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Ever since Ronova had revealed herself, it was harder to proceed the way Mitya usually does. Yes, he's alive still, and sure, pausing Project Mistillteinn gave him more free time, but… how do you truly live on with the knowledge that you died on multiple occasions? How do you live on when you've met the Ruler of Death, in the body of your most loved one? Yes, it was in death itself that she led them astray as Alyosha, but still; Mitya has the memory, and it's hard to tell the difference between life and the way they were dead in the opera house. No one in there had been aware that they were dead until it was revealed to them. How does one move on from that?
On top of that, it had taken him a painfully long time for him to fully trust Alyosha again. Not because he couldn't trust him, but because he was afraid that somehow, someway, the Grim Reaper could still possess his body in the real world. Also, it was really hard to not come up with ideas for Project Mistillteinn, and risking dying again. The project may have been put on hold, but it's not like his brain will stop with it. A human's brain will keep running, and it's hard to control it. He's a scientist, he will come up with baffling ideas, and his brain will only continue to make them, no matter if a project is finished or paused or anything of the likes. It's scary, sometimes.
Really, really scary, because he'd just come up with an idea, and while he'd checked whether he was dead or not, he couldn't find anything. Still, he remained tense for a good moment. It was only when he had finally calmed down that there was firm knocking on his office door.
"Come in!" Mitya said loud enough for the person on the other side to hear, and he eyed the door as it opened and a Fatuu stepped inside of his office. "Something wrong?" he immediately got straight to the point, because he's not bothered often unless by his colleagues that he works on Project Mistillteinn with, or The Jester, or Valeriy. This person was none of them. Despite covering their eyes with a mask, their mouth exposed their nervousness.
"Sir Mitya, there was a train accident in Rankova Zorya," the Fatui started, and Mitya's face fell quickly. He knows that Alyosha, Vodyanitsa and Odette have been using their free time to rebuild the small village there. "It seems that a companion of yours was involved."
Please, no.
"How so?" Mitya asked. He should get out of his chair and make his way over there, but for some reason, he stays rooted where he sat.
The Fatuu glanced around, as if they didn't want to tell him, but were forced to. "A hunter- Sir Alyosha- was in the train. He—"
That's when Mitya decided that it was time to run. He threw the chair back with his body, uncaring that it toppled over and hit the ground with a loud thump and he pushed past the Fatuu, caring very little about their wellbeing over a mere push. He'll apologise to them later if he sees them again.
_
Arriving at the scene, he really felt the dread settle in. The sun had been setting, and by the time that Mitya had made it to the village, it had gotten fairly dark. When you hear a story such as this, it's hard to believe it's true until you see it with your own eyes, and now that the scene is in front of Mitya, the emotions hit him like a… well, a train.
The train track was slightly scathed, but the train itself was much worse. The wagons had smushed themselves together, windows having gotten smashed due to the impact of the metal rectangular boxes meeting with such power. The first and the middle wagons were detached from the track, and if you peeked inside, all furniture possible was thrown around, and there were even a few bodies laying down on the carpeted floor, unsure whether they were still breathing or not.
Mitya wanted to go in, wanted to inspect the train in hopes to find Alyosha- or rather, in hopes to not find him, because then he'd might find him at the brink of, or already dead. He'd rather not find Alyosha in the train, because then it'd mean that he's alive and made it out. As he sped past the train looking for a way to get in, he found that all the doors between the wagons were unusable due to the fact that the wagons were attached now, and all the others doors he found were smashed, dented and bent in ways that locked them in place, unable to go in through them as well. At the very front of the train, Mitya noticed a door that wasn't busted, shoved- or rather forced open instead. That's his way in. He sped up into a sprint, but right before he could enter the train, he heard rapid footsteps behind him.
"Mitya- Mitya!"
He turned around, and in his state of panic, he could only make out a blur of minty green hair, but it was all too familiar.
"Alyo-" He exclaimed, and the body running towards him collided with his, nearly making the both of them fall with the impact, but they managed to stand, and arms were wrapped around each other instantly. "You're okay! Archons, you're okay," Mitya breathed rapidly as he nuzzled into the crook of Alyosha's neck, tightening his hold around him, uncaring whether it hurt his lover or not. He knew Alyosha can easily withstand it, and it was a grounding hold for the both of them. "You survived- I can't believe that happened- you're okay-" Mitya rambled with tears welling up in his eyes, tears of huge relief upon his lover's wellbeing.
"Go ahead, Mitya," Alyosha's voice was normal at first, but as he kept talking, it slowly morphed. It was feminine now. It was ominous, menacing and sinister. "Touch him, hold him."
Mitya froze in his place, recognising the voice. He was kept in the embrace, but he could glance to the side enough to see that Alyosha's minty hair had changed into a white-gray-ish color. The scientist moved, trying to get out of the embrace right this instant, but the arms around him tightened, fingers digging into his back.
"You've been wanting to for so long," Ronova said, a slight sense of victory melting from her tongue, as if she'd planned this out thoroughly, and as if Mitya had taken the bait like a Medaka desperate for food. "Enjoy it while it lasts, scientist." She let Mitya struggle in her hold for a little longer before she finally let go, allowing Mitya to skid backwards, taking a good few steps to create space between them. His eyes remained teary, but this time, for a completely different reason, and they expressed anger- no, rage with it as well.
"No…" Mitya breathed out, just staring at the Ruler of Death, the Grim Reaper, taking over his lover's body once again. This time, it was even worse than the first time. And yet again, he hadn't realised he'd died a while ago. And then, in front of his eyes, Ronova dissipated, Alyosha's body crumbling into tiny tiny bits and pieces dissolving into the air. "NO!!"