You couldn't stop staring at Meliodas. Which was kind of weird. It's not like you didn't know what he looked like. If you closed your eyes, you could see his face clearly. And if you had to draw him with your eyes closed, you bet you could do it ... well, not perfectly, but decently at least.

And now ... It was like every little movement he made required every last ounce of your attention. The way he tilted his head as he listened to Elizabeth. The way his lips turned up at the corners. Even the way he blinked or the way his chest rose with each breath shot a jolt straight to your heart.

The warmth from your ring was spreading through your body. It was like on those really cold days when you have a cup of tea and the cup feels so hot you could swear it was burning but you also don't want to put it down. And then you take the first sip and you can feel it going down your throat and to your toes even though you know that's anatomically impossible.

Meliodas caught your eye and smiled wider and all that heat rushed to your cheeks.

Elizabeth finished telling Meliodas about the journey you had taken to the past. Meliodas didn't react much, just kept that same smile on his face. You frowned, focussing in on his left hand. He wasn't wearing his ring.

Clearly sensing your confusion, Meliodas turned to you. He held out his hand. On his palm was his ring, shining softly in the sun. So he was only holding it. Your eyes flickered from the ring to his face. In Meliodas's eyes was something like a warning, an apology and a dare.

Oh. You licked your lips before reaching for his ring. It must be bad this time. But you could handle it. Right? The magic power slowly making its way through your veins gave you confidence. You knew how to fight the darkness and pull Meliodas out again. And as your fingers closed around the metal band, your resolution hardened. It didn't matter either way. You owed it to Meliodas to at least try.

So, much in the same was as you had done all those years ago, you took the ring and slipped it onto Meliodas's finger.

—

Elizabeth watched [Y/n] slide Meliodas's ring back on his finger. She couldn't stop smiling. Meliodas was back. And that meant [Y/n] would come back and stay back (the difference was already clear. There was colour in [Y/n]'s cheeks and she was standing straighter). It would be all right again. The three of them were together again.

At least, that's what Elizabeth had been thinking until [Y/n] let go of Meliodas's hand and stepped away.

It was only for a moment. Just barely a second. But Elizabeth saw it. [Y/n] froze with a look on her face like she'd been hit on the head with a frying pan. Then she shivered and began to move again, slowly starting up like her joints were rusty but had just been oiled.

Elizabeth looked slowly between the two of them. They were acting normally enough. Teasing and flirting and cracking jokes at other people's expense. So Elizabeth shook herself and let her smile come back.

—

'Elizabeth can make an Ark now,' you said, folding your arms and grinning smugly at Meliodas. 'She helped me get away from Derieri.'

Meliodas's jaw dropped. 'No way. Elizabeth, that's amazing!'

As Elizabeth blushed and stammered, you tried not to let the darkness swamp you. It pounded against your skull in relentless waves. It gnawed at the hole in your chest with teeth of pain and sorrow. It fed your grief, the hopelessness that had threatened to drag you down for the past month. Every gap in your memory that you had tried to patch with Elizabeth slowly began to grow like it was a cloth being eaten by acid.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, you were fighting. Forcing it back. Reaching for Meliodas.

What colour knickers are you wearing? Meliodas's voice in your head was as clear and bright as lightning in the night.

You laughed. Wouldn't you like to know, pretty boy?

'Are you sure your body is really okay?' Elizabeth asked gently.

'Huh? Oh, if you mean my hearts, then look.' Meliodas lifted his shirt. 'I'm all back to normal now.'

Elizabeth sighed. 'Thank goodness.'

The seven scars in a vague circle made your fists clench. The darkness thrashed harder.

Zaratras cleared his throat.

'Yo,' said Meliodas, raising a hand in greeting. 'Sup, Zaratras? I'm surprised we're both alive again to meet in this world.'

'Funny,' said Zaratras, 'I was about to say the same thing to you. I see you're still exactly the same monster you've always been.'

You snorted. Meliodas laughed.

A weird squeaky noise came from your left and you turned to see Hawk with Lostvayne held by one ear.

'Hey, thanks a lot there, Hawk.'

You felt it. Dark magical power. Coming fast.

Derieri was there, speeding towards you. One fist was drawn back, ready to strike. And strike she did. With a loud grunt, Derieri's fist slammed into the side of Hawk's mum.

Everything was falling. Hawk's mum was groaning. The Boar Hat was crumbling. You caught Elizabeth's hand as she slipped and tossed her into Meliodas's waiting arms.

'Lady Mother Pig!' Zaratras said.

'Let's go,' Meliodas shouted, holding Elizabeth in one arm and grabbing you with the other. 'We can't stay here.'

You didn't resist or struggle as Meliodas jumped, pulling you with him. You could only stare blankly as Hawk's mum fell and your home collapsed.

Hawk's enraged screech roused you a little and you watched the pig get punted. And then you had to be alert because Meliodas had let you go and was slamming into Derieri at full force. You shook your head and took your place in front of Elizabeth, sword drawn and on guard. Keeping half an eye out for Monspeet, you watched Meliodas fight.

'Traitorous bastard,' Derieri snarled.

She launched a flurry of attacks. Meliodas blocked them all one-handed. Your power was still rising, reaching to match Meliodas's. The darkness raged. Still Meliodas and Derieri grappled, neither one letting up. Somewhere inside, you were fighting too, screaming at yourself to stop Meliodas. To help him. You had promised. You weren't going to let him go.

'Look, if it's at all possible, I'd rather not kill you,' said Meliodas, arms shaking as he blocked Derieri.

'Ash Dragon.' Monspeet's voice and a searing heat came from above.

It was at that moment your magic peaked. All the turmoil inside you stopped. With one last cry, the you who had been fighting was dragged beneath the surface. It was all silent. Calm. Cold.

'That's what the old me would have said anyway.' Meliodas's voice crept into your ears.

Behind you, Elizabeth gasped. She put a hand on your shoulder and you turned to her.

'[Y/n],' she said, 'you should stop him.'

You smiled coldly. 'Why?'

Elizabeth gasped again and you turned back in time to see the fire consume the sky, watching the two dark shapes of Derieri and Monspeet become dark smudges and then nothing at all.

—

It was kind of annoying, being dragged under. You thought you were strong enough to fight. To bring both yourself and Meliodas back. The you that was in control smirked coldly at you and you gritted your teeth.

This place annoyed you too. It was so cold and empty. Every surface was immaculate and shiny. Like you were trapped inside a mirror, forced to watch your body being controlled by someone else.

But, and this was one of the things that hurt the most, that wasn't someone else. Not really. The you up there was who you had been at one point. Unattached and haughty. That had to mean that you were still at least a little like that still. Right?

Dammit. You started to pound on the transparent barrier that held you back. The you above crouched, still smirking, and brought a finger to her lips.

From somewhere deep below, icy chains wrapped around your arms and yanked. You were pulled further from the surface, descending into frigid darkness.

As you sank, you thought about Meliodas. Where did he go before he came back? He never spoke about it. You hoped it was warm. Like him. You thought about Elizabeth. And the other Sins. About Hawk and Zaratras and Hawk.

You blinked. Were you moving slower? There was something warm on your chest. On your left hand. The warmth was spreading.

—

Zaratras disappeared from your side in a flash. Literally. Stray sparks still lingered in the air. Liones Castle had vanished along with Grayroad's magical power. You couldn't sense Zeldris or Estarossa at all. Merlin's power was still strong, though. And Fraudrin. His putrid presence oozed through the air.

You were running through the streets of Liones, Meliodas at your side, when you saw Fraudrin's monstrous purple form in the distance. You bit your tongue so hard you tasted blood. Elizabeth wasn't around – you had vague memories of telling her to wait at the tavern – so there was nothing to worry about this time.

Someone flung themselves at Fraudrin. You enhanced your vision and got to watch in detail as Hendrickson was impaled upon one of Fraudrin's spikes. Your chest throbbed in sympathy and a growl forced its way past your clenched teeth.

In front of you, Meliodas skidded to a stop. You almost ploughed into him, but he caught you with an arm round your waist.

'Wait,' he said. His eyes were still green, but there was a cold hardness to them. A smirk began to twist his lips. 'Let's make him suffer.'

You answered with your own twisted smile. 'Okay.'

When Baby Griamore arrived on the scene, the tightness in your chest spread to your head. There was a dull ringing in your ears. Meliodas's clone had sped off not long ago and should be there any second. Yourself and Meliodas were approaching at a more leisurely pace now.

There was a moment, just a moment, when strange sparkles filled the air. At that time, it was like your heart almost started beating again. Like there was warmth again. Someone you knew and loved saying goodbye again. The moment passed quickly. And instead of using the warmth to bring yourself back, you used it to fuel the flames of hatred for Fraudrin.

A dust cloud dissipated and you could see Fraudrin again. He was even bigger and uglier than before, looming over everything. You couldn't help moving faster.

Now it wasn't just Baby Griamore who had come. There was Merlin, Ban, Howzer and a girl you recognised at Elizabeth's sister Veronica.

Not like it mattered if they were there or not.

'I'll crush you all like insects.' Fraudrin raised one massive foot to do just that.

But before he could, something slammed into his face. You smirked. Meliodas's clone kept smacking into Fraudrin's body, forcing the purple demon back. They traded blows for a while, looking pretty evenly matched.

He'll say it soon, you muttered. He has to. Damn cocky bastard. Your fingers wrapped tighter around Cosain's hilt.

Meliodas said nothing.

'Not bad,' said Fraudrin. 'In my current state, you're still no match for me. Let's pick up where we left off sixteen years ago and end this.'

Howzer gaped. 'Amazing. Sir Meliodas is evenly matched with it.' He started to whip his head around. 'If [Y/n] were here, they'd beat it no problem. Where is she?'

You ignored your fondness for Howzer and kept walking. Meliodas's shoes clacked on the cobblestones. You could taste the dust on your tongue.

'Not bad,' said Meliodas, leading the way. 'You held your own against my clone.'

Fraudrin's eyes widened as Meliodas took the clone's place.

'Some might even say impressive,' you said lightly, standing beside Meliodas and looking up at Fraudrin. He was sweating now. 'Oh no, what's wrong?' Your voice dripped with cold sarcasm.

'Say something, Fraudrin.' Meliodas kept the easy smile on his face. Fraudrin was leaning away from both of you, his expression quite terrified. Good. 'Seeing that arrogant face of yours go from hopeful to despair, well there's nothing that could make me happier.'

The floodgates opened. Power flowed from you to Meliodas and from Meliodas to you. Dark flames raged up and down your left arm and there was an eerie light at the edge of your vision. Every inch of your skin tingled and you were clenching your fists so tightly that your nails bit into your palms. Even the you trapped in your own mind stopped fighting to break free for a moment. This moment had been playing in your mind for sixteen years. Your lips tugged up at the corners and even you yourself couldn't tell if you were sneering or smiling.

—

Dreyfus held Griamore tighter. Over the last sixteen years, Dreyfus had gotten to know Fraudrin so intimately it made him retch. But seeing this Fraudrin, at full size and glaring down at everyone made Dreyfus's head spin. Even more so when Griamore was so tiny.

But seeing Sir Meliodas again ... Dreyfus almost wanted to sing with joy. He didn't, of course, but the feeling was there.

'Not bad,' said a familiar voice. Someone was getting closer, their outline solidifying in the dust. 'You held your own against my clone.'

Another Meliodas walked onto the scene looking just as relaxed as ever. Dreyfus blinked. At this Meliodas's side was [Y/n]. So this one had to be the real one.

[Y/n] was smiling, but Dreyfus noticed she was holding her sword so tightly that her knuckles stood out. 'Some might even say impressive,' she said.

Fraudrin leant back. That look on his face ... In all those terrible, awful sixteen years, Dreyfus had never seen such a look on Fraudrin's face. It was panic. Eye's bulging, sweat dripping, body trembling, full-blown terror.

Seeing that face made a tiny part of Dreyfus glad. After all, Fraudrin had caused Dreyfus and the people he cared about so much pain. It was his turn to suffer. But this was a spiteful, rage-filled revenge and no matter how justified it was, Dreyfus refused to let Fraudrin control anymore of his life.

'Oh no, what's wrong?' [Y/n] asked. Dreyfus's heart began to beat faster. That wasn't [Y/n]'s voice. Well it was, but it was completely saturated, almost dripping, with syrupy sweet poison.

'Say something, Fraudrin,' said Sir Meliodas. 'Seeing that arrogant face of yours go from hopeful to despair—' a crest grew on his forehead, dark and twisting just like the smile on his face '—well there's nothing that could make me happier.'

There was an identical smile on [Y/n]'s face. Dreyfus racked his brain, storming through his own memories and Fraudrin's. But there was nothing. No other time such a look had been on [Y/n]'s face. Dreyfus's fingers felt numb. If Fraudrin was pure terror, then [Y/n] and Sir Meliodas were pure rage. For some reason (most likely because he was a Demon), such a look suited Sir Meliodas. But seeing it on [Y/n] made Dreyfus blank.

'Something about them has ... changed,' Hendrickson said from wherever he was.

'Wait,' Dreyfus said to himself. Griamore trembled in his arms and Dreyfus forced himself to look closer. 'It can't be ... Is that really Sir Meliodas? And—' he swallowed thickly '—and is that really [Y/n]?'

~~~~~

Uploading a chapter on Monday? Couldn't be me.

Hey everyone! How are you all? I'm good, just tired lol.

This chapter was pretty short. I hope I explained everything so you understood what I meant. It gets kinda metaphorical (?) in places. Um, but next chapter is going to be long. I haven't started it yet, but I can feel it lol.

Stream update: I've learnt how to start a discord server because people were suggesting it. Does everyone have a discord? And if you don't, would you be comfortable getting one? Because if not, then it's all right with me. Youtube is still an option.

Remember to take care of yourselves! See you next chapter (last chapter for the season!!) 💕💕