Clarke seems to remember that she's in a room full of people, all eyes on her, because you watch her mask slip back into place as she shifts the gun closer to Cadogan's temple. "Let them go."
"They're not my prisoners, Clarke."
Clarke looks at you, her eyes begging you to say you're joking, but with no guarantee you can get off of this planet and no guarantee that you can save Hope, you offer her nothing. You keep the same blank expression on your face as she nods, "Great, then here's the deal. I'll use the Key to help you, but only after you let my people return to Sanctum."
Her eyes stay locked on you as she adds, "All of them."
Cadogan looks over all of you and shrugs. "You're free to go with her."
Your brain runs through the offer, looking for holes, but finding none. If all of you are allowed to leave, that means you can take Hope, and all of your people will be safe. There's no way in hell you're going to leave Clarke behind on Bardo to deal with the disciples on her own, but at the very least you can make sure the others are safe and finally off of this inescapable planet. But as you prepare to open your mouth and agree to the offer, someone speaks up for all of you. "We're not going anywhere. We have a war to fight."
You almost spin around and give Echo a look, and your left hand curls at your side, wanting to hit her for keeping all of you stuck here. And you suppose that now you have the answer you were waiting for this whole time; Echo is no longer on your side. She really has bought in and fallen under the spell of Bardo.
You hear her walk off, and you turn to glance at Octavia and Diyoza, both of them seeming as panicked as you are beneath their blank demeanor. And because neither of them are arguing to the contrary, you speak up on their behalf, turning your gaze back to Cadogan. "We're staying too, sir."
Diyoza and Octavia turn and leave, and you shift your gaze to your twin, hesitating, hoping she can read the hidden expression beneath your blank mask, confirming that you're still you. And though you still just want to run to her and hug her, you force your body to turn and head towards the door. On your way out, you pass by Gabriel, his eyes locked on you as you move, but you keep your eyes averted, not wanting Anders to see your excitement at seeing your friend. You spent three months thinking he was dead and pretending you didn't care, and it's a relief to see that he's still alive, but you can't erase all the work you did in this moment. Not yet. Not when Echo has forced your hand.
You pull on your helmet and step back into position, thankful that the emotion on your face is now hidden, allowing a few tears to spill from your eyes and down your cheeks. The other disciples fall in around you, taking up their position as Clarke steps away from Cadogan and stares at you in absolute shock, not understanding how you could just walk away from her. But her shock quickly morphs into anger and she turns to face Bill, lifting the gun and pointing it right at him. "What did you do to them?"
Anders is the one to answer, "We didn't do anything. They're simply committed to the cause, ready to serve mankind in the Last War."
Cadogan adds, "A moment that will soon be upon us now that you're here, with the help of the Key."
Clarke lowers her gun and steps towards the revered Shepherd, her voice low and serious. "So here's the new deal: we talk to our friends alone. I don't even want to see your men in the halls. You want my help? Earn it."
Cadogan stares at Clarke, his gaze heavy with happiness, like he just found a hidden treasure. His gaze never leaves her as he calls out across the room. "First Disciple Anders, have all nonessential personnel return to Livsec."
"Sir, I'm not sure if that's-" Cadogan and Clarke both turn to cut Anders a look, and he immediately backs down. "Yes, my Shepherd."
"Good. Your Shepherd stays here, the rest of you out." When no one moves, she turns to glare at Anders and the group of disciples just outside the door, lifting her voice to snap, "Now!"
Everyone remains frozen in place, awaiting orders, until Cadogan looks at Anders with a smile. "Go, I'll be fine."
Anders backs away, worry written all over his face as he turns to face all of you, and you're shocked to see it, sure this is the first time he's lost his cool around all of you. He steps into the hall, motioning for all of you to follow, and you turn in unison to walk back towards your rooms, the door to the Stone Room, to Clarke, to your escape, closing as you pass. Anders leads all of you through the halls, stopping at the end of the hall to address you before you leave. "I want all of you to stay in your rooms. We can't do anything that will put the Shepherd at risk. Everyone is dismissed, except for Echo and Miss Griffin."
You freeze in place, sure that you already know why you've been singled out, but curious as to why Echo is. Everyone else files around you and heads towards their respective rooms, leaving you and Echo alone with Anders. Once it's just the three of you, he motions towards your helmets. "You can remove your helmets."
You reach up and remove your helmet, moving it to rest in your right arm as you look up at Anders expectantly. He turns his focus to Echo first. "Since you chose Hope's punishment, I want you to make sure she is on Penance before the others can get to her."
You freeze again, taking in his words. He wants Echo to send Hope to Skyring now, before any of you can save her. Even if she's only there for a few hours, it'll be years for her on Skyring because of the time dilation. You can't let them send her away. "Miss Griffin."
You are pulled out of your thoughts, your gaze lifting to meet his eyes, which are watching you closely. "Due to your twin's arrival and lack of cooperation, you will be staying with me at all times, where I can keep an eye on you."
You understand the implication of his words, what he really means but isn't saying: by his side, where he can use you as leverage. But you know you can't say anything, not in front of Echo, who has bought in, or in front of the groups of people that are still filing past, running to their rooms to abide by Anders command. He dismisses Echo, sending her off to banish Hope, and you watch her leave with wide eyes, fearful of what will happen if she's successful. Because no one knows that Hope is being sent away at this moment, not her mother or Octavia, not even Hope herself. And you stand there conflicted, wanting to run after Echo and stop her, unsure what to do as Anders hovers nearby, motioning for you to follow him.
Ultimately, you cave, deciding to follow Anders until you can get away and stop Echo, hoping that you can get there in time. Taking the First Disciple out in the middle of a crowded hallway is almost a guaranteed death sentence at this point, so the only thing you can do is hope that he takes you somewhere with less people, somewhere you can ditch him and get back to Echo. Anders leads you down the hall, turning to look back at you every few seconds, seemingly fearful that you're going to run off. But you don't, not yet, and you allow him to lead you away, towards some unknown destination. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere you enjoy."
You pull a face as you stare at his back, wondering if you should be more worried than you are in this moment. For some reason, you are eerily calm, despite the challenges in front of you. You're stuck with Anders, Echo is going to get rid of Hope, and your twin is on this planet somewhere, probably looking for you. Despite it all, your anxiety is low, which you're thankful for, as your head is clear and a plan is forming. It doesn't take you long to realize that Anders is leading you to the oxygen farm, towards the empty halls on the other side of Bardo, making your escape plan much easier.
As he presses the button for the farm and steps inside, he turns to look at you with a small smile. "I thought we could practice controlling your emotions while we wait."
If it were anyone else, you might find the gesture sweet, pleased that he remembers your fondness for the woods and trees. But because it's Anders, you're worried something about it is much more sinister, because he's too calculating to want to take an innocent trip to the tree farm. He doesn't care about you. He seems fascinated by you, sure, but most of that has to do with your connection to Clarke, not because he genuinely cares about you. Because the disciples don't care about the individuals, so whatever interest he has taken in you is starting to feel more dangerous than it did a few weeks ago.
You follow Anders deeper into the farm, walking behind him, sizing him up. If you can take him out now, you can go find Echo and stop her. The halls should be empty by now, making it easier to slip away unnoticed. And just as you're preparing to lunge at Anders and attack him, he surprises you by attacking first. He spins around, something held tight in his hand, moving towards your shoulder. You duck just in time, catching him off guard, before you knock whatever is in his hand out of his grip. It hits the ground by your feet, but you don't have time to look at it, because Anders is now swinging a punch towards you, which you don't notice fast enough. His fist lands on your cheekbone, pain exploding across your left cheek, knocking you off balance a little.
Anders seizes the opportunity and reaches down for the object, which you now see is a syringe, and your panic sets in immediately after that. You lunge at him, a growl ripping from your throat, aware that you don't want whatever is in that syringe to be put into your body. You collide with Anders, knocking him back and onto the ground, rolling over him as you land. You recover first, scrambling towards him and grabbing him by the front of his robes and punching him with your other hand, giving him a bruise to match the one he gave you. You hit him again, getting angrier as you realize that he brought you here just to take you out.
But Anders recovers and blocks your next punch, sending one of his own into your stomach, making you double over in pain. He stands and kicks you backwards, one solid blow to the chest, sending you flying onto the ground before he drops on top of you and reaches for your throat. You reach for his face, clawing and scratching, trying to stop him, but his hands close around your neck, beginning to squeeze. Anders looks crazed, his bright blue eyes standing out against the blood on his face, brought to the surface by your nails, and his expression is wild with anger as he squeezes the air from your body.
Panic sets in when the black spots dance around the edge of your vision, and you fumble around, searching for anything to use as a weapon, but finding nothing. You start to feel the fight leave your body until your hand closes around a tube at your side, reminding you that your disciple helmet is still connected to your suit. You tug on the tube and bring the fallen helmet closer, knocked out of your hand in the scuffle, and your fingers close around the helmet with a flash of relief. You swing it towards Anders, using all of your strength to hit him in the side of the head, knocking him off of you in the process.
He falls away from you and you roll to the side, gasping for air, drawing in long breaths as you suck oxygen back into your body at an alarming rate. You can hear Anders shift beside you, still conscious, and you roll over to your hands and knees and try to frantically crawl away, trying to give yourself enough space to recover and fight him off again. But Anders growls in anger and reaches out for you, his hand clasping around your ankle, trying to pull you back towards him. You feel your eyes go wide in alarm, the moment reminding you so much of the fight for your life in Shallow Valley, and just like then, you don't want to die. There is too much at stake, and you have to get out of here and save Hope and Clarke and the others, before it's too late.
As you slide back towards Anders, tugged by the ankle, a glint of something shiny catches your eye. You look over, your gaze falling on the fallen syringe, and you reach out for it, grabbing it while you still can. You pull it close to your body, gripping it tight and hovering your finger over the plunger, waiting for the right moment. Anders gives it to you when he flips you over, preparing to choke you again, but you never give him the chance. This time, you act first, and you plunge the syringe into his shoulder, pushing the liquid inside of him with your thumb, watching his eyes go wide with the realization of what you've done. His face contorts into one of fury, and he mutters, "You bitch."
It's the first time you've ever heard him curse, and it's alarming, if not a little funny, to hear the word come from his mouth. But it's all he manages to say before his eyes flutter closed and he falls forward, right on top of you. You push him to the side, sliding out from beneath him, before pressing a finger to his neck as soon as you're free. Whatever you injected him with didn't kill him, his heart still beating strong, so you can only guess that it just knocked him out for a little while.
You stand and stare down at him, his clothes streaked with mud and grass, his perfect white robes no longer perfect. You consider leaving him right where he is, but start to worry that doing so might raise an alarm before you're ready, so you ultimately decide to drag him off to the side, hiding him beneath a row of bushes. You quickly strip out of your disciple suit as well, leaving it discarded beside him, not wanting to run in the slightly stiff material, now comfortably dressed down in some Bardo leisurely clothes. And the last thing you do before you run off is bend down and tug your sock down, removing the necklace from around your ankle. You slide the ring off and move it to your finger before reattaching the necklace around your neck, letting the moon hang in full view.
You leave Anders and your suit behind as you run through the farm and back into the hallway. You move as fast as you can, headed straight for the cell block, checking every room once you arrive. You finally stumble upon something in the last room in the hall, a guard laying on a bed, stripped of her uniform, a stab wound on the back of her neck. But there is no sign of Hope or Echo, and you feel your panic start to rise again as you rack your brain on where they could be. Ultimately, you decide to check the Stone Room next, because if Echo is taking Hope away, you're sure that's the first place they'd go, and you can only pray you'll find them there. On your way, as you're running down the hall, you see a disciple walking towards you, dressed all in white, a machine gun in his hand. It takes a second for you to recognize him as Gabriel, and you smile and call out to him, "Gabriel!"
He looks up in surprise, clearly so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even hear you coming, and he drops the gun before running towards you, the two of you colliding in a hug for the first time since you were dragged from your shared room. You're both laughing when you pull apart, and he's looking at you with relief when he mutters, "I thought you were dead."
"I thought you were dead. They refused to tell us where you were or how you were doing."
He smiles, shaking his head in disbelief a little before a look of confusion passes over his face. "Wait, what are you doing here? Clarke was on her way to come see you."
"Anders made me stay with him as insurance, and then he tried to drug me. I fought him off and used the syringe on him instead."
"You fought off a level 12 when you're only a level 2?" He reaches up to brush a finger over the symbols along your cheekbone and you roll your eyes. "Yeah, well, what are you?"
"A level 3."
You scoff, "Diyoza, Octavia, Echo and I-"
And you cut yourself off as soon as you say Echo's name, reminding yourself of your time sensitive mission. You look at Gabriel in alarm, and he shakes his head, growing concerned. "What?"
"Oh god, Echo and Hope. Hope failed and they sentenced her to five years on Penance. Echo bought in, she's taking her to the Stone Room right now to send her away."
You start to run off, trying to push past Gabriel, but he reaches out and grabs you, holding you still as he says, "No wait, cielito, I just came from the Stone Room, and I never saw either of them."
You look at him in confusion, "Then where the hell are they?"
"I don't know. I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on Cadogan, but I can come with you instead and help you find them."
You shake your head, "No. We need eyes on Cadogan so we can keep the upper hand. You go, I'll find Echo and Hope."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." You smile up at him, and he smiles back.
"I'll see you soon. Go find the others so we can get off this planet and go home."
The two of you break apart, running in opposite directions now. You switch your destination from the Stone Room to the living quarters, hoping you can find them over there instead, looking for Clarke and the others. As you run down the hall towards Echo's room, you can hear the sound of muffled yelling steadily growing louder. Confused, you slow down, following the sound as you reach a door in the middle of the hall. You hit the button, stepping inside tentatively, surprised to have your gaze fall on Levitt. He's tied to a chair, his face bloodied and bruised, blood all over his white clothes, a gag tied around his mouth. You run over to him and yank the gag out, looking at him in confusion, "Levitt, what the hell happened?"
"Echo. She's getting revenge for Bellamy. She killed two people in front of me and I broke, I told her how to get the Gem 9."
You give him a look of absolute panic. "Gem 9? As in the bio weapon that could wipe out this whole damn planet?"
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
"Raven said Echo's probably planning to use the central humidification system."
You look at him in surprise. "Raven was here? Was Clarke here too?"
"Yes, with Octavia, Hope, Diyoza, and Miller."
You start to back away, panicking at the thought of Echo preparing to kill all of you in a need for revenge. "I have to go."
"Wait, don't leave me here!"
"There's no time, Levitt!"
"Please!"
The pain and fear in his voice affects you, so you look around, trying to find a way to help him but still save the others. Your eyes fall to a knife sitting on his desk, and you grab it and toss it near his feet, meeting his eyes as it lands. "If you can get yourself out of this, consider yourself a Grounder."
And before he can say anything else, you turn and run off, heading towards the machine level. You run as fast as you possibly can, your legs carrying you through Bardo at an alarming rate. As you draw closer to the machine level, you swear you hear voices, the hairs on the back of your neck lifting in a warning. You slow down a little, making your footsteps light enough to listen, but still moving fast enough so you don't lose any time. And as you listen, you recognize Clarke's voice urging someone to move faster. You break into a run again, your feet pounding along the tiles as you move down the hall and round the corner, coming face to face with a large group of people.
Every available weapon lifts towards you, ready to shoot you and take you down, until they catch sight of your face and freeze, looking at you in shock. Clarke pushes through the group and takes off running towards you, and you run down the hall towards her, the two of you colliding halfway in a hug that nearly knocks you over. You grip your twin with desperation, tears springing to your eyes as you hug her for the first time in over five years. An audible sob slips from your mouth, emotion squeezing your heart in your chest as you think of all the things you want to tell her, all the things you need to say, but your brain struggles to settle on one thing. Clarke beats you to it, her voice soft as she squeezes you and whispers, "I'm so sorry about Bellamy, la lune."
And the comfort that you needed from her from the last five years, the comfort from someone who loves you and truly understands you, it's enough to send you over the edge. Tears start rushing down your face as you grip your twin tighter, choking back, "I couldn't save him. I failed him."
"No you didn't." She pulls away to look at you, her expression serious. As she reaches up to wipe the tears from your face, her eyes land on the bruise forming along your cheek, something that clearly wasn't on your face the last time you saw her. She ignores it to whisper, "This is not your fault."
You nod, willing yourself to believe her, reminding yourself to put the blame on the people that deserve it: the disciples. You look at Clarke, your mind shifting to your niece. "How's Madi? Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's-" She doesn't get to finish, because a series of beeps rings out in the small space, followed by Hope's panicked voice. "We're out of time!"
Clarke looks over in alarm, and unspoken, all of you break into a run again, tearing down the hall towards the humidification system, situated at the very end of the machine level. When you reach the door to the room, you can see Echo inside, standing over a pipe, a dropper in her hand, and as Raven struggles to get the door open, you yell out, "Echo, stop!"
She freezes and turns around in alarm, the door to the room finally sliding open, allowing all of you to spill inside. Echo glares at all of you before directing her anger at Hope. "You were supposed to get them out!"
Octavia steps forward, defending Hope. "It's not her fault, we wouldn't leave without you, Echo. You don't have to do this. I get it, everything they took from you they took from me too, but there are good people here."
"Who? Levitt?" She gives Octavia an incredulous look. "The man who stole your memories and gave them to the enemy? Who stole la lune's memories and gave them to the enemy? All of this happened because of him. Way to honor your brother's memory."
Clarke steps in next, taking a few steps ahead of you to stand beside Octavia. "Echo, this is not who you are. I know you think this is the right thing to do, but trust me, it's not. Grief is something we can learn to live with, but once you make a choice like this, it stays with you."
You know she's thinking of Mount Weather, of the genocide that has stayed with you, her, and Bellamy since you pulled that lever. It had such a profound impact on all of you, and despite doing it to save those you love, you're not sure any of you would do it again, if given the option. Which is why preventing this genocide right now is important. But Echo fails to see the comparison between the two, practically rolling her eyes at Clarke. "This is nothing like the choices you make, Clarke. You take lives to save the people you love. This is vengeance, pure and simple."
You step forward now, joining Octavia and Clarke near the front, Echo's gaze shifting towards you. You shake your head, disapproving, and her face falls a little. "Echo, this is not what Bellamy would have wanted."
"If they killed you or Octavia or Clarke, he would be standing right where I am! Three months ago, when you found out he was dead, I saw how that crushed you, I felt how it crushed me. And in that moment, I made a promise to myself that Bardo would pay for what they did to all of us. I'm doing this because it's what we should have done from the beginning, and I know that none of you have the strength to do this. I'm doing this for you."
"I love Bellamy with all that I am, but this is not how we should honor his memory. This is not how I want to honor his memory. I don't want you to do this Echo, not for me, or Bellamy, or any of us. There are good people here, innocent people, and they shouldn't die for something they had no control over."
"Good people?" She scoffs and shakes her head at you. "How'd you get the bruise, la lune? Because you were fine when we separated in the hall."
You look at Clarke, silently asking for help, aware that your answer is only going to fuel Echo's anger, but Clarke isn't the one to speak up next, Raven is. She moves closer, her voice soft as she pleads, "Echo, you're my sister, and my sister wouldn't do this."
Echo starts to cry, shaking her head as she fights off her tears, the decision already weighing heavily on her. "You're wrong."
Raven stands firm, not backing down. "I'm not leaving, Echo. If you drop that, I am staying right here. You will have to kill me too."
You step towards Raven, drawing Echo's gaze. "And me."
Echo looks between you both, her emotions warring inside of her, threatening to take over, and you all stand watching with bated breath, panicked on what emotion will win. There's a sense of relief when a sob bursts free from her, and Raven steps forward and wraps Echo in her arms, whispering in her ear to comfort her. "It's okay. It's okay. We're here now."
Diyoza walks over and slowly slips the Gem 9 from Echo's grip, holding it carefully as you all watch Raven and Echo hug each other, thankful that Echo's love for all of you is enough to stop her revenge. Clarke reaches out for your hand, holding it tight in her grip as you both watch, tears springing to your eyes again as Raven whispers, "We're gonna go home."
"Good choice." All of you turn towards the door in surprise, greeted by Anders, a glare on his face, his clothes still stained. He's wiped most of the blood from his face, but the scratches remain visible on his skin, the bruise along his cheek already darkening, and there's a knot forming on the side of his head where you hit him with the helmet.
Clarke steps forward, her hand still holding your own, her voice angry and commanding. "We had a deal. I told Cadogan if I saw any of you, I wouldn't help him."
"That was before one of you tried to kill me." He turns to glare at you, and you glare back, both of you knowing damn well that's not what happened. He turns to Echo, adding, "And before we knew that one of you killed three more of us, torturing another just to get him to give you a weapon with which to commit genocide."
"The man makes a good point." Diyoza steps forward, holding out her hand, offering him the unused Gem 9. "Let's call it even."
"Even?" He takes the Gem 9 from her as he looks you all over. "I just told you three disciples are dead. You people disgust me. Look at yourselves: raised in the wild."
He looks at you, and you feel yourself start to grow angry as he confirms what you already knew: that he thinks he's better than all of you. More civilized. "You're nothing but primal beasts, utterly in thrall to your feelings, prioritizing the want of self over the need of all others. You don't deserve the Shepherd's mercy."
Miller lifts his gun and counters, "Brave words coming from a man standing alone in front of a pack of armed beasts."
You shake your head, your eyes never leaving Anders. "He's not alone."
Despite his anger with you, his admiration shines through as he smiles at you. "Smart girl."
On cue, the disciples behind him leave ghost mode, four of them now visible and aiming weapons at all of you. Clarke, Raven, and Miller all react and lift their weapons, aiming them at the disciples who are aiming at all of you. Diyoza raises her voice to be heard over everyone's panic. "Probably not a good idea to fire lasers in a room with a WMD."
Everyone calms a fraction of an inch before Diyoza steps closer to Anders, giving him a small smile. "Let's get back to the Shepherd's mercy."
"Echo will be sent to Penance for 20 years, but she'll be back before you know it. Unless by then, the code hasn't been entered to begin the Last War. In which case, she dies there."
Hope snaps, "I have a better idea. You die here."
Before any of you can react, Hope steps forward, a knife sliding out of her sleeve to slash Anders' neck. In surprise, he immediately drops the Gem 9, which all of you lunge for, not wanting to crystallize to death. But Hope grabs it first, turning to run back towards the pipes, all of you turning to watch her in shock. None of you can grab her as she runs past, but Diyoza is right behind her, and as Hope squeezes one drop of Gem 9 into the water supply, you watch in shock as Diyoza reaches out to catch the drop before it can fall into the water. She immediately closes the door to the water supply, and you all run towards Diyoza in surprise, her hand already beginning to crystallize. Hope stares at her mother in shock before she screams, "No, Mom! No!"
"Get her out of here!"
You and Octavia heed Diyoza's request and rush towards Hope, both of you grabbing one of her arms before you pull her back towards the door. Hope fights against you both, kicking and screaming, and Octavia yells to be heard over her, "Hope, it's too late!"
"No! No, Mom! No!"
Everyone else in the room is frozen in shock, and as Diyoza's arm turns to crystal in a matter of seconds, she looks over everyone and yells out, "What are you all waiting for? Move! Go!"
The disciples leave the room first, Miller, Raven, Echo, and Clarke behind them as you and Octavia struggle to drag Hope out of the room. She fights hard against you both, you and Octavia using all of your strength to pull her past Anders' dead body, the crystal now rapidly covering Diyoza's body and beginning to climb up the walls around you. Hope screams as she watches her mother be engulfed, "I can't lose her, not again!"
"Hope, we have no choice!"
You turn to look at the door, nearly there now, the crystal rapidly closing in on all of you, and Diyoza watches on, the crystal climbing up her neck and spreading across her face. "Don't waste this, little one! Be better than me."
Hope sobs as the crystal completely engulfs her mother's face, no part of Diyoza visible any longer, and you and Octavia drag Hope through the door, yelling, "Get the door!"
Someone hits the button, the door sliding closed in front of you, cutting off Hope's access to her mother. She pulls herself free from yours and Octavia's grip and jumps against the door, sob after sob tearing from her throat. "Mom! Mom!"
And there's nothing that any of you can do except watch on as the crystals spread from Diyoza and take over Anders, spidering out into the air and along the walls, all of you safely on the other side, thanks to Diyoza's sacrifice.
You watch on, crying as you and Octavia struggle to comfort Hope, another person taken from you on Bardo.
Part of you wishes you hadn't stopped Echo, and that you crystallized the whole planet before escaping back to Sanctum.
But the rest of you knows that another genocide isn't the answer. As much as you hate Bardo and the disciples and the Shepherd, there are innocent people here, and killing them, repeating the sins of your past, won't fix any of the hurt that's been done to you.
It won't bring back Bellamy.
It won't bring back Diyoza.
It won't bring back the part of you that died with your fiance. The dreams and memories that left when he did, all the hopes you had for your shared future together. No, a genocide won't bring any of that back.
Unfortunately, knowing that doesn't make the loss any easier. Which is why you cry alongside the others, mourning the loss of the Navy SEAL turned terrorist turned freedom fighter turned Eligius prisoner turned mother. A woman that came into your life as an enemy, but left your life as a friend.
-