Chapter Text
The door to Copia’s office shut with the finality of the lid on a coffin. In many ways, it might as well have been.
“I’m sorry, my ghoul. I tried everything. They wouldn’t… she wouldn’t budge,” Copia had said. “I bought you time, all the time I could get you. You’ve got two days.” The meaning of his words were clear. Get your affairs in order, Aether.
Aether stood outside Copia’s office door, numb. He was being sent back to the Pits. Sister Imperator decided that a new Quintessence ghoul was needed and that Aether had served his purpose Topside. The numbness quickly gave way to panic as he realized he was going to have to break this news to the pack… to Dewdrop, his mate. This would break Dewdrop. Aether was quick to put up a mental partition against his bond with Dewdrop before he let the emotions crash over him. He dropped to the ground, sliding down the wall, as the tears came quick and hot down his face. How could he do this? How could he tell his mate that he was leaving, being taken away from the forever he had promised when they did the mating ceremony in the wake of Terzo's abrupt removal from his role as Papa. Of course, they knew that no promise of forever could be kept. Their lives were not their own — if anything demonstrated that, it was the death of the Papas — and forever was not for them to decide. But they had lived in the comfortable delusion that whatever happened, they would face it together. If they had had the mercy to not separate Ifrit and Zephyr, certainly they would have the mercy to not separate Dewdrop and Aether.
Clearly not.
The fact was that Aether was being sent back and Dewdrop would be staying Topside. Aether knew that Dewdrop would lash out, try to get himself sent back as well to be with Aether. Sister Imperator wouldn't take the bait. She wanted to keep Dewdrop Topside and nothing Aether could do would change that. Dewdrop had been hassle enough, with the elemental transition, that Sister wouldn't give him up that easily. And the fans loved him! The fans loved all of the ghouls and they loved Aether, but Dewdrop was special. His stage presence, his energy, it drew people in in a way that was just so uniquely him. All Dewdrop lashing out would do would bring more pain down on Dewdrop himself and possibly the rest of the pack as well. Aether couldn’t let him do that. Aether could not be the reason that Dewdrop was hurt.
Except that he was.
Aether was the reason that Dewdrop would have to experience life Topside without his mate. Aether was the reason that Dewdrop would have to experience feeling him being sent back via the mating bond. Aether was the reason that Dewdrop would suffer and there was nothing Aether could do to fix that.
This realization hit Aether like a bullet to the gut and he was up and running out of the Abbey. He couldn’t be where a Sibling or Clergy member could see him or potentially be hurt by the Quintessence that was rolling off his body in waves as he tried to contain the emotions that were threatening to rip him apart. He ran, as fast as he could, until he was so deep in the forest, he worried he may never find his way out. He screamed and cried and his Quintessence crackled off of him like lightning. Aether couldn't tell how long it was until the lightning-like surges through his body died down and his Quintessence was essentially depleted. He was so depleted that he didn’t even sense Mountain coming up to him until he caught Mountain’s scent.
Mountain had felt the Quintessence surging through the Earth in the forest and knew something was wrong. For it to be surging so strongly that Mountain could feel it all the way in the common room of the den meant that something truly awful had happened. Mountain’s first panicked thought at feeling that level of distress from Aether was that something had happened to Dewdrop. But Dewdrop was with Rain, playing video games. He’d just heard Dewdrop angrily scream “motherfucker!” when something in the game hadn’t gone his way. Mountain got up and walked down the hallway to peek into Rain’s room and, sure enough, there were Dewdrop and Rain, both engrossed in the game on the screen. So what was causing Aether’s distress? Mountain glamoured and headed out to the forest, jogging slightly, to find his hurting and distressed packmate.
Aether startled as Mountain approached, trying to get his shit together before his packmate saw him falling apart, but Mountain was on him before he could do anything.
“Aether, Satan below! What’s happening? I felt you all the way in the den." Mountain sank down to the ground with Aether, putting his arms around the Quintessence ghoul in an attempt to comfort him. Aether looked at Mountain like a deer in headlights for what felt like ages. He didn’t feel ready to tell Mountain his news. Mountain didn’t rush him; he simply sat with Aether and let Aether continue to cry quietly until he was ready. Eventually, Aether took a shaky breath and pulled away from Mountain’s arms.
“They are sending me back, Mountain.” Aether said it quietly, not meeting Mountain’s eyes.
“Sending you back? Why?” Mountain wanted to scream and cry with Aether, but that wasn’t what Aether needed right now.
“They want a new Quintessence ghoul. I guess I’m just not good enough for the Ghost Project anymore.” More tears started to fall from Aether’s eyes again.
Mountain was slightly ashamed of the question that came to his brain next. It was selfish and awful, but he needed to know. “And Dewdrop? Him too?”
Aether shook his head, the sobs threatening to overtake him again. “He’s staying Topside.”
The sick, selfish part of Mountain was relieved. He wouldn’t be the last surviving member of his first pack to remain Topside for the next leg of tour.
“I don’t know how I’m going to tell him, Mount. It’s going to break him. How can I hurt him like this? I promised him forever.”
Mountain and Aether stayed out in the woods until well after dark, trying to figure out how they were going to share this news with the pack. Deep down, Aether was thankful that Mountain had come to find him. He wouldn’t have been able to find it in his heart to tell the pack alone. Their game plan was that Aether would tell Dewdrop while Mountain clued in the rest of the pack. They would all be heartbroken but both Mountain and Aether knew that Dewdrop would undoubtedly and understandably take it much harder. Mountain didn’t tell Aether this, but he would keep the rest of the pack in the common area of the den in case Dewdrop tried to take matters into his own hands. Mountain couldn’t stand losing both of them. He just couldn’t.
Aether telling Dewdrop went about as well as could be expected.
“You can’t leave me, Aeth. Please, you can’t leave me. I can’t…” Dewdrop was hyperventilating and his pleas were cut off with a sob that wracked his small body.
“I don’t want to leave you, Firefly. I don’t have a choice.” Aether was crying equally hard, but he was trying to keep it together for his mate.
“I won’t do this. I won’t stay Topside without you. They have to send me back too. I’ll make them!”
“No, Dewdrop, you won’t. You can’t. Sister wants you Topside still and nothing you can do will be able to change that. Please don’t… I couldn’t stand it if I was the reason she hurt you.”
“So you’d rather I suffer Topside without my mate? You’d rather I watch you get torn apart as you are sent back and then I’m expected to turn around and go back on tour? Fuck you, Aether.” Dewdrop was mad now. Somehow that made Aether feel better. Or as close to “better” as he could feel as he told his mate he was being sent to his death back in the Pits of Hell.
“Stay for Mountain,” was the only argument that Aether could give. “He can’t stand to lose you too. First thing he did was ask about you when I told him. Please, for me, don’t make him lose you too.”
The pack made good use of the two days they had left with Aether. They did all of his favorite things, trying to give him the best last days Topside as they could. At the end of the first day, they all ghoul piled together in Mountain’s room. At some point during the night, Mountain awoke and realized that Dewdrop and Aether were missing. Mountain’s panic hit him like a ton of bricks and he screamed. The rest of the pack was up in an instant, ready to defend themselves against whatever it was that was making Mountain scream.
“They took them! Just like Ifrit and Zephyr! They’re gone!” Mountain was screaming incoherently at this point. Swiss hugged Mountain, trying to calm him down. Sunshine bolted out of the room like she would somehow be able to find Aether and Dewdrop and bring them back. The screams had woken Dewdrop and Aether, who had simply gone off to be alone in their nest in Aether’s room. Both ghouls bumped into Sunshine as they hurried back into Mountain’s room. It took a while for Mountain to calm down enough for him to even realize that Dewdrop and Aether were still there, were still with him, and were right by his side.
“I’m so sorry, Mountain. We’re here! It’s alright now!” Aether soothed Mountain, rubbing his back and holding him close. Once the panic subsided, Mountain couldn’t believe how stupid he was acting. Here was Aether, soothing him, when Aether was the one being sentenced to die in a day’s time.
“I’m sorry. Fuck, I’m just… I woke up and you were gone. I thought… like Ifrit and Zephyr,” Mountain stammered out.
“We shouldn’t have disappeared like that, Mountain. We weren’t thinking. Sathanas, we’re sorry!” Aether pressed his forehead against Mountain’s. Mountain realized that Dewdrop wasn’t taking part in any of this soothing. He sat off to the side, seeming to just tolerate Rain’s head against his shoulder. Mountain chose to ignore it.
Aether and Dewdrop got re-situated in the middle of the ghoul pile. Mountain found himself clinging to Aether and Dewdrop like his life depended on it. He did not go back to sleep that night because he knew this was the last night Aether would ever be in his arms.
The next day and night were just for Aether and Dewdrop. They saw the pack at mealtimes, but they spend the majority of the day alone together in their nest. They just held each other. That’s all Aether wanted for his last day Topside, for Dewdrop to hold him while he’s still here.
Neither ghoul slept that night. They made love, they cried, they laughed, they went outside and looked at the stars, remembering that day when they stumbled out of the den, drunk or high or both, because Aether wanted to show Dewdrop the stars. But Dewdrop wasn’t looking at the stars Aether was pointing out to him that night. No, he was looking at the sparkle in Aether’s eyes because no star could be more beautiful than Aether was in that moment. This time, however, Dewdrop didn’t look at the stars because he didn’t want to miss a single moment of being able to look at his mate. Back inside, they watched the sun rise from where they laid in the nest together. They were expected to be in the Summoning room soon. Via Copia, Sister asked that they all be in full uniform with jackets, capes, everything. What bothered Dewdrop was that they were to wear their masks. He didn’t want his last few moments of seeing his mate to be impended by those goddamn masks.
It was a fight, but Dewdrop got dressed. At least twice, he refused to keep going, refused to be a part of the ritual to send his mate back. But Aether reminded him that his defiance would not change the outcome. His defiance would not mean that he would be sent back too, or that Aether could stay Topside. It would just bring more pain down on himself and the remaining members of the pack. So Dewdrop gave in.
The pack walked together to the Abbey, like a funeral procession. Aether was seized by Sister Imperator’s ghouls the moment he stepped into the Summoning room. Mountain and Rain took their spots on either side of Dewdrop, holding him just as they promised Aether they would.
“I love you,” Aether said down his bond with Dewdrop before the ritual started and then the only thing passing between the bond was pain followed by nothing.