The floor was cold but Meliodas was warm. You pulled him closer to your chest and leant against the edge of the Perfect Cube. Diane, King and Gowther had left a while ago, but Elizabeth and Merlin stayed. Elizabeth sat on the floor next to you, also leaning on the Cube.

'Do you remember everything now?' said Elizabeth, not looking at you and drawing her knees to her chest.

You fiddled with Meliodas's fingers. 'No. Not everything.'

Merlin folded her arms. 'By my calculations, it will take a while. Especially as we can't know what memories you are missing. If Meliodas was here ...' She trailed off with a sigh. You opened your mouth, but Merlin spoke first. 'And don't say you're sorry again.'

You tried to smile. 'Okay.'

'One time,' said Elizabeth softly, 'we went to a village on market day. I must have very young, I think. Dad carried me on his shoulders.' Her eyes were unfocussed as she spoke, a small smile playing on her lips. 'I don't remember much else, but there were these strawberry pastries.'

As Elizabeth spoke, your whole body relaxed like you were stepping into a warm bath. Breathing got easier. And the memory became clearer. 'You got cream all over your face,' you said with a laugh, 'and even in your dad's hair. I didn't tell him until we got home.'

Elizabeth giggled. Even Merlin smiled.

'Do you remember when we raced across that field up to the river?' Elizabeth asked, looking at Merlin with a wide grin.

'I remember you cheating.' Merlin huffed but still smiled.

'I didn't cheat.'

'Then how did you win?'

'Um, because I'm faster?'

Your vision blurred with unshed tears and you hugged Meliodas tighter.

'And then we went back to your house,' Merlin continued the story. 'Meliodas cooked.'

'Oh, that's right,' said Elizabeth. 'We didn't know you were coming over and it was his turn.'

You wiped your face with the back of your hand. 'Was that the time he tried to make a cheesecake?'

'Yes,' Elizabeth and Merlin said at the same time. They laughed and your heart warmed.

'You got angry because he used the strawberries you were saving,' Elizabeth said. 'So the next day he got me and Merlin up early and we went and picked more.'

'Oh, that's right.' Your eyes softened as you watched Meliodas. 'Then we made jam.'

Your memories were like a puzzle. So many pieces were missing but as Elizabeth and Merlin spoke, more fell into place. And now you knew none of the pieces were lost forever. But even as you rejoiced, guilt nibbled at your stomach. When Meliodas woke up, his emotions wouldn't be easy to retrieve. Even if you reached out through your ring now, his feelings kept going in and out of focus. You could still feel him, his hearts beating and his power spiking in time with yours, but if you tried to hold onto an emotion, it burst in your fingers like a bubble.

—

Zeldris watched the stones erode under Chandler's tears and fought not to roll his eyes. Honestly. It hadn't even been two whole minutes since they were released and Chandler and Cusack were already bickering again.

'Now get a hold of yourself,' said Cusack. 'It can't be helped. Meliodas betrayed the Demon race and he's a fugitive. Surely you understand that.'

'The prince did not betray us,' Chandler shouted, swelling indignantly. 'That boy was abducted by that scheming girl from the Goddess race. She kept him and his daughter under a wicked spell. Also, don't drop the Sir! You will refer to him as Sir Meliodas.'

This could go on forever. Zeldris cleared his throat loudly and, as they turned to him, said, 'My father gave me direct orders to retrieve Meliodas and Elizabeth. He has plans in store for them.'

Chandler perked up. His cane fell with a clatter. 'Wait. You ... you must be kidding me.'

'You dropped your cane.'

'Oh.'

'Those were the Demon King's orders?' Cusack sounded politely shocked. Zeldris clenched his fists. Why wasn't he angrier? 'I know that he's his son and she's his granddaughter, but that still seems a bit too lenient of him. How odd. The Demon King shows mercy. Rather hard to believe.'

Yes. It was rather hard to believe. Zeldris stared at the floor. His father was anything but forgiving, not towards Zeldris, Estarossa or even Meliodas. And to extend that mercy to Elizabeth ... Something wasn't right. 'Don't look at me,' he said aloud. 'I'm just as confused as you are. Who knows what he's thinking.'

'Retrieve the young master.' Chandler's voice was dreamy. Zeldris looked at the other Demon out the corner of his eye. Clearly Chandler didn't care about the Demon King's motivation. 'Retrieve the princess ... and the master. This whole thing must be some kind of dream, isn't it? If so, it's one I never want to come to an end.'

Ugh. Zeldris looked away again.

'Anyway,' said Cusack, 'where is Meliodas now, sire?'

'He should be heading this way along with our other targets.' Zeldris's mind raced through possibilities of his father's plans but none seemed to fit. 'The Seven Deadly Sins.'

'Well, how convenient for all of us.' Cusack smiled. 'Now then, maybe we'll have tea while we wait for them to—'

The rest of his sentence was cut off by an explosion and a shout of 'Young Master Meliodas!'

Zeldris sighed.

Cusack seemed inclined to do the same. 'For crying out loud,' he muttered scathingly. 'When it comes to Meliodas, he always turns into such a blubbering mess.'

'Let him be. Chandler's gonna love each minute of this job.'

'Speaking of the word love, I, Cusack, worship the ground you walk on Prince Zeldris. My adoration is strong.'

'Let's not go there.'

—

Someone powerful was coming. You frowned, shifting forward so you were on your knees and ready to stand. But you didn't let go of Meliodas. The sunlight falling through the windows disappeared like a candle being snuffed. Soft blue sky turned to black. Merlin hurried to a window, waving a hand to turn the candles on.

'Stay close, Elizabeth,' you said, no longer grateful for the Cube.

Elizabeth got to her feet. 'What's going on?'

Merlin pressed her hands to the pane. 'We've been engulfed in darkness. Someone's magic is at work. Everyone prepare—'

But whatever she said next, you didn't hear. Someone had appeared between one blink and the next. He looked like a kind old man, complete with crazy hair and cane. But there was something ravenous in his eyes. The Demon pressed up against the walls of the Perfect Cube, gaze fixed unwaveringly on Meliodas. Elizabeth whimpered. You gritted your teeth.

'Oh, look at you,' said the old Demon, his voice reedy. Tears streamed down his wizened cheeks. 'Just look at my sweet, sweet, wonderful Young Master Meliodas. Locked up in a cold place like this. Oh, you poor thing. Just come along, Master. We can leave here this very minute.'

It wasn't actually that cold in the Perfect Cube anymore, not as Meliodas's temperature continued to rise. In fact, if it weren't for your own natural coldness, you were sure you'd be sweating buckets by now. But you couldn't say that.

'Who ... who are you?' Elizabeth demanded with an impressive show of boldness.

The old Demon turned to her instead. You tensed but he didn't attack. 'You must be the princess,' he said, still crying. 'Such nobility. You have your father's nose and spirit. It is such an honour to meet the young master's daughter. Let's go and get rid of that disgusting Goddess power that's inside you.'

The old Demon took a step forward and Elizabeth took one back. You had to get his attention off her somehow.

'You're the Pacifier Demon, aren't you?' You tried to keep your voice light, but it came out harder than you intended. The older Goddess's had spoken about him with varying degrees of fear and disgust. Despite his appearance, the air around him screamed danger.

'Yah, so you're still around.' The old Demon's voice changed wheedling submission to stony hatred. He looked at you and his tears stopped. 'That shameless Goddess who dared to abduct my young master.' His face warped, teeth growing into fangs, eyes swirling with madness. 'I'll kill you.'

Your breath hitched but you glared back at him, holding Meliodas so tight your fingers started to ache.

'[Y/n], you sinful Goddess.' The Pacifier Demon slobbered and drooled as he spoke, pressing his face up against the Perfect Cube again. 'The manipulative vixen who made off with my beloved Young Master Meliodas. Mark my words, I will never forgive you. Do you understand me? What you've done is inexcusable.'

He struck the Perfect Cube with his cane. A hollow bang echoed through the tavern and a wave of thorny power washed over you. And the Perfect Cube was gone.

Hawk screamed. 'He smashed Merlin's barrier like it was a bubble or something!'

Keeping your eyes fixed on the Demon, you let go of Meliodas with one hand to reach out blindly. Elizabeth caught it and you pulled her close.

'It's rare that someone can use Absolute Cancel,' said Merlin, Aldan shining with power. 'I see you're not to be taken lightly. You two, get down!'

Your grip tightened on Elizabeth and Meliodas as Merlin drew her arm back. But the Pacifier Demon just hmphed and Merlin's power was flung back at her.

'He used Meliodas's move against me.' Merlin's eyes were wide, her own attack pulsing around her body. 'But how?'

'It's not that confusing,' said the Demon, 'considering I was the one who taught it to the young master.'

Merlin's empty clothes fell with a flumf. Aldan fell with a ding. A shiver ran through your whole body, your stomach turning.

Elizabeth tugged against your hold. 'Merlin!'

'Where is she?' Hawk stood next to the pile of clothes. 'It looks like she's been erased.'

'So that was Magic Seal, eh?' said the Demon, his voice betraying that he was at least a tiny bit impressed. 'Sorry, but it looks like you're the one who just got sealed.' He was talking to the clothes which had to mean ... Merlin was still alive. As if to prove your point, the clothes wiggled. 'Interesting. Seems your form of the spell also has some sort of additional qualities.'

A young girl emerged from Merlin's clothes. Your grip on Elizabeth and Meliodas went slack. Your mouth fell open. At your side, Elizabeth was frozen.

'So that's your true form, I take it?' The Demon was still talking, his tone barely changing.

The little girl looked at her hands and frowned. 'I can't believe I just did that.'

'But ...' Your throat was dry. You swallowed. It didn't help. 'But you're ...'

'What just happened?' said Elizabeth, voice trembling.

The Pacifier Demon laughed. 'Aw, look at you. you're actually quite cute.'

'But, Mum, that's ... that's Merlin, isn't it?' Elizabeth tapped your shoulder repeatedly. You nodded stiffly and Elizabeth gasped. 'I'm taller.'

'This is hardly the time,' you said, your voice sounding oddly strangled.

'Now hold on a minute here.' The Demon leant towards Merlin and your whole body tensed. 'I'm certain I've seen that face before somewhere. I know! You're the Daughter of Belialuin, aren't you?'

A crash. You looked around wildly, clinging to Meliodas and Elizabeth, but all you could see was broken wood. Giant fingers wrapped around your body and you almost screamed. But then you heard Diane's voice and relaxed. The fingers tightened and you were pulled from the tavern, stomach flipping like you were flying. Cool night air covered your body like satin sheets.

'You aren't hurt are you?' Diane asked, bringing you closer to her face. 'Sorry I was late. You're safe now.'

'We're fine,' you said with a smile. 'Thank you.'

'Never mind us,' said Elizabeth, finally pulling free from your grasp. 'It's Merlin who needs help.'

Diane blinked. 'Huh? Wait, what do you mean?'

You coughed. 'Well, you see, she—'

'[Y/n]!' King appeared before you could explain. 'What happened? Who's here?'

This time, before you could speak, you were interrupted by something much worse than King. The night air wasn't soothing anymore. It stinged and crackled with sinister power. The Pacifier Demon had followed you. He floated ominously in front of the moon like a giant jellyfish.

'A Giant with a Power Level of eight thousand,' said the Demon, voice bubbling malevolently like an evil soup. 'A Fairy with a Power Level of forty thousand. Impressive. A human with a Power Level of thirty-five thousand, four hundred.' Who was he talking about? You looked down and spotted Gowther standing on Hawk's mum's back. 'Hm ... Hold on a minute. Are you Gowther? No. But I do believe you're Gowther's doll. First you abandon the Ten Commandments and now you're with these people?'

Diane held you closer to her chest. 'So I assume this old man is the intruder?'

'Do you know who this guy is, Gowther?' said King.

'A top-ranked Demon,' said Gowther, voice hard. 'Chandler. Meliodas's de facto master who taught him how to fight.'

'Oh.' You breathed out slowly, more memories falling into place. 'Meliodas told me about him, I think. Ages ago.'

The Pacifier Demon's voice became wheedling again. 'The Young Master spoke about me.' He clutched his cane to his chest.

Diane and King were still spluttering. 'The captain's master?'

'The captain, you say?' said Chandler, apparently over his bout of adoration. 'I'm sure I'm mistaken about this, but you're not talking about Young Master Meliodas, are you?'

No one answered.

'That means it's you people. You're the ones. You're the Seven Deadly Sins! I heard the Demon King speak of you. Oh yes. It all makes sense now.' Throughout his verbal thought journey, the Demon's face didn't change much. 'The Demon King mentioned that he wants to get rid of you. You must have done something rather drastic to have him focus on you with such harmful intent. But honestly, that doesn't interest me. In other words, you people have found yourself in a bit of luck.' He smiled almost kindly. 'So long as you hand over Young Master Meliodas, the young princess and that miscreant [Y/n], I just might consider letting you leave unharmed. So, what do you say?'

'No!' Diane didn't even pause. 'Not a chance. The captain, [Y/n] and Elizabeth are our friends which means they're irreplaceable to us. We'd never hand them over to you.'

Even as you were filled with fondness for Diane, worry started to flood your body. The Pacifier Demon opened one eye and glared down at Diane. He moved one hand in a way that almost looked like a well-practiced dance that ended with a finger snap.

'Microscopic.'

Diane's grip on you got looser before disappearing entirely. In fact, all of Diane disappeared entirely. You looked around, keeping hold of Meliodas, and spotted a tiny Diane standing behind you. She screamed.

King fell back in shock. 'Diane, what happened to you?'

Elizabeth left your side and hurried over to Diane. She knelt and scooped the tiny Giant up in her hands. 'Are you hurt?'

'Tell me, do you all like nighttime?' The Pacifier Demon spread his arms wide, his voice turning somewhat smug. 'It's my favourite. It serves as an amplifier for Demon magic and that makes it even more powerful.'

Meliodas's breath stuttered. You looked at him and frowned. His face was all twisted up. As you watched, it happened again. His body scrunched up.

'Meliodas?' You looked closer. Was he waking up?

'I summon the stardust around me,' said Chandler, looking to the sky. 'You are to rain down upon these fools. Then you are to shatter, bloom in profusion as great flowers across the Dark Land below! Fall and go boom!'

The night sky lit up with streaks of fire. Dozens of meteors fell, tearing up the earth. You watched the terrible beauty with wide eyes. Hawk's mum began to run away from the deadly storm. It was getting closer.

'These are celebratory fireworks,' Chandler shouted over the explosions. 'They mark the young master and princess's retrieval!'

It was not a comfortable journey. The world jerked and shuddered and meteors kept falling. Elizabeth fell, Diane tumbling from her hands. You gritted your teeth and let go of Meliodas with one hand, raising it to the sky instead.

'Joshua's Faith.'

A glowing dome began to grow over the Boar Hat. If you used two hands, it would grow faster and stronger, but you refused to let go of Meliodas. This should be enough, though. If only one didn't fall too close before the spell was—

Boom.

The world shattered. Your spell was torn apart. You clung desperately to Meliodas, trying to find Elizabeth through the debris. The ground rose up and you shut your eyes, bracing for impact. A wild, dark laugh rattled through the sky.

When everything stopped moving, you opened your eyes. Hawk's mum was slumped on the ground just in front of you. All of your exposed skin stung. Your head was pounding. Meliodas was safe in your arms.

'Mum!' Elizabeth ran over to you, tears on her cheeks. 'Mum, I let go of Diane. I don't know where she is!'

You sat up with a groan, relief that Elizabeth was uninjured squashing your own discomfort. 'We'll find her.'

'But how? I can't sense her anywhere!'

'It's going to be all right,' you said to her and yourself. 'Diane's tough.'

A new power was growing. Half of it was cool and sharp. The other half was warm with life and love. This wasn't the Pacifier Demon. You looked up, frowning, and gasped. You blinked. You blinked again.

High over the Boar Hat, King and Gowther faced down Chandler. They had combined their Sacred Treasures to make an enormous bow and arrow that pointed unwaveringly at Chandler's face.

'Combination Move: Celestial Arrow!'

~~~~~

just wanna say thank you so much to everyone who left a comment on the last chapter 🥺 my heart is SO FULL and i am SO GLAD i get to exist at the same time as you LOVELY PEOPLE

i hope you all remember how wonderful and deserving you are

stay safe 💕💕💕