Sanders Sides God AU

A Second Chance

(Authors note: And so, the second ark ends, and the third one, my favourite ark, begins! 😁 I am very excited to write it!)
     (Oh also warning for the ark: This ark will have a lot of grief involved in it, a lot of mourning.)

Thomas sat in the main area, trying to feed Themis some baby food. He was trying to use the airplane trick, but that just resulted in Themis mimicking the airplane sound. "Please, Themis. You need to eat." Thomas pleaded. Themis babbled, as if trying to mimic Thomas's sentence. "A train is coming through the tunnel, choo choo open up!" Thomas prompted. Themis babbled again before attempting to mimic the train sounds.

Thomas sighed, debating whether or not to give up. That was when Janus and Patton arrived, Janus seeming exhausted as he walked over to the couch and flopped down onto it. "Uh..." Patton began when he saw Themis, debating whether or not to point it out to Janus. Themis laughed before falling over his high chair table like Janus had fallen over the couch. "Uh..." He then mimicked Patton before giggling. "Themis, please, you need to eat." Thomas groaned.

     Janus looked up, brows furrowed in confusion. When he saw Themis there, as a toddler, he quickly sat up. "Euli-I mean... Themis?" He gasped before standing up. "I thought..." He whispered, not sure whether he was crying in relief or in further grief. Patton looked nervously at Themis before walking back over to Janus. "Jannie? What's going on? I... I thought Time got rid of him..." Patton whispered, having thought of Themis as someone dangerous that was dealt with. He knew Janus seemed upset about Themis being gone, but Janus refused to explain why.

     Rather than answer Patton, Janus walked over to Thomas and took the food from him. Themis sat up, looking at Janus curiously before smiling and outstretching his arms, vaguely recognizing the man in front of him. "Ma!" He cheered, causing Janus to feel a pain in his heart as both Thomas and Patton gave him a surprised expression.

     Janus opened his mouth wide in an over exaggerated way, making an "Ah" sound. Themis laughed before copying him, and Janus put in the spoon of food. He then closed his mouth in an over exaggerated way, and Themis mimicked him. Janus pulled the spoon out, and Themis began to instinctively 'chew' (his teeth were in the process of growing in) the food before swallowing it. "Very good Themis." Janus praised before handing the food back to Thomas.

     "Themis likes to copy." Janus explained. "At least, when he was... or, now that he is... a child... He liked... or now likes... to copy." Janus added in a tight voice. "Thank you, Janus." Thomas sighed in relief. "I can always take back custody of him..." Janus offered, feeling bothered as he watched Thomas feed Themis. "No, it's fine. You have a lot on your plate right now, and... I think Themis needs a lot of attention. Maybe we can undo all the harm that was done to him." Thomas explained. "Fine." Janus sighed before quickly turning away from Thomas disappearing.

     Patton had a worried look on his face as he teleported to Janus's domain, and sat down on the couch while Janus paced around the room, muttering to himself. "What's wrong Jannie?" Patton asked softly. "I failed." Janus hissed, his hands clenching into fists. "I failed Patton... I was supposed to protect him. Protect them. Now Wodahs is nowhere to be found, Aslov is suffering through grief, if Memoria found out what happened which I'm sure she did considering she managed to hold onto vague remnants of our memories, then she's probably not in a good state either. And Eulises? Who I suppose prefers the name Themis now, he is right back to infancy. A toddler, if that. Like, maybe it is what's best for him, but... It's like the child I raised is..." Janus ranted before trailing off, his hands shaking as he hugged himself tightly.

     "It's not your fault." Patton told him gently. He stood up and walked over to Janus, pulling him in for a hug. Janus hugged Patton tightly, crying into his shoulders. "Themis knew what he was doing. He knew the consequences, knew the risks, and he chose to do this." Patton whispered. "I shouldn't have told him." Janus cried. "Told him what?" Patton asked. "I shouldn't have told him where he came from... I shouldn't have told him who created him, or what they did... I shouldn't have told him about the Titans and why we had to hide from them... He would be safe if I just taught him how to be happy with the life I could provide." Janus murmured. "But then would you be any better than the Titans? Would denying him the ability to choose how he wants to live, the information he needs to make that decision, be much better?" Patton asked.