The endgame

He was speaking in tongues! The guy was a madman, wasn't he? Speaking with rats and knowing how to stay alive in a dead realm! This was crazy. He walked ahead and she kept up before cutting in front of him, spreading her arms out to the side and blocking him. "Why can't my father leave with us?" she asked, pleading at this point because she felt like she had doomed him. Or maybe she had doomed both of them. This stranger was so puzzling and confusing, and yet she still felt like he could give her some sort of answer. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Well for starters I'm not in balance - you said that yourself ... And ... And," she said, feeling herself well up. No. This wasn't who she was anymore. She wasn't some crybaby who had to be comforted everywhere she went. She was strong and independent, and well now she was crying. Wiping away her tears she shook her head. "I don't know much about this realm, I barely know anything about myself," she whispered in defeat as she looked down. She couldn't leave her father, but what about Amos and her mother waiting back home?
"I can't leave him; That wouldn't be fair ... But could you bring a message to someone back home? His name is Amos," she said, feeling a lump in her throat. She knew it would be a goodbye. She knew that she would never see him again. "Tell him that I'm sorry," she said.

Okay, maybe her family wasn't known to have the most normal names, but she thought that Amos might be the most sane name of them all. Drying her eyes she nodded at his promise. She wanted to say so much more, but she didn't want much to get lost and those two words would have to do.
The golden rat was placed in her hands, and it looked up at her with confusion before looking at the stranger. It made a small chattering sound as if to say: you're really leaving me behind too? Saoirse nodded at his request. "Of course," she said, although it seemed that the rat was fully capable of protecting itself. But she would look after it out of pure curtesy for the stranger.
However her curiosity got the better of her, following him outside where it looked almost as if the castle was inside of a bright dome surrounded by darkness. It seemed safe, and yet so scary at the same time. Would she perish here? There didn't look to be much food or anything around, but she hoped that she didn't have to resort to eating mice and rats.
Seeing the stranger off she returned to the throneroom, placing down the rat on the map before she started feeling a weird tingle in her hand. It felt like pins and needles, as if it was going numb. And she realised that was the hand she had used to lock the box with. Sitting down by the map she looked up at her father with a worried brow.

He felt a little more alive as the castle was restored, drawing in a deep breath as he stood outside. He noticed Saoirse in the corner of his eye, looking towards her with a small smile. "Take care Saoirse." he said instead of saying much else. Maybe it would have been a good idea to say something useful, but he wasnt sure that his knowledge was much up to date. "If you manage to get out of here, do bring a scroll or two with you. If we find each other, I could translate some of it." he said, because he imagined himself getting a bit homesick. She saw him off and he ventured towards the closing portal, leaving the safe bubble and into the darkness.

Baal wasnt seemingly doing too bad. But again, it was more of a mental strain that was going on rather than physical. He just sat there with his eyes closed, hearing Saoirse enter didnt seem to wake him at all. It was only after a while that he opened his eyes and drew in a deep breath. "It seems that the boy lived here in a state that was frozen in time. For how long, I dont know."

If she managed to survive, he meant, but she just nodded, seeing him off before returning to her father. At least she wouldn't be alone, and he wouldn't either. "Frozen? Well it would make sense as he said that he had witnessed the last crowning," she said pondering to herself how long he had been in this realm. And all alone? Well besides the rat that was. She looked at the golden fellow, it stretched and nested itself in her lap as she sat on the floor. "I just hope mom can forgive us ... Amos on the other hand might get really angry with me," she said before she frowned. Okay, something didn't feel right in her chest and her head was starting to pound. "I don't feel too good," she muttered before laying back on the ground, closing her eyes.

Buffy was helping Alyssa stand up straight, and as the portal started closing her eyes lingered on the darkness. At first she was hopeful that the shadow coming through would be Baal, but then it was neither him nor her daughter. She felt that sinking feeling in her chest. Had something gone wrong? A little shaky she wanted to go in, even though she knew she couldn't, but the stranger had already stopped Amos.
"Amos, come over here," Alyssa said in a calm matter. She could see that something was wrong, but the last thing she wanted was for him to be out in the open where Simeon could reach him. Simeon's order to his sister made the empusa hiss under her breath, seeing the one armed daemon step forward to seize the guy. "A young girl and a daemon entered through the portal - have you met them? Are they alright?" Buffy asked, walking over to the guy making Raziela hesitate to move. Why wasn't for certain.

Aurel wondered for a second if this had been all the people that Saoirse had meant when she had spoken to her father about losing their loved ones. There however was a tension in the air and it wasnt making him happy. One called out for her son, the name Amos making him look directly at the young daemon. He heard the light speak to him, but he was quite focused on his task at hand. "Amos." he said, Amos turning his head with a small frown. "Saoirse says she's sorry." he said, but it just made Amos grit his teeth as he turned. "What the hell do you mean by that?" he demanded, but Aurel just sighed at the aggression. "The ritual has been done." he then said, looking towards the light. He recognized her aura but it had been so long that he didnt know what he was supposed to believe. "I dont know how it'll be from here on out." he remarked. Simeon got tired of the chatter, mostly because he wasnt the one talking. "You got your answer." he told Buffy as he approached the young boy, grabbing him by the shoulder.

Saoirse was apologizing through this guy, so he must've met them. It made Buffy hopeful, but as the portal finally closed up she felt her eyes sting a little. You always come back, she thought, but she was scared to think that their last goodbye had been so simple. What made her feel more at ease was the fact that Saoirse was with him, and that they could look out for one another. But his mystical way of speaking it sounded almost as if he thought she knew what was going on. However deep inside it was as if something resonated with her. Like she knew but also didn't know what he spoke about. Simeon seemed to get impatient, but Saoirse stood up to him, looking at him with determined eyes. "What do you want with this kid? You got what you wanted already from the portal being closed," she said, although she doubted that she would get any real answer from him.
Raziela sighed, guiding the stranger with her, not in the mood for any objections.

Buffy looked a bit betrayed at the stranger shaking her head as she stepped away. She had other things to worry about, like how she was going to help her daughter and Baal. Was there really anything she could do? This stranger was clearly in conspiracy with Simeon, so she trusted nothing further from him. For all she knew he could've hurt the ones she loved who were now stuck so far from home. Her eyes wandered to look at Amos. He looked paler than usual, was he alright? "We should be heading back," Alyssa said calmly, eyeing the stranger wearily. Saying too much in this company might be detrimental for their further survival. "As always, a displeasure to see the Aelius family," she muttered under her breath, giving Raziela a hard stare before she started walking away with Amos. Buffy lingered, looking at the stranger whom Simeon had called Aurel. Not a name she had ever heard of before. "I won't give up so easily, Simeon, you know this by now," she warned the undead daemon.

He noticed the light's betrayed eyes but what could he do? He didnt know her. He didnt really know Simeon that well either, but he had met the daemon in the Abyssus before the portals had opened. And that meant that right now he was the closest to something familiar in this odd world. Amos didnt want to leave but he also knew that his mother wasnt going to let him linger around Simeon. It just felt like the boy knew something that he was withholding. "Well, for now you can count your losses and hope that they will return." the undead said quite nonchalantly. Aurel frowned at the notion but didnt say anything.

Buffy didn't like this one bit, and she didn't want to leave the poor guy alone with the undead daemon, but alas it was his choice. Giving him one last look, she followed Alyssa and Amos, feeling her heart heavy with sorrow. The portal had closed, and the world wouldn't end, but there was much to be done. People to heal, to rehouse and the whole of Southern District needed to be rebuilt. It would be a heavy task ahead, but she had faith that they could get the job done if everyone pitched in.
Her thoughts went to Baal and Saoirse. How they had sacrificed their freedom for the safety of Gambion. Of course it was not to say that Buffy had given up hope of reuniting with her family once more. No, hope could never be killed as long as she lived.

//End of topic//