The New Age of Wilhelm and Audrey

A Pain Only We Know

After Wilhelm and Audrey were given the Cosmic stone from Nova of Earth 8, they've gone back to their universe, but Wil has began to act different.

Wil walked through the valley feeling nothing but confusion. Why was he so aimless at that moment. Then it hit him like a rock. He heard rifles firing and swords clashing. He heard screams and shouts of agony and pain. He turned around and saw that he was in the middle of a storm surrounded by corpses of his friends and enemies. He then heard that young man from C company singing Wayfaring Stranger.

He walked towards the the source of the song, but found nothing. He fell to his knees and looked down at his hands, seeing that they were soaked in blood. He fell backwards and noticed that the storm was gone and that he was back in the valley. He had kept his PTSD a secret from everyone, even Audrey.

"Why am I so fucking stubborn?" He asked himself. That question had been in his head since his childhood, something that wasn't the best. His dad was an outspoken racist and homophobe, and his mom was afraid for her children. His father never truly physically abused Wil, but he did use corporal punishment. That didn't bother him, but it was the fact that his father never cared about what he had to say, which is what made him leave.

But what kept him from asking for help? Was it the possibility of embarrassment? His pride? Or did he believe that no one deserved to know his problems? Did he think that he was superior?

No. It wasn't superiority. He was too kind for it to be that. But what was it? At that moment he came up blank, just like always. He realized that the sun was setting, which meant it was time to go back. Wil then walked back to the house and entered to find Audrey eating food and watching tv in silence.

He remained silent and ate an early dinner so he could study the cosmic relics he had. He examined the white and gold sash, finding a text written in invisible ink.

The text translated from German to English said "Recently, the son of God's Grail was passed from knight to knight for generations, and somehow it was passed to me by Sir Percy. He told me to hide it in a place where no one would ever believe. I shall put it in the darkest pit of Hell, so that no one shall ever find it. It might be the worst sin one could commit, but I will do it to prevent any other sins. Forgive me great all father for what I have done, for I cannot forgive myself."

"So this's where I'm going next. I will make you proud Tiber" Wil said in German. He then put the sash in his drawer and went back downstairs. He learned that time had flown by very quickly, seeing that it was now 2:32 am. He grabbed some tea and went back upstairs and fell asleep.

In the morning, he grabbed Tiber Saxon's journal and found what looked like a puzzle. On the puzzle he saw what looked to be just an average cup, surrounded by spikes and several holes. "This must be where the Grail is. He put it in Hell and surrounded it with traps" Wil thought.

He went down to get breakfast and found Audrey somewhat silent. He kept his attention to the journal until Audrey came right out and said it. "Why'd you save me that day?" Wil wasn't prepared for that. It was like she shot her pistol in the air.

Wil couldn't find a real answer. Kaiser did insist on saving her, but there was also something that Wil had felt. What was it? He struggled to find an answer. What mattered to him was fighting with the Crusader Corps and finishing the mission, along with keeping his guys alive. But something still made him save her.

Maybe it was the look she had when he found her. He remembered that day, seeing nothing but unconscious anguish and pain. When he brought her into his home, he remembered the terror on her face when she regained consciousness. He saw something in her that he could feel as well. A desire to just be loved. A desire for someone to listen to her. It was all true too.

Audrey lived in a home where she was never heard. Her parents never showed much love, and never cared about what she had to say. When the opportunity of being a hero presented itself, she jumped. She packed some stuff and just bolted out the door and didn't even leave a note.

He saw that she just wanted some kind of admiration from another, and to be appreciated. He looked at her, seeing that she'd moved on from that weakness and had become a truly strong young woman.

"I guess... it's because I saw that you were in pain. I felt that you were probably feeling like I used to feel. I thought that maybe you were never heard until you became a hero. I thought that you might've never gotten love from the people you needed it from the most."

Audrey said nothing, as she only thought about his reply. He was right, and somehow he knew it. She calmly got up and hugged him, trying to hold back her tears. The struggle to hold back her tears was in vain, as he could feel them on his shoulder. She then noticed a large laceration on his neck. It was a noose mark.

He realized that she was looking at his noose scar. He remembered when he kicked the table from under his legs and how he flailed in the air. The rope wasn't tied right and luckily failed, sending him to the floor. He looked up at the ceiling, as if looking at God and yelling in anger "Let me go. Let me die!"

Wil was now stuck in a drowning silence. "I uh, found something about Tiber Saxon's next Relic" Wil said. "What'd you find?" Audrey asked as she awkwardly let go of him. He showed her the drawing in Tiber's journal and the translation from the invisible ink on the sash.

"He put it in Hell?" Audrey asked. "Yup, which means I want it." "So, you want to open a portal to Hell itself, and get the cup that Jesus drank from during the Last Supper?" "That's the plan." "Well I see a small flaw in it." "What would that be?"

"Where are we gonna get a portal that'll take us into Hell?! And how are we gonna get out of Hell afterwards?!" "There's a castle that was used a Nazi named Heinrich Himmler during the second war. They did some satanic rituals and stuff there. Maybe we can use the Black Sun Wheel to open a portal." "Well then, I guess we know where we're going." "Pack some stuff, it's gonna take a while to get there."