Flowers and Fairytales (FTO AU)

Chapter 1- Eden's POV

Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three, twenty four, twenty... five... twenty six...

"Twenty seven... twenty eight..." Eden faltered, tears rolling down his face. He didn't see any use in going on. They were already gone.

"No.. no no no no NO NO!"

He slammed his fists down in anger, shaking and breathing heavily. Why did he do this? Why, out of all people, was it him?

"Why did you do this? Why him? He didn't do anything to you!"

"He would've simply been in my way. I don't have time for pest control, Eden," Devin said as he turned around. "Teleportation is a good magic, I do admit, but he clearly decided who to be loyal to. And I don't want him infecting the others."

Devin and Eden faced each other, surrounded in the rubble of Michael's home. Devin floated above, scythe in hand. He glared at Eden with a wicked grin, the air flowing through his cloak. Eden lay in the center of a crater, battered and bruised and cut all over. His body ached, and his sword lay in pieces around him. The winner was obvious, but Eden refused to believe it ended here.

"Give in. You can't win, especially without your friend or Michael."

"I don't need either of them to beat you."

Eden stood up shakily, stumbling to his feet. In his hands a new sword appeared, and he held it at the ready.

"You seriously think that you can defeat me with THAT? We both know you were never the best swordsman."

"I can still try, and that's what matters."

Devin chuckled, slowly coming down to the ground.

"Then let's see what you got."

Devin lunged at Eden, preparing to sweep with his scythe. Eden side-stepped, avoiding the strike and spinning to face his opponent. He swung, and Dev jumped away, planting his feet in the ground before charging back in. Eden dodged the second attack, stumbling back and falling to the ground. Everything was blurry, but he had to keep going.

He quickly stood up and ran after the enemy, going in for a stab. Devin blocked it, shoved him away, and kicked him right in the gut, sending Eden into the nearest pile of rubble.

His ears rang, and at this point he couldn't see anything. He could feel the blood running down his face, the sweat culminating at his back. His legs and arms were numb, his head hurt like hell, and if he even moved a muscle his body would fill with excruciating pain. Was he really going to go down like this? After all he did, he would die for nothing?

"Hm. Seems like I was right, Eden. You really aren't good with a sword," Devin said as he steadily approached. "You know, we could've been something. We could have been WONDERFUL. But you refused to cooperate. I guess that just shows how stubborn you are."

"Shut up. Just shut up."

Dev laughed, stopping just before his alternate.

"I'd like to see you make me."

"Oh my god.. what happened?"

Eden and Devin turned to the familiar voice, who stood behind them on the other side of the crater.

"Ah. Michael. So lovely to see you."

"Devin... what did you do? Eden? Eden, where are you!?"

"Your little brother is right over here. Would you like to see him?"

Suddenly, Devin teleported behind him and kicked Michael across the battlefield, right in front of Eden.

"Ow.. ugh, fuck.."

He got up and dusted himself off, then turned to Eden.

"Are you alright?"

"I feel dead."

"Well, that's unfortunate," he responded as he offered his hand out, lifting the other up. "Hope you're ready for round two."

"Ready as I'll ever be," Eden said, almost falling over again as he stood up. He leaned over on Michael for support.

"While I do love myself a good family reunion," Devin said as he turned back to the others, "we have something to settle."

"Alright.. let's do this."

---------------[Skip because I'm lazy lmaooo]--------------

"You alright, Michael?"

"Yeah.. just got stabbed, but I'm fine."

Eden pulled Michael up from the ground, and looked around at the mess that was made. The house was completely decimated, with only a few piles of debris scattered around. A few surrounding buildings were damaged, but not to the degree Michael's home was.

Clouds had gathered in the sky, in the typical sad-momeny fashion. As Eden approached the corpse in the middle of the battlefield, droplets began to fall, one by one. He sat beside the body, giving it a mournful stare.

"Ty... you weren't supposed to be here."

Michael came down the crater, standing behind Eden.

"Is he... ya know.."

"Yeah. He is."

He let a few tears run down his face. Of all the people that had to die, it was Ty. One of the few people that saw him more as a stubborn, typically cold person.

"Devin beat him up pretty hard," Michael commented. "Look at all the cuts."

"Ty put up a good fight. If only I could've saved him.."

The rain started to come down harder now. Eden wiped the tears from his eyes. None of the others were going to like this.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. I'll take his body."

Michael picked up Ty's corpse, carrying him away. Eden stood up, dusting the dirt off his clothes. He looked around him one last time, and followed Michael out of the crater.

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"Eden.  Eeeden. Wake up!"

"Huh-what- what happened? Where's Ty? And Michael? And the house- and-"

"Eden, calm down. All of that was a year ago. Are you sure you got over it?"

Eden rubbed his eyes. Did he cry in his sleep? Around him was the dark wood room of an inn- Oh, right, he was going somewhere. Someone stood beside his bed- Lilac? What was Michael's wife doing here?

"Huh.. Lilac? What're doing here?"

"Don't you remember? We went out to find Michael. It's been three months since we left Atlantide."

"Oh. It has?"

"Yeah. Are you alright? You were crying in your sleep when I woke up, and you slept in for 30 minutes. That's not like you," Lilac said.

"Uhm.. yeah, yeah I'm fine," Eden replied, stepping out of the bed. He walked over to the end of his bed and slipped on his shoes, then grabbed his cloak off a bed post.

"We should get moving. The sooner we find him, the better," he said as he adjusted his hood.

"Alright, if you say so. Just don't be too hard on yourself."

They both stepped out of the room into the main lobby, where many travelers were already awake and ready to head out. As Eden and Lilac exited the inn, they were greeted by the cold breeze and light snowfall. They set out down the road, in hopes of getting to the next town before a storm hits. Eden wondered where he had gone, and what exactly was made of Ty.