Chapter Text
But I should have died - I didn't defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!
The words echoed.
...the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.
Those words, they were familiar.
Can you forgive me for not trusting you? For not telling you?
What was there to forgive? Why couldn't she remember?
'I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to... let's say... board a train.'
'And where would it take me?'
'On'
She woke up startled, sweating and trembling. The blankets on her body felt stuffy so she got out of bed and ran to the little balcony from the little apartment to let the cold air dry the sweat but most importantly to make her forget about her dream. It was a recurrent dream. Since she was a child she had been dreaming it and the older she got the more often it came and the more vivid. This time she could see that she was in a very white Hall talking to an old man. The features were blurred so she couldn't see well who it was.
Arms circled around her shoulders and she unconsciously leaned on the chest behind her.
"Why aren't you in bed? It was that dream again?" A rough voice asked with concern.
"I'm fine, Ambrus."
"That's what you say but then you spend a whole day like a spooked cat."
She mirthlessly laughed because he was right. Turning around, she coiled her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. She was just grateful that she had him; for years since they were children, they had been together. Ever since that fateful day when they almost died and were bestowed with weird powers in the form of Flames. His were purple while hers were orange. Neither knew back then what they were for but those Flames helped them get even closer.
"Stay with me."
"I have to go out with the others tomorrow, sorry." He apologized tenderly kissing her head and tightening his hold on her.
"You shouldn't have taken that job. I've told you hundreds of times that it gives me a bad feeling." She weakly protested though she knew it was for naught.
"I know, as soon as it's done I promise I will look for another one."
She hummed. She was just scared. Her intuition told her that as soon as she remembered everything about that dream, something will happen and she needed to have him near. But his new job sometimes made him disappear for days on end. What if the day that 'something' happened he was not here? But there was nothing she could use to let him stay. From the moment those purple Flames appeared, he had always being like a nomad, and she became a nomad with him. Moving from one place to another.
She knew, as the clouds, he wouldn't stay.
...
At a café, six people were sitting earning a few glances from the other customers. Some wore really weird clothes. There was this one with a huge mushroom-like hat, the other was wearing a lab coat, another was covered from head to toe and only the lower part of the face could be seen. The bell rang indicating a new customer coming in but what appeared was a young man with purple hair, purple weird make-up, a chain piercing from ear to lip, leather clothing and even a helmet under his arm.
All in all, he looked like some weirdo riff-raff to the normal and decent customers there.
"Oi, lackey. You're late." The man with the pressed suit said to the young man that just entered.
"Sorry! I woke up late." Skull promptly apologized to his senior. His new job was very dangerous and involved six more people with the same Flames him and his Sky back home had. Thanks to this new job, Skull discovered that there were lots of people out there with these Flames but with different attributes. The pay was good that's why he readily took it when that weirdo with the horrible suit approached him but as soon as it was done he would really leave it. He didn’t want to upset his Sky. "More like, stop calling me lackey!"
"I'm not calling you by your clown name." The man replied with a disdainful tone.
"It's not a clown name, I was a stuntman!" Skull protested. He was a very famous stuntman!
"Whatever, here, go buy me a coffee." Giving some coins, the man commanded.
"Yes, senior!" And on went Skull to do as the man commanded making the others laugh.
"That Skull, and then he wonders why people call him lackey." The fully coated person said then paused and glanced at the woman on their right who looked very nervous and fidgety. "Is something wrong, Luce?"
"Eh? No, no... just didn't sleep too well." Luce replied with a laugh and the others left it at that. The mission that day was very important so they had to focus.
An hour later they went to the place indicated by that Checker Face man. For some time, some felt that this was not an easy mission and that made them feel a bit uneasy yet they still pressed on. They were the strongest, with the strongest Flame out there so they had their pride to live up for. The ones who were the most uneasy were the man in the suit and Skull.
The former was an experienced Hitman, the self-proclaimed Best Hitman in the World so his instincts were very honed and he could perceive danger before it came and his instincts were telling him that whatever was up ahead was different than everything he had encountered before. The latter was uneasy because since he came out from his apartment, his Sky had been jittery, pale and her eyes were begging him to stay even if she didn't voice it out.
Skull had the heart to give up on that day's mission because of her but still decided to leave her behind thinking it was just that dream again. The past week had been a hard one for the both because whenever she slept the dream would always appear and that just made her give up on sleeping. He, as her Guardian, accompanied her in their sleepless nights recounting childhood stories, reminiscing about their past together; though more often than not, they ended up on the bed sharing their passion, doing it wildly and for hours.
None of the others knew he had a Sky and he inwardly sneered at the person Checker Face had denominated as their Sky. Skull was not an experienced Hitman like his senior, not a fighter like Fon or a soldier like Lal Mirch, he neither was intelligent and cunning like Verde and Viper but his experience in the streets, dealing with all sorts of people told him that Luce was not someone who could be trusted. No matter how gentle she smiled at everyone and tried to be nice. She was not a good person.
Their uneasiness wasn’t unfounded when they reached the peak of the mountain and Checker Face was there with a set of Pacifiers which were forced on them, and by consequence turning them into babies. Victims of the Arcobaleno Curse. Skull saw how the eight of them -a meddling Colonnello included since he had followed them- shrank while twisting in pain. How after it all, Luce with that same infuriating smile said it was their fate and that it couldn't be changed.
Skull distantly heard the reproachful remarks towards Luce from Lal Mirch, scolding her for the baby Luce had been carrying and at the same yelling at Colonnello for being a fool, forgetting all about herself, she who lost her own Rain Flames. His senior and Fon were silently seeing all the hubbub with empty eyes. They still couldn’t process how their strong bodies had turned into the soft ones of babies. Viper and Verde were inspecting their new bodies ignoring everybody else around and him... just like his senior and Fon, he felt empty. His mind was empty, his body felt empty and his bond...
Skull's eyes widened horrified. His bond...
Silence descended at the scene after Skull ran and immediately punched Luce sending her to the ground. His eyes were red, his teeth were painfully clenched and his fist were trembling wanting very much to keep punching her. But he was not beast enough to beat up a pregnant woman; that sole punch was enough.
"What are you doing, Skull?!" Lal Mirch said very much taken aback like the others.
"My bond..." Skull said in a whisper that everybody could hear. "My Sky, my bond, you took it away."
Luce sadly looked at Skull, "So that's why I couldn't Harmonize with you, you already had a Sky."
"Who would want a Sky like you!"He seethed, an aura of death and horror and fear enveloped them all, concentrating in the person in front of him."I knew it! From the moment I saw you I knew you were no good! You are nothing but a selfish person who doesn't deserve to be a Sky much less have Guardians! I pity those you call Family and more so your daughter for having a mother like you!"
Luce was trembling and whimpering on the ground receiving the full brunt of Skull's aura. "Stop it! Stop it!" She begged.
The others hadn't know why Skull had been chosen as the strongest Cloud; he couldn't fight, he wasn't the most intelligent of the bunch and his Flames were nothing special. All in all, he was seen as the weakest link among them. Though now they knew why. Clouds were very famous for the Propagation ability which more often than not was seen by enhancing their bodies or multiplying the attacks yet they didn't know Cloud Flames could be used to Propagate feelings. With an enemy trembling in fear with no way to retaliate, was there a need to actually know to fight or be clever?
This ability of Skull was too dangerous. Skull was dangerous, they finally recognized it.
"Farewell, Luce. Don't let me see your face again or that would the last thing you do."
With that, Skull turned around and ran towards his Sky sick worried about her. If he had felt the emptiness of the Bond, felt horrible about it knowing very well what happened, then he was sure his Lilien had felt it even more being a Sky. She who was alone and confused and scared. He had to hurry. After one was gone, the others didn't wait to leave too.
"Renato..." The feeble voice of Luce called out for the man-now-baby in a suit.
"Don't, Luce. This... No one will be able to forgive this." And so he was the last to leave Luce, their former Sky, alone.
With quick steps, the man called Renato, came out of the mountain they were in before being intercepted by a flash of red that was Fon. "You are curious too." Fon said with his characteristic calm smile.
"Less chatter and more movement. That lackey may be a disgrace as a fighter but he's very good at running." Renato said after pausing to then continue with his plan to follow Skull. The nerve that kid had to hide something like having a Sky from him! As soon as he catches up, he will show him!
...
You are the worthy possessor of the Hallows.
'I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to... let's say... board a train.'
'And where would it take me?'
'On'
"It's time." A different more ancient voice told her.
'Professor, is this real or is it just happening in my head?'
'Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?'
"It's time." The voice repeated. Her eyes slowly opened reflecting pain and understanding. She sat up on the couch she had fallen asleep in coming face to face with the being that was sitting in the armchair in front of her.
She remembered it all. Those dreams showed her the last moments of her past life, a life where she was a boy named Harry Potter who was carrying the whole world on his shoulders and sacrificed himself for the Greater Good, to defeat a Dark Lord named Voldemort. In those last moments he made a choice, Harry moved on and that's how she came to be, she was born in this life as Lilien, an orphan girl who lived in the streets amidst the Hungarian Revolution and lived a life of hardships not unlike Harry.
But much like Harry, she also got something important in the form of Ambrus, her partner, her Cloud, her everything. However, as the being in front of her said, it was time. She actually wasn't supposed to move on, Harry wasn’t supposed to move; so, she had to go back and face her destiny, her fate. It was time for her to fulfill what she ran away from. Taking a deep breath, she could smell the lingering scent of Ambrus and her heart throbbed. She didn't want to.
"He has a different fate to fulfill." The being said knowing her thoughts.
"I just wanted to see him one last time." She rasped. She wanted to thank him for all the moments he gave her, for spending this short life with her, for being hers. But maybe him not being there was better.
Black clouds gathered in the sky bringing a storm. She stood at the edge of the roof of the apartment building they lived in, watching with empty eyes at those clouds, feeling the rain soaking her clothes, lighting flashing above. Just a moment ago, she felt her bond breaking meaning that something had happened to Ambrus. The pain that coursed in her body made her spasm and really wish she was dead. She cried and howled calling for him until she couldn't feel the pain anymore.
"It's time." The being said one last time. Closing her eyes, she leaned forward and fell.
"Lilien!" At least she was able to hear her Ambrus' voice before darkness came.
...
"No! Lilien! Don't do this to me! Wake up!" Skull cried holding the inert and bloodied body on his partner, his Sky. "Wake up! I'm here! I won't leave anymore, I promise to stay! Just wake up, please!"
Mist had gathered around the heartbreaking scene. Scene both Renato and Fon were witnessing from the side. The scene of a Cloud seeing his Sky impacting on the cold concrete after jumping from the tenth floor of an apartment building. The Sky, the woman, Lilien not only spread her blood around the pavement but her Flames were spreading too. They were powerful, very warm, very much like home, like a true Sky. They didn't dare touch them because they knew they would end up like the crying mess that was Skull holding the cooling corpse.
Skull's pained cries resounded in their souls, sharing what was lost. And for a moment they wished, wished that their Sky had been her and not Luce. They envied Skull for having such a Sky but more than that they pitied him for losing her.
It seemed this secret of his finally saw the light.