Chapter Text
Well worn black boots moved soundlessly across the landscape. Rook never believed he would set foot back here again. Their nightmare had begun in this very facility nearly 10 years ago. The day that the Shroud brothers had decided to kickstart their armageddon. The STYX facility had been destroyed, reduced to not much more than rubble. All that remained on the isle of woe were roving packs of low-level phantoms who hadn’t had the power to leave and spread throughout the world. The gate to Tartarus now forever open.
Epel was at the hunter’s side, moving as quietly as his companion as they descended down the path towards the underworld. Neither unmarred by time. Both in a state that their former Dorm Leader would have found atrocious. Callous hands, gripped their weapons, Rook trading out his beloved bow, for a magic power riffle. Epel wielding a pair of enchanted daggers. A larger sword in its sheath, strapped to his back. He had grown and filled out, he was lean with muscles covering every inch of his body. Something the younger one would have dreamed of, but had come as the natural course of their current life.
The Isle of Woe was considered a dead zone. Nothing could live here. But that was just it, their scanners had picked up some odd disturbances emanating from the Isle, and if Ortho had returned, looking to capitalize on something left behind they couldn’t risk it. It was a threat they had to neutralize now.
Epel drove his sword through the heart of a small skulking phantom that crossed his path with practiced ease, before glancing at the band on his wrist. “Blot levels are stable but we best move quicker, we gotta get back out of here,” he spoke barely above a whisper.
“I believe your assessment is correct.” Rook replied, long ago dropping his flowery language in favor of clear and concise communication. “It may be worth the risk of using wind magic to make our descent. Whatever is here, is near the gate. I can tell that much. And you remember the last time we were here. It took us hours.”
“Yeah cuz we were carrying that useless spear,” Epel replied spitefully.
Rook gazed over the side of the pit. Last time there had been too much energy from the newly opened gates radiating out for them to even think of a magical descent, but now the magic leaking from the portal was a slow yet steady flow. “We were also less versed in engaging phantoms. But my point still stands.”
Epel just shrugged. “Not the dumbest shit we’ve done. And I’m ready to see what’s waiting for us.” the lavender headed man spun his dagger about in his hand, fully expecting a fight.
“After you then.” Rook bowed with a grin, a moment later Epel leapt off the edge. The blond hunter close behind him.
The fall was uncomfortably long as the levels of the former STYX facility flew by, but as they reached the bottom the hunter’s keen eyes caught sight of blue fabric billowing in the wind, and gasped. “It can’t be” he cried out. In his shock, he missed the moment he needed to cast his spell and Epel scrabbled to break bother of their falls.
“Rook!” Epel cried out, more concerned about his companion than what the man had seen.
Rook, however, ignored him, as he rolled with his fall, and took off in a sprint. It was only then Epel’s eyes followed his line of sight and he stared open mouthed. “Vil,” he spoke with a shaken voice.
The blonde was on his knees staring at the unchanged body of his friend he thought was long dead. “Vil,” Rook whispered as he reached down to touch his body. “How…” tears formed in his eyes as he lift him up. The unconscious boy started to stir in the hunter’s arms, and Rook stared as amethyst eyes fluttered open for the first time in a decade, as Epel stopped staring down from the other side.
“How is he alive…he…he…we watched him….” It had been a long time since something had caused Epel to cry.
“What…” Vil groaned “I….where is everyone. “
Rook looked at Epel as the boy glanced at his wrist and they shared a look before they started moving. Being this close to the portal wasn’t safe. “We’re the only ones here right now, but we’ll get you out of here.”
“Rook,” Vil muttered clearly still out of it. The hunter could hardly believe it, the blonde looked exactly like he had the day they lost him. The day he’d tried to prevent the end of the world by diving into the underworld in an attempt to save Idia, Grim, and the whole world. Only he’d never emerged. What had emerged was Ortho, the titanic phantom. Set to enact his and his brother’s plan.
And who was there to stop him? The gate was open, and the only person that could close it…..
That day had forever been burned in his memory, they had barely gotten out alive. And some of them hadn’t. Vil’s hadn’t been the only sacrifice that day, Jamil had thrown himself at the enemy, giving the others the chance to escape by the craft STYX had provided. The others watched in horror as he was torn apart by the phantoms that had begun to pour out of the facility. He’d smiled even as he’d gone, knowing his fate, grateful he was going out on his own terms. Leona had cursed at him, tried to stop him, screamed if the idiot had learned anything before Jamil had knocked him back and slammed the door shut.
Within a week the whole world was in chaos.
Epel grabbed ahold of Rook, who cradled Vil in his arms, and cast his magic, with practiced ease. The pair had been working together non-stop as members of the resistance since the world had fallen to Ortho’s phantom tainted rule. They were propelled upwards. Both of one mind that they had to get Vil out of here. He looked as he did the day he disappeared but who knew what a decade here had done to him? Like a rocket, they soared upward, as Epel grit his teeth.
Everything seemed to go by in a haze, as they ran back to the ship that had brought them here. Rook laid Vil down in the medical pod, as Epel got the ship flight ready.
Only once they were in the air, and Vil was secure as they let the machine do its job, did Rook collapse in the seat next to Epel. Neither of them had been prepared for what they found. And green eyes keep glancing back at the glass enclosure Vil was currently resting in to make sure it hadn’t been all a blot induced dream.
“How is he still alive. And he looks just the same….is it really him?” Epel asked though his eyes stayed fixed on the sky, even though he’d set the craft to autopilot. There was still the risk of them coming across an airborne phantom.
“I don’t know.” Rook turned back and removed his hat settling into his seat. “Phantoms can mimic humans, but not to that degree. And we all just assumed he was dead. If he’s been trapped there all this time and we didn’t do anything to help him….” there was grief in his voice as he trailed off.
Epel’s fists tightened. “But we’ve kept an eye on the Isle all this time. There was never any sign before now.”
“We’ll have to see what he has to say when he’s fully waken up.” Rook crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
When the medical pod beeped Rook stood walking over to stare at the results. Most of their mission vehicles had at least rudimentary medical equipment on board given the nature of their work. “His blot levels are near zero, his energy levels are a bit low, and he has a few minor injuries and abrasions but given what we’d endured before he entered the portal that all adds up.” Rook closed his eyes and took a deep breath before giving a few commands. “I’ll have it patch him up.”
He stared down at the glass as his mind raced. Vil was alive after all these years. There were so many emotions welling up inside of him as he gazed down at his now sleeping friend. Rook had no idea what to say to him. How to explain the horror that was their everyday life. The people they’d lost, the people that changed, were scared in more ways than one. How he looked unchanged by time, in his regal dorm uniform, crown still above his head.
How to explain Night Raven College didn’t exist anymore. Razed to the ground in the same assault that had left Sebek dead trying to defend his master from Ortho Shroud, the real one, not the robot they’d come to know. That it had been all in vain as he had struck down the Fae Prince anyway, knowing him to be his biggest threat in his plan to flood the world with phantoms.
“Are you alright?” Rook asked looking at his companion, Epel had expended a lot of his magic to get them out of there. Around that much blot, it was dangerous.
The lavender headed man shook his head. “I’m in the orange. I’ll have to go on light duty for a while. But it was worth it. Besides, how could I be upset when we found Vil alive?”
Rook closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. They knew much more now about how blot and overblot worked. Some of STYX's former scientists had joined their resistance. Now everyone on their team wore monitors. Their line of work was bleak, they called themselves a resistance but, they were basically fighting for survival. They had no real hope to drive back the hordes of phantoms, not when the gate to the underworld could never be sealed. The only way to stem the tide of Overblot was to monitor the levels of blot in a person’s system, especially after the intensive use of magic. “I’m going to wake him up. We should at least let him know what’s happened before we arrive.”
Epel nodded as he stood. “We should be alright, I haven’t caught sight of a single phantom during our flight.”
The hunter was silently thankful for the support as he released Vil from the pod. It had at least managed to heal his minor injuries. The exhaustion would just take time. The blonde laid still for a moment before lavender eyes fluttered open once more, and he gazed up into the faces of Rook Hunt and Epel Felmier. “Vil.” Rook breath out as he helped him sit up, physically restraining himself from pulling the man into a bone crushing hug.
Finely manicured nails rested against Vil’s head. “Where are we, what happened,” he spoke a bit disoriented.
“Vil, what's the last thing you remember,” Epel asked hesitantly. “We can fill you in as best we can from there. Some of the details are…fuzzy.” That was almost a lie, that day had been seared into both their minds.
“We fought Idia, he’d overblot.” Vil spoke as he concentrated “then I remember he fell and Grim..and I…I…”
“You dove into the underworld after them.” Rook’s voice wavered a bit as he spoke. “That was the last time we saw you until today.”
“What.” Vil dropped his hand as he finally took a moment to gaze at his companions. He took in their weathered appearance. Gone were their NRC uniforms, replaced with black, tactical gear. Epel was taller, almost as tall as Rook. He stared at them in shock.
“That was almost 10 years ago.” Rook looked away “We thought you died that day. We had to flee, as the phantoms poured out of the facility. We’ve been fighting them ever since.’
“10 years…fighting phantoms.” Vil stood, he found himself unsteady for a moment as the pair caught him and he got his bearings.
“Be careful,” Epel spoke firmly as he made sure the man could stand freely.
“You tell me I’ve been asleep for 10 years, while you’ve been fighting phantoms and I’m the one that needs to be careful?” Vil looked at him sternly.
Both of them couldn’t take it anymore, as Rook and Epel hugged him tightly. “I can’t believe I missed being scolded by you.” Epel laughed, realizing this truly was Vil.
Vil returned the hug, in his mind the events of the STYX incident were fresh. The feelings he had that day when he realized Rook, Epel, and Yuu had come to rescue him. “What happened to everyone else?”
“You’ll meet some of them soon enough.” Rook pulled away wiping a few tears from his eyes. “Just try to…take things in stride.”
“I imagine a lot has changed in 10 years.” Vil sighed, he didn’t want to think about everything he’d missed, but he needed to know.
“You have no idea.” Epel wiped his own eyes. “We survived but not everyone did. Idia and Grimm both disappeared with you into the underworld. Jamil died helping us escape. Malleus and Sebek died when Ortho’s phantom attacked the school looking to take him out.”
“They’re…all dead. Malleus is dead?” Vil had to sit back down.
“We’ve lost several during our fight.” Rook looked at his friend with sympathy. “We’ve grown used to loss over the years. This must be hard to hear for you. Most are old scars for us some spaced years apart giving us time to grieve.”
Vil brought a hand to his chest and closed his eyes. “I still need to know.” his mind raced, how many of his former friends and classmates had perished? He was grateful at least to know the two in front of him were still standing.
“Floyd died protecting Riddle. Riddle is our defacto leader. Ortho tried to send a group of phantoms to assassinate him, and Floyd sacrificed himself.” Epel brought his hands to his chest.
“It was a particularly hard loss. Riddle was never the same, he blamed himself for being careless, and now is hyper vigilant. I can’t say it hasn’t served us well, but…” Rook shook his head.
“Jade’s not any better.” Epel crossed his arms. “He shut down, he still works in weapons development but he’s not close to anyone anymore. Not even Azul’s been able to get him back out of the shell he built around himself.”
Vil took the story in stride. Riddle, Azul, and Jade were alive, but Floyd wasn’t. He can’t imagine any of them faired the loss well.
Rook sighed and closed his eyes. “Jack died in an ambush. It was one of our earlier assaults, he Leona and Ruggie were attempting to get information on Ortho’s location. Back then we thought we had a chance to stop him. But he found them first. Leona and Ruggie survived but barely.”
“Jack’s dead.” Vil felt something catch in his throat.
“I know you were close to him.” Epel crossed his arms.
Vil closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Cater’s the only one that goes on those types of missions now, though we try to follow Ortho’s location for our own safety more than anything else.” There was a grief in Rook's voice that spoke of regret. “It takes a toll on him, but he’s not willing to risk anyone else’s life.”
“Cater?” Vil chest tightened a bit at his name. At least he was still alive.
“He uses his clones. His real body hasn’t left the resistance headquarters in years. He’s heavily guarded otherwise. He sends his clones out on missions that are considered dangerous with a high probability of death.” Epel explained “He’s probably experienced death a thousand times. But he retains all the information from his clones, so he’s saved likely as many lives. We wouldn’t be able to function without his intel.”
“I’m sure he’ll want to see you. He doesn’t come out of his quarters often. But for this, he probably would. Cater is constantly monitored for blot accumulation given he’s constantly using his magic. Though he’s long become desensitized to what he’s gone through Overblot isn’t likely. It was a real concern early on. He’d wake up screaming loud enough the whole base could hear it. But he refused to stop. ” Rook crossed his arms.
Vil looked white as a sheet, after their explanation. The world he’d awoken to sounded like a nightmare.
“That's probably enough for now.” Rook took note of Vil’s state and sighed. “The rest you can meet as you go.”
Wordlessly Vil nodded as dread filled him.
“We’re close anyway.” Epel made his way back up to the front of the ship and sat down. “Get him secure and I’ll prepare us for landing.”
Rook nodded before guiding Vil to a seat, helping him strap in. “We took a page out of STYX’s book. And headed to the ocean. Our base is buried in the depths of the Coral Sea.” he explained before heading to his own seat.
Vil looked out the window and watched as their craft plunged underwater. He was still processing everything, could barely believe what he’d been told. But as the water rushed by he closed his eyes. This after all was the price of his failure.