Chapter Five

~Nia~

No matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did, Nia could still hear her parents' screams as Nassiri killed them. It was echoing in her dreams, in her waking life; it haunted her. Why had she done it? What was there possibly to gain? What had they possibly done to even remotely deserve such a heinous death? Frustrated and on the verge of crying, she paced her house in Heaven. The images, the sounds, the emotions…It all echoed in her like an empty, large cavern. Needing someone to lean on, Nia left to go see her mate. 

Furo was the first to notice something was wrong. "You usually say hello. Is everything alright?"

"No, where's Len? I need to see him." She hadn't intended her voice to shake, but it did. 

"I'll take you to him. What's bothering you?"

"My sister." That was all she could choke out before tears escaped her eyes. Furo didn't ask anything else, probably sensing she was too upset to want to talk without Len to comfort her. He led her to Len's office and opened the door.

"Nia? What brings you here?" Len was obviously surprised. Furo closed the door after Nia to give them privacy, telling imps that until someone came out, no one went in.

"Len, it's my sister…." She hiccupped, wiping tears away.

He left the desk and helped her sit next to him on his bed. "What's happened?"

Nia took a few deep breaths before she told Len a part of her past that she hadn't told anyone. Nia and Nass were only ten and it was a cold Saturday night. Their parents had just laid them down to sleep and gone into their room themselves. Nia fell asleep quickly but nightmares had kept her from sleeping well. In the morning Nia went to say good morning to her parents only to find them mangled in their beds, horrified expressions on their faces. Blood was everywhere, some organs were scattered about. Nia fell to her knees and started screaming. Nass, coming in and taking a look around, told Nia screaming didn't bring back the dead, made a tasteless joke and left. 

Len sat silent for a few minutes, searching for his words. "I had no idea… I don't know what to say, sorry wouldn't do a thing." He embraced her and held her tightly to him. "Did they find who did it?"

Nia shook her head. "Back then, no. It became the most infamous cold case in Heaven's history. There was no out of place scent and no one could find any signs of forced entry. My parents had no enemies, so there wasn't a single lead."

"Back then?"

Nia slowly nodded her head, wiping away more tears. "I found out who did it…"

"Who?"

"Well, Kali led me to their bodies, she had kept them preserved. See, I have telepathy. And apparently Kali had waited for me to be a certain age before finishing my telepathic training."

"What did she do?"

"She guided me on how to recover memories of the dead. So, she had me recover my parent's memories... Len, it was Nassiri! She killed our parents!"

He gasped, just as shocked as she had been. "What? Why! That's horrendous!" 

"I don't know why. I can't wrap my head around it! I feel their pain, hear their screams, see her emotionless, lifeless eyes... It's haunting my life! She's evil!"

Len stroked her hair as she cried. "I don't know what to say, love. Can they be brought back?"

Nia shook her head. "No. If angel souls die with enough trauma, the gem is to be destroyed to prevent remembering the tragedy upon reincarnation. "

"Oh wow. To lose your parents at such a young age and to your own blood... I cannot understand how you've stayed so sweet and strong all this time. I'm here for you, my love. Anything you need, just let me know."

Nia nodded. "When the time comes, I'm going to confront her. But until then, don't tell anyone else and don't act any differently should she come around. "

"How will I know she's here?"

"We're identical. Everything about us is the same, accept a slight thickness to her voice. If you really know me as well as I believe you do, you'll know it's not me." She had a huge amount of faith in him.

"I do know you, my love. If I were blind and couldn't smell, I would still hear your voice and find you. My heart would guide me to you," Len gently tilted her head up to gaze in her eyes. "I love you, Astrania Dela Cruz." He wiped her eyes dry with his suit sleeve and kissed them gently. Len held her next to his heart, stroking her hair.

"I love you, too, Len Daemus."

~Elysium~

He was walking through a field of jasmine bushes, the scent always calmed him. He heard a soft sound and followed it. 

"Nothing is the same with you gone. I hope you know my love can't stop. Even in death, it's true. I make myself a fool. But if you were to call, I'd run to you."

Wow, he had never heard Nyxie so depressed. Her melody was heartbreaking. He watched, seeing little creatures were sitting around her. 'Wow, she looks the definition of Goddess.' He sat and waited a moment before making himself known.

"My heart is only flesh and everything that dies just fades away. Yet we throw away forever. Life singing by the soul screams out. It's calling for a lover. I see the falling in the distance and feel it in my soul. I live and try to hear the melody that calls me home. Life calls for a lover and you will live forever."

Elysium couldn't help but applaud. "That was so gorgeously sung, I'm in actual tears!"

Nyx wiped her eyes. "I know. I sing from my soul."

"How are you feeling?"

Nyxie looked up into the sky, watching clouds. "Still I hear him. Echoing overnight into me."

Wow, was that cryptic. "So, still a storm?" 

She nodded. "I feel like a piece of myself is gone. He was my protector as a child, my idol. I loved him so dearly that leaving Hell when I was young broke my heart. Even separated, I believed in him. I believed we'd be together again. Now that's gone," she reached down to pet a small Bandersnatch cub under its chin.  

"If it's any consolation, he wanted to die. When you both remembered the, uh, incident at your first wedding, he was so upset that he hurt you. All he wished for was death. So, you gave him what he wanted."

"That doesn't really help..."

"I tried, though. This is one of those things that only time can smooth over. Is there anything I can do?" 

"Not really."

He nodded and walked back to the castle. Ver and Len looked to him. "She's not doing well. I heard her singing and it made me cry. It was beautiful and heart breaking."

Len looked to Ver. "How is Kanna?"

"She's sleeping peacefully, guards outside her door, one by her window and Zero at her bedside."

"Go to her."

~Veraque~

It wasn't hard to find Nyxie. She had the most beautiful voice, and honestly, she was the only one who openly sang in Hell. It made her strange but also a songbird. The melody he heard did break his heart, as his empathy picked up on how emotionally broken Nyx was.

"I'm not really here, who am I? Trapped in myself and the prison I made. I'm drowning in myself. No help, no light. Bleeding inside and out. It's time to forget me and be someone else." She paused. "I know you're there, Ver. I can feel your presence."

He lightly laughed. "Can't sneak up on you. But you didn't see this coming!" He transformed into an adorable fluffy husky puppy, black and white with a black mustache under his nose. His paws were white with black tips, his head extra fluffy. He pounced on Nyxie and yipped excitedly. "PET THE PUPPY AND FEEL BETTER!!"

Nyx attempted a smile before she took him in her arms and held him close. "I miss him so much, Ver! I don't feel the same, nothing feels the same with him gone…" Tears streamed down her face.

Ver whimpered. "I'm sure he misses you, too. But he knew what could happen when he chose to rebel." He licked her face. "I know it's hard now, but you'll make it through this. And you'll be stronger for it. You still have your kids and Salax, after all."

"But I killed him! With my own hands! I saw his body fall limp, heard him hit the floor, saw the small amount of panic in his eyes. I felt his emotions scatter. I hear his screams still…"

Ver whimpered and cuddled his head into her arm. "I'm sure you'll make it through this."

She squeezed the soft puppy to her, letting her tears out. "How could I kill him after everything he's done for me?! He'll never even think about me after this…"

"Let's get you to your room. I'll stay a puppy and be there as long as you need," Ver wagged his tail, licking Nyxie's face again. 

She nodded, slowly standing. With Ver in her arms, she slowly walked back. Entering the castle, silence greeted her. She just walked slowly, her expression blank and her eyes hollow. Her ears and tail drooped, showing just how depressed she was. Len and Elysium looked at each other and then Salax, who frowned and lowered his head. Nyxie just walked by, her feet dragging. She fumbled with her door and just laid down on the bed, staring blankly ahead. Ver snuggled up to her and licked her hand. "We'll help you through this."