Layers

Epilogue

By: Brenli and Jael

"Chiyo… Chiyo, wake up!"

The Rabbit girl groaned in her sleep, her bleary red eyes cracked open. She tried to focus in the darkness of her new room, and the only thing she could immediately grasp was the lingering smell of fresh paint, and the flowery aroma of the freshly laundered sheets she slept in.

"Aaron?" She muttered, sitting up. She wiped a bit of drool off her chin. "What are you doing in here?"

She caught the flashing white of his teeth, grinning in the darkness of her room like the Cheshire Cat. "Get up! I've got a surprise for you!"

Chiyo let out another groan. They had been living with Doll and Katou for a few days, and every single minute they had spent there, Aaron had tried to cheer Chiyo up. And every time he failed to bring a smile to Chiyo's face, he would only try again, resorting to something even more ridiculous to coax a smile out of the depressed Chiyo. His methods of making bizarre faces at her, jumping out from around a corner, and telling pathetically bad jokes had only annoyed Chiyo, rather than amused her. "I don't want any surprises, Aaron. I want to sleep."

"You're going to like this surprise. Trust me!"

A dominant part of Chiyo wanted to sock Aaron right in that grinning mouth of his. She had been around him long enough to know that even a punch to the face wouldn't have kept him from pestering her, so it would be best to just climb out of bed to see what he wanted. The sooner she saw, the sooner she could go back to bed.

Aaron was bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet, waiting for Chiyo to drag herself out of bed. Once she was vertical, he interrupted her, mid-yawn, by grabbing her hand and pulling her into the hallway. "Shhh." His eyes sparkled when he drew a finger to his lips. "Stay quiet!"

They snuck along the hallway to the railing along the second story stairway, and Aaron gripped the railing and pointed down to the entryway of Doll and Katou's house. Chiyo crouched next to June, who was already waiting there, watching the people in the entryway.

"I apologize for the hour. We had to make sure you weren't being watched."

Chiyo recognized that voice before she even registered who he was. It was Uriel, standing below them, wrapped in a dark coat. He was speaking quietly to Doll, but something about that artificial voice of his carried, no matter how quiet he tried to be in that house.

"No, no, it's fine," Doll's gentle, quiet voice replied. "I completely understand. If Michael has been watching us, I haven't seen anything."

Uriel was so easy to see; he was so tall, dressed entirely in black. But she didn't focus on him, for long. Standing beside him, looking tired and worn, was Serissa... her Serissa. Even though her hair was black and her eyes blue, now, she'd recognize her anywhere.

Chiyo threw herself towards the stairs, and ignored Aaron and June's quiet pleas for her to wait. "Serissa!" Chiyo cried, yelling the name she had always known her by. What others told her about Serissa didn't matter. It didn't matter that Serissa's name was really Celestiel. It didn't matter that she was really an Angel, an Angel whose body was mutated by Judas. It didn't matter that Celestiel had done horrible things... It didn't matter that Celestiel had tried to erase the entire world.

It just didn't matter. What mattered was how Celestiel reacted the second she heard Chiyo's voice. She broke away from Uriel's side, her blue eyes immediately finding Chiyo rushing down the stairs towards her. That mattered. Celestiel crouched down and caught her when Chiyo charged right into her. Chiyo's little arms clamped tight and she openly wept, not caring that Uriel

and Doll were watching with saddened looks on their faces, not caring that Aaron and June were slowly coming down the stairs after her.

"Serissa...!" Chiyo sobbed. "You're here! I... I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"

"Shhh. Baby girl, it's okay... I'm here. Shhhh."

Her comforting words only made Chiyo cry harder and hold her tighter. She didn't even know how long she cried, time seemed to melt away, and her tears never slowed down, or stopped, until Celestiel spoke.

"Listen to me, Chiyo... I have to go away for a while." Celestiel said softly, stroking Chiyo's disheveled hair.

"Nooooo...!" Chiyo wailed miserably. "You're the only mom I've got...! Don't go!"

"I know, and I'm so sorry, baby. But I don't have a choice, anymore."

In an instant, Chiyo felt all the hurt inside of her shift towards rage. It was such an easy transition to make. She was so used to it. "It's Michael, isn't it? Michael and his damn perfect family...! They've taken everything away from me, now! Don't go! Don't let them win!"

Celestiel's gentle voice cut through all of Chiyo's rage. It was a soothing balm that kept the poor girl from burning alive. "I need you to listen to me now, okay? I know you're angry. I know you're hurt. But Michael isn't the one to blame for me leaving, now."

"The Hell he isn't!"

"Hush." Celestiel said the word to softly chastise her. "This is only happening because of my own poor decisions. I've let my anger and my pain dictate my actions, and those actions have consequences. Chiyo… I've been where you are. I've felt the pain of loss and the anger that comes with it. I know what it's like to want revenge. But what I need is for you to always remember this moment."

"Why?" Chiyo sniffled and sobbed. This… this was the worst moment of Chiyo's short life. Her real mother had died, her whole family was killed because of Michael, but she was so young, she didn't remember their faces. She only knew that she had lost them. And now, she was losing her family, all over again. This time, she was old enough to remember. Old enough for it to hurt, to break her apart. Why would she want to remember this pain?

Celestiel took Chiyo by the shoulders and gently pushed her back, so that Chiyo could look into Celestiel's unfamiliar blue eyes, and see the tears swimming in them. "I am losing everything as a result of my poor choices. I let my pain twist me into something horrible, and in the end it's cost me more than I could have imagined." Celestiel forced a quivering smile and tapped Chiyo on the nose. "I won't be around to raise you anymore, and that's nobody's fault but mine. So please don't ever be like me. You have to promise that you'll never let your hate change you, like it changed me. You have to let it go, and live your life… Be happy."

"But I can't lose you!" Chiyo cried.

"You're always going to have me. No matter what, no matter where I am. You won't see me, but I'm only ever a phone call away. Doll and Katou will be able to get ahold of me if you ever need to talk, okay? And you are not alone. You stick by June. You stick by Aaron. They're just as much your family as I am. You are all so strong, and so brave. Help them through this change, and let them help you."

"Will we ever see you again?"

"Of course you will. But it won't be for a very long time, okay? But we will see each other again. I swear it."

"Celestiel…" Uriel's sad voice cut into their conversation, and he rested a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry to rush you, but-"

"I know, I know." Celestiel blinked and wiped the tears off her cheeks. She waved towards her other two beloved children. "Aaron? June? Come here."

The two young Vampires surged forward to exchange their own emotional goodbyes. Chiyo stood back and watched, letting an eerie feeling of numbness soothe her pain. Aaron was trying to be the strong one, again. Chiyo could see it in his face. He was nodding to all of Celestiel's instructions. Instructions to keep that strength, and to take care of his sisters, especially Chiyo. Chiyo was too upset to feel insulted that Celestiel felt like she needed special treatment from Aaron. All Chiyo could focus on was Aaron and June's faces, and their sadness. She wondered where their rage was. Why they didn't seem angry at all.

And it dawned on her: they hadn't lost as much as she had. They were Assiah-bound. They never had to worry about a holy war sweeping in and destroying everything they loved. They were the lucky ones, they never had to feel that type of agony. They didn't have to feel like they were being a stalked by a conflict that would never give them peace.

They finished their goodbyes and Chiyo expected Celestiel to leave. Uriel was standing anxiously by the door, knowing that the longer they lingered there, the greater the chance that they would be caught. But Celestiel turned to Chiyo one last time, her slightly chilled hand cupping Chiyo's tear streaked face. "They're going to say horrible things about me, Chiyo," she said. "They're going to say that I'm heartless and evil. And it's true… I was. In the darkest days of my life, I put together a plan I couldn't stop. And in the end, it was my love for you that started to soften my heart, Chiyo. It was you who saved the world."

xXxXxXx

"I can't thank you enough, Doll. If you or the kids need anything, you know how to get ahold of me."

"I do. Take care of yourself… take care of her."

Uriel gave Doll one last farewell and joined Celestiel in the backyard. She was standing beside the red maple, staring up at the second story windows of Doll and Katou's house. Her black hair was rustling in the cold autumn breeze. He watched her shiver and push her hands deeper into her coat pockets.

"Are you all right?" He asked her, and it felt like a stupid question.

"I'm better than I thought I would be." She said quietly. "Thank you for arranging this. It would have killed me if I couldn't have said goodbye to them."

"It was the least I could do." Uriel murmured, reaching out to touch her shoulders, to affectionately rub his hands down her arms to warm them.

"The least? Anyone else would have just let Michael have me. Let him have his justice."

"I know what justice is." Uriel replied briskly. "What Michael and Nema want is not it."

"Is he going to come after you?"

"Maybe." Uriel shrugged his shoulders. Such a casual motion in the face of a serious subject was out of place for him, but he couldn't bring himself to do any different. "He can try all he wants. He'll be like a river breaking around stone. I'm not budging on this."

"I thought he was your friend. You shouldn't throw away your friendships, for me."

Uriel took a deep breath, and chose his words carefully. "I've known Michael for a long time. I thought I knew what he was capable of, but… The way he has behaved over the last few days? I don't know what he's capable of. I just know that he isn't the type of man I want to call a friend."

Celestiel nodded her head, her beautiful face still looking so sad… so troubled. Uriel didn't know what else to do, but in an effort to comfort both himself and her, he drew her closer, letting her rest her cheek against his chest, and rest his own chin on the crown of her head.

"What happens now?" She asked, her fingers slightly pulling at the wool fabric of his coat.

"Now," Uriel said slowly, purposefully, "you come with me to Hades."

"And I can't leave."

"No." Uriel smiled sadly. "I'm sorry. The best thing for you now is to be in a place where you can't be hurt by anyone… and you can't hurt anyone, either."

"You know you can't make me come with you."

"I know. With the Spear, you are stronger than me. But I know you'll come… You want to make up for the things you've done. And this is how you start."

"I don't understand how you can know me so well. After all that I hid from you."

"To torture an old cliche… the truth was in your lies, Celestiel. You may have lied, but I still see exactly who you are underneath it all. And I truly believe that person is worth saving."

"I can't believe you're not angry with me. After everything I've done."

"Believe me, I'm mad as Hell. And we're going to have plenty of time to talk about it." Uriel's voice developed a hard edge, his tone thinly veiling some sort of hidden promise.

Celestiel's cheeks heated. "I suppose you're right. You're a good man, Uriel. Almost too good."

"A good man would turn you over to be judged by an impartial system. I am not impartial… When it comes to you, I am selfish. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you. Even if it means going to war with Michael."

"Why?"

"I told you. I love you. Still… Always. No matter what. And I'm not giving up on you. Ever." Uriel finally took a step back, just enough to look down at her beautiful, blushing face. With a gentle finger he brushed a lock of black hair off of her lips. "There's something I need to ask you, though."

Celestiel smiled crookedly. "Ask away."

"You said that Chiyo was the one who started to soften your heart?"

"You did the rest." She said, without even a moment's hesitation. "It was you… of course, it was you. You were the one who made me finally see that it was all worth it. You made me hope, again. You made me love, again."

A slow, brilliant smile pulled the corners of Uriel's mouth. He smiled at her with a happiness that reached the depths of his green eyes. Pure, total happiness that he hadn't felt in years… perhaps had never felt at all. He kissed her, pouring all of his feelings and his hope and his love into her, and she gave it all right back. His arm snaked around her waist and he held her tight.

"Let's go home…"

xXxXxXx

A/N from Jael: Holy cow guys, this has been a wild ride, hasn't it? Finally… FINALLY we're done! I never thought this day would come, but here we are. How many years later? Layers has been an on-again off-again project of me and Bren's for what feels like ages, and it's definitely strange to say that it's finally finished. I do know that Bren has intentions of continuing the Chronicles of the Fallen series with more installments, where you will see the characters introduced in Layers continue to grow and develop. However, I will not be contributing anymore to CotF. At least, that's not my intention. XD If my co-authoress ever asks me for my input or to be a 'guest writer', I'd be more than willing to do so, but I'm officially removing my name from any future installments. Any contributions that I make will be slight.

It has been a wonderful ride, and if you have stuck with us this long, I want to give you my most heartfelt thanks, dear reader. This has been a wild and crazy time, and my sincerest apologies for such a sporadic posting schedule… It's all been my fault. During the course of writing Layers, I went through several life changes. Many moves. The loss of one child, and the birth of another. But, thanks to Bren's nagging, I never gave up on Layers. XD I will be moving on to my own writing projects. Feel free to look me up here on or Fictionpress. I even have a Wattpad account, if that's more your style. I hope to see all of you, and again, thank you for your patience, and your loyalty. I will never forget it. 3

A/N from Brenli: 'It's been all my fault' yeah okay Jael Face. XD In all honesty, it certainly takes two, and over the literal years it has taken to get Layers to completion, she isn't the only one who's gone through changes and events that have slowed or paused the production process. I've moved to different houses. Moved to different cities. Had a house catch on fire. The summer of homelessness. It's on both of us; I'm prepared to fight about it…!

But ultimately, it's not exactly about the things that we crash into, or trip over, or momentarily drown or burn inside of. It's about perseverance. We made it happen. Sometimes we stumbled, like Nema dropping her wedding ring in a bowl of glass, like Celestiel coming one keystroke away from very literally deleting it all. But we still made it happen, with no idea what might come swinging at us next. Like Celestiel, on her way to Hades. Like Lilith, hidden in Korea.

And I think that's what matters, and the readership has grown and shrunk and grown and shrunk and grown again. I have been thankful for every one of you. For taking your time. For any and all encouragement, and for any criticism, because it means that you care.

For keeping the faith. In me, in us, in the project.

There is more to come, and I have a lot of work to do, behind the scenes before I can move into proper production. I definitely anticipate tapping Jael's shoulder now and then, especially in planned pivotal points. I'm always glad to have her a text message away. XD

I love you all. Get ready.