"She wants my blood." I said. "She'll be looking for me..." "I know she does, and that's what scares me most. If she kills you..." "Don't think like that. Think in terms of...well, me. I've been in more trouble than most, and I'm still just fine." "Ari, I don't like this." she said. "No one does...but it is what it is. Are you going to go through with this? It's our last chance." she sighed. "I don't really have a choice. We've gotta do something." It's all set. She chases me, Kobelle scares her, she runs into the vault and we're done. It's a simple cartoony plan, but it's the only thing that we can do at this point. "Just be careful." "I'm always careful...and smart...and attractive...and funny, I'm just the best, what can I say?" she gave me a push. "Hurry up." she said. "Before I go, ditch the clothes. Ghosts don't wear clothes." I watched as she undressed, kicking her things behind a bush. "Perfect." I replied, disappearing into the woods. She's probably in the middle of setting up shop in the City of Embers...it's the de facto capital city since it's the largest. One could essentially see everything and everyone from it. I rounded the bends through the streets I grew up on, dodging rubble and burnt buildings. Fucking hell, it's hot and smokey. I found her writing on a tablet of sorts. Probably a set of laws. "Hi." I said. "You don't need to greet me, I already know you're here. Idiots always come back to where they're not welcome." she looked up at me with fire in her eyes. I'll admit it, I got a bit nervous. Never have I seen such animosity and hatred...not even in Abraxas or Xibalba. "You came back to die, I hope you know that. I've no use for you anymore." "If you wanna kill me, first you've gotta catch me." I took off in a dead run and was stopped by Xibalba...and her crew. "Never thought I'd see you again. I'm bummed I did...it was kinda nice being without you."Xibalba said. I looked back. She let the inmates out of the asylum. "Your replacements." Tahu said, gesturing. "New and improved. Who needs a mind slave when you can have a team of fully cooperative assistants? Emptying the void...not something I'd considered, but I'm glad I did it...kill him." I wasn't sure what new and improved meant, but I decided not to stick around and find out. I could feel the heat from Xibalba lapping at me as I ran. Teleporting is useless...she'll find me...and catch me off guard to the extent that this whole plan will fall apart. It's now or never...I just hope there's room for a bunch of useless demons alongside Tahu. I took a flying leap into the woods and watched as the trees caught fire from all of the flames. This place is gonna need a lot of TLC when this is over...if it ever ends. I leaped into the vault and let them corner me. "This is going to be fun. I've always wanted to kill him." "I hate this guy, he's got nothing but blood on his hands." "He thinks he's smooth because he's been able to get away with so much. Guess it's high time someone derails the gravy train." Wow, tough crowd. I looked for Kobelle but saw no sign of her. Not a good time to ghost on me...even though she's supposed to be a ghost. If she was gonna let me down, then I had to handle things. Sealing a vault with this many pushing against it is gonna be a bit of an issue though...I only anticipated Tahu. I ran out leaving and started pushing the vault shut. I anticipated failure, but...a few sets of hands started pushing along with my own. Kobelle, Circe, and my dad all turned out to help. "Figured you might need some help..." Kobelle said. We fought for what felt like hours, and just as things were going our way, a black hand reached out and slashed Kobelle across her face. She dropped. Part of me wanted to drop everything and help her, but if I let go, they'd all be free to come after us...and everyone else. We managed to shut the vault on these wastes of matter and I turned and went to Kobelle immediately. She didn't look too good, and nothing I was doing was helpful. There was no healing the wound, and no waking her up. I looked around frantically for an answer, but no one had one. Suddenly, she looked up at me. I called her name but she didn't answer. "Who are you?" she asked, eventually. "You don't remember?..." I asked, not meaning for my voice to break like it did. "No..." I felt pretty gutted by the prospect of Kobelle not having any memories of me. I wished like hell I could reopen that vault and kill Xibalba for doing this to her. She sat up. "I don't know who you are, I don't even know who I am." she said. "You're Kobelle, and you're one of my best friends." I said, insistently. "I don't know." she replied. "That doesn't seem right. I think I'd remember one of my best friends." She stood up shakily and looked right at me. "Thanks for checking on me, kind stranger." Stranger? "Bye." she turned and walked off without a second thought. I looked at Circe. "She'll come around...she got knocked out cold..." I didn't think so. This whole thing has claimed almost all my friends. I sat with my back to the vault taking in the dead silence. "Do you need something?" my dad asked. "I need to be alone." My mind began spiraling into a million different directions. Tahu enslaving me, me leaving (y/n) to be here, Alkonost, Vassago...the destruction. "Nobody will blame you for what happened." Circe said. "It's not your fault." "It sure feels like it." I said, opting to just disappear and head back to LA. Maybe (y/n) would still be waiting for me. She jumped at my appearance, and turned her back to walk off. "Wait." I said. She halted. I sighed, and slowly approached her, embracing her tightly. "What about your girlfriend?" she asked. That term has always made me uncomfortable, but now it's making me feel a bit sick. "There was never a girlfriend. I have so much explaining to do, but for now, just hug me. Please." It's not like me to ask for hugs...normally I ask for the opposite. She seemed to take the hint and hugged me back, understanding that something is very, very wrong. We must've stood like that for half an hour before she finally let go to get the feeling back in her arms. "Whatever it is, tell me when you can." she said, before touching my face, and departing, leaving me with the option of falling into despair or following her.
