Disclaimer: I do not own Huntik or any of the characters mentioned in this story.
Dante POV
It used to be easy for me. I'm not saying that my life is awful or that I wish I was someone else, what I mean is it used to be easy to let others go. Throughout my entire life I've had many people who are and have been close to me. Many of them have gotten hurt or even worse died but I've always just put it in the back of my mind. Those people died for a greater good against evils like the Organization and Blood Spirals. I would grief like everyone else for my fallen friends and allies but at the end of the day it never stopped me from going on with my normal life.
So why is it that after all this time I stand here paralyzed not knowing what to do or what to say. How could one person affect my life so drastically that everything I do now seems to make me feel like someone is trying to rip my heart open with a crowbar? I received a letter from Metz explaining what had happened but no matter how many times I read it I can't accept the facts. The mission for them was simple. All the teens had to do was take out a couple of the Blood Spiral's remaining members but they were outnumbered and overpowered. Metz wrote that Zhalia told Lok and Sophie to run while she distracted the Spirals and that no matter what they were not allowed to turn back even if they wanted to. It had been a whole year since the Spiral war. An entire year and yet I never went back to see them, to see her. Every time they wanted me to go with them on a mission I came up with some excuse or told them no. Why couldn't I go back to my team? Was it really that hard to face the people who I use to trust my life to? Was it so hard to just go back and tell them that I can't handle having them look at me like I'm going to disappear just because of what happened during the final battle? But I guess that's exactly what I did to them I left like a coward.
Zhalia… Oh god every time I even hear someone say her name now it feels like my insides are being sucked out from me leaving nothing but an empty shell. I can't stop thinking if I had gone and helped if I had been there would I have been able to save her? Could I have done something different so instead of her going out and sacrificing her life she could be safe and wrapped in my arms? I haven't been able to concentrate on anything but her. Why is it that whenever something goes wrong all we can do is sit and think about how much we wish we could go back change what choice we made.
Lok and Sophie came to see me as soon as they were all healed up from the disaster mission. They both looked about as bad as I did. Sophie and Zhalia had gotten close lately and I could tell that she just lost someone she looked up to greatly. Lok, the poor boy was tearing himself apart saying that it was his fault. Lok kept saying that since he was leading the mission he should've kept the girls safe and somewhere inside of me almost started yelling at him for not doing exactly that but, I stopped. Lok is just a kid. I couldn't get mad at a teenager for something that even elite agents have failed to do. Both of them couldn't help what just occurred and they needed my support not the anger that I've been taking out on myself.
The kids showed me something that I needed to see. I wasn't the only one tormented by Zhalia's death and I needed to be with them instead of shutting them out. Lok and Sophie both fell asleep on my couch that night pouring out every emotion, everything they've been keeping locked up from the outside world. Maybe I'd be able to handle thinking of her again if I could put this overbearing weight in my chest to rest. I just can't lie around and have the memories be shoved away forever. I need to talk to her to tell her that I'm sorry for abandoning the team when I promised I'd never leave them. I need to explain myself and I guess for now that's all I can do.
Normal Pov
The streetlights glared softly off the sidewalks of Rotterdam as the breeze whipped a russet haired-man's yellow over coat out of place. He was alone and walking with nothing but a bouquet of lilies. He slowly made his way up a walkway of worn cobblestone steps into a small gated garden. The man slowly knelt down to the ground and placed the flowers in front of him. His hand slid over the smooth and cold stone before his mouth turned up into a small smile.
"I missed you Zhalia."
Okay this isn't exactly how I wanted to write this story and I'll probably edit this later but this is my first Zhante piece yay! I was re-watching Huntik for the like seventh time and started wondering what would've happened if Zhalia died but, unlike here she doesn't come back to life. Then my thoughts just became depressing and it's like three in the morning so this worked itself onto my paper and I'm sorry for doing this. I don't really know how I am at writing angst so we'll see how this goes! It's a little short but I just wanted to write a quick one-shot. Okay anyway I hope you all enjoyed it I know Dante was a little OC and his pov was written weird but I'm experimenting a little bit so any advice and commentary would be wonderful! Just try not to leave to many flames please!
