No necromancy needed this week, I'm right here.

Though, in the event that one is needed, just so we're clear, I'd prefer to be brought back as some form of lich. My keyboard would make a wonderful phylactery.

Gosh, all these people, though... this was really hard to write but, in the end, I'm satisfied. Enjoy, I would hope!
EDIT: Fixed some things

A lot of things happened all at once in the immediate aftermath of Merlin's arrival.

Before any of the stunned others could even think of a way to respond, Elizabeth practically launched herself at the Meliodas dressed in the Boat Hat bar-staff's uniform, almost tackling him off of his chair, grabbing him tight and holding him close the moment she'd made contact with his skin. He moves almost automatically in response, left arm moving to return the embrace and as he did, her hands wandered over the contours of his face, his shoulders, his back, her eyes roaming worriedly over the expanse of his body the moment she pulled back from the embrace, almost in disbelief that it was him, whole, hale, and... seeming almost miraculously unhurt. "You're... you're safe! I don't know what I would've done if you had—"

"I'm fine, Elizabeth," he cuts in reassuringly, his smile soft, and his eyes softer. Then, more cheekily: "You're being awfully aggressive today. What's gotten into you?"

Instead of blushing, instead of getting flustered, she lets out a laugh like a sob and buries her face into the crook of his neck, happy tears leaking from her eyes as she held him tight. She doesn't mean to but, at that moment, her entire body glows and suddenly he's awash in healing light bright enough to blind, though it only makes him smile and hold her just as tight. "I'm just happy you're safe!"

Perhaps only heartbeats after she had made her move, Arthur launched himself at Merlin, disbelief and delight shining in the brightness of his smile the moment he'd crashed into her, the moment his arms wrapped around actual living flesh instead of meeting stone or passing through a projected illusion, especially brightening when she moved to hug him back, momentarily reminding him of childhood days spent dandled on her lap as she told him adventure stories. She was real. She'd been cured. "Merlin! You're back to normal!" he says when they separate, gazing up at her wonderingly. "That's amazing!"

"Indeed," She was smiling and her eyes were warm as she regarded him. "It's good to see you, Arthur," she says fondly. "You seem well. The Captain told me you acquitted yourself well during the festival."

"Sir Meliodas told you that?! Wow! Honestly, he actually did most of the work, I only helped and..."

While this was going on, Escanor watched. He had been reaching out for her when Arthur had trapped her in an embrace, one he saw her happily return. His expression was crushed as he slowly retracted his hand. "M-Merlin...?" he whispers. In the chaos of their arrival, and the noise that came with it, no one who hears his voice. "Don't tell me, you're in—that he's your..."

Midnight had never seemed darker for the Lion's Sin of Pride.

Among all who'd arrived, he alone was rendered mute, with almost everyone now shouting or demanding or laughing as the situation demanded.

Ban, the one who'd arrived with the rest, at first with Elaine in his arms—though she'd since woken and gone to flutter over to Ban's side—had at first made to follow Elizabeth to meet with his Cap'n—but, after seeing that he was alive, well, and looking very happy in his Princess' arms... he wasn't going to ruin their moment, not when just the sight of him (alivealivealive) had been enough to put his fears to rest. The other Meliodas, the one in the dark clothes, he was—

"You're crying?" he blurts out. He was already by his side, had been on the way even before he'd seen his tears. "Captain, what's wrong?!"

He was. "S-sorry..." he whispers, but he's smiling and there's nothing but honest joy and disbelief in his eyes. "I'm just... I'm just so happy to see you all!"

For a moment, all he can do is stare in shock. Then, honestly unable to help it, he breaks out laughing and, after everything, it feels good. "You're being awfully sappy, Captain," he teases, but the relief spills into his voice and he just sounds glad. He still doesn't fucking know but what he does know is that... "It's good to see you're safe," he tells him honestly. "Both of you."

The Captain, with tears in his eyes, laughs back as he scrubs them off of his face, a futile effort given they seemed to just keep flowing without stop. "You, too," he replies, and it's with a kind of bone-deep sincerity he's never heard from him before, yet one that sounds natural all the same. "And... thank you," and those two words were said absolutely wholeheartedly, that Meliodas looking at him with the most open, honest smile, tear tracks shining trails on his face even through his efforts to get rid of them. "For saving me."

He blinks once or twice before finally smiling back, tentatively at first but with just as much sincerity. It was like a great weight was finally lifted off his chest. "That was nothing," he says. Then: "Here." The sword Lostvayne looked tiny in his hands. "I believe this is yours."

"Not exactly," he says, smiling as if at a private joke, though he takes the sword all the same. In his hands, Lostvayne seemed to fit just right. "But thanks anyway." Then he beams, and it's big and sunny and impossible not to smile back. "I'm glad you're all here."

While they had been speaking, Elaine had gone over to the other Ban's side. "It really is you," she breathes, satisfied, vindicated, and, above all, just happy to see him. "I knew it was you." She lets herself fall into his arms. "Ban...!"

He catches her as he always does, strong arms gentle in their embrace, and when she looks up at him, he looks back, expression torn, frustration and longing warring in his eyes. "Elaine..." all the same, when he says her name, it's with something close to reverence that's all too familiar to the fairy princess, something that makes her smile and nestle further against him. "... I'm glad to see you," he says, at last, and there's a world of meaning behind the words. He's grinning, though, and it's an honest one. "I've been dying to see you for a long time."

In his arms, she's so close to him, she doesn't even have to try. She hears his heart loud and clear. Her eyes widen at the realizations but she doesn't once let go, and instead smiles up at him once more, her silly boy. Hers. "I'm sure that other me feels the same way," she tells him. When he looks at her, surprised, she flashes him a smile, partly cheeky, part fond, and all of it absolutely loving. "I'm always happy to see you, Ban!"

He chokes out a laugh. "Elaine."

She wraps her own arms around him and, for that moment, it's enough.

As this went on, King kept whipping around, staring from Elizabeth snuggling with Meliodas, to the other Meliodas chatting with Ban, to the other Ban snuggling with his sister, so quickly he was close to all but gave himself whiplash. One of his eyes had started to twitch and showed no signs of stopping. "What the heck is going on?!" he blurts out, looking close to outright hysteria. It had already been said many times before but they still had yet to receive any explanation. "What the—GAH!"

He's so overwrought at that moment that he almost leaps out of his skin at a light touch at his back.

Luckily for him, Diane was too distracted by everything else that was going on around her to really notice, her own eyes wandering from scene to scene. She looked confused but, then, to some extent or the other, everyone did.

"King?" she was asking. "Is this... normal for us as the Seven Deadly Sins?"

Behind her, Gowther was also observing the goings-on around them. Unlike her, his expression had not changed even once. "Going by our past adventures," he informs her. "I believe this exact situation would qualify as odd, even by our standards."

Behind him, Gilfrost lets out a hysterical sounding laugh, eyes twitching, hands white around his staff. "You don't say?!" he says mockingly. "I couldn't tell!"

In contrast, Gilthunder only looked glad. "Sir Meliodas really is alright," he says to himself, letting out a breath he'd been holding for a long, long time. His old mentor, his childhood idol... after everything that had happened, he was here, standing on his own two feet and everything. And if he was alright now... "Everything's going to be alright."

Howzer only stares at him in disbelief. "There's two of him!" He did not yell but he nearly had. He had been whipping back and forth between staring at the bar-staff-uniformed Meliodas and his identical darkly-clothed counterpart, and staring at the apron-wearing Ban and his own identical counterpart, all with an expression of absolute incredulity that many in their group echoed. In that moment, he completely sympathized with King, this was just too weird to just accept like that. "How is this alright?!"

Hendrickson, meanwhile, was also looking back and forth between the identical pairs. His own expression was confused but he did not look as close to hysterics as some of his companions did, at the very least. "This... is happening," he says, tone flat, eyes flatter, and, indeed, this was happening. What this was, he did not know and, in truth, close to no one did.

"I'd be careful not to squish the little guy, if I were you, Princess," the other Ban was now calling out, Elaine out of his arms and flying by his side. He looked relaxed now, meeting his counterpart's gaze wryly when he turned to look at him, having finally really noticed his presence. "He's only just gotten strong enough to walk again, and he's still pretty delicate."

Elizabeth lets go of him as if she'd been scalded. "Oh, no! I-I'm so sorry, Sir Meliodas," she says so quickly, she almost squeaks. "I was just so happy to see you, I didn't even think—"

"You don't have to worry about me, Elizabeth," he reassures her. "I'm not delicate," he says, shooting Ban a sideways look. Then, with an impish look: "Besides—" he reaches out for her and what happened next was an all-too-common occurrence, to Hawk's eternal frustration, Slader's indignation, and Merlin's put-upon exasperation, the mage having hastily covered Arthur's eyes. In any case, he only looked all too pleased to have his hand full. "When I'm holding you like this, I feel better already!"

"R-Really?!"

Despite how almost all of the others had reacted, Elizabeth outright brightened, making him—and many of the others—blink. "Then, please, go on ahead!" She holds him close to her, her embrace warm, tender, gentle, and one of her hands over his as she pressed it further against her skin, the other pressing his face against her chest, her own expression downright earnest. In that moment, Meliodas honestly could not think of a way to respond, his every thought now of warmth, softness, skin, and, of course, Elizabeth.

Hawk, however, could, and his response was a very flat "What."

"I'd do anything if it makes you feel better, Sir Meliodas," she says tenderly into his hair, one hand combing through those blond locks, and he suddenly finds that it's a struggle to even breathe, not when, in this position, he's breathing in her air and scent, hearing her heart as it beat steadily against his ear, and feeling how very, very soft she was. Emboldened, she adds: "I-in fact, I've... I've always liked how it feels when you touch me! S-so... if it would make you feel better... then, by all means, touch me more!"

Meliodas stops breathing.

Somehow, through all of the chaos that had come with their arrival, her words rang out echoingly loud and clear.

You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that ensued.

Then Meliodas blushes scarlet.

Ban was smirking. "Damn, Captain," he drawls to the Meliodas by his side, the one holding Lostvayne. "Hell of a girl you've got there."

"I know," his counterpart sighs, giddy, his own eyes bright. "She's incredible."

Ban, the one next to an amused-looking Elaine looks to the Princess with eyebrows raised, as if seeing her for the very first time. "Damn, Cap'n," he echoes. "Damn."

Then yet more chaos ensued as Elizabeth herself realized exactly what she'd just said, her own face exploding into red with a squeak just as many of the others explode into uproar, everyone's voices blending into noisy cacophony, some from shrieks of laughter, some from exclamations of disbelief, and it is many, many minutes before they get even the remotest semblance of order back in the Boar Hat. Yet, somehow, both given and despite everything, this was also likely the best outcome they could have gotten because, at the very least, copious amounts of alcohol were already on hand and ready for consumption.

The new future they were going to forge was already off to a brilliant start.

"So, let me get this straight," King begins, already feeling the beginnings of a headache despite having yet to touch his ale. "You're from the future. Both of you."

"Pretty much, yeah," the aproned Ban says, with a nod. "Me and this guy, here."

"We didn't mean to come here. It's a... long story," the indicated Meliodas says, to which the other Meliodas groans and massages his forehead. "It's pretty complicated."

The other Ban, their Ban, snorts. "You don't say," he says dryly. "I couldn't guess."

It was many minutes after the chaos had mostly died down. Now, almost everyone was seated, their chairs turned to face the bar, where both of the Meliodas were seated. Food and drink were spread before them all, though most didn't seem to have much of an appetite—though, by the looks of things, Hawk had enough of one to compensate for the rest of them, having begun to eat the moment he'd been given a bowl. Aside from that, everyone either looked to the two Meliodas sitting together up front, looking to all the world like identical twins, or back and forth between the two Bans, the aproned Ban leaning against the bar while his counterpart was seated among them, sharing a table with Elaine and Jericho, his expression rather conflicted where the other Ban's was amused.

"So," one of the Meliodas coughs. "I'm sure you all have a lot of questions."

"I know I still do," the other Meliodas says, one corner of his mouth twitching. "Just so we're all clear, I'm fine, now. No need to worry about me!"

That one was undoubtedly the one they'd entered the festival with, now refreshed-looking and grinning as if nothing had ever happened. Of the grievous, fatal injuries he'd gotten in the bloodbath at Vaizel, all that was left was the emptiness of his right sleeve where the absence of an arm was painfully apparent. Aside from that, he looked... well, fine. The bar-staff uniform he was wearing looked almost new, and he himself looked clean, as if fresh from a bath. After hours and hours of worrying over what had become of him, after what they'd all had to watch, the sight of him was as shocking as it was comforting.

The other Meliodas looks at him from the corner of his eye. "More or less," he interjects. "He's going to need to take it easy for a while but he should be as good as new in a few days' time."

That one, on the other hand, was also undoubtedly Meliodas. Though the clothes he wore were unfamiliar, he was otherwise completely identical to the Meliodas by his side, from the dragon tattoo bared by his sleeveless shirt to the cowlicks on his head. In contrast with his, well, twin, who seemed as blithely carefree as always was, he looked oddly overwhelmed, seemingly struggling to keep himself from smiling every time he looked at them, eyes brighter than they'd ever seen them before. King could've sworn he'd seen him crying earlier... though that was obviously impossible, not when it was still Meliodas they were talking about. Future or not, he just didn't do that sort of thing, King was sure of that much, at least.

"A-are you, really? Are you sure you've recovered?" Elizabeth asks, eyes still worried as she looked back and forth between the two of them, eyes lingering on the left one in particular. After she'd calmed down from her... confession (King has to suppress a blush at the memory of it), it had taken a lot of convincing before she'd separated from him and, even then, she still looked like she wanted nothing more than to take the both of them into her arms and protect them from the world. "What about your arm...?"

That Meliodas only smiles. He raises his right arm—or rather, what was left of it—and pulls back the sleeve.

It wasn't a cleanly-cut stump they'd expected (remembered). From beneath where the stump should've been (ended) a jag of bone protruded, far longer than what they'd remembered, half-covered in raw-looking flesh and new skin so thin, it was almost translucent. His arm—it was growing back.

"How is..." Hendrickson asks, throat going dry. "How is that possible?!"

Before their astonished eyes, the apparent future Ban wiggles his fingers. "You're welcome," he says easily, to which his counterpart stares, stunned. "It's a gift."

"S-sir Ban... " Elizabeth was now looking at him with admiration. "You have healing powers?"

"Not as good as yours," he says, looking back at her consideringly. "Lot slower. But yeah, I learned a trick or two."

The present Meliodas flashes a quick grin. "All of my hearts have grown back because of him," he informs them to their surprised murmurs and, in Hawk's case, a loudly squealed "seriously?!". "It's a long story," he says, looking cheerful as he once again pulled his sleeve back over the regrowing arm. "The more important thing is, I should have my arm back in a day or two."

Merlin coughs. "Though I insist on bed rest until then," she says, giving him a look from where she was seated by Arthur, Slader, and Gowther. "Your recovery has been nothing short of miraculous, Captain, but I won't have you taking any risks. No ifs, no buts, and no alcohol," she adds, loud and clear. "Healing magic can only go so far."

"I know, I know," he says, perhaps just a tad sourly. "As I was saying, he's Ban from the future and he is—"

"—The part of his soul that lets him feel emotions," he finishes for him, tone almost introductory. He was smiling and King has to note that his smile was much more open than that of the Captain sitting next to him. "His heart, basically."

While that declaration caused more than its share of murmurs, with Elizabeth looking particularly interested, it's Gowther is the one to catch the most attention. He'd sat up straighter, looking to the self-proclaimed heart with scrutinizing eyes. "You're a heart," he says consideringly, expression finally showing something other than bland neutrality for the first time since they'd gotten here. "How fascinating."

He looks at him from the corner of his eye. "Yes," he confirms cautiously." I'm his heart," he says, indicating himself seated by his side. "I can only work for him."

"... Pity." He actually looked downcast at that. Woodenly so, but still.

Both Meliodas look at him. "Don't even think about it," they say in unison. "I mean it. That's an order."

"Fine."

The future's Meliodas coughs. "Anyway—"

"Is that why your power levels are all off?" Hawk interrupts, his feeding bowl finally empty. At the prompting looks, he clarifies, still intently at the dark-clothed Meliodas. "They're completely off! Magic: 0, Strength: 0, and Spirit: 2,100—boy, howdy, compared to me, you're a real weakling now, Meliodas!"

His expression turned blank. "At the end of the day, I am just a soul," he points out. "I don't have a body. It makes sense I don't have anything but spirit."

Hawk snorts. "The way you are now, I could beat you hands-do—OW!"

The emotions had, in the blink of an eye, spirited over to where Hawk was and very casually landed an elbow drop right onto his skull, with enough force to smash through the floor beneath them, leaving him dazed and stuck in the floorboards, before he just as casually picked himself off of the ground and dusted himself off. Wisely, everyone elected to stay quiet until he was done.

"I wouldn't underestimate him, if I were you," the aproned Ban drawls, amused. "He's still the Captain, after all."

"... Any questions?" he asks, having made his way back to his seat, unimpeded.

Among them all, among all the clamor, Gilthunder actually raises his hand. "E-excuse me, Meliodas," he calls out, voice as polite as he can manage given the circumstances, eyes intent. "How are you... here? Both of you? How did you get here?"

King leans forward. Many others follow.

"Accident," Ban answers for him. "We were trying to get home and this person—called herself the Purgatory Witch—offered to help out. Opened a portal. Only her aim was shit and..." he shrugs. "Here we are."

"Wait, where were you?" King bursts out, staring. "Don't tell me you guys were in—?!"

"Where else would we have been?" the other Meliodas says, looking at him oddly. "We were in Purgatory, of course."

Purgatory. The prison where banished souls were sent. The accursed alternative to the Capital of the Dead, parallel to the world of the living. King hadn't even been sure it existed. And knowing the legends, he didn't want it to.

"I went there to get this guy out," that Ban continues, reminiscent. "Merlin sent me, in our time."

"And I was there because..." he stops to let out a long breath, looking, for the first time, uncomfortable. "It's a long story but..." he seems to have to swallow. "I'm... cursed."

Escanor sits up straighter. "Wh-what do you mean by that, C-Captain...?" he ventures. "You're cursed, too...?"

"The Demon King cursed me, a long time ago." The other Meliodas, their Meliodas, is the one to answer, now downcast himself. "He cursed me so that when I die, I..." he pauses to swallow. "I get sent to Purgatory, and not the Capital of the Dead. So he can, well... eat," he clarifies, to their increasing discomfort, more than one beginning to murmur among them. "It was my punishment for betraying the Demon Clan. I'm sure you've all heard about that by now," he adds, smiling, though it looked decidedly forced. "About how I ah... 'lit the fuse' for the war three thousand years ago, when I defected from the Ten Commandments."

Howzer was gaping now, staring openly at the other Meliodas, looking almost morbidly fascinated despite himself. "D-does that mean that you—!?"

The second Meliodas flashes them all a faint sort of half-smile before undoing the buttons on his shirt. "Don't be too upset, alright?"

Seven, enormous, grisly-looking scars marred the expanse of his chest, stark against his otherwise unmarred skin. The sight made more than one recoil in shock, their Ban seeming almost unable to bear looking at them. The Meliodas of their time silently raised a hand to his own chest and exhales, long and slow. The scars were positioned directly over each of where his hearts would be. King was struck dumb at the sight. He was not alone in this.

He looked awkward as he re-buttoned his shirt once more. "You know, we didn't mean to land in here but, uh, I'm not too upset that things turned out this way. I mean, dying really hurts, you know!"

No one laughs; the memory of their Meliodas' near-death was still all-too-fresh in their minds. That this one had died like that...

"... I left for Purgatory maybe a month or so, after now," that Ban says, at last, when the silence had grown altogether too stifling. "In my time, I couldn't save him..." his voice trails off, hands clenching into fists, and his own counterpart looks down with gritted teeth. "After I found out about that curse, I went to get him out as soon as I could. "

"B-but what about Britannia?" Diane asks hesitantly. Here, the Holy Knights, in particular, perk up, intent, interested, fearful. "What about Liones?"

"The Commandments went all out after the Captain died," he says tonelessly, smiling without any real mirth. "Britannia went to hell in a hand-basket. Just... demons, everywhere, eating souls, burning towns, turning other people into demons... Liones is still standing," he adds, to some relief. "But we were only barely keeping things together. Escanor was strong enough to keep the Commandments on the back-foot and so was Merlin, once she recovered—but the fuckin' bastards were everywhere and we didn't have enough people to hold everything together. It was a fuckin' mess."

"Then why did you leave?!" Howzer demands, wide-eyed. Of all the Holy Knights, he looked the most revolted, the most sickened—though the rest weren't far behind, he was the most visible about his horror. "If we need all the help we can get, why did you leave!?"

In the silence that followed his outburst, Ban just stares at him for a long, long moment. "... you think I'd leave my best friend in that hellscape once I found out he was trapped in there?"

Howzer turns beet-red. "Oh, uh, yeah—I mean! No! Of course not!" he stammers. The look on his face, the embarrassment in his tone—it wasn't much, but it helped bring some levity back into the proceedings, even with the morbid subject matter at hand. "No one would!"

"Anyway..." said best friend says, looking rather uncomfortable. "It's not like there wasn't a point in bringing me back. Melascula's still alive—both in our time and in here," he adds, to which their Ban looks to Elaine, grim-faced as they went to hold each other's hands. The other Ban has to look away from the sight. "She's an expert in manipulating the dead and their souls. If she ever got a hold of me..."

"She could bring me back," their Meliodas says, looking serious. "To fight against you."

The room was struck dumb. The thought was just too horrific to bear, not just having to fight the strongest Sin—and save for about an hour every day, he was the undisputed strongest—but just the sheer desecration of such an act, the atrocity of it all. King's feelings toward him were still mixed and all but, if he'd had to face against his Captain's risen, enthralled remains, after having watched him die like that, knowing how much he'd had to endure only to be used like that...

It was sick, just the idea of it made him feel sick.

"It's a good thing Sir Ban found you first," a pale-faced Arthur says. "I couldn't imagine what it would be like to fight you, Sir Meliodas."

Both smile, though wanly. "And I would never want to," their Meliodas reassures him. "It's not going to happen. Not in this world."

"Ever," Gilthunder says fervently. He'd been near-hysterical ever since Meliodas had nearly died in Vaizel and while Merlin's message earlier had pacified him to an extent, that fear he'd felt for the Sin had only continued to simmer under the surface. After the Sins and Elizabeth, he was probably one of the most affected by everything that had happened. Right now, he looked more determined, more driven than most had ever seen him before. "I won't ever let anything like that happen to you."

He smiles. "You shouldn't let that happen to any of you," he teases. "But thanks, Little Gil," he adds sincerely. "I'll try not to die."

"You're not going to," their Ban mutters darkly. His eyes were distant and his knuckles were tight around Elaine's hand, though she didn't complain, only leaning against him in silent support, his other arm going to wrap around her in an almost unconscious motion. "I won't let them."

"N-none of us will," Escanor pipes up. "Never ever, Captain."

There's a show of agreement all around, even from King, though he was more subdued about it. Whatever happened, whatever he might suspect, he was never going to let him die, never going to let him get used. He wasn't sure if he was trustworthy but the years they'd spent fighting as allies, the days they'd spent hanging around as friends, and, even, those words he'd told him all those years ago, they meant something. It wasn't like he—or any of them, really—would've let the Commandments have their way, but, in Meliodas' case, knowing that in at least one world, he actually had died and that their own likely would have died as well had it not been for literal time travel, they were certainly going to be on guard now more than ever. They owed him that much.

While the future Ban looks unsurprised and even amused by the reaction, the future Meliodas looked almost ridiculously touched—though theirs didn't show much of a reaction, like always. Given that that one was, as he said, basically just a heart, Meliodas' heart, King had to wonder what theirs was truly thinking, what he truly felt about the protectiveness of them all.

There's a quiet after. It wasn't that they no longer had anything to say—far from it, really—but, for a moment, it seemed right to let the silence linger.

In the end, its the second Captain who breaks the silence.

"Hey, King? I've been meaning to ask. Who's your friend?"

He blinks. "... Who?" While there were still a few of the other unaffiliated festival attendees hanging around Castle Liones, the only ones in the Boar Hat were their allies... and Hendrickson, he thinks sourly. He supposed he could mean Gilfrost but they hadn't exactly been friendly with each other...

"That fairy behind you. You know..." He blinks, squints. "Light yellow-green hair, green eyes, long wings... any of that ring a bell?"

Everyone—almost everyone else only looks around, confused, but, as for him, his jaw drops, eyes almost popping out of their sockets as he stared.

Helbram.

"You can see him?"

"... shouldn't I be able to?" he asks, looking bemusedly from him to a spot just over his shoulder. He plops his helmet over his head and, yes, Helbram was indeed floating over there, looking every bit as confused as he felt. The fairy ghost flies over in a rush, stopping barely a foot in front of his face, eyes wide.

"I'm dead!" Helbram bursts out. "How can you see me?!"

He blinks. "Well, I did die, too," he says, rather as-a-matter-of-factly. It suddenly occurs to King that, aside from him, no one else can see or hear Helbram. "In the end, I am just a soul. That's probably it."

"What's going on?" he hears Howzer whisper.

"I believe they are talking about fairies," Gowther answers, not bothering to whisper. "And the second Captain's status as a soul."

"You have a ghost friend, King?" The future Ban was looking at him now from his place against the bar, interest warring with the amusement in his eyes. "I was wondering how your friend got here. Didn't remember him being around, back in our time. Coulda swore he was dead. How long has he been haunting ya, King?"

This makes him stare even more.

"You can see him too?!"

Then, because of that of all things

Pandemonium ensued in the Boar Hat once more.

"There's a ghost?!" Diane was shrieking. "Is this normal for the Seven Deadly Sins?!"

"To my knowledge, we have never been haunted until today," Gowther was saying, but his voice was drowned out in all the shouting, which he himself didn't seem to mind.

"What are you guys talking about?" their Meliodas was asking. "What's going on, me?"

"You can see ghosts?!" their Ban was demanding, staring at his future self in disbelief, to which his said self only looked back, looking rather pleased with himself. "What the fuck happened to you?! Me?!"

"G-g-ghosts?!" Jericho looked terrified. "First time travelers and now this?!"

"There aren't any evil spirits here that I can sense," Hendrickson was trying to reassure some of the terrified knights. "If there are ghosts here, they don't have any malicious intent."

Hawk, who'd finally managed to pluck himself from the crater that future Meliodas had left him in, coughs. "Hate to break it to you Hendy," he informs him. "But that doesn't really help."

"I know plenty of exorcism spells. I could protect you," Gilfrost suggests, eyes fixed on one person. "Gil."

But he wasn't listening, the Holy Knight's gaze fixated on both versions of his childhood idol as they talked amongst themselves. "I swear it," he was repeating. "I won't let it happen..."

Needless to say, it was a fair while and many drinks before they regained any sense of order once more, but, in the end, regain it they did.

"... And Helbram's been possessing my helmet ever since," King finishes. "He—he might be haunting me but that doesn't mean he's going to hurt people!"

Jericho stares. "We've been haunted this whole time and you didn't say anything?!"

King looks from her, to the accusing, disbelieving eyes of some of their more scared companions, then, finally, to Helbram, currently in conversation with the future Captain, who, upon seeing him looking, only gives an airy shrug in response. A sort of whatcha-gonna-do-about-it. What was we he gonna do about it indeed.

"It's not like he's hurting anyone," that Meliodas is the one to defend him, drawing their attention once more. "It's pretty common, actually! It shouldn't that big a deal. I mean, in a way, I'm a ghost, too."

"A very solid ghost," Merlin says, smiling wryly. "But, in essence, yes."

Their Meliodas coughs. "Anyway, ghosts aside, Merlin and I've been talking with them ever since I woke up earlier. We've all agreed, we—" He gestures at them with his one arm. "—are going to help them get home and they'll tell us information that should help us against the Commandments. They beat more than one, even after the me there died."

At the explosion of shocked murmurs, the future Ban steps in, his eyes serious, arms crossed as he regarded them all. "It wasn't easy," he says. "The Captain died and it was... it was rough." For a moment, his voice broke and there was such self-loathing in his eyes that King couldn't bear to look at them, though the moment ends quickly and no one else seems to have noticed. "But we gave 'em hell. In our time, we dealt with at least three of the Commandments. Permanently," he adds, eyes now alight with grim sort of satisfaction. "And that's after our Captain died. Should be a cakewalk for you guys, once you know what we know." Then he smirks. "Just so long as you don't try to take 'em all on at once just by yourselves."

The sight of both Meliodas suddenly looking away with innocent expressions startles a laugh out of them, despite the subject matter.

"... Aside from that, I'll tell you guys everything I already know about the Commandments," their Meliodas says when that laughter had finally died down. "It's been a long time and I can't say I know everything about them, but I can at least tell you what their Commandment curses are and what abilities I know they have. My memory's not perfect," he warns. "It's been three thousand years, after all! But... I'll tell you all I know."

King's jaw drops.

He obviously notices. "He's convinced me," was his answer to the unspoken question, indicating his future counterpart, to which that Meliodas gives a bright grin. "Finding out what happened if you don't really changes your perspective on things! And, anyway..." here, he looks... not embarrassed, per se, but there is a certain hesitance in how he says the next few words. "There's nothing I don't know about them that I don't already trust you guys with. A lot of it's going to seem unbelievable but... just, trust me, I wouldn't lie to any of you about this."

Trust.

He trusted them with information and was going to tell them everything he knew.

That was...

That was everything he wanted, a show of trust, information, some actual honesty and yet somehow...

Despite all of that, despite this being what should be everything he wanted to hear, King felt... uneasy...

This was just... too easy, somehow...

While he was lost in thought, the future Ban had been speaking.

"Buuut, even if we do tell you everything we know, it's going to be worth jack shit if you aren't strong enough to actually take advantage of it. So, while we're here..." here, he gives a bares his teeth in a grin that's more than a little unnerving, enough to make more than one of the Holy Knights fearful just by the sight of it. "I'm going to whip you into shape."

"Ban's gotten loads stronger," the future Meliodas says proudly, if unnecessarily given they'd all seen him in action, felt the magnitude of his presence all the way from here even when the two'd been in Vaizel. "His experience in Purgatory caused a pretty explosive transformation on his body and soul—being able to see ghosts is the least he can do now. As for me, thanks to Purgatory, I've figured out a trick to breaking Commandment curses. I'm not..." here, he looks down. "I'm a lot weaker than I was but I can teach you—myself that much."

"That sounds like incredibly useful," Arthur bursts out, eyes wide and admiring, making Merlin smile fondly at him from her place at his side, in turn, making Escanor look desolate from his place by hers. "I thought those curses can only be broken by something on par with the magic of the goddesses—is that how Merlin was cured?" He whips around to face her, eyes growing wider. "Is it?!"

She only smiles indulgently in response. "You could say that he... provided me the key I needed to break the curse," she allows. "Even if the manner in how he did was... less than savory." She shoots him a pointed look as she enunciated the last three words, to which that Meliodas only looks away, his expression so innocent, it was obviously devious. "In any case, we're going to have much to do. Slader," she says, drawing that knight's attention. "Once the Captains finish telling what he knows, I would like you to disseminate that information among the Holy Knights of Liones."

"Your wish is my command, Big Sister."

"Gilthunder, Howzer, Jericho—I'm going to have you collect the materials I need to send these two back to their proper time. Would you do that?"

"Of course," was Gilthunder's immediate answer. "Anything to be of assistance."

"Sounds like a pain, but sure," despite his words, going by his expression, Howzer was eager to help. "Shouldn't be hard!"

Jericho looks from her, then to the Ban holding Elaine, then to the other Ban, before looking away, cheeks red. "W-well, if it's to help Ban, I guess I don't mind doing just that much..."

Her smile was amused and suspect in equal measures. "While your enthusiasm is admirable, I'd advise some caution. Your task may be more... difficult than you imagine."

As they were processing that enigmatic warning, Gilfrost suddenly stands. "Let me come with you!" he blurts out, looking beseechingly at Gilthunder. "I can be of use to you, I swear it! You know I can." The last sentence, he directs at Merlin, tone turning insolent, almost petulant as he regards her, rather shocking those around him. "I can handle anything you ask of me."

Merlin's eyes lingered on the mage a fraction of a second longer than they did with the others. "... If you must," she eventually allows. "But only if they themselves are fine with it. Hendrickson, Princess Elizabeth—" she says, drawing their attention. "I would like you two to go back to Istar. I would have you pass some requests to the druids. You're acquainted with them, Hendrickson. I'm sure you can convince them."

Though the knight looked rather nauseated at the prospect, he nods. "C-Certainly..."

"As for you, Princess Elizabeth, you should be able to assist them in my requests and it will give you the perfect opportunity to further your own abilities. In addition, Hendrickson can teach you more on your way there. Would that be fine with you?"

"Of course!" Her expression was set and her visible eye was burning with determination. "I'll do anything!" Then, she hesitates. "But... what about Sir Meliodas? Won't he need healing, too...?"

"Leave that to me, Princess," the future Ban cuts in, one corner of his lip twitching as both she and his past counterpart turn to look at him. "He's going to be fine."

"Don't worry about me, Elizabeth," their Meliodas reassures her, eyes soft as he regarded her. "Just focus on yourself. I'll be fine." Then, he turns to look at Merlin, one eyebrow raised. "Merlin? I thought I was the Captain here."

She only smiles. "Certainly you are, Captain, but be that as it may, you're still on bed rest until you're fully recovered. I'm sure everyone here agrees. Now, as for us Sins," she says, finally drawing King from his reverie. "For the time being, we're going to stay here, for your protection. While the Commandments seem to have withdrawn, for the time being, you are still one of their primary targets. Until you've recovered, your protection will be of paramount importance. Does anyone disagree?"

He grumbles under his breath but doesn't protest, not when all of the Sins all but leapt to show support, from Escanor still in his midnight form to the still-mostly-amnesiac Diane, all of them looking determined, protective, with that time's Ban, in particular, seeming to burn with resolve. In contrast, his counterpart was smiling, eyes warm and bright.

"Don't be like that," he whispers, very lightly elbowing himself in the ribs. "You did nearly die." Then, wistfully: "Our friends are great, aren't they?"

He grunts, and that's that.

"In any case," Merlin was saying. "We still have much to discuss but, by the end of this, I believe we may have the advantage over the Demon Clan. It won't be easy, of course, even given everything we will learn, but I believe defeating the Commandments is within sight."

"And it only took you guys magic time travelers to get there," the future's Ban quips. He seemed amused and, when you put it like that, the circumstances were more than ridiculous, they were absolutely insane. And yet, knowing even what little they did of the world they'd come from, this was infinitely preferable to how it could've been. "While we're here, we'll do what we can to help. In the meantime, I didn't spend all that time cooking just for you guys to waste it."

"Besides," the future's Meliodas says, before King could blurt out in his disbelief at the audacity of him. A feast? Now? Really?! "It's been a... a really long time since I've seen you guys." He pauses and... it could've just been King's imagination, he could've sworn there'd been a hitch in his throat and actual tears in his eyes as he'd said it. "And... I'd like to celebrate it! You're going to have a lot of work to do but, for now... "

"Let's drink!" their Meliodas finishes for him, grinning. "Believe me, you're going to need it."

"I know I already do," their Ban mutters. For a moment, there's something very gloomy about the way he holds himself but then Elaine places her hand on his and the moment ends with him grinning in his usual devil-may-care way. "Gotta say, I still can't fuckin' wrap my head around all of this... time travel business."

The future's Ban laughs. "Neither can I," he admits. "And I'm the one who time-traveled."

"Think about it this way," the future's Meliodas pipes out. "This is actually for the best! I didn't have to die, you're going to get all the information you need... if you think about it, it's actually a good thing we landed here!"

"Yes," Gilthunder declares, looking almost reverent. "It might've been by accident but your arrival, it saved you, us—it averted a tragedy. I can't imagine how we could've survived against those... those monsters... in a world where we might have to fight you as an enemy..."

"I can imagine," Hendrickson mutters, shuddering briefly, eyes darkening at the memory. King refuses to let himself feel any sympathy for him. "I'm going to have to remember to bring some offerings for the journey to Istar, to thank the Supreme Deity for this miracle..."

For whatever reason, both Meliodas' smiles suddenly turned very strained. "Don't," the one from the future says, looking horribly uncomfortable. "Just... don't."

"Yeah, definitely... don't," his counterpart says, nodding, before Hendrickson could interject. "Just... trust me. If anything... the one to thank is the Purgatory Witch."

The future's Ban laughs. "Yeah, if it weren't for her shit-aim, this Britannia'd be on a road to hell in a hand-basket by this time."

Their Ban suddenly stands, a full tankard in his hands. "A toast," he declares, and they all scramble to grab whatever drinks are at hand as he raised his high. "To the Purgatory Witch!"

"The Purgatory Witch!"

"May your aim continue being complete crap," the future's Ban finishes. "Forever!"

It was the first drink they'd all had that night and as the night went on and some of the more outlandish explanations began, it turned out that it was only the first of many.

The ragged, cloaked figure kneels.

"You. Creature. What is your name?"

The Witch smiles.

"... I believe I have heard of you."

A hand is extended. It is a friendly hand.

"I am the one known as the Purgatory Witch. It is a pleasure to meet you."

A handshake between a hand gloved in patchwork tatters and a wild boar's hoof

"Yes. They have already left. I opened a door for them."

The figure stands. At full height, the Witch looms over the surrounding area.

"And if you so desire it, I can send you through the same way."

The ancient bone staff flickers like an old ember

"Although... j-just so we're clear, my aim is not..."

The winds whip and whirl

"W-well, if you're sure..."

The staff ignites anew.

.

t̛̬̻̗͕͕̗̪̍͊̇͆̾̈͐̆̚h̷̹̙̗̹͚͎̩̰̆̓̂͑͋ȇ̵̻̜̘͙̣͍͔̍̒̋͞ ď̵̪͖̤̜͔͉̺̊̍̋̀̆̈́̂̄̕ờ̢̥̺͇̍͋͢͝ő̧͎̰̰̾̒̾͊͜ŗ̶͇̤̯̳͈͍͚̌̅̂̊͌̒̾̇͘ i̛̩̺̳͉̪̼͌̎̑̄͒̍̕͟͜͝s̶̡̬͉͍͍̝̈́̃̄̍͢͞͞͞ ŏ̴̡̰͓͚̺̣̥̉̇̎͐͑͘̕͝͞ͅp̡̧̨̧̜̦̠̦̐̿͛̈́̋́é̢̬̦̣̠͙̜͈̂̽̊̃̽͌̐̕͜ͅn̢͇͚̳̭̓̓̄̂̍͆̂̀̐̚.̷͎̙̫̖̜͚̦̘́́͋̾͊̕͠͡ ȩ̴̨̢̧̹̣̗̙̯̘͂͐͂̔̉̈́̂͞n̢̦͖̰̉̈́͐̔̿̕͜͢t̹̞̯̤͍̼̤͇̏̐̏̈́̇̆ȩ̫͈͔̫̗͚̳͎̺͊͌͂̀̈́̓̈͑͡ŕ͓̣͕͓̹̬͇̟̃͑̿̽̀̇,͎͚̝̺̜̣̜͕͙̉̈́̇̈́͟͞ i̷̡̛͔̟̺̞͔̗̲̐̆̓̀̊̏̈́ͅf̷͍̝̗̺̞̫̗͐̿̏͢͠͠ y̶̧̮̻̟̗̋́̅̾́́͌͟ớ̡̩̜̯̞͍͆̈̎̔͋̓̈͘ͅu̙̝̜̳̮͎̬̦̠̓́̎̌̍̍͐̒͒ w̺̜̬͙̝͓͍̻̹̄̐̓̏͂́́̀͟ï̷̢̡͔͎̥͚̾̇́̽̂̇͝͠l̷̢͖͔̺̭̿̾͛̽͠͞l̡̼͔̞̘̅͗̒̒̿̀̃̇̕͢͟͞

.

.

Many hours later, he's smiling and laughing with the rest of them as he excuses himself from the proceedings but the minute he enters the upstairs washroom, he rushes for the toilet and heaves, blood and bile burning his throat on the way up. Even with his hearts restored, with his body healing, he felt awful. Which was just stupid, he's spent over a day in bed, been healed twice over by both Ban's Gift and Elizabeth's healing magic, and still, after doing nothing but talk and eat whatever he's managed to choke down, here he was, out of breath in front of a toilet, barely able to stand. Pathetic, he was just pathetic.

"Gift!"

Warmth suddenly flooded his body, not the instantaneous relief of druidic healing magic but a rush of energy that seemed to seep into his system, encouraging it to put itself back together. He looks up shakily from his place by the toilet, still gasping even as that magic slowly began to ease the pain and restore some of his energy. It was—well, it wasn't unexpected, who it was.

"Cap'n, I told you to call me if you needed anything!"

Somehow, Ban was by his side before he'd even noticed him come in, concern obvious in his eyes even through his frustrated glare.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" his voice comes out as a rasp; his throat was hoarse and burning. He wipes at the bloody bile staining his mouth before trying to stand. It's only because Ban is there that he doesn't fall. "When did you get here...?"

"I came up to look after you. Duh." Despite his words, his expression was still obviously concerned as he helped him to his feet—and it's downright pathetic but his legs almost give out when he does. He does manage to stand, if only by the virtue of the death grip he has on his friend's arm, not that the immortal complains. "You look awful." Then: "... Want me to carry you?"

"D-do I look that bad to you?" he tries to joke, but Ban doesn't look amused.

"You were spewing blood not three seconds ago," he points out expression, for once, quite serious. "You look like shit," he says bluntly. "And I don't blame you for it. C'mon, Cap'n, get on, I'm carrying you. No complaining."

"You're overreacting," he tells him. All the same, he obligingly got on as the Fox's Sin pulled him up onto his back in a piggyback carry, closing his eyes and leaning in against the familiar warmth. "I'm fine."

"Suuure you are." He stands, seemingly not even noticing his weight. "You know, if you were feeling sick earlier, you should've just said.

"Earlier, I just... needed to use the toilet," he manages, after coughing to clear his throat. "I was fine until just now. I'll be fine. Seriously, you're making a big deal out of this."

"By this point, in my time, you were dead," Ban points out. Even after all this time, there was a haunted note in his voice as he remembers that awful time. He forces himself to sound more normal after but he had already heard it. "All things considered, I think I'm reacting completely appropriately, Cap'n."

He doesn't know what to say to that so he only grunts.

"Just take it easy, alright?" he continues. "I'll get you tucked in and have your Princess come up to see to you. That sound good?"

"... Sounds fine."

His bed was only a few steps away from the upstairs washroom and the moment he's there, he honestly almost just wants to sink into the sheets and into oblivion, maybe just escape it all for another few hours before they had to go back to the headache that was their ludicrous situation. Nevertheless, he forces his eyes open.

"... think they bought it?"

Ban doesn't even look at him, he was rummaging through the cupboards for fresh blankets to replace the bloody ones on his bed. "Why wouldn't they?" he grunts. "S'not like they know. For now."

He closes his eyes and leans back against his pillows. "I guess you're right," he says quietly. "I just hope the Sins won't mind too much..."

"You kiddin'?" That seemed to amuse him. "Believe me, Cap'n, you volunteering to tell us anything's rare as hell. I won't mind, I can tell you that."

"You're already my best friend!" he points out, as if that answered everything. "As for everyone else..."

"It'll be fine." Having found the clean blankets, Ban actually goes and tucks him in and, just this once, he thinks to himself, he lets him. It's... oddly comforting, all things considered. "It's not that big a deal."

He opens his eyes. "I guess. It's just... I'm alright with you guys knowing the details, but... if it's possible, I'd like to just keep it all to just the Sins. It's not that I don't trust little Gil or Hendrickson or anything, it's just—"

"It's fine, Cap'n," he cuts him off. "You don't need to explain yourself, not to me, of all people. They all know what they need to know and that's enough."

"... does Gowther already know the plan?" he asks, after some time.

"The other you's talked to him about it, don't worry," he says reassuringly. "Really now, just get some rest. We can handle things from here. Everything's gonna be fine."

Despite knowing what he knows, despite knowing what could be, he lets himself believe. Only then does he finally let himself rest.

Everything was going to be fine.

Back at the grounds of castle Camelot, Estarossa was preparing himself, standing in the center of a swirling storm of darkness as, one by one, various pests were transformed by his power, the animals they'd plucked from the kennels and stables screaming in agony as their blood boiled and their bodies changed, swelling and bloating as their flesh muscled and gristled as his magic seared through their veins. More than one only explode in the process, their bodies unable to handle the strain of such a forcible metamorphosis but he doesn't care. If they didn't survive something so simple, they obviously weren't worth bothering with in the first place.

Shame he couldn't have the humans, he muses. They were reserved for Grayroad to transform, of course, but it would've been such fun seeing if any of those puny gnats could handle his power...

Now, having finished transforming every animal within Camelot's borders, he sends them out in the routes they'd discussed, meant to target what Fraudrin remembered of where the population was high and souls were abundant, all of the demons he'd made—save just one small group, a trio of the strongest from this batch.

This little squad, he meant to guide himself, off to a certain kingdom Fraudrin had been all too pleased to babble about, going on and on about its potential and the strength of its protectors and by the damned stars, he could just gag at the weakness of him. It was filled with strong souls and they needed strength. That was all he needed to know before picking that place as his own personal target.

And if his path just so happened to cross with that of his brother and the rest of his allies, well, that wouldn't be his fault now, would it?

Zeldris, of course, boring stick-in-the-mud that he was, had advised caution but why should he?

Why the hell should he fear anything? His own older brother, the infamous former paragon of the Demon Clan, he'd lain low before him, his strongest attack stopped with just one hand. That intruder's repulsive attacks had barely left a scratch on him. Sure, he'd gotten away, cowardly little insect, but he'd barely been able to hurt him in the first place. And as for that little pest, the one that had so troubled his pathetic allies, he had barely lasted a second before exploding at just a simple bit of transformation.

Why should he fear them at all?

He was the best, after all. He has nothing to fear.

And so, away from the other Commandments, away from his brother Zeldris' prying eyes, amidst the flight of the hundreds of newly-transformed demons, he manifests dark wings and flies for Liones.

He was looking forward to seeing his big brother again.

Good Lord, writing this was tough. Fun. But tough. Just like the bean-spilling one smol bean's gonna have to go through in the near future.

As much as I'd like to say I'll update in two weeks-ish, as usual, it's finals season so... well, no guarantees. I'll try to finish by April 21, anyway. If not... well, this was pretty long, right? Gimme a day or two as compensation...

Feedback keeps me going and I hope you have a nice day.

EDIT: Okay, yeah, finals week's gotten me pretty beat and I've barely had the time to write. Change of plans, I'll try and have it finished by this Wednesday and I'm really, really sorry for the delay but school does have to come first.

Wednesday! April 24!