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“RENA!” Versa screamed as she collapsed to the ground, her voice echoing with desperation.
Hawks dashed over, his heart pounding as he reached Rena. “No, she can’t be…” he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. The unspoken fear gripped everyone: that Rena was dead.
Blaine stepped forward, his voice a soft but firm anchor in the chaos. “She’s not dead. She just passed out. It’s likely due to extreme exhaustion. Releasing the bond with a guardian takes a lot of energy. Adding that to the fight and overwhelming emotions she just experienced, she needs a lot of time to rest.”
Versa looked up at Blaine, her eyes brimming with tears. “You… you promise?”
“Yes, Ve. I’m Death, remember? I know when she’s going to die, and I promise you it’s not here or anytime soon.”
Versa sprang up and tackled Blaine in a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered in his ear, causing him to blush slightly.
“Um… for what exactly?” he questioned, his voice tinged with confusion.
Versa blushed as she stepped back, memories of Blaine and their time together flooding her mind. During the battle, she had been overwhelmed, but now the truth was clear. The love of her human life stood before her. He had made a huge sacrifice to atone for his sins. They had spent decades together as guardians, and she had no idea. She never wanted to be a guardian; she was ready to accept her death. But now, so much had changed. She looked up at him, unable to hate him.
She smiled, gazing into his ruby-red eyes. “For everything… my love.” She reached up, placing her hands on either side of his face, and pulled him down towards her. She stared longingly into his eyes, causing him to blush.
“What do you mean every—” but he was cut off as she pressed her lips to his. His eyes widened in shock, and his scythe clanged to the ground. It took him ten seconds to realize what was happening. When he did, he smiled and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Versa and deepening the kiss.
Just then, a portal opened, and the Reaper twins stepped through, dragging Ryker behind them.
“Sir, you were supposed to—oh never mind, I see you’re busy,” Lilith said, turning away and blushing. Then she whipped her head back, speaking frantically, “WAIT! SIR! YOUR CLOAK! WHAT—About—hold on. Why is Sir Death in a mouth lock with Lady Versa?” She turned to Sy for an answer.
Sy looked up at Lilith, blushing. “Well, I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but apparently, Death and Versa were in love once, before she was a guardian.”
“His ultimate sin…” Damien muttered under his breath.
“He never told us,” Lilith said, looking back at the couple, then cringing and turning away. Without looking, she raised her voice slightly. “When you’re done, SIR, there’s a matter we should probably attend to immediately.”
Blaine and Versa broke their kiss and parted slightly, still gazing into each other’s eyes until an annoyed “Ahem” from Lilith brought them back to reality.
“Are you two done? Or should I book you a room? You do realize you’re surrounded by other people, right?” she lectured.
They both turned red and stepped away from each other. Blaine straightened up, clearing his throat and adopting a more serious expression. “Right. Sorry. What is it you—”
“Sir, you were supposed to call us the second everything was over. Even if the threat is contained, there is still the matter of Rena’s bond,” Lilith stated.
“Ah, yeah, about that… They are already unbonded,” Blaine said awkwardly.
Lilith looked at Versa, then turned to find Rena being lifted by Hawks.
“Right. So,” she turned back to Blaine and Versa, “your first instinct after unbonding is to make out? Isn’t there something else you should be doing, Versa?” Lilith questioned, annoyed.
“Lilith,” Blaine said with an authoritative tone.
“Don’t Lilith me, sir. You should have better self-control. Now, since it seems to not have even crossed your minds, there are still guardians missing. Since Versa is no longer bonded to a host, her power should be back in full force. Meaning, you can finally use your full power to locate the other guardians. You couldn’t before due to the lingering threat, but now seems like a pretty good time,” Lilith scolded them.
“OH MY! You’re right, Lilith! I’m sorry. I was distracted… by my memories. My human memories…” Versa trailed off, blushing again.
“Ehem. We don’t have all day. There is also the matter of sending everyone to their respective worlds. They have their own battles to get back to,” Lilith snapped.
“Right. Here we go.” Versa shot up with determination.
She closed her eyes and started to glow. She lifted her arms out to her sides and opened her palms. Her eyes shifted underneath her lids, as if she was looking. “Where are you, Veda?” she whispered to herself. Golden particles started forming all around her. With the evening sun shining behind her, she looked like an angel.
Suddenly, her eyes popped open. “THERE!” she waved her hand, opening a portal. Through the portal, a woman stepped through. She was tall and slender, with light lavender hair and purple eyes.
“Thank you, Versa,” she said softly, with a tender smile.
Versa looked up and was about to release her power when Veda spoke again. “Wait, Versa. The others are still alive. Please, can you bring them too?”
Versa looked confused for a moment before she shut her eyes again, searching. She gasped and opened her eyes once more, opening two more portals. A tall, well-built man with short black hair fell forward to the ground, and through the other portal, a small woman with long honey-colored hair fell forward. As they fell to the ground, Versa released her power.
“AZA! AIOBHE!” she cried out.
“They will be okay. He took a lot of their essence, but they will pull through,” Veda stated.
Versa turned towards Veda and ran up to her, embracing her in a hug. “I’m so sorry it took so long!”
Veda was stunned for a moment before her features softened, and she placed a hand on Versa’s head, rubbing it to soothe her, like a mother would a child. “It’s alright, Versa. I had faith in you.”
She then looked towards Blaine and frowned. “Death, where is your cloak?”
He rubbed the back of his head while averting his eyes. “Wellllll, Odysseus sort of cut it off. I didn’t have time—”
“She knows, she remembered everything,” Aether interrupted.
Veda’s eyes went wide in shock, and she looked down at Versa, who shyly looked up. “Versa, are you—”
“I’m okay,” she responded with a smile, releasing Veda from her grasp.
“We can’t allow—” Veda started to speak.
“Lady Veda, I do apologize for the interruption. However, I think there are a bit more important things to address right now, like the state of Versa’s host, along with the host Odysseus took control over.”
Under his breath, Blaine mumbled, “Oh, you can apologize for interrupting her but not me?”
“You are correct. Is there somewhere we can go?” Veda asked.
“We can take them back to my lab. I have an infirmary there,” Sy spoke up.
“Very well, let’s go there. I will check on their condition there. Once everyone is back in full health, we will need to have a summons about their future and their memories,” Veda said authoritatively.
Hawks, still holding Rena, spoke up. “Their memories?”
“Yes, their memories of the guardians and everything regarding this series of events will be erased.” Veda stated simply.
“So she won’t remember us?” Lucy chimed in, sadly.
“No, she can’t be allow—” Veda was interrupted by Blaine.
“HOW ABOUT we save that conversation for when they are both awake, huh? Let’s go, shall we? Versa, would you care to do the honors?” he said with a soft smile.
“Of course.” She then opened her arms and waved them through the air, passing everyone. As she did, they were all teleported back to Sybil’s laboratory.
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