Fate was jostled awake by the shaking of someone. She rose her head up groggily and then was suddenly pulled to her feet by Tristan, being pulled along the road. She looked around to see that Destin wasn't with her because he was pushing Sage under a cart, following under it straight after. Peter and Jo were doing the same and as quickly as she was pulled up, she was pushed down and under a cart, being followed by Tristan. They were so close together that Fate could practically feel his heart pounding in his rib cage because his side was pressed up against mine.

She looked up, wondering what the Hell was happening and her breath left her body. A herd up Hebi's was walking up the road, right towards them. Fate couldn't help the sob of terror that escaped her lips. Tristan noticed it and without stopping, reached a hand out and placed it over her mouth, getting even closer to her.

"It'll be alright…" He whispered in her ear, his voice nearly inaudible. "Be quiet."

Blinking back tears, Fate nodded frantically, but couldn't take her eyes off Destiny. He was nearly straight over Sage, both hands over her mouth as she sobbed inaudibly. His lower lip was trapped between his teeth so he could keep himself quiet, and Fate could see the fear in his eyes.

And finally, the Hebi's began moving past them and Fate had to hold her breath to avoid being heard. Dozens of what sounded like feet, but weren't, moved past them and she grimaced at the sight of the black creatures.

The process was long and slow as they passed. It was like watching a hot balloon air move. It seemed to take ages. Fate's body was drenched in sweat and her heart was pounding a mile a minute in her chest. At any moment, the wind could blow, giving off their scent and they were all done for. A single Hebi might get a little too curious and discover them all. So many things could go wrong.

But so many things could still go right. They could stay hidden and silent. The Hebi's would move on and they'd never see them again. They could still survive this. They could still make it through this war alive. Tristan's warm hand was still pressed over her mouth and she leaned into his touch as it was the only thing capable of giving her comfort in a time like right then and there.

Then, after what seemed like forever, the wave of Hebi's stopped. Fate hesitantly looked above her and below her in search of any loners, but all was quiet. You could no longer hear the faint moan or growl of one that was still too close. They were gone.

Fate looked up slowly and her eyes met with Destiny's. He was on his back, his chest flying up and down in relief. Their gazes locked for a long time after that. She couldn't look away from his beautiful, hazel green eyes that reminded her of the forests that she loved.

Slowly and cautiously, Sage was the first to pull herself from underneath the cart, but before she could even get onto her knees, a Hebi appeared from around a corner and shot down at her. The small girl shrieked in terror, trying to climb back underneath the cart, but it was no use. She had already been discovered.

Another Hebi showed up after that and by then, Sage had pulled herself from underneath the cart and had climbed to her feet. She had tears pouring from her eyes and Peter was trying to scream, but Jo held him back. From underneath the cart, Fate watched in panic as the small girl leaped over curb before tumbling down onto the sidewalk, unable to pull herself back up.

Beside Fate, Tristan rolled out from underneath the cart.

"Tristan, no!" Fate cried frantically, smacking her head on the bottom of the cart as she tried to pull herself up after him. "Stop!"

She rolled out after him and joined Tristan's side as he screamed, attracting the Hebi's attentions. He continued to scream until they moved away from Sage, who was scooped up into Destiny's arms as he watched in horror as the girl he loved and her best friend distracted the deadly creatures to save a little girl.

That's when Tristan took off, Fate following him as fast as she could in her condition… and the Hebi's followed like tomorrow didn't exist. They used buildings as leverage, ran, jumped, god dammit, they crawled if needed.

They just went after the 2 Exceeds, who couldn't stop for even a second.


When Tristan hit the ground, Fate felt hopeless and lost. Even when he stood again, continuing to run, she knew that he couldn't have gotten off completely free of consequence. He turned a sharp corner, making it hard for the Hebi's to follow them. Hell, it was hard for Fate to follow him with that turn. Then again, she was also injured.

So when Tristan dashed inside of a house, shutting the door behind them and running down to the basement, Fate accidentally tripped on the stairs and went straight into Tristan, taking the both of them down harshly. Fate let out a piercing scream, but Tristan slapped a hand over her mouth to muffle it before she started to sob. He picked her up bridal style and accidentally threw her own the hard couch that luckily was there, checking around to make sure that all the exits were sealed off before falling to his knees beside his best friend.

"Hey, Fate, hey… You have to tell me where you're injured so I can help you, okay?" He asked softly, barely gaining a nod in reply as Fate lifted her hands over her stomach before dropping them, unable to hold them up as the action made her abdomen seer with pain.

Tristan nodded a little bit, sitting on the edge of the couch as he moved her hands, jacket and flannel out of the way, leaning over her a bit as he lifted up her shirt enough to see the wound, making him curse under his breath. He didn't have any medical supplies and neither did Fate, but at least he knew where she was injured so that he could help her. There was no way that they could get to the Guild like this… There was no way Tristan would endanger his family like that…

He grabbed a random blanket and rolled it up, pressing it against her reopened wound and resting his head against hers, watching her drift asleep due to the pain. It was exactly like when she went into labor, except she had been continuously screaming and hadn't been in as much danger as she was now.


Fate awoke once again, but she woke up on her own accord. Tristan was on top of her, shielding her with his own body as a blanket was spread out across her abdomen. It was soaked with blood, probably hers, but she didn't appear to be bleeding… At least, not anymore…

Tristan appeared to be sleeping, but she could tell that his eyes were just closed and that he was trying to relax, so she gently nudged his head with hers, causing him to open his eyes. Their gazes instantly met and he gave her a small smile, sitting up and carefully removing the blanket before helping her sit up as well.

"Are you feeling alright…?" He asked softly, gaining a nod in reply.

"Yah…" Fate mumbled softly, making him smile a little more.

"Enough to get out of this Hellhole and continue fighting…?" He asked, his tone seeming serious. Fate let out a small sigh and nodded.

"I can't stay here while the others are out there. I'm sure that if we retraced our steps, we'd come across Destiny, Jo and your siblings again pretty quickly."

Tristan suddenly started tearing up and got onto his feet, crossing over to the corner of the basement furthest from the staircase that they had tumbled down earlier. He took a moment before his back hit the wall and he slid down it, holding his stomach in one arm that was covered by his legs because he brought them to his chest, and holding his head in the other.

Fate took a moment to get onto her own feet before she stumbled over to where he was, collapsing to her knees in front of him with a worried look. That's when he grabbed her, holding her like Destiny had and it felt just as powerful and emotional for some reason.

"I'm sorry…" Tristan apologized, his lips brushing against her ear. His voice and the brief feeling combined made her shiver in fear and worry for her best friend. Why was he acting this way?

"What's wrong…?" Fate asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Tristan pulled away, giving her a small smile before showing her his recently hidden arm, making her eyes widen upon realizing the dark black roots, even darker than his fur, wrapping around his arm were the same ones that Ethan had wrapped around his legs back in Erith. Fate shook her head, collapsing against Tristan as she started to sob for the 100th time since the war had started. There were 2 options to this solution that could be done in time. Tristan could become a Hebi… or he could die.

And the only ones capable of killing him before he turned were Fate and himself.

"No, no, no, no, please…" Fate begged, digging her face into his the crook of his neck as his arms wrapped around her. It could only be spread from Hebi to person, not from person to person, so they could hold each other… but it's not like it made anything better.

"Fate—"

"I won't do it." She cut him off. "And I won't let you do it. You can't die. Peter and Sage need you. Kurai needs you. I need you."

"Please, don't…" Tristan pleaded, making her angrier.

"Don't what, Tristan? Don't be honest?" She asked, tears streaming down her face as she pulled away from him. She held his shoulders firmly and his grip on her hips was strong despite him growing weaker during the slow turning process. He shook his head.

"Not that…" He replied softly. "I meant don't let me turn into one of those monsters…"

"But I don't want you to die!"

"It's doesn't matter what you want! There's no escaping it!"

Fate shook her head, resting her head against Tristan's as her body slumped against his in his lap. He removed a hand from her hip to grab his gun, removing it from his waistband and holding it out to her, making her shake her head more as she continued to cry. He used his other hand to hold one of her hands, placing it on the gun and forcing her to take it. Her sapphire blue eyes peered into his dark brown ones and he gave her a small smile, nodding his head a little bit as his arms wrapped back around her.

"I'd rather the girl I love with all of my heart to kill me, than to die at my own hands…"

Fate's breath nearly hitched and Tristan tilted his forehead down to rest against hers and pulled her closer to him. His body was warm against her own and she shivered. Slowly, she closed her eyes and she breathed in the scent of wood and the fresh smell of grass. She loved it even if it wasn't as strong as the sweat and blood soaking it. They were so close; the tips of their noses were nearly touching. Tristan's hand rose to caress Fate's cheek and she swallowed, evident of the tears filling her eyes once again.

She didn't try to move away.

And then Tristan's lips were on hers. They were so warm and soft against hers. She couldn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest and her blood flowed rapidly in her cheeks, making her face as pink as ever. He was gentle, his other hand moving to her other cheek, holding her face to his. She started to sob in the middle of it, breaking them apart and causing him to apologize, but she didn't care. If Destiny was there, he would've understood why her lips weren't connecting with his instead.

"I love you and nothing can change that… Even if I couldn't be with you, I wanted to protect you… and I got to." Tristan said, tears starting to stream down his own face. Fate swallowed, allowing their lips to brush across each other as she tried to control her emotions, only to fail every time she tried.

"I love you, too…" She whispered softly. "Maybe not in the way you want me to… but I do love you…"

Tristan smiled, nodding a little bit. That was enough for him, but Fate couldn't bring herself to raise his gun, so Tristan wrapped his hands around hers, holding the gun with her.

"You're a survivor, Fate…" He stated softly, confusing her a little bit. "No matter how much it seems like you're going to drown, there will always be an island somewhere. I just know it… You and Destiny will have a life together with those 3 little kids, and maybe even your own someday. You'll overcome every obstacle in the road ahead of you together, because your 2 separate roads have become one for you both to travel hand in hand. There'll be times in which yo have to go down separate roads again before coming back together, but don't you dare give up on those little paths… Okay?"

Fate was crying, wanting to shake her head again… but she didn't have the strength to do so.

"I don't want to say goodbye…" She sobbed.

"I know, but you have to…" He said, whimpering a little in between his words. "This is where my story ends and where my part in your story ends... Your story is still going, so you have to make the best out of it... For me and the others…"

Fate nodded ever so slightly, leaning all of her weight against her dying best friend as he held her as tightly as he could, each of them breathing in the other's scent before it would disappear forever.

"Take care of everyone for me, okay? Especially Peter, Sage and Kurai… Live your life to the fullest on my behalf… And take care of both my jacket and my gun…" Tristan cracked the small joke, making Fate sob out a small laugh as he did the same.

Fate's dominant rose, holding Tristan's gun to his head. They stared intently in each other's eyes and they both smiled softly, unable to do anything else in that moment.

"I love you, Fate…"
"I love you, too, Tristan…"

And then the trigger was pulled.