Two Months Later

The ache in Zen's chest was mostly gone. But it was impossible to think that a wound, which you had given yourself after ripping out something you had had for billions of years, would just go away like that. Sometimes it was difficult to breathe, and other times he could just feel his core aching. There was nothing to do about it as no pain meds would be able to take it away. Nothing would be powerful enough to cover up the painful residue of his father's magic. He could only give it time and assume that it would even go away one day. But he had more things to do then just lounging around, moping. He kept himself busy. Malum started intervening with his missions and, to Juno's immense displeasure, began putting him on better missions. With his new sword, he found himself on the front lines much more often, but those he cut down weren't exactly innocent. He reminded himself, again and again, to justify it to himself.

He didn't give himself time to sit and think. If he wasn't on a mission, he was training. If he wasn't training, he was eating, showering, or sleeping. One of the few things coming out of this was that he was getting a bit stronger physically. He was gaining more muscle then he was fat though, with how little he was eating. But he couldn't care, to be honest with you. He felt like a dead man walking. He didn't even take care of his hair as often as he did and found himself growing it out. He had always kept it short, long enough for its almost spikey nature, but no more. But now it was beginning to reach the middle of his neck and it was getting annoying. He often found himself brushing it back and was contemplating on cutting it, or just getting a few hair ties. Either of those would fix the problem he was having now. He huffed as he brushed his bangs out of his face for the umpteenth time this night, adjusting his crossbow as he found he had lost his shot again.

He was hanging back for this mission. The rest of the group had infiltrated the building and was taking care of what they needed, but if they happened to miss anyone who tried to slip away, he was told to take them down. A bolt was loaded and pulled back, ready to fire. His finger rested on the trigger as he watched every exit in the building, from the doors to the windows. It was a mind-numbing job and he wished something would happen so he could stop getting lost in his thoughts. He had sat in silence for a while now, crouched down beside the tree, body beginning to go numb from the position when he heard it behind him.

He leaped up and pulled the trigger by mistake, and the bolt whizzed out of his crossbow towards the building. As he jumped, he could feel the sword aimed towards his arm just barely scrape his skin. His warm blood trickled down his skin as he sprinted to the side, whirling around as he put his crossbow away with expert practice. He reached for his sword but then froze. Standing there was...

SS.

He was glaring at him, red eyes burning in the shadows of the forest. He clutched his sword which he rarely used. It was made of pure iron, the handle included. Gabriel assumed he could carry it when he made it, and while he wasn't wrong it took SS a few years to build up the strength to wield it as easily as he did now. The handle was red like flames, and the gem at the end was rumored to be from Satan's crown. The rumors were true. He would know, after all, he had been there. That sword was a gift from him for god's sake, for SS's six hundred something birthday. He gripped the handle of his sword tightly.

"Hello, traitor," SS snarled. Zen's heart leaped into his throat. "There's no Rufus to hold me back here." He pointed the sword at Zen. "Fight me." Zen stared at him, unmoving. SS snarled and his eyes burned like the embers of a bonfire. "Fight me!" He screamed, barreling towards him. Zen leaped to the side, rolling across the ground before he landed on his knee. He looked up to see the blade of SS's sword falling towards him, and finally, he yanked his own sword out and deflected SS's with his.

"Lucille," he began, and he wished his voice didn't sound so pleading, "Lucille, listen-"

"Keep my name out of your mouth!" SS snarled, swinging his sword around. Zen caught it with his own and tried to knock it out of his brother's hand, but he resisted and retaliated by kicking Zen's ankle out from underneath him. Zen fell, then rolled over to avoid the hit, only to get scrapped down his arm. He hissed and tried to ignore the blood coming from both of his arms now, ignoring the pain as he switched his sword to his other hand. He leaped up just in time to avoid the swipe SS aimed towards him, and the fallen leaves around them blew up from the wind it made. Zen knew there wasn't any chance of talking him out of this. "You betrayed us!" SS roared as they fought, their swords clashing as if they were enemies and Zen had to remind himself that they were. "You left us for Malum! MALUM!" His brother screamed as if the thought just occurred to him. Zen shoved his sword against SS's and was able to bend it back, pointing the tip towards his throat though the sight terrified the hell out of him.

"Lucille, please-!""And now, you've killed Medicus!"

Zen's heart dropped, and he gave no resistance as SS was able to shove him back. He stumbled and it was only by the grace of God that he was able to stay on his feet. Medicus, dead? He thought numbly, and he ducked underneath SS's arm to sprint towards the other side of the clearing. He needed to get the hell out of here. He needed to find out what the hell SS meant. But then hands, no, talons, grabbed into the back of his collar and yanked him back.

"No!" SS roared. "You're not running from me this time, traitor! Face your sin-!" His words were cut off with a roar as a bolt dug into his shoulders and he was forced to dropped Zen, who let go of the end of the bolt with a trembling hand. He sprinted towards the edge of the clearing, abandoning his bolt completely. He needed to get out of here. Malum would just have to understand when they would hear about him abandoning the mission and the team. He had bigger things on his mind. Medicus couldn't be dead. Medicus was eternal. He was untouchable. How could Death take him when he was basically the human embodiment of Death? Zen realized that he couldn't leave without getting answers. He gritted his teeth before he leaped up and turned. His feet slammed against the tree and the force he gave when he kicked himself off sent him right into SS. They went down like rocks in a river and Zen's knees dug into the earth by SS's shoulders.

"What do you mean, he's dead?" He snarled. "Tell me!" SS screeched up at him.

"We found his robes! They were torn up and stained with his blood and he wasn't anywhere to be found! We have no connection to Vacuos! But that damn feather on your crossbow, it was with him! You killed him! You fucking killed him!"
Zen couldn't breathe. SS knocked him off of him but he barely felt his back hit the dirt. Medicus was... Dead. But he didn't do it. He didn't. That feather was still on his crossbow, and he was being framed.

He raised his head to see SS's sword, gripped by his clawed hands, coming down towards him. His heart dropped but he couldn't move. Then suddenly, there was a bright flash and he wasn't where he had been before. Arms were wrapped around him. He grabbed onto their arm and then looked up. Standing above him was Eyal, an Ilex from the group he was paired with. A quick glance around, and he saw the rest of the group, the team leader in front of them. "Are you alright?!" Eyal hissed in his thick French accent. Zen let out a shaky breath. The Ilex must've grabbed him and teleported them away.

"H... How did...""One of your bolts came through the window and nearly took us out! We came because we knew something was wrong!"

That bolt he had fired when SS startled him. He wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved. He looked around the team leader and he saw SS was on his feet. He was glaring at them, horns coming out of his head with his talons and fangs gleaming. "Give him to me!" He screamed. The leader, a stone-faced woman who was beginning to get gray in her hair, narrowed her eyes and pulled out her glaive. Panic hit Zen like a bullet and he jumped to his feet from the pain, pulling himself away from Eyal.

"Don't!" He hissed. "You'll lose! We have to go home!"

"Ezekiel!" SS screamed, coming towards him as his wings made of fire torn out of his back and burned off his shirt. The leader cursed before she looked at Eyal. Eyal nodded before he reached over and grabbed the last member by the back of her collar, then reached over and wrapped his hand around Zen's trembling wrist.

The last thing he saw before they teleported away was SS burning the forest down in his fury, his mouth open in a screech that he never heard. And as they appeared in Malum's mansion, his feet gave out from under him and he collapsed. Eyal didn't let go of his wrist, his fingers gripping it so tightly Zen subconsciously knew it'd bruise. As he laid there, half on the floor, half held up by Eyal, gasping and shaking, it hit him.

Medicus was dead, and they believed he killed him. With Medicus dead...

No one knew that Zen wasn't really a traitor, and he was alone.