Gasoline

Family Reunion

Dante had introduced Anneliese to Kawaii~Chan and Nekoette. It was, she could say without a doubt, the most awkward and painful introduction she had ever recieved. Well... For her, at least. The two parents and their daughter weren't phased in the least.

When it was all said and done, Anne ran off to the woods, no longer sure of who she could trust. She slept in the barracks up in the tree, but that didn't mean she tried her best to avoid Dante. Eventually, he noticed, and started reaching out of her. It only made things worse. Anne tried to seclude herself to the boys and Zoey, helping the elf in her attempts to bring the group home. Zoey speculated that they had gone to the Irene dimension, and said that it was possible to get them out. It came at a cost, however. Immortality, or one's life.

After over a year of work, constant research, and gathering, the pair had a breakthrough. They snuck out of the gates and to the portal they had discovered, setting up the ritual to activate the portal. After a few words were said and done, Zoey sacrificed her immortality, and the structure sprang to life. Anne's eyes widened in shock as she watched it, panicking as Zoey vanished inside the portal.

She backed away a few steps to see a group of people slowly make their way out of the swirling pink vortex. As she peered out at the emerging group, she noticed a man collapsed against a tree. He didn't have a shirt on. Instead, he wore a black unzipped jacket and torn black jeans. His hood was pulled up, and a blindfold covered his eyes. Anneliese was devastated as she realized she didn't recognize anybody, but the man... He hid himself too well for her to get a good enough look. Wait... No, she did recognize someone. Laurance was there. Her eyes widened and she backed away before turning and quickly sprinting off into the woods.

She finally collapsed at a stream, breathing heavily, her mind and emotions in a complete mess. Was that Aaron she had seen? Did Laurance still hate her? Anne grimaced, slowly pushing herself up to her feet. "I... I can't..." She nearly collapsed once more, quickly leaning against a tree to help support her weight.

"Anne?"

She knew that voice. The woman lowered her head as she heard Dante approach behind her. "I've fought so hard; waited so long... And yet when it finally happens, I run away like a coward."

"What? Anne, don't beat yourself up over something like this. Just take your time. You haven't seen him since you were a tiny child. Anybody in their right mind would get overwhelmed by it..."

"I just need some time alone, Dante..."

"What's gotten into you lately?"

"Go."

She heard him sigh, the crunch of twigs beneath his boots as he turned and walked off, leaving her alone to her demons. Slowly, she fell to her knees, crying into her hands. "Irene help me," she whimpered faintly. Anne sat there for a while, unsure of what to do, before eventually standing and walking back to the village. She went up to her bunk, ignoring the returned group. She would deal with them later... For now, she had to get a handle on her emotions.

As night began to fall over the village, Anne made her way down from the tree. She had been introduced to Aphmau, Katelyn, and the two know-it-all's. Laurance already knew her. The second he spotted her, he seemed to shut down, and instantly became protective over Aphmau. Anneliese realized that it must have been the same woman who kept him from turning. The one that helped him hang onto his memories. Anneliese let out a sigh as she walked the path out of the stronghold. It was quiet out. Peaceful, almost.

Just then she heard the crunch of footsteps behind her and went to turn around, but it was too late. Her attacker slammed into her, and before she could even blink, she was pinned against a tree with a gleaming violet sword to her throat. "Congratulations," she growled through gritted teeth. "You managed to grab a defenseless w-"

"Who are you, and don't pull the defenseless act on me. I can see your swords."

Anne froze in place, raising her head to meet the blindfold covering the man's eyes. The voice was deeper — much deeper — but she knew that voice anywhere. "A-Aaron? Is... Is that really you?"

He didn't respond, his lips pulling into a thin line.

"Aaron!" she gasped as she felt the bite of metal against her flesh. "It's Anneliese!"

"You aren't real," he growled. "The shadow souls took you."

"I promise, it's me. I'm real."

He went to say something, then hesitated, almost seeming shocked. It was hard to tell due to his clothing. "Your eyes," he finally managed to hiss.

"What- My eyes?"

"They're red." He shoved her harshly against the tree as he stepped back. "Your one of them. And you killed somebody."

"Aaron, wait. I can explain-"

"No. I don't want to hear it. I don't know you."

As he started walking away, Anneliese slid to the ground with a broken cry. "Zenix!"

He stopped, but didn't turn.

"They imprisoned me but I escaped years ago. I settled into a small village as a guard, and... And his group found me. They had orders to take me back to him, but said that if I killed the lord, they would overlook it.. So I did. I couldn't risk going back, Aaron. Zenix has gone mad.. He's started killing knights and absorbing them. It's complete chaos down there..."

Aaron suddenly spun around and extended his arm, the tip of his sword pointed at her throat. "It doesn't matter what your excuse is. What matters is the fact you killed a man you cared about all because you were too selfish to face your demons and go with them. A good man died that day because of you, Anneliese."

Tears slowly sprang up into her eyes as Anne looked up to her brother. "Take off the mask," she murmured.

"Why should I."

"Because I want to see my brother again. I want to die knowing that I found him..."

Aaron pushed back his hood with his free hand, pulling the blindfold off. His dark grey eyes stared back at her, and it hit Anneliese hard. Gone from his gaze was the excitable innocence she had always remembered. Instead, it was replaced with broken pain and fury, as well as the hunger for revenge. "You're wrong," he spat. "If you die, you get to die knowing that you never found your brother. You get to die knowing that you killed the one you love, and drove the other away. That you are an abomination, selfish, and alone."

Anne was stunned into a silent agony as he lowered his weapon, replaced his blindfold, pulled his hood back up and walked away. When she lost sight of him, she curled up and buried her head into her arms, sobbing as she questioned what just happened. Her brother had rejected her, and that hit her harder than when Zenix had killed her. It was as if even though she were immortal, she was still suffering a slow, painful death.