NP: Used to be by Arrows to Athens

I hope that fate will forgive us for tempting the sea.
I hope that they won't forget us-
But we cannot go back to the way it used to be.

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"Vlad, you've been pacing back and forth for half an hour," I said, rubbing my temples. "You're making my headache worse."

Forcing himself to stop, the boy sat in the couch beside Amyr and began tapping his foot on the floor. Alex kept fiddling with his hands and Amyr was making these annoying sounds with his mouth.

I shot Amyr a glare. "Can you please stop whatever you're doing?"

"Like... breathing?" He scratched the back of his head and it made a loud noise that made my eye twitch. "Aramis, I'm not doing anything. You sure you're okay?"

"I'm... fine." I jumped to my feet, feeling a bit lightheaded. "That's it. I'm going to look for Vincent."

"That's a bad idea," Vladimir said, removing his glasses. "You know how he is when he's upset. Give him time."

"But we don't have time." I struggled to calm my breathing.

"What d'you mean?"

I told them everything I knew about Adrianna. All the while, Alexis stared at his glass of bourbon as if in deep thought.

"She needs Vincent?" Vladimir repeated. "What for?"

"She didn't say," I answered. "She was... practically pleading for him to go dark side with her. Said it had to be his choice whether Pilgrim dies or not."

"So you're saying she will return for him?"

"I'm positive."

Alexis downed his bourbon and poured himself some more. "So if we want to lure Adrianna out, we need Vincent."

"What? Like a bait?" I could feel my brows crumple. "No!"

Vladimir sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's our only hope of finding Legion, Aramis. As much as I don't like the idea of putting my brother's life in danger, what other choice do we have?"

I ground my teeth. "Hasn't he suffered enough?"

"Think of it this way," Alexis said, getting out of his seat. He held my arms and leaned over to force me to look at him. "If something... terrible happens and Vincent finds out he could have done something to prevent it, just imagine how he would feel."

Despite the twinge of pain in my chest, I nodded. "I'll try to talk to him."

I wandered the castle halls, going back to every possible area where Vincent might be hiding. So far, I had looked practically everywhere, even the infirmary where the injured were brought after the skirmish. Max and the twins were still in the vegetable ward. As soon as I spotted Hector, I took off and winded up at the leftwing rooftop.

"Where are you, Vincent?" I muttered to myself, carefully stepping on the tinted glass floor.

Upon reaching the edge, the entirety of Halo spread before me: the lake, still as glass, the ruins of the golden bridge, the labyrinth and the cliff near the abyss where a gazebo used to stand. The never-ending night sky had a touch of scarlet rather than midnight blue.

Knowing Vincent, he would probably choose a dark secluded place to mope and vent his anger on things that wouldn't fight back. That was when I noticed a falling tree somewhere in the labyrinth.

I almost flew down the stairs and all the way through the hallways. Spotting a broken window, I dove out and landed on all fours two floors later.

Some men from Manu's troop were patrolling the courtyard led by the statuesque Asian woman who happened to be Kyoshiro's familiar. She wore this net-like mesh over a black tank top that looked too small for her chest.

"Where do you think you're going?" she said, putting down her pair of throwing daggers. "The abyss monster's still out there. It's not safe."

"Miu, right?" I stood up. "My master's in the labyrinth. I won't take long."

The woman placed her thumb and index fingers between her lips and whistled. Three Elementals came: a condor, a giant lizard and Louise the bat. She glanced over her shoulder and motioned one of her men to come closer. After whispering what looked like an instruction, she followed me.

"We're coming with you." It wasn't a request.

"It's that bad out there, huh?"

"Just taking precautions," she answered, measuring my reaction in secret while she tucked her short raven hair behind her ear. "We've lost a lot of men to Ethereals and the Undead trying to get to you. Let's not waste that by not getting you dead."

"I'll... try my best."

"Thank you," said she, stopping. "...for bringing me my son back. I know you did it for your master, but still."

I managed a slight smile. Just by being alive, I doomed a lot of people. It was good to know that I had somehow saved at least one of them. Still, it didn't ease the weight resting on me. Being brought back was wrong in all sense of the word and now, everyone was paying the price for me.

The five of us draughted into the woods. Miu and the Elementals were vigilant, almost on edge while I drowned myself in my thoughts. Vincent was right. I was suicidal. But for a good reason.

As we crossed the boundaries into the labyrinth, we swerved eastward and arrived at a sparsely wooded area. A few trees had been uprooted. Large boulders were strewn about in a wavy line and if you followed it, about half a mile north, you would find an Ethereal stream.

I slowed down and gestured for the others to stop.

"Wait here," I said, forging on.

My eyes quickly searched and recognized the tree with bulbous protruding roots sitting like a giant pumpkin. I heard rustling sounds from beneath the tangle of stems.

"Vincent?" I called out softly. "You there?"

There was no answer, but I could see a pair of feral orbs, gleaming like molten silver from the dark. Sighing, I sat on my heels. "I know you're in there."

"Go away." His voice was gravelly, hushed.

"It's dangerous out here, even for you. Let's go home, Vincent."

"Home? And where is that?" he retorted. "The castle? The mansion? Halja, maybe?"

I was at a loss. "Your home's with Vlad. With me."

He let out a quiet sullen chuckle. "Then my home's full of crap."

"I... didn't lie-"

"Yeah," he cut me off. "You just didn't tell the truth. About this. About your soul going bad. About Rosario."

Guilt gnawed at me from the inside, twisting to the point of pain. "I... wanted to tell you so many times..."

"But you didn't." His voice finally cracked. "It's Rosario, Aramis. The woman practically raised me. She... she held my hand when my own mother couldn't... And s-she's dead! Didn't it ever occur to you that that's something I ought to know?"

I had no right to cry. Yet, once the tears came, they wouldn't stop. "I just... didn't know how."

He shuffled inside the cubbyhole, sniffing. "You should've said something like... like I should've protected both of you. You should've blamed me! I'd rather take all of that than t-this."

"It's not your fault, Vincent," I murmured, forcing back a sob. "I was with her. If someone's to blame, it's me, okay? I... couldn't save her."

The long silence that came next was the most painful part because I knew he would just keep blaming and punishing himself. Because no matter how sorry I was, it wouldn't change anything. So then, I had no choice but to wait until he was better.

Miu finally came for me. "We should go."

"Vincent? Please..."

The giant lizard let out a hissing sound, the loose folded frills of leathery skin around its massive neck flapping outwards. The condor and the bat flew up and circled us.

Miu turned to the lizard-creature. "What is it, Higasa?"

It whipped its head in a half circle as if looking for something. The bat swooped down and flapped over Miu's shoulder.

Wasting no time, the woman summoned her throwing daggers and assumed a defensive stance. "We really have to get out of here. Now."

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