###**Reunion**### ######_(Collab Rtron and Wind)_###### *Early morning,* *Loom’s outskirts* A sleepless night and a frantic mind had given her an excuse to act where she previously hadn’t had one. It hadn’t been hard to find him. All she had to do was appear as soon as he paused for a rest or a kill. That’s how easy it’s ever been. It had been years since Hazumi last saw Lucien. In fact, precisely two-hundred years. Yet he hadn’t changed, not one bit, and neither had she. Two beings stuck in the loop of time. No one could tell that time left an imprint on them. All their wounds were on the inside. For over a hundred years she had been observing that weird creature, one she never properly understood until it was too late and there was no going back. For over a hundred years she had been both hoping and dreading the moment Fate would bring them together again, thinking, wondering how to apologize for what she’d been and how to accuse him of what he’d done. “You should have told me what to do then.” She often thought but knew in her heart that wouldn’t have prevented the disaster but just caused another. So many questions remained, so many alternative paths Fate could have taken should any of them have behaved even the slightest bit differently. Yet… the past was the past and not even the Gods could change it. Now, the future… that was more malleable. And even moreso was the present. She was staring at him with the same unblinking gaze, unable to find the right words to say once again, like so many years ago. It almost seemed like time really hadn’t fazed them, even though it really had. And it was exactly because she had changed that she found it even more difficult now to speak to him, than she had before. Now she could actually reevaluate what had happened, seen it differently, realise the alternatives… And she had oh so many questions… Uncertainly she made another awkward step forward and raised her hand with an open palm. “Hi.” She said simply. She looked older, while on the outside he hadn’t changed. Some part of his mind noted this distantly, while the rest of his mind was effectively shut down by the appearance of Hazumi. Lucien stared at her, just barely keeping his jaw from dropping, unmoving. He had survived the Great War. He had been sealed in Onyx for thousands of years. He had been released and fought in a war that some were calling the Second Great War. He had slain Lords of Hell, and most of the last surviving Archangel Council members. He had watched Heaven burn down around him, and explored most of the Surface world, hunting the Cowards. He had thought that he was beyond being surprised. Evidently, he was wrong. It wasn’t just the fact that her wings were gone and there was a transparent aura of essence that even he, with his ability to sense essence completely gone, could feel. It wasn’t even the fact that she looked older. She was, or had been, a Surface Angel. They aged. They weren’t immortal like their ancestors were. No, it was for something far more…unbelievable. When she finally spoke, he unfroze. He took two steps towards her, and then stopped, remembering that she wouldn’t appreciate being hugged by him. Especially since his armor was filthy, covered in gore and the Gods only knew what else. So, he settled for gripping his sword tighter (he had long since lost his sheath), and speaking. “You’re supposed to be dead.” Not exactly a warm and touching way to begin a reunion, but it was a start. “I watched you become the Essence. I wielded the sword you had become. I lost you to the mad Human Judas, and then I watched as Luciana spread her essence and the Essence across the Human race, effectively destroying you both.” He stopped for a moment and coughed, violently, into his gauntleted hand. Black liquid spewed into it, and he quickly hid it. He wasn’t going to get into that right now. He wouldn’t discuss it ever, preferably. “So, what happened? I know you became the Essence, and I know Luciana spread it across the Human race. I’ve seen a handful of people come back after most of us thought that they were long dead and gone, but none from quite as an impossible certain death scenario as you.” He didn’t relax, even while he spoke. He hadn’t survived this long as a ‘Renegade’, as the rest of the world titled him, without being always ready for an attack, even when he thought he was safe. This scenario, no matter how shocking, was no different. He expected an attack from anything, and would have been pleasantly surprised if nothing tried to kill him. A warm smile spread over her face despite that there was no need for one, and for a moment she thought she felt tears well up in her eyes. Something about this angel made her feel like a little girl again and it wasn't only because she had known him for ages as Chime, as his daughter, as his battle companions. No, it was also the emotions of Hazumi stirring, the feelings of the angel he once knew and showed great and true kindness to that she simply rejected. But through his words, through his simple words, she understood that despite everything he had become the closest thing she'd ever had to a father and a mentor. Yet he had changed in a way he shouldn't have. Not all the wounds he had suffered through the millennia had healed.. and some never would. He didn't have to hide the black mucous from her just because she could see it cruising inside of him the moment she laid eyes on him. His own essence was so corroded by the deadly rust that they might already be inseparable, threatened him with a fate worse than death. Something hot stung her cheek and her hand jerked to feel it. It took her a moment for her puzzled fingers to realise it had been just a tear. She didn't hide it but didn't hide her smile either. Instead she made a step forward and wrapped her arms around Lucien. She didn’t care if her sky-blue dress would start resembling the canvas of the Grat War or even if Lucien added her blood to the rest. "I can't die, Lucien. Not for as long as the worlds stand. Aaurus created the Gates and Gatekeepers to be eternal, and whatever parts of them remain in me, are keeping me here." She explained in his ear. "Only he and the void can destroy us for sure. Until then, I will keep watch over you." She enjoyed the embrace for one more moment before pulling away and forcing the emotions out of her face. "Lucien," she started, "I came here to apologise. To apologise for what you once knew as Hazumi, for having been what I was... I apologise for making only one decision back then and it being wrong and bringing death and destruction. I want to thank you for shaking my belief at that time, asking me to stand for my own, even though I couldn't have, and for forcing the Sword down and creating Zi. I wish... no matter. I'd like to think that I've changed, that I've listened. We established the Academy and gave the Essence to the humans and even though it will never be over, our battle for now has ceased. And you, you have made it happen. Thank you, Lucien." She let the smile protrude again for he both endeared and saddened her. He was no saint and she wouldn't entrust the Essence to him, but he was the closest thing she knew to one and he didn't even want it. Lucien was surprised to see her crying. He was even more surprised to when she hugged him. Was this really the same child he had known two hundred years ago? The proud, so sure of her faith in the Cowards that she was willing to kill him for them, child? The one whose very foundation was shook when he scorned her blind faith? The one who was willing to take in a demon? When she hugged him, he stiffened in surprise. He very nearly stabbed her with his sword, out of reflex. Two hundred years of not being touched except when someone was trying to kill him hasn’t exactly made him ready and willing to be hugged. But he checked himself before he even came close, and after a moment of awkwardly standing there, hugged her back. With one arm of course. He wasn’t about to start letting go of his sword any time soon. “I’ve missed you.” He whispered into her hair, before she explained how she couldn’t die to him. Well, that was a relief. Now, he didn’t have to worry about protecting her. Or rather…them. It’s best not to actually think about it, he decided. When she pulled away, and began to talk, he raised an eyebrow. When she was done he replied, “ One wrong decision bringing death and destruction? Once knew as Hazumi? Who is Zi? We? I made it happen? Two hundred years have passed, and I haven’t been paying that much attention to modern events. Perhaps I’ve forgotten recent events in favor of remembering old ones, but none of what you just said makes any sense to me. Explaining would help immensely.” Hunting down the last of the Cowards hadn’t left much time for him to ponder the meaning of what had happened during the War against Judas. A realization hit him and he nearly winced. If Hazumi was going to keep watch over him, assuming she hadn’t been already, she would likely be watching him be attacked by other Angels, Demons, and students of the Academy sent after him. And she would likely watch him kill both of the Cowards. It was almost enough to make him wince. But not quite. She wouldn’t understand. Few beings would. Most view him as a maniacal murderer. And he didn’t blame them, nor did he expect them to understand. What he was doing was for vengeance, nothing more, nothing less. And it would be done, no matter who was watching, or who tried to stop him. “I hope you know what I’ll be doing while you’re watching me.” It was only when Lucien pointed it out, that Hazumi realised there might still be things he was just left guessing at and couldn’t have known for certain. After all, the story of her existence wasn’t a straight-forward one, nor was the nature of her. But there seemed to be another thing on his mind. “I hope you know what I’ll be doing while you’re watching me.” “I know.” A sad smile crossed her face and was gone in an instant. “I’ve seen.” So she sat down on a rock and she started explaining. She started with the Great War and explained what had happened to Chime and the Violin and how not all the fallen’s bodies nourished the soil and the demons, how some had been prevented from joining the natural cycle of death and instead been trapped in a living prison, the bars of which was the Gatekeeper’s own heart. She explained all of this with a matter-of-factly tone, ignoring the pain and torture she remembered well, seething out the facts. She told him how the Fleshshaper’s experiment was near completion when the fallen angel Kristine approached him and offered to carry it on on the surface, to raise a child to fool the Council and everyone around. She told him how through years and years of careful “nurturing” she had forgotten how to be anything else but a Battle, had truly considered herself a mere angel, dutifully bound to the only woman who was there to guide her. She told him how it was apparently always guidance she was looking for in everyone she met and how she had needed that from him or Azel as well, and how they had thought she should make her own choices. “But I was just a tool back then, Lucien, I couldn’t imagine being anything else. I knew, some part of me, knew that the world’s fate was on my shoulders but I couldn’t carry it alone – I needed a mentor, a player. I assume at the time the Violin part of me had been brought to the surface and free will was a concept I couldn’t grasp. I know that was the Fleshshaper and Kristine’s plan. To bring up a servant, shunned by everyone else and only embraced by them. They knew they were creating a powerful artifact and they wanted to be the only ones capable of wielding it. But Kristine underestimated the affection that grew to my childhood friend, Jed and didn’t realize that would change the Gate’s affinity as well. She couldn’t fathom that someone could have more power over it than her. Well, she was wrong… And the Fleshshaper, he was wrong as well. He didn’t know, or didn’t care, about you and Azel. But in my life you had existed, and you had played a part, and even though I couldn’t do what you expected me to do, I did listen and the Gate did too. So as I desperately tried to imagine all beings being equal and the Council not being saints, the Violin in me was being tuned to a new mindset. In the end he came to get me, wearing the flesh of a Clairvoyant angel of the Council – the one who asked me to annihilate Master Melody’s Academy. He reminded me of what I was, thanks to him” she spat “and wanted me back. Wanted to wield me. I didn’t want him to. I looked around but there was no one I could truly deem worthy… so I decided to surrender my power to whoever reaches me first and to let Fate take its course.” She fell silent for a moment, looking down at her hands. “I only awoke two decades later to realise I’d made the wrong choice. Again, it was you and Luciana who had to tell me. I had brought nothing but death and destruction and had been proud of it. Stupid me. And then, you know the rest. Luciana sacrificed herself to shatter the Essence and the power was given to the human race. I’m supposed to be dead but I can’t die because the world still exists and it needs the Gates and Gatekeepers to support it. I’m not who I was then, and hopefully never will be again, but I can’t pretend that it wasn’t me who let Judas rule for 20 years and let so many die. I have decided not to interfere with any conflicts anymore – the humans and Peace-keepers will know better than me what is right or wrong. And.. I thank you for teaching me all that. Thank you for not giving up on me, despite everything. If it wasn’t for you the Sword would have ended up in the Fleshshaper’s hands, and he knew better than Judas how to use it. The world owes you.” She stood up and dusted her skirt and cleared her throat. “And because of that it should pay you back.” Hazumi raised her golden eyes to Lucien and they were piercing and serious. “I don’t know if what you’re doing is right or wrong, Lucien, so I cannot help you on your quest for revenge… but I won’t stop you. The Peace-keepers will not hear from me about all the deaths that litter your path, they will not know your location.” She hesitated before she spoke again. “And there’s something else. If you want… I might be able to help you get your daughter back.” She finished with a nervous tinge in her voice. “Your daughter had the misfortune to end up in the Fleshshaper’s hands and became a component of the Essence. Due to that, some part of her essence must have been alive. That means she still exists somewhere among the Instruments. If we break them apart, we could try to put her back together.”) Lucien nodded when Hazumi revealed that she had seen his previous actions. He had just wanted to make sure she knew what she was doing. What she would be watching, when she watched over him. Evidently, she knew. And he was satisfied with that, with the fact that she wasn’t misguided by any beliefs that he was someone who wasn’t going to be killing his own kind. Admittedly, if he put it that way, he seemed more like a maniac. And perhaps he was. Regardless, he listened attentively as she explained how she came to be the remains of the Three Gatekeepers, and thousands of other remains. He showed no reaction to the story, and his eyes never remained on Hazumi for long. He was busy scanning the area around them, just to be safe that nothing attacked them without him noticing. Some would call it paranoia. He called it prudence. Regardless, when she finished her explanation, he looked back at her. “The world owes me nothing. I am no more than a blood thirsty killer, hunting down the last of my kind for vengeance. If anything, the world should want my head, for hastening the end of a race.” As she spoke of how she wasn’t going reveal his position to the Musicians, he blinked in surprise. “Thank you. And I don’t know if what I’m doing is right either. But I’m doing it.” He gave a small smile. When she began to speak again, about something else, he raised an eyebrow in question. When she finished, he drew in a sharp breath. For a moment, he seemed to freeze. Then, he rasped out ”How?” with an intensity that surpassed even his rage at the Cowards. His eyes seemed to smolder with the idea of resurrecting his daughter, his true daughter, being so close. As she explained, however, that smolder abruptly went out. Hope was being held over the edge of a cliff, and he was afraid it would fall before he could reach it. “And what would happen if we were to break the Instruments? Would it make things worse than they already are? Because I knew my daughter. She would abhor the world being ruined to bring her back.” Silently, he added, She would abhor what I have done in her name. Lucien paused, not even scanning the surrounding area, as all his attention was at the problem at hand. He wanted, wanted so badly, to agree with Hazumi immediately and get his daughter back as soon as possible. But he couldn’t just do it. He had to think of the repercussions on the world. The repercussions on those that his daughter’s essence had been intertwined with. He didn’t know much about the Musicians and their connection to their Instruments, but he had broken one once. To stop the screaming, he had killed the Musician as well. Their connection was deeper than even blood, he suspected. So what would the damage be if they were suddenly cut off from their Instrument? More importantly, would it be worth it to bring her back? Would it be worth the damage that could be caused? He believed so. He believed that it would all work out in the end, if he could just get his daughter back. Was this rational? He doubted it. Still, he nodded at Hazumi. “How soon can you do this? And how will it affect this Zi? You said she was once a piece of you. That means she has a part of my daughter in her. You’d have to remove that piece as well, in addition to all the Instrument pieces. Wouldn’t that kill her? Or, at the very least, completely and utterly change her against her will. I am willing to do many things, but kill someone without giving them a chance to fight back, or changing them against their will is something I am not willing to do.” He was careful to keep his desire, his need for Zi to be perfectly fine and unaffected out of his voice. That might have pushed Hazumi to a decision that would be harmful to all involved. Strange, how he was willing to kill Angels he had known and fought for all his life, but was unwilling to let a stranger die or be changed. Slowly Hazumi just nodded. "Everything will be fine. I won't even touch Zi." Hazumi's voice was strong and sleek as tempered steel. Her golden eyes pinned on his were weary, careful not to expose any possible concerns she could have. Her very worry was being shut down as her compassion to the world was shifting and focusing solely on Lucien and his daughter. She was going to do everything in her might to reunite them again. "I'll start as soon as possible. It'll take some time but... you can trust me." She concluded and reached out to squeeze Lucien's hand. "In the meantime, please take care of yourself." She asked and turned her back on him. With a simple hand-swipe the essence around her swirled in the form of a translucent griffin that she got on and left. Despite everything she couldn't shake off the bitter feeling that she was betraying him... and the world too.