"C'mon, Eveon. It's not that bad..." Abby whispered soothingly to her daughter lying
in bed. "But Mommy... What am I going to do without you?" With a sigh, she wiped away her
daughter's tears. "Eveon, remember what I told you? If we don't laugh, we cry. I know this
isn't exactly the time I wished to go, but we do have some time left. If nothing else, we
have to make the most of it, alright?" Eveon nodded reluctantly as Abby kissed her on the
forehead.
She exited the room, her heart heavy. Abby would have preferred to kick the bucket
when Eveon was in college or well off in life... but she didn't really have a choice, did
she? Abby was slightly surprised to see Mina at the top of the stairs, dressed in her
pajamas and clutching a pillow. "Eveon... I can't really sneak through her window," Mina
said with a sad smile. "But I think she needs me."
Abby just gave her a hug and walked with her to Eveon's room. The blonde girl was
surprised, but visibly happy to see her. As they hugged affectionately on the bed, Abby
said, "Now, I know you two are sad that I'm not going to be around to see your relationship
develop... but please, don't feel pressured to have sex for my sake so I can make naughty
jokes before I die."
Abby luckily shut the door as Eveon chucked her pillow at her. She let a small smile
grace her lips and felt a familiar presence behind her. "Did you let Mina into the house?"
she asked as she turned around to face the Living Inferno. He nodded and watched as she
started walking to her room. "Come with me?" He nodded again.
They entered her room and she lied down on her bed while he sat in the chair. He
looked down and saw a bag filled with junk food next to her bed. "What is that food for?"
Abby looked down at the plastic bag solemnly before pulling random boxes of pastries,
packages of candy and the occasional six pack of cream soda. She had placed the ice cream in
the freezer already. "Me and Tycara went to the supermarket together before we saw you. I
told her to pick out what she wanted and this is it."
Abby didn't realize she was crying until the Living Inferno tenderly wiped the tears
away with his cool metal hands. "I'm just glad she'll be okay," Abby murmured opening one of
the boxes. She pulled out a package of the cake like treat and opened the plastic wrap.
"Here," she murmured, handing one to him, seeing as how they came package in twos. He took
it and turned around awkwardly. Abby bit into her own and licked the creamy filling off her
lips.
Tycara definitely knew how to pick her snacks. Abby listened and heard a clack of
armor as the Living Inferno removed his mouth guard. She watched as he raised the cake up to
his face and ate it slowly. Abby took two of the bottles of soda out, but let out a sigh
when she realized they had old fashioned bottle caps. And she'd have to go back downstairs
to get a bottle opener...
The Living Inferno had replaced his mouth guard-armor-thing and look over at the soda
bottle. Abby laughed as he successfully popped off both caps with his metal hand. Who needed
a bottle opener when you got the Living Inferno? She briefly wondered if he could also open
cans... He began to turn back around, but she stopped him by placing her hand on his
shoulder. "Won't you show me your face?"
He took a hesitant breath. "I... think it's better if I don't..." She only nodded and
watched him turn around to remove his mouth armor and drink his cream soda. They were silent
until two empty glass bottles were resting on her nightstand. "Why is it Tycara whom you
have to protect?" Abby asked suddenly.
"...she's was... is my daughter..." Abby sat up straight and stared at him with wide
eyes. "Your daughter, but...! Tycara said her mother was raped... so you...?" The Living
Inferno diverted his gaze. "I do not wish to talk about the situation or what happened, but
my sin... the one I wish to atone for..." He looked into her eyes. "I was the one who
murdered Tycara."
Abby just looked at him, obviously put off. "You murdered your own eight year old
daughter...?" He nodded solemnly. "One day... Tycara wandered into the village of the
angels. She looked like a normal angel child, so they thought nothing of it because it was
the time of the annual festival... then one angel realized whose daughter she was." He let
out a deep sigh. "They... called her a monster and began to beat her. She... Tycara couldn't
take it and the unstable power held within her decided to erupt at that moment. When it did,
she began to unintentionally kill the angels around her."
Regardless of Abby's sad expression, he continued on. "The sheer enormity of her power
was what caused their deaths. It was out of control so... I..." He stared down at his own
hands. "There was a knife nearby, on the ground. I knew there was no way to calm her so... I
pierced her heart once I was close enough. When she started to die, she was surrounded by
the rest of the angels who were still calling her a monster... they were the monsters and
that's why she... that's why when she came back, she started to murder so many. Tycara's
spirit for hundreds of years was kept from moving on and that resentment and anger stayed
with her."
Abby looked down at his hands. "That's why you're seeking forgiveness... because you
killed her. But..." She took his hands in her own. "You didn't have a choice, did you? You
did what you thought was right, but now... now you've saved her from dying again by
performing that ritual. It's alright... I'm sure she's not angry." He looked doubtful and
then Abby said, "Is this why you wear this armor? As some form of punishment?"
He shook his head. "Yes and no. I couldn't live with what I did... I just couldn't. I
cast myself into Hell and took on this duty, with the hopes of finding some way to be
forgiven. This armor was cast onto me in Purgatory and because I was alive when I made this
decision, my life has been forever extended. I can die, but my life stopped the moment I
committed myself to this." Abby let out a sigh and stroked his hands. "But you can take this
armor off, can't you? Even if your life goes on forever, you don't have to wear it..."
He shook his head and squeezed her hands. "It's better this way," She looked rather
doubtful. "...alright. Just remember that you're using this armor as a shield... as a way to
keep yourself cut off. You don't need to do that. What are you afraid of?"
He looked down at their intertwined hands. "Attachment... intimacy... love... it's all
so wonderful, but when you lose it... I'm going to lose you, but I'm already attached."
*****
It had already been a few days... and a crazy couple of days it had been. Day one,
they decided to have a backyard summer water party. It was all good and fun... until Faye
started molesting Erin on the slip 'n slide. Everyone else watched awkwardly as the love
goddess cooed loving phrases into Erin's ear, all the while reaching into her bikini. The
slip and slide was soon retired since no one really wanted to go on after that. It didn't
help that Isaka convinced Krystal to wear a white shirt and proceeded to chase her blonde
girlfriend around the backyard with a squirt gun.
Day two was board games galore since Abby stated that there would be no more awkward
lesbian touching if it could be helped. Of course, as they were playing Monopoly, Erin was
suspiciously letting out small noises and no one wanted to look under the table to see where
Faye's left hand had gone. Once again, Isaka didn't help when she threw her hands up in the
air and claimed that all the awkward tension was leaving her irked. Everyone left at the
table blushed as Isaka suddenly dragged Krystal to a nearby bedroom and relieved some
stress. Even the unabashed Faye looked embarrassed.
On Day three was the great grand chess tournament. Abby decided she wanted to be on
the winning team so she decided to team up with the Living Inferno. She let him do all the
thinking. In the end, everyone else teamed up together to try and take him down. They failed
miserably. Eveon was rather upset that they couldn't do it, so Mina gave her a reassuring
kiss. Everyone else then cooed at how cute they were. When the couple retreated to Eveon's
room for 'privacy', they all listened carefully to see what they were up to. Faye, of
course, was curious as to why they weren't consummating their love yet. That got her a nice
glare from Abby.
The next morning, day four, Abby awoke with a long yawn. Today, they were planning a
barbeque. She felt stranger than usual and meandered to the bathroom. She didn't want to
feel strange because feeling strange meant that Tycara was slowly taking over... Abby didn't
mind it; she just wanted a little more time. As she looked into her mirror, she realized
something was off. Abby leaned in to get a closer look of her face.
Dare she say it, but... did she look... a bit younger? Abby had aged nicely, but she
swore that she looked a teeny bit younger. Like how she looked when she was 30. Tycara was
young, so maybe her body was changing to suit that. Abby let out a long sigh and touched the
mirror. "At least I know you're there..." she murmured, "I promised to take care of you, so
don't worry."
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