Ryan deadpanned.

"You had no way of knowing who that was." Kuza snapped back, "You didn't go after them as a favor for Devin and I. So, why don't you tell me why the Hell you're running errands for Heart now?"

"How did you get that information?" He questioned calmly.

"Deysa spoke to the Warden at Eris. She told him, he told us." Chris answered.

"Then you don't know." He muttered to himself. Ryan sighed, "Let's just say, if we can kill Demon's Card and get them sent to Eris, the Warden will never let them out. We're not strong enough to take them down on our own. Plus, someone needs to take over for them after we destroy them. They own so much, the world would fall apart if someone wasn't keeping their operations going. Hera was our best option."

"You took 'em down on your own before. Why can' you again?" Vinny asked.

"I never killed Ezra or Akira. They killed themselves when they found out the others were dead because they refused to give me the satisfaction. It was a suicide of honor, not fear. I know none of you are too fond of Hera, but we did make a promise that we'd do something about the Eclipse. I don't want this to get messy."

"Ryan, please." Ricky mumbled. He sighed, "I'm sorry. The past few months have been rough for us. Forgive him. He's gotten jaded. Hera is willing to offer us a warm meal and a safe place to sleep. We don't plan on staying with them forever, obviously, but I hope you can see our side of this and join us."

"The Oath and Hera never had bad blood, in all honesty. We didn't like them but we didn't hate them. And just so you know, you're not the only one that has a score to settle with Demon's Card. Chris and I will come with you." Kuza said.

Vinny glanced to his girlfriend and received a nod. "Yeah, we're in too."

"Excuse me," Chris sneered, "I don't get a say in the matter?"

"No, you don't. You don't get a choice because this," He gestured down to the Eclipse, "Is your fault."

"How could it be my fucking fault? I've never even met them before today!" He yelled in response.

"Stop it!" Vinny, shockingly, interrupted. He was never one to get between fights. Mostly because he never took anything too seriously, but things have changed. His easy going nature was nonexistent right now. "This ain't the place ta'ave this conversation."

"Vinny's right. There's too many prying eyes and ears here." Ryan replied.

"We should get to the train station and try to catch the earliest train to Ascella that we can." Ricky stated.

Ghost, still trembling herself, gently kissed her brother's forehead. "I know you're confused right now, Sweetie, but I promise I'll explain everything once we get somewhere safe. You just have to trust me, okay?"

"I trust you." He desperately responded, "I trust you, Dev."

"Both of you, please."

Casper hesitantly answered, "Elliot won't talk in front of the others... He doesn't know them yet, b-but I promise, we both trust you."

"I thought you said he was all extroverted and shit like Vinny." Chris spoke to his mate, still pissed about their mini-blow up.

"He is, when he gets comfortable. I think he's really disorientated right now. We've all had a very long day and we could use some rest." He suggested.

There really is no amount of rest that can heal emotional damage, is there? They had all hoped that when they found each other, things would get better. Questions would be answered, and tensions would be lifted. It seems they were all very wrong about that. With Deysa now locked up, a confused Eclipse in their possession, and a fight ready to break out between Chris and Kuza, things definitely weren't getting looking up.

☤ ☤ ☤

I haven't done a ton of comment questions for this buuuut I'm curious to see if anyone will figure it out...

Why do you think Kuza was blaming Chris for Elliot and Casper losing their memory?