Achieving Heaven Through Hell Part 3: Only the Results

Chapter 16: Teleology

The sun beat down on the red tile roofs of the small town of Bosa, the densely packed houses painted vibrant shades of blue, yellow, and orange. The light of the sun was unforgiving, but the gentle sea breeze that rolled in off the Mediterranean Sea blunted its sting and cool, fresh sea smell inundated the beautiful little town. Sitting outside a restaurant, under a parasol, were two young people, a man and a woman.

"Your coffee, signore, signora," said the waitress, setting a pair of tiny espresso mugs before them.

"Grazie," Moonchild said, smiling at her. She blushed furiously and curtsied, heading back into the restaurant.

"You know, Earth is pretty nice," Octavia said looking around at the quaint Sardinian village they'd decided to visit. "So calm and buttoned down. And the coffee's actually hot!"

"And not just when you spill it on yourself! Funny, before staying at the Hotel, I hadn't realized how much I missed hot coffee," Moonchild said, sipping his espresso. "Not to mention food that's dead by the time you eat it. That's actually the rule here on Earth."

"Nowhere's perfect," Octavia said, leaning back, sighing. "So. Feel better?"

"Not really," Moonchild said. "I mean, I needed that closure. Knowing that that's the end of it, the end of that man's suffering. I can move on now, but..."

"But you don't know where to go?" Octavia offered. "Now that he's back with you, in your head, it's like 'okay... what now', right?"

He nodded. "It's like... I'm climbing a mountain, and it took everything I had to get over this big rock, but then the clouds part and there's still miles to the summit. If Diavolo won't let himself be redeemed, how can I move on?"

"Well, that's just it, isn't it?" Octavia said, leaning back in her chair. "Even Charlie said someone has to want to be redeemed for it to work."

"Exactly," Moonchild said. "But I've got a plan... kind of."

Octavia sipped her espresso. "Let's hear it."

"Well, we were one person once. After our split, he took over because he was stronger than me. I've only been able to keep control because, well, after the Requiem he's..."

"Bugfuck bananas?"

"Kind of. It's like, I dunno, he's catatonic most of the time, and when he comes out of it, he's completely feral."

"I see," Octavia said, grimacing at what must be going on in Moonchild's head at any given time. "But what about back at the Hotel? He seemed pretty lucid then, for a complete nutter, anyway."

"That's just what I'm getting at. He touched me and, I dunno, consumed part of my sanity? After he did, he was calmer, more centered."

Octavia recalled back, to how Moonchild had reverted for a moment after that freak had touched him, her keen eyes had seen the flash of energy that had passed between them. Nature abhorred a vacuum, the crater in the madman's personae having siphoned what it lacked reflexively from what used to be part of itself.

"Made himself lucid by taking that from me. If I'm not strong enough, not well enough, he could do it again, or worse. So, I think, I need to get my own house in order before I try and fix some else's."

Octavia leaned forward, chin resting on her hand, a wry smile on her face. "Out with it, Moonie."

He paused, looking down at his fidgeting hands, he steeled himself and locked gazes with her. "I think I need to talk with your mother."