The Aftermath

Milena let her tears flow freely as she clung to the still form of her one true love, rocking back and forth on her knees, holding his head next to her chest. Her heart felt as though it had been shattered into a thousand pieces.

Why?

Why did he have to leave her? So soon after revealing his own heart to her? After connecting their souls for those briefest of moments? Did Avo truly hate her so much as to take away the one thing that she wanted most in the world?

These questions filled her mind, but they had no way of escaping through her lips as her sobs racked her body.

A squeeze on her shoulder brings her blinking back to reality from the recesses of her frantic mind.

They were all there, watching her, sympathy and sorrow filling their eyes. Walter was stood next to her, his hand still place firmly on her shoulder as he looked at the still form in her arms.

"You have to let go, Milena," the knight's gruff voice murmured into her ear, "He's gone."

Shaking her head, she twisted her hand into the fabric of the red and blue jacket, "No. No he's no… Ben can't be gone. He just can't be… Not yet. Not yet…"

Sighing, the old man made his way around to the other side of the body and put a hand over hers and moved it into the still grasp of the Major's.

Looking up into his grey eyes, the young Queen tried to blink away her tears.

He wouldn't have wanted this. He wouldn't have wanted her to behave like this over his body. She knew he wouldn't have…

Sniffing, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, ignoring the red stain from the blood that still clung to her cheek and examined the other figures that stood around them.

Logan was stood a small distance away, his armour dented in several places from the battle, and there was a crude bandage of sorts wrapped around his upper left arm, and Page, who was stood slightly closer, seemed to have obtained a cut just over her eyebrows, a thin river of red flowing over her features.

It was in that moment that Milena knew that she had to be strong. Not just for Ben, but for herself and her people.

The kingdom of Albion had been through one of the worst ordeals ever recorded since the notorious Jack of Blades, and it would need a leader to help it back onto its feet. A leader that wouldn't buckle under the pressures of…

She frowned.

She swore she could have just…

Ben's fingers moved.

Looking back down at the blond haired man, she stared at his hand, watching, waiting, hoping that what she had felt had been real.

For a moment, nothing happened, and she felt the hope that had risen inside of her begin to sink back into the sea of despair, but then she saw it. The faintest of twitches in his digits, the slight frown of his brow, the small groan of an unpleasant dream.

"Walter," she whispered, moving her hand over the once dead man's heart, "He's… he's moving."

"Spasms of the muscles," he said in an explanatory tone, obviously trying to keep his mind at a safe distance, "It tends to happen when-"

"His heart's beating!"

He stared at her, "What?"

She could feel it, the steady pumping of his heart against her skin, bringing a smile to her face. It was weak, but there.

Walter put his hand over his young friend's mouth and nearly choked.

"But that's… that's impossible!" he exclaimed, "No one could have survived that! He shouldn't be… Impossible!"

Milena openly smiled now, her tears of sorrow turning into tears of joy.

He was alive! Ben was alive! Avo alone knew how, but he was alive!

Avo had blessed her this day. She was blessed with this second chance, and she wasn't going to waste it.

Pulling her Major up against her chest, she looked up at her brother, "Logan, I need you to get a surgeon here right away. Major Finn needs urgent medical attention."

Nodding, the Prince started to make his way back towards the castle, the relief and confusion he felt showing on his face.

"Hold on, Ben," she said, turning back to the unconscious man in her arms, "You're going to be alright."

This was not happening.

He was not stood in the middle of giant hall that seemed to be painted in every shade of white known to man. And there was no way this hall, with no sight of any windows, candles or doors, could be so well lit.

And it was impossible for Scythe to be standing, bold as brass, right in front of him, bandages covering his mutated face and hands.

… This was because of what he made Milena use his Warhammer for back in the Hall of the Dead, wasn't it.

The ancient man stared down at him, an amused look in his eye.

"I did not think that a man such as you could be so easily surprised," Scythe said, his voice seeming to echo through his entire being.

Ben closed his mouth (he hadn't realised it had been open) and blinked. What could he say to this guy? He was the big man! The original (if all the stories were true)! The most powerful Hero in recorded history! And he was just… standing there, like he was actually human.

"Well, I… uh… You're not, exactly… um…" he stumbled, unable to get any understandable sentences out of his mouth due to the sheer awe he was currently experiencing. "I must be dead."

One of the Hero's… eyebrows?... rose, "And what gave you that impression?"

"Well, I don't think I'd be standing here if I wasn't, I mean I was just…"

He let his words dry up on his tongue as realisation crossed his mind. Looking down at his chest, he put a hand over the spot where he could remember Milena's blade pierce, and yet there wasn't a mark on his uniform.

Memories filled his mind of those moments before he woke in this room. The pain in her eyes, the fear he felt for leaving her…

"No, Benjamin Finn, you are not dead."

Head shooting back up to meet those deep red eyes, he frowned, "But-"

"Was it not so that you wished to live?"

Remaining silent, the blond haired Major nodded.

Inclining his head slightly, Scythe examined him, making him squirm under the scrutinising gaze. It made him feel like a child again, just being handed back to his mother after being caught pick-pocketing for the first time.

"Then I do not see what the problem is."

For a moment, he couldn't think of what to say, but them there was only one question left to ask; "Why?"

"I'm afraid that question has far too many implications for me to answer you to the degree you are no doubt hoping for," the taller man replied, "Would you care to clarify?"

Ben shook his head at the sophisticated reply, but continued, "Why am I still alive? How am I still alive? What is this place? Why am I here? Why are you here? How do you know my name?"

He would have continued asking his questions, but the Hero raised a hand, silencing him, "Since your head is no doubt filled with these inquiries, I think it would be appropriate for me to address them one at a time, therefore permitting us to delve into the subject at greater length." He started to walk away, motioning for the Major to follow, "As for your first question; you are alive because you wished it to be so."

Catching up to him, Ben frowned, "So, if I hadn't 'wished' to be alive…?"

"I would not have helped you," Scythe replied calmly, "If you had not wished it, then I would have been unable to pull you from the brink."

"But why me?"

Scythe suddenly stopped and raised his eyebrows, "Would you rather be in the oblivion that is death?"

"Well, no… But I'm sure I wasn't the only one to have 'died' and wished for a second chance. Not just today, but since the beginning of time. Why did you save me?"

Red eyes bored into his own, making him flinch.

"You have a power within you that most do not possess," he explained, "It is rare to find someone with such abilities as yours who has not yet discovered them. I must say that I am surprised that you have not, considering recent events."

Ben frowned. What was he saying? Power?

"Usually, Heroes are born of events such as the one you lived through on Aurora, though the darkness appears to have suppressed it while it had been in your system."

The blonde haired man shuddered at the memory of that day and was tempted to leave the subject as it lay, but his curiosity got the better of him, "Heroes?"

Scythe almost seemed to smile as he turned away again, walking towards the furthest wall, "I believe you asked what this place was."

"Yes but-"

"I will show you."

As they reached the wall, the Will user held up a hand towards it.

Suddenly, the stones began to move, pulling themselves back out of the way, twisting and turning to create an archway, leading out to a strange garden surrounded by an endless blue ocean, the ground covered in soft sand and short cut grass. The soft sounds of the waves upon the beach filled his ears, and the salty smell of the seas greeted his nostrils.

Once through the doorway, Ben searched the horizon for sight of any other land, but none could be seen.

Turning back to ask yet more questions, his words fell silent on his tongue.

The archway was gone, and he was now stood in the middle of this sandy island with nothing and no one but Scythe at his side.

"This is the place where I first discovered the power of Will," the Hero said, looking fondly at the environment, "I was probably only a few years your junior when I achieved that which awakened the line of Heroes within my blood. And, as such, it is where we shall awaken your power."

Ben was flabbergasted, "My power?" he asked, "But I'm just a soldier! I don't have-"

"Do not underestimate yourself, Benjamin Finn. You have held the ability to wield the power of a Hero since your birth, though have lacked the means to truly obtain it. This," he motioned their island, "is the means for you to discover your lost ability which the darkness had unknowingly discovered within you.

"During the time you will spend here, you shall become the Hero you were always meant to be, as your birth right and abilities dictate. I shall teach you to control it and bend it to your desires, as many have done before you. Do you understand?"

He nodded numbly, trying to process everything he'd just been told.

He was a Hero? But how was this possible? As far as he knew, the last of the Heroes had died out many years before he was even born, save for the rulers of Albion.

"Good. I'm afraid that you will not be able to endure the luxury of the years of training that would have been the usual method of training, but a matter of days. It has come to my attention that the darkness was not the only threat on your kingdom, though it has waited for it to be at its weakest to strike."

What? "What threat? Why didn't I know about this before?"

"Because the only man who could have known does not care for Albion as you do, and so does not heed the signs his masters give."

The Hero frowned slightly; his face gaining a serious tone, if that was even possible as he already seemed serious before.

"The Shadow Judges have found their court to be a very lonely place, the gifts they are given no longer quenching their thirst for power. They are dangerous beings. Beings that only Heroes could dream of defeating, of which Albion sorely lacks.

"This is why you must accept what you are, else the world you know will cease to exist, as will all things within it."

Ben nodded. "I understand."

Scythe's face brightened considerably at his answer, "Then we begin at once!"

With that, he moved towards the water's edge, but stopped suddenly, "Oh, and as for your last question. I take care to know the names of my descendants, no matter their origin."

AN - Finally! Another chapter! I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging for so long, but my computer crashed when I was half way through writing it and I lost the file! I also ended up watching the Avengers in the cinema on Tuesday, so I kind of became obsessed with Loki (and discovered Tom Hiddleston), so... well... Sorry.

I know the chapter's mostly Ben based, but it was necessary in order to set up a few things...

This time, the song's called 'For An Angel' by Paul Van Dyk.

Hope you guys liked this update, and... Until next time!