Just A Memory

Did you ever?

"I remember you telling this story" Ban sighed "We had just spoken on the roof. I asked did you know what it felt like? To have to let the woman you love die for a second time"
"Yeah. I don't think I ever answered that" Meliodas wiggled his finger in his ear.
"I saw the face you pulled. You didn't have to" Ban patted his best friend's shoulder.
"You had to watch Mum die?" Lancelot raised his eyebrow as he turned his head to his parents.
"I'll tell you the story one day" Ban nodded while he ruffled his kid's hair "I don't really feel up to telling it"
"Was it why you got named the Sin Of Greed?" Tristan yawned.
"Yep," Ban nodded once.
"Still think sloth should have been yours" Elaine smiled softly.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well you're lazier than King but he can be very greedy" Elaine lent her head on her man's shoulders. Ban grinned as he wrapped his arms around his wife.
"I may be lazy but at least it didn't take me forever to ask you to marry me"
"Can we get back to the stories please?" Tristan raised his voice. His eyes were a little red but Meliodas thought that was because he was tired.
"Sorry Buddy" Melidoas chuckled.
"So you had to watch Elizabeth's final moments" Lancelot tilted his head back to Meliodas.
"106 times" Meliodas nodded.
"Did you meet every Elizabeth?" Lancelot quizzed. Meliodas scratched his head as he tried to think. He ended up shrugging so everyone looked at Elizabeth "Did he miss any versions?"
"A few. Meliodas mainly stayed in Britannia while I got reincarnated everywhere but I always had the urged to come here" Elizabeth grabbed Melidoas hand. Soon sniffles were heard around the room. Everyone looked down. Tristan was hugging Elizabeth as he cried silently "Hey bubble, Why are you crying?"
"I don't get how you got through it. How did you ever get used to it?" He whimpered.
"I didn't. No matter how many times. Each Goodbye was harder than the previous" Meliodas rubbed Tristan's back "It was the promise that kept me going"
"So what did you do after Elizabeth died the first time?" Eliane pondered.
"I went back to the tribe for a couple of weeks but it no longer felt like home" Meliodas's hair hung over his face "They understood. They said I would always have a home with them. If I ever wanted to come back"
"Did you?" Ban cocked an eyebrow. Meliodas wiggled his head.
"Kinda. The first 9 months after We defeated the Demon King, We went travelling. We made a few pits stops to the previous lives. We found the village. We only told them that we were passing through" Meliodas lent back on the sofa "Place still smelt the same"
"Musty and Dusty" Elizabeth giggled.
"Hey Elizabeth, Since Meliodas watched you die. Did you ever watch Meliodas die?" Lancelot asked as Meliodas looked towards the fireplace.
"Once" Elizabeth held a finger.
"What happened that day?" Tristan looked between his parents. Neither could answer. Ban coughed and sat forward.
"Allow me" He put his hands on Meliodas and Elizabeth's shoulders. Squeezing gently "The Captain went up against the 10 commandments" Ban pinched his lips. Tristan and Lancelot's heads snapped to Ban and then back to the King and Queen.
"The 10 Commandments!" Lancelot's eye grew wide "Oh man! Were they really as evil as the stories say?"
"Lance... Let Ban finish" Tristan pretend to karate chop Lancelot's head.
"Sorry Dad" Lancelot blushed.
"It's fine, Kiddo" Ban monkey scrub his son. Lancelot pushed him away. Ban just chuckled "So back to the story. So there he was fighting appearing before Drole, saying it is time for the real festival to start. He jumps toward him and Drole immediately rights himself and throws a punch. Meliodas kicks Drole's punch away, unbalancing him but Drole attempts to punch him with his other three arms. Meliodas counters all three and then runs up Drole's body and uppercuts him. Drole tries to counterattack but Meliodas draws Lostvayne and cuts two of his arms off"
"Whoa!" "Awesome" The Kids exclaim. Meliodas rolls his eyes as the girls sighed.
"As Meliodas and Drole's arms land, Drole licks his own blood and asks Meliodas if he had planned this all along. Though knowing the Captain, Most likely" Ban grinned, Meliodas beamed.
"It's true" He wiggled his head "From the moment I heard about the fighting festival I had somewhat of a plan"
"Shush Dad. Storytime" Tristan puts a finger to his lips. Meliodas holds his hands up "Continue Ban"
"Meliodas says he was just waiting for the right moment to take both of them down. Knowing how powerful they are, he knew that if he attacked them head-on when they were expecting it, he would probably be defeated. So he decided to play along until they let their guards down and an opening was made. Escanor's attack was the perfect opening. Drole understands, saying that if he or Gloxinia were to fight Meliodas one-on-one they would most likely lose as well, but that he's made a miscalculation. Drole traps all of the festival contestants in the giant hands and sinks them into the earth. He means to use them as hostages to make Meliodas obey, but Meliodas simply cuts off his remaining arms before he can react, and tells Drole he'll just kill him before he can kill them, and punches him in the face"
"You was kidnapped?" Tristan spun his head to Elizabeth.
"Common thing when you're a Princess" She shrugged.
"What happened next Dad" Lancelot was now sat on his heels.
"Meliodas is suddenly struck from behind by Gloxinia. Gloxinia, now clad in Basquias: Form Five armour, says that he will heal Drole momentarily and that the situation will be reversed now that it is two-on-one. But, Gloxinia's armour crumbles to pieces, as Meliodas lands behind him using his power of darkness. He tells them to give up because they have no chance of winning" Ban punched his hand.
"Gloxinia laughed at the irony of the situation, the three of us who use to be allies against the Demon King now meeting as enemies, and asks if I really meant to kill them. I say of course I do. I knew why they changed sides and how it doesn't matter" Meliodas put his hands behind his head.
"Gloxinia said this is unfortunate and fires Basquias' beam at Meliodas who jumps toward them. Meliodas flies miles away, and Gloxinia uses the opportunity to finally heal Drole. But, Meliodas begins flying towards them at an incredible speed. Needing a few more seconds to completely heal Drole, Gloxinia summons Jumanju in order to stall but Meliodas easily dices its attack to pieces and then punches through it, with a black flame covered fist, and lands a direct hit on Gloxinia. He is about to finish Gloxinia off when Drole catches him, and hits Meliodas with Giga Crush and Giga Fall, though they do nothing and Meliodas slices through Drole" Ban slice his arm through the air.
"Awesome" "Wish I was there" The Kids gasped.
"Meliodas then attempts to finish them both off with his Kami Chigiri but Drole uses Heavy Metal to protect them. Gloxinia then heals himself and tries to heal Drole but Meliodas gets behind him. They dash around each other until Meliodas elbows Gloxinia into the ground. Drole uses Giga Pick on Meliodas, but again, it does nothing and he kicks Drole in the jaw" Ban flings his leg in the air. Nearly hitting Meliodas.
"Dude chill. You're normal now. I can't hit you and get away with it" Meliodas frowned. Bn shrugged "Anyway, At this point, it is clear that Drole and Gloxinia cannot defeat me. Gloxinia asks me why he has allied himself with the irredeemable humans, and Drole says that although there was once a time I could have been the Demon King because I refused to become completely merciless, all that awaits me is a miserable defeat. I told that if they're that bitter and in pain I will end things now but before I can, all of the other Commandments, Except Galand, arrive on the scene to aid Drole and Gloxinia"
"Who is Galand?"
"A walking lie detector and will turn you to stone if you lie" Elizabeth tucked her hair behind her ear.
"So what did you do when the other Commandments turned up?" Lancelot bounced.
"I was surrounded, On all sides, Zeldris moves to meet me face to face" Meliodas spoke.
"Hold up, Uncle Zeldris? He was a commandment?" Tristan's mouth dropped.
"So was I at one point" Meliodas shrugged. Tristan's mouth dropped further. Meliodas put his finger under his young Son's chin and snapped it shut "I'll tell that another time"
"So Meliodas makes the first move, attempting to slash Zeldris without hesitation. However, Zeldris is able to not only evade but remove Meliodas' arm in the process. Completely unfazed, Meliodas kicks Zeldris in the face and attempts to reattach his arm only for Zeldris to stomp on it, and give the command to Grayroad who casts Jubaku Ensa on Meliodas, who is bewildered by the spell. He kicks Zeldris some more, who blocks but does move and allow Meliodas to reattach his arm, and then pivots away. He smashes the ground to make a smokescreen and then attempts to escape, only to be teleported back to where he was. Grayroad explains that where ever his chains have cursed him, he may never again be able to leave and that Meliodas' death is now inevitable" Ban tried to hide a yawn.
"What a dirty trick!" Tristan clenched his fists "I can't believe Uncle Zeldris did that"
"Listen little dude. Zeldris wasn't like that because he wanted to. The Demon King made him like that. Zeldris become a dark person to protect the one he loves" Meliodas consoled Tristan.
"Your Uncle sounds awesome" Lancelot rocked back and forth "You either die a villain or you live long enough to see yourself become a hero"
"Who taught you that?"
"Auntie Diane"
"Remind to thank her" Elaine whispered to Elizabeth.
"So what happened next?"
"Meliodas is then attacked by Derieri who proceeds to relentless strike at him only to have most of her hits parried or blocked, though Meliodas notes that each strike is stronger than the last. Monspeet questions if he had forgotten about her ability, Combo Star, which adds like 200,000 extra pounds of force to each consecutive attack. She continues striking until Meliodas is batted away with the 54th hit. Monspeet, taking advantage of this, restrains Meliodas and flies him into the air, praising his ability to take more than 50 of Derieri's attacks but noting that now he should no longer be able to use Full Counter. He then launches Gokuencho at Meliodas, creating an eruption of flames in the sky. Meliodas flies from the explosion and attempts to behead him before falling to the ground. Monspeet commends the effort before sealing his wound and says he doesn't even want to translate what Derieri just said" Ban cracked his neck.
"Did they all take turns in kicking your arse?" Tristan scrunched his nose up. Meliodas nodded.
"Fraudrin is the next to try, with Meliodas pleading to Dreyfus to fight his manipulation, it seems to work for a second, only for Fraudrin to hit him with Tenkan Hagokujin and laugh at Meliodas for believing the trick. Gloxinia is next, lamenting this is Meliodas' own fault for allying with the humans, and strikes him with Basquias: Form One creating another huge explosion. When the dust settles, Meliodas is revealed to have lost his right arm. Zeldris states that Meliodas' death will be their first act of vengeance and that Demon Clan was defeated because of his betrayal. Meliodas then smirks and his foes are all surprised by a sudden immense power as Meliodas grabs his sword and traps them all in a vortex. Meliodas allowed them all to attack them simply to charge his Revenge Counter. Most of the Commandments react with fear, but Estarossa simply stops the attack with a single hand"
"A single hand! Who is this Estarossa?" Lancelot frowned.
"He is Mael's darker side. Let him tell you the story" Elizabeth spoke up "Continue please"
"Affected by Estarossa's commandment, Meliodas collapses from exhaustion. Estarossa says he wished it didn't have to come to this because he loves him but then begins to step on his chest and choke him, as he grows angrier speaking of Meliodas' past glory and eventual betrayal. Melascula asks if she could be the one to finish Meliodas, as one of his friends almost killed her, and chants a demonic incantation to remove his soul. Before she can eat it, however, she is somewhat defeated by myself. I was able to sneak past the others, and vertically breaks her neck and rips out five of her hearts"
"Though I think that was more of a personal vendetta to her" Elaine ran her hand over Ban's hair.
"She tried to eat my soul" Ban scoffed.
"I remember calling you an idiot" Meliodas chuckled.
"So what happened after you snap her neck" Lancelot clenched his fists.
"The other Commandments are shocked by this, but Estarossa comments that she deserved it for trying to eat Meliodas soul and he was about to kill her anyway. He then bypasses Ban and stabs Meliodas through one of his hearts. Ban tries to in vain to stop Estarossa from destroying all of his hearts but fails, and Meliodas dies"
"Didn't he blow you up?" Meliodas clicked his fingers.
"Bloody git. Though it was my fault, I was screaming in his ear. Might have been a tad annoying" Ban admitted. He squeezed his fingers in the air.
"What happened next"
"With Meliodas dead, the Ten Commandments leave, preparing to dominate Britannia. I asked Gilfrost to teleport me to the battle site, unable to believe Meliodas was truly gone. I find him and cradle him and desperately beg him to wake up, but it is no use. All I could do, Was cry" Elizabeth wiped her cheek and Meliodas gripped her hand.
"How long were you out for?"
"6 months. Give or take. I ain't sure. One minute in purgatory is an hour here" Meliodas scratched his chin.
"What did you do after Dad died Mum?"
"Took him back to The Boar Hat. Healed him and went to a place called Necropolis. 'A priceless memory shared with the deceased will open the path to the capital'" Elizabeth recited "But I couldn't find your Dad"
"Why?" Tristan looked between the place "Why couldn't you find Dad in the Necropolis?" 
"Is that the big green emerald place?" Meliodas asked. Elizabeth nodded "I remember that place, That was the place we fought Guilia. We drew all over her face" Meliodas wiggled his head. Ban looked on confused.
"Where?"
"The place with all the flowers?" Elizabeth sighed.
"The place I was stuck in when I was dead. King tried to turn you into a statue" Elaine flicked Ban's forehead.
"Oh, The big green rock place" Ban smiled.
"Yeah there, Anyway, Back to the story" Meliodas turned back to Tristan "But I did not appear before Your Mother because my soul was stuck in limbo in Purgatory, waiting for my resurrection"
"When Gowther showed me the memories, It showed that you had been there before. Did you get to see Mum's previous forms?" Tristan rubbed his eyes.
"No, She did not appear when I entered because she was reincarnated into this Elizabeth, as with all of her previous incarnations before" Meliodas ruffled Tristan's hair.
"Dad, Get off" Tristan fought his Father. Elizabeth hid her face in her hands as the boys started to play fight.
"Every bedtime!"
Soon the Grandfather clock in the background was going over.
"Right Kids. It's been an hour and now it's bedtime" Meliodas stood up. As did everyone else.
"But Dad. One more story!" Tristan pleaded.
"No. You go to bed now. I will tell you more of the 3000 year journey tomorrow" Meliodas put his hands in his pockets.
"You promise?" Tristan held out his pinky "Pinky Promise?" Meliodas looked at his Son. He had a blank look on his face. Meliodas then grinned as he wrapped his pinky around Tristin's.
"Promise. Now, Bed" Meliodas pointed to the door.
"Hey, Tristan. Race ya" Lancelot grinned as both boys ran off. The girls followed their sons.
"Those two will be the death me" Meliodas sighed as Ban lent on his head.
"Could be worse" Ban sang.
"How?" Meliodas looked up.
"Good point. They ain't much different from how we were when we first met"
"Bartra bollocked me for that you know" Meliodas walked off. Ban followed suit.
"Really? Considering how much shit we used to break" Ban laughed.
"You mean the shit you broke. It was normally your head that through a wall"
"Only cause you punched me through it" Ban scoffed as they walked up a flight of stairs. The pair chatted till they reached their rooms.