After the Battle

by aileejeskar

The battle is over, but their lives sure aren't. [One-shot, takes place after the final chapter, SPOILER WARNING. No specific pairing.]

After the Battle

~x~

Summary: The battle is over, but their lives sure aren't. [One-shot, takes place after the final chapter, SPOILER WARNING. No specific pairing.]

~x~

"Aah..who...are you?"

Musica couldn't think. His vision blurred as tears formed in his steel colored eyes, and he was forced to look away from the brunette before him. "E-Elie," he gasped out, barely hearing her inquire as to where they were standing. She didn't need to explain, he understood. Endless was gone...but so was he.

"Sir?" she asked, voice closer. Musica opened his eyes, finding her standing before him. Her eyes were round and just as blank as they had been the day they met. "Do you know who I am?" There was a hint of hopefulness in her voice that tugged at his heartstrings; all he could think of was when she had first woken up, how Sieg had been the first thing she saw and how he had tried to kill her.

The thought of Sieg only made it worse, given how that had ended up. "Y-yeah," he managed to say, wiping his eyes and hoping that no more tears fell. "I'm your friend, Musica." He paused, unsure of whether or not to ask her. "Do you...remember anything at all?"

Elie pursed her lips, trying to sift through memories that Musica could already tell weren't there. The same realization hit her, and her eyes widened in dismay. "I can't remember anything!" she cried, eyes falling on him desperately. "Do you know what happened?"

Musica nodded after a second, turning away from her and where Endless once stood. "I do, yeah, but we need to meet up with the others before we talk."

"Others?"

Another stab of pain. "Yeah. Our friends. I have to make sure that everyone is okay." They had all promised to come home safely, and with one – well, basically two – down for the count, he was worried that the others had fallen to some similar fate. "Come on, I promise I'll tell you everything later," he told her, looking down at Plue.

The little animal was standing in place, tears cascading down his eyes as he stared at the necklace in his hands. Musica felt his heart strain at the sight of his best friend's necklace, and he quietly knelt down next to him. He tried to console him, but there was nothing he could say that would help. They both knew it. Sighing, he leaned down and scooped him up. His little body was limp, forcing the silverclaimer to carry him in his arms like a stuffed animal.

"What is his name?" asked Elie as they walked. Her voice was cheerful and innocent in a way that he hadn't heard in some time. Sure, Elie had always been that cute, innocent little sister-like figure for him, but as their journey had gone on, she seemed to mature more and more. What was once a thin veil of innocence to hide the pain she felt was now everything about her.

"His name is Plue. And he's a dog, not a bug."

"Are you sure?" she asked, forcing Musica to inhale sharply. He couldn't possibly be having this conversation with her. "He looks like a bug."

Musica decided against answering her, not really having the strength to take Haru's role in the argument he knew she had already had. They walked on in mostly silence, Elie occasionally asking something or exclaiming at the ruins they were making their way through. When the two of them had been walking for about five minutes, they caught sight of Shuda's bright orange-red hair.

"Musica."

"Elie! Plue!"

Nervously, Elie positioned her body a little bit behind Musica's, something that he and Shuda did not miss. Ruby was about to run towards them, but the swordsman stopped him, eyes falling on Musica. "Where...?"

Musica shook his head slightly, enough for the two of them to understand. "Elie, this is Shuda and Ruby. They're our friends," he said, glancing behind him. The brunette appeared from behind him and grinned, waving at them happily. "She...doesn't remember what happened."

His words fell on them heavily, tears immediately forming in Ruby's large eyes. "B-but," he started to stammer before his sobs took over.

"And Endless? Lucia?" asked Shuda firmly. He kept his face as blank as he could, but it didn't take much of a genius to see what he was really asking about.

"Gone. Lucia was fighting inside of Endless, and Etherion took care of them all."

Shuda nodded slowly, his eyes glazing over. "The Gollum soldiers were destroyed when Endless was defeated," he said, sheathing his sword finally. "Let's go round up the others."

The four of them – five, counting Plue – walked in complete silence this time. Elie was still bursting with questions, Musica could feel it, but she was aware of the heaviness of the air and remained quiet. Next to him, Musica could hear Ruby silently sobbing, but no one could say anything to comfort him. Right now, they had to find the others.

"There's Let and Julia," said Shuda after a minute, nodding towards the figure of the two of them. They were hugging each other tightly, and although Musica was positive that he had never seen either of them cry, not even once, tears were streaming down both of their cheeks. Something had obviously happened after Musica left, and though he was curious, he knew it had to wait. "Julia," said Let softly, gently pulling away and gesturing towards the others. Julia turned towards both of them, and Musica thought that she was going to immediately turn away to hide her tears, but instead the tears seemed to fall a little harder.

The question stood in their air between them like a bad odor, but the Dragon Race did not ask. They took one look at Plue, still limp and holding his necklace in Musica's arms, and the blank look in Elie's eyes and understood. "We have to find Belnika and Niebel," said Julia suddenly, as if a thought had come to them.

"Are they okay?" asked Musica worriedly. They had been lucky – hah – thus far, but if something had happened...

"We got stuck fighting Jiero, the Demon Queen," she explained, beginning to move. "And they...I just need to make sure that they're okay as well." Musica only nodded, and the group began to follow her. He and Let exchanged a look as they walked, silently letting the other know that they were aware of what Julia was making sure of.

They didn't need to walk far before they came across the rest of their group, huddled on the ground in a tight group sob-fest. "Belnika," breathed Julia, her tears starting back up again, "Niebel."

At the sound of her voice, all three of them jumped up, rushing over to her. They met halfway, Julia hugging the young mages tightly, sobbing something that sounded like 'dead' and 'gone'. Next to him, Elie gently tapped his elbow, catching his attention.

"Will you please tell me what's going on?" she asked. It wasn't demanding or pushy, but even someone with no memories could see that something tragic had nearly happened here. Musica nodded, pointing towards the airship in the distance.

"As soon as we get back," he promised. "This is Let, by the way." He gestured towards the male Dragon Race, who simply glanced over to her before his eyes darted away. "And the blonde girl, that's Julia. The kid is Niebel, and the blue haired chick is Belnika." Elie nodded determinedly once before she began to look towards her feet.

Before anyone could notice her and start sob-hugging her too, Musica stepped between them. "Guys," he said loudly, calling attention to him. "Guys, I know that everyone is happy to see each other again, but I've got...some bad news." Immediately, the mood changed. They had been so caught up with their excitement that they hadn't even noticed who was missing. "Elie managed to defeat Endless," he said slowly, the words tasting weird in his mouth. This should have been said happily, but he could hardly muster up the energy to say them, let alone make them sound good. "But she...lost her memories."

Musica would have traded everything in the world to make the feeling that his words brought go away. All eyes nervously turned towards her, and she awkwardly waved at them. "Miss Elie?" asked Griff, slowly stepping forward. At the sight of the blue jelly creature, Elie moved behind Musica agin, and the silverclaimer did nothing to stop her.

"I'm sorry," she said sadly, trying to smile. "But I really just don't remember any of you, or anything that happened." Tears that had been happy quickly turned to the opposite as they began to understand. "A-ah! Don't cry! Please, I'm really sorry! I'm sure if I spend enough time with you guys, I'll remember everything!"

For a few minutes, the Rave Warriors stood together and mourned, but this was the least of their worries.

When they had collectively calmed down enough to move, the group made their way back towards Miloch's airship, Niebel going in ahead to warn them. No one was around as they moved in, something Musica was grateful for. He was feeling extremely protective of her, and he didn't want to overwhelm the poor girl. "Elie, how about you go wash up and get some rest?" he suggested when they reached their room. She started to protest, but Musica stopped her with a sharp look. "I'll tell you everything, like I promised. But it's been a long day, even if you can't...remember it. Besides, someone needs to take a look at your arm."

Their eyes fell down to where she had tried to bash her hand off. She stared at it blankly, and Musica could hear the questions moving around her mind. "I know you have a lot of questions," he said quickly, gently leading her towards her bed. For now, she'd have her own room. "But just try to be patient, okay? Everything's all right, you don't have to worry about anything."

"But I lost my memories," Elie said with a slight pout. "That doesn't sound like it's 'all right'." Musica clenched his jaw for a second before taking a deep breath. Gently, he sat her down on the bed, realizing that it wasn't fair to keep everything from her.

"How about I just tell you some basic stuff?" he asked, offering her the closest thing to a smile he could muster. The girl nodded enthusiastically, coming closer. "Okay, well, what do you want to know?"

"My full name."

"Elie. Elie...Valentine."

"How old am I?"

"Seventeen."

"Birthday?"

"January first."

"Birthplace?"

"Hip Hop Town."

"What about my family?"

"You don't have any siblings, and your parents passed away when you were young."

"How did we meet?"

Musica shook his head, rising to his feet. "That's all for tonight," he said firmly, watching as Plue jumped from his arms and headed for the door. Elie's eyes followed him for a second before returning to Musica. Before she could insist, he shook his head again. "I'll tell you everything," he said again, turning to go. "But right now, you need to rest. We'll all talk in the morning, and then you'll know everything."

With a resigned sigh, the brunette mumbled a 'fine' and Musica left, allowing the girl to wash up and sleep. Numbly, he made his way back towards the main part of the ship where the others would be waiting for him. Niebel had returned, sitting with Belnika and Griff, but no one else had joined them. "How is she?" asked Belnika immediately, jumping to her feet.

"She's fine. Just really wants to know who she is," he said, allowing himself to fall into a chair. The others quickly sat down as well, all eyes on him. He leaned forward on his elbows, just wanting everything to stop. Slowly, everyone exchanged their stories of what they endured during the battle, the pieces falling into place. Almost all of us had died, Musica realized, myself included. When it was Musica's turn to speak, he started with a long, deep breath.

"When I got to where Lucia, Elie and..." he paused, unable to bring himself to say his name. No one else had uttered it yet, and Musica wasn't going to be the first. "Lucia had put this magic breaker on Elie, and she was trying to – literally – smash her hand off to get it off while they were fighting. I got there just in time to stop her, but it...didn't matter. Lucia and Endless absorbed him and the two of them fought. As everything was falling apart, I was protecting Elie and I think...I think I might have died, too, so I don't know exactly what happened after that.

"But I'm pretty sure that Elie unleashed Etherion completely, destroying Endless and Lucia. But, I don't think he could get out, even if he did win, so Elie..." he couldn't continue now, tears falling from his eyes as everything started to hit him all over again. Everyone continued to watch him with wide eyes, refusing to believe what he would not say until it was said. "Elie had to kill him to stop Endless," he finally managed to gasp out before the sobs took control of him.

Everyone around the table gasped, or cried out in pain as they similarly became engulfed in their own sobs. Even Shuda and Let were openly crying, unable to control themselves. "But we promised," someone gasped out, but no one answered. They had promised, and they had kept their end of the promise. The irony was too great to be missed.

"What about Elie?" asked Let after a few minutes had passed, the first to compose himself enough to talk again. "She doesn't remember doing it?"

Musica shook his head. "She doesn't remember anything," he explained, wiping his dripping nose. "I think the shock was too much for her, her heart couldn't take what happened." He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for what he had to say next. He didn't know whether they would agree or not, but he had to make his thoughts known. "She wants to know everything that happened. I say we tell her. Just...not about him. Or that she was Resha Valentine and made Rave and all that."

"What?" asked everyone collectively. Musica had expected some resistance, but as his words sunk in, everyone seemed to understand why he felt that way.

"Elie's suffered more than any one of us here," he said, looking at everyone around the table as if daring any of them to even dare to disagree. "She's lost everything, and this time it was by her own hand. She deserves the chance to be happy, really happy."

"But what about –"

"Don't," snapped Musica, refusing to so much as think his name. Not now, he couldn't handle it. "Don't say his name just yet." Everyone looked down at their hands, feeling the same emotions that the silverclaimer was feeling. "Maybe it's a good thing she can't remember him or anything," he said slowly, letting the words sink in. "She can finally be at peace. She won't ever have to suffer again."

Silence settled around the room for a few minutes, broken only by the occasional sniffle or sob. "What are we going to tell her?" asked Julia finally, lips quivering. She was trying very hard not to start crying again, but at this point, it didn't really matter. "She probably has a lot more questions than we can answer."

Musica inhaled slowly. "We tell her the truth," he said plainly. "That she was born with a magic power so great, it could destroy the world. That the word was at war with Demon Card, and we were the only hope to stop them from winning. We tell her that we came here to fight the final battle and that we won, that we went to a lot of different places and helped a lot of people and we answer any question she has with as much truth we can. We don't even mention him, except as a friend we lost in the battle."

"I agree," said Let softly, everyone turning towards him. "Elie has suffered enough, she deserves peace. If we tell her the full story, if we tell her the person she loved was killed by her own hand, she will never rest again."

Slowly, everyone nodded. "Then what?" asked Niebel softly, finally voicing the question that everyone else had been wondering. "What about the rest of us?"

"We start a new life," replied Shuda gently. "H-he never asked for recognition, and neither should we. Today, the world celebrates. It will probably herald this day for years to come, but we do not need to come forth as the heroes. I say that we rest up here for a bit, keeping Elie away from too many people, and then we simply...go our own way."

A sticky sort of silence fell over the group this time. The idea of returning to a normal life was something that none of them had really imagined happening, especially considering so many of them had died just earlier that day. "We won't ever see each other again?" whispered Niebel, shaking. Gently, Belnika rubbed at his back, offering him a watery smile.

"Sure we will," she assured him, but her eyes quickly darted up to everyone else to see if they agreed. A quick nod went around the group. "But, I think Sir Shuda is right. The battle is won, now we just go back to normal. I'll even come with you, to Mildan and learn more magic."

"I can start my very own casino, poyo!"

"I guess Let and I could always start a new life, here."

"I will travel the world, make sure that peace is finally happening."

Everyone turned to Musica, curious as to what he would say. "I'm going to keep Elie safe," he announced. "Take her somewhere that we never went to, some city that we never even got close to. Make sure that she doesn't remember him or what happened, and follow in Rize's footsteps and become a silver artist or something. Maybe follow in Gramps footsteps or something, I'm not sure yet."

"Can I come with you?" asked Griff softly, looking up at him. Musica offered him a smile and told him that he would love that.

So, there it was. The future didn't seem quite as bleak anymore, but the fact remained that they would probably not see each other very often after this. It was a little weird to think about, especially for Musica. He had been the second of them to join the Rave Warriors, not counting Griff or Plue. He had been there with them for everything, to be away from them was almost...scary. They were strong, together. But what about separate?

"We'll still visit," promised Julia, reading his thoughts. "We'll still see each other."

The group stayed like that for a little bit, talking about their future and making plans. Steadily, they began to trickle away, ready for bed. It went unspoken, but none of them would be able to sleep for a long time; there was still too much mourning to be done. Musica was the last to leave, deciding to check up on Elie once before he allowed himself to crash. On his way back, he found Plue sitting by what had been his friend's room, staring at the door with tears dripping down his eyes. "You can stay with me," muttered Musica as he passed, reaching down to place his hand on top of his head.

"Puun."

It sounded sad, but Musica knew that it was a confirmation. With a slight smile, he gently opened Elie's door, happy to see that the lights were off and she was in bed, fast asleep. She looked more peaceful than he had ever seen her, and Musica was certain that he had made the right choice. Tomorrow would come, and they would quietly tell Elie everything that she could ever want to know. In a few days' time, when things had calmed down, they would leave. Everything would slowly settle in normalcy, but even Musica could see that something was missing.

Maybe that was just how it was going to be, he thought as he closed the door and headed towards his own bed. Maybe this feeling of missing something would become their normal.

Two Week Later

"Elie, the cars all ready!" called Musica loudly, waiting until he heard her reply before returning to the driveway. In the week since the battle had ended, everyone had gone their separate ways. Musica had taken Elie, Griff and Plue to a city called Eter, a place far away from anywhere else they had visited; just like he promised. They had arrived just four nights ago, but Musica had already gone to the school and registered Elie, as well as bought a small shop space for his upcoming silver business. The first steps to normalcy.

Ruby had decided to start up his casino just a few hours away from them and Belnika was welcomed by Miloch and the rest of the Mildans, but as for everyone else, Musica couldn't be sure. Let and Julia talked about traveling with Shuda to make sure that the Dark Bring really had been destroyed, but nothing had been fully determined.

And, of course, they all promised that they would keep in touch, that they would see each other as frequently as possible. However, Musica couldn't help but feel that he was really saying goodbye – at least until next year. The following night, the group – minus Elie – had gone back to where Musica had first found the brunette and held a small funeral for their friend. It hadn't been easy, and still no one had dared to speak his name, but it didn't feel right to leave without holding one.

Just as they promised, they told Elie mostly everything. They calmly answered her every question, carefully leaving out the Rave Master and his importance to her. The story had to be fudged, just a little bit, just enough to keep her happy. When it came to her memories, they told her that when she unleashed all her magic power, her mind simply...reset. It was the easiest explanation they could think of.

"Okay! I'm ready!" cried Elie as she came bounding down the steps. Plue was hanging from her head, but Musica decided not to stop him from coming with her. He hadn't left her side since the funeral. Musica smiled at her for a second before the two of them climbed into the little car.

Just four days, but it felt like a lifetime. "Okay, let's go over some things," said the silverclaimer as they drove to the building. Elie groaned, but Musica ignored her.

"What's your name?"

"Elie Valentine!"

"Birthday?"

"January first, X0050."

"Hometown?"

"Hip Hop Town."

Musica kept firing questions at her, hardly hearing her responses before another question came. He had been doing this at least once a day, making sure that she was still with him. As the school came into view, he quietly pulled over, turning to her seriously. "What's up?" she asked, large brown eyes blinking at him.

"Elie, I know that we told you that you were a powerful mage," he said softly. "But you can't tell anyone else about that."

"I know that. You talked about this last night."

Musica nodded. "Right. But, there's another thing – no one can know that you were even a part of the war, okay?" She stared at him with wide eyes, but slowly began to nod. "Good. If anyone ever finds out that you took part in the battle, they'll never leave you alone and I didn't take you all the way here to have to move away a month from now. From now on, you're just a normal girl, and I'm a normal artist, okay?"

The brunette laughed, promising that she would keep it a secret. As they pulled up to the school, the brunette took a deep breath before she climbed out of the car. "I'll meet you here right after classes," said Musica, looking at her over his sunglasses. "You better not be late."

"I won't be late, brother!" she called, shutting the door behind her before he could tell her to not call him that. He watched her through the window, glaring at every single boy began to stare at her. He had half a mind to jump out of the car and beat them all to a bloody pulp on behalf of his best friend, but she was quickly engulfed by a group of young girls asking her questions about Musica could only imagine was Plue.

He watched her until she was in the school, noticing with some satisfaction that she seemed to blend right in. It was like she was meant for school, to be surrounded by people her own age, normal people. He sighed once before driving away, trying to convince himself that this was for the best.

"Don't you worry at all," he muttered, lighting up a thin cigarette. "I'll keep her safe for you."

~x~

Author's Note: Hello my lovelies! This idea kind of came out of nowhere and I honestly just could not focus on anything until I got it written down. Just kind of my take on what happened immediately after Musica found Elie with no memories. I hope you all like it!