(Patry's nightmare)

Patry sobbed as he watched light spears rain down on his people, his friends- his family. "Stop it! please stop!" he screamed, as blood splattered on the ground. "Oh no Patry. I'm never going to stop. They all died, and all because you failed!" a horribly familiar voice mocked him, sending shivers of terror up his spine. "Please, oh God no, please stop, don't kill them please!" Patry begged desperately. "But I already have. They all died, years and years ago. Everyone of them," The evil voice was right next to his ear now, whispering Soul-crushing words into the young Elf's mind. Tears streamed down the Light Mages face and he clenched his hands over his ears, trying to block out the sound of the terrified screaming of his people.

"Awe, what's wrong little boy? Does it hurt?" the voice mocked. No matter what he did, the screams wouldn't stop. "Well now, look who it is?" Patry didn't want to look, but his body moved without his permission. Looking up, his eyes widened in horror, "no, please" he begged. Yuno stood in front of him, terrified, "Yuno- *sob*" the older Elf cried at the sight of his Baby Brother. Suddenly a Light Arrow pierced the boy's body. The Light Mage froze in horror, still crying. "Why Big Brother," the half-Elf whispered, but it was like the words were echoing inside Patry's head. "Why did you break your promise? Why did you abandon us?" Yuno asked, as the spears destroyed everything around them. Patry screamed.

(End of nightmare)

Patry shot up in bed, screaming, eyes wide and filled with tears. One hand was clenched tightly over his chest, as he gasped for breath. Patry clenched his teeth, 'damn it, I really thought I was over the whole 'nightmare' stage'' he thought, breathing very slowly calming down. He looked around in confusion, 'where am I now?' the young Elf wondered. Looking down at himself, the bed, blankets and clothes covering his body, he wiped the tears from his eyes, "I'm definitely not back at the Great Tree" Patry muttered out loud. Suddenly a knock sounded on the door, making him yelp, before recognising the persons Mana. The Light Mage flushed, before coughing, "c-come in!" he called. The door opened to reveal Julius, who was smiling with relief, "oh good, I'm so glad you're awake. I was worried that you'd gotten hurt or something" he sighed happily. The Elf frowned in confusion, "why would you have thought that?" he asked.

"Well after that whole thing with the tree, you just collapsed. I wasn't sure what it was, but I think it was mental exhaustion from everything you went through in your Soulscape. Of course, I wasn't sure if anything else was wrong, after all, your Mana was going crazy during that whole time in the real world. I was worried, especially when you wouldn't wake up. I was only in your Soulscape for a small amount of time, and I have no idea what you actually went through aside from fighting your Dark Side. I got worried so I brought you to the closest village. And now we're in the Church in Hage. The Priest and Sister here were very understanding and easily agreed to let us stay here while you recovered." Julius paused, watching as his unofficial Son looked down and clenched his fists and eyes tightly.

"Do you want to talk about it? You look like you could really do with getting it off your chest" Julius asked gently. Patry shuddered, biting his lip in emotional pain. The Light Mage had a feeling that if he didn't talk to the older man now, it would just keep building up and up until it exploded out of him, just like his hatred for Zagred. He took a deep breath and began to explain. "Um, well- a-after I went crazy, I found myself in my Soulsacape." the Elf began. The blond man didn't interrupt once, just listened intently, which Patry was grateful for. He didn't know if he could get through this if his soon-to-be Father had interrupted. "That's where I met my Dark Elf side- he said, that he was the part of me that I always rejected and refused to acknowledge. He was my hatred and rage, the part of me that wanted revenge on that bastard. The part of me that- I was always too scared to let out. He tried to force me to let him take over by-" Patry shuddered harshly, before breaking into a sob, "He *sob* he forced me to w-watch the M-massacre of m-my people" the Elf sobbed loudly, clutching his head in his hands. "I-it hurt, so much! I t-tried to hold on. But the pain was- *sob*. Everyone, oh god, they all died! All my people, my friends, MY LITTLE BROTHER! Dark Patry made me watch them all d-die!" the teenage Elf shook in emotional pain. Suddenly he felt warm and gentle arms wrap around him.

Patry blinked at the clothes that now obscured his vision. "I'm so sorry Patry. You didn't deserve any of that. I had no idea that Dark Patry actually did something like that to you before I got there. I should have gone in to help you sooner. I can't believe that I actually hesitated like that, especially when I knew that you were in agony! I'm a horrible Guardian" Julius clenched his teeth in guilt, but his embrace remained gentle. "I promise that no matter what, you'll never have to go through something like that again" the blond man promised gently. Patry clenched his eyes shut and clung to the human, "but that's a promise you can't keep. I have to go through that again, otherwise I can't do anything against Zagred! I can't save my people, or anyone that I care about in this time period! If I don't gain control of my inner hatred and Dark Elf form, then I can't fight to protect you all! *sob* and I'll be completely helpless to do anything but watch everyone I love die in real life too!" the Light Mage cried, breaking into uncontrollable sobbing. All Julius could do was hold his unofficial Son close while he cried and cried.

The Time Mage was so wrapped up in caring for his Elven Son that he never noticed the two sets of curious eyes peeking in through the window, one being green and the other golden.

Black Clover

Eventually, Patry was too tired to cry anymore and Julius tried to put the 17-year-old back in bed, but the Elf clung to the Magic Knight's sleeve, "please don't leave yet. Don't go Julius" he begged, eyes rimmed with red from crying so much. The Time Mage smiled softly and stroked his older Son's hair, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. I'm going to stay right here, and when you wake up, I'll still be here, okay?" he asked the boy. Patry smiled sleepily, "thank you Julius. You know, if I'd had a Dad in my past life, I would have wanted him to be just like you" he muttered, slowly falling asleep. Julius frowned slightly, continuing to sit beside the Light Mage. 'Poor Patry, what did he ever do to deserve all of this?!' he thought in slight anger, before it faded and he sighed, 'I know that he has to deal with his hatred by himself. It is his hatred. But I just hate the fact that I won't be able to help him when the time comes. I guess he will have William with him then, but still-' Julius closed his eyes and sighed again.

'Even if I can't do much for him, I will still be by Patry's side when he does try to gain control of his hatred. He's suffered through this by himself for far too long.' Suddenly a knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. The Time Mage stood up and went to open the door. Julius found Sister Lilly standing at the doorway holding two plates of food, "hello, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I thought that you two might be hungry" she said, offering him the food. "Thank you very much Sister, for everything" Julius said gratefully as he took the plates. "It's no problem at all. I'm just happy that we could help you both when you needed it. Please, don't hesitate to get some rest yourself" Sister Lilly said. After the woman had left, the Blond-haired man walked over to his Ward and put the food down. "Patry, sorry, I know you've just managed to fall asleep, but Sister Lilly brought us food" Julius said, gently shaking the Elf awake. Patry groaned, before opening his eyes slightly, "huh?" he asked sleepily. "Food" Julius repeated, holding out the plates again. The Light Mage groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He took his meal from his semi-adoptive Father, "thanks Dad" he muttered, beginning to eat slowly, still half asleep. Julius smiled at the unconscious address. But, after all, he distinctly remembered calling himself the Father of both William and Patry during that battle against Dark Patry, so hearing the young Elf call him Dad unconsciously, meant that he had accepted their new dynamic instantly.

Thinking about that day made Julius clench his fists as he looked down at Patry, who was a bit more awake as he ate. He would be there for both of his Sons when the time came for Patry to try and control his hatred- he had already been through enough as it was. This time, he would not let him go through it alone.

To Be Continued