Part 11 - We Could Burn It All Down

Chapter 181 - Old World Order

If you told me five years ago, before Null, where I'd be now, I'd have told you you were crazy. I miss Max, but not as much as Gwen seems to. Just like how she stopped doing friends after she accidentally killed her Peter, she's vowed never to have kids. I hate to admit it, but I almost agree. Our first kid was killed by Helltreader decades ago, Charlotte was killed by one of the Scarlet King's abominations then again by Null, our fourth kid was killed with everyone else by the Red Void. As for Max, he took the last of the High Elder Gods with him. That brings me to the subject of today's world. Things are getting tense because nobody's stepping up to Dea Judicium's job. Everyone's mad about something, and it's only a matter of time before it breaks out into some sort of civil war. Me and Gwen have sworn not to take a side in it; our job is to protect people, not be the one's who decide what's wrong and right. How long we have is the question, though, and in the meantime there's plenty to do. I'd better go, diary.

Gwen swung through the window of her and Miles' apartment on Dovah Island. The Church of the High Elder Gods had moved them out of the tower in Stan Konungens and given them this place. It wasn't bad, and it was a little comforting to know they only had an hour's hike up to their son's tomb. Miles hastily stuffed a notepad in a desk drawer.

"What was that?" Gwen asked.

"Err…nothing?"

"Miles…"

"Fine, it's my diary. I don't want people knowing about it."

"Why not? Are you hiding something?"

"Yeah. The diary."

"Seriously."

"Alright, I'm scared about what it means."

"Why?"

"What if it means I'm changing so much that I'm turning into Ethereal Legion Miles? I promised Max I'd be there for him, and even though he's been gone five years I have to keep that promise."

"For who? We aren't having more kids."

"For Max. Legion me wasn't there for the people he loved and I don't want to be that guy again."

Gwen sighed, pressing her hand to her chest to morph her spider suit into a ball of programmable matter in her hand. With Jacob's technical expertise, she had obtained a programmable matter version of her suit. It had some of Miles' suit's touches because they hadn't been able to work out how to remove them, but they only added to it in her opinion. She threw the ball of programmable matter down on a coffee table and leaned on the wall next to the desk.

"You've got move on, Miles. Max is gone, so any promises don't matter anymore. He's not in any afterlife; we've looked in what's left of Bastria and there's no new multiverses."

"They matter to me, Gwen. And if we're talking about moving on, we'd have a real family by now instead of just the two us."

"That's more than just about Max."

"Well so's the promise I made."

"What? Is it about Charlotte too? She's been dead even longer than him."

"No!"

"Are you two fighting again?" Asked someone from the direction of an open window.

"What do you want, Grace? And did you climb the pipes again?" Asked Gwen.

"I came by to see how the classic spider peoples' marriage is going. On track for a divorce, I'd say. Peter B would have some advice. And yes, I climbed the pipes because I wanted to hear what all the bickering was about."

"We aren't gonna divorce, Grace." Said Miles.

"Really? That's what people say before they get divorced."

"It's also what people say if they aren't getting divorced. Why are you really here? You don't just come knocking for no reason." Gwen replied.

"I came because you're late for a meeting."

"Oh yay…the monthly meetings of the old world where so much get's talked about." Miles replied sarcastically.

"You never know. Someone might have something to say today."

"Or nobody will turn up." Added Gwen.

"Don't look at me. You two set this up to help people get used to the new world. Anyway, at least be there for Jacob; you know how well he's taken having to kill his best friend."

"Fine. We'll be there in five."

"Five minutes or five days?"

"Minutes." Replied Miles.

The so-called 'Old World Order' was a monthly meeting where the ninety-nine survivors of Earth, as well as occasionally Paarthurnax, would meet to make sure they were all coping with this new world they called home. Most people still lived on Dovah Island, but a few had moved on with their lives to the Eastern and Western continents. Miles and Gwen arrived thirty seconds after Grace, forgetting their earlier quarrel and putting on happy faces so people could fool themselves into thinking these meetings were really necessary. Jacob looked as happy as usual, ie. not at all. The spiders often worried about what was going through his mind, but he rarely spoke about it to anyone. The pair sat down at the table in the front of the small hall.

"Let's get this over with. Anybody have anything to say?" Asked Gwen.

For the first few seconds, nobody raised a hand. Eventually, however, someone did for once.

"Yes?"

"There's a new group who seem to be recruiting. I'm not sure what to make of them yet, but they call themselves the Volente Guard. From what I got out of them, they're some sort of militia claiming to act in your son's name. Just thought I'd tell you in case you wanted to pay them a visit."

"Cool. We'll look into them. Anything else?" Replied Miles.

Nobody raised a finger.

"Well that was an exciting one. Same time next month, people."

The hall emptied extremely quickly leaving the two spiders, Grace and Jacob. Jacob just watched the other three with a blank expression.

"Heard anything about these guys, Grace?" Miles asked.

Grace shrugged.

"Nope. Something tells me they'll do something stupid, though."

"Anyone claiming to act in a dead God's name probably will. I bet ten Dames on it."

Dames were the currency of the world.

"You never know; they might be smart."

"What about you, Jacob? Any ideas?" Asked Gwen.

"I have plenty of ideas." Jacob replied in a monotone voice, standing up and starting to walk away.

"I mean about the Volente Guard."

He stopped and shook his head silently, then left. Grace sighed.

"I'm not sure if I should be worried he's still more upset about Max than I am, even though I was his fiancé."

"I think Max would be glad you've moved on. Come on, let's go and have some time without anyone who hasn't moved on yet."

It was obviously a jibe at Miles who made a hurt expression, but said nothing.

Gwen and Grace made their way to the high street of Stan Dovahhe, the only city on Dovah Island.

"So you and Miles were arguing about getting over Max?" Asked the latter.

"Yeah. He's obsessed with a promise he made to Max about not abandoning him, but Max is dead so it doesn't matter."

"Right. And he argued you're not getting over him by refusing to have kids?"

"Exactly."

"I have no solutions. Maybe you both just have to accept each other's choices? Honour Max's memory how each of you wants instead of trying to do it together. Hang on…what's that?"

Gwen looked at what Grace had seen. There was someone standing at a stall with a banner hanging over the front. On it were the words: 'Join the Volente Guard'.

"Subtle."

"Like you and Miles having a fight…"

Gwen shot Grace a look, then walked up to the stall. The man behind the table smiled at her.

"Hello. Are you here to join the Volente Guard?"

"That depends. What are you all about?"

"We are a group working to repair the image of Dei Volente, hence our name."

"You don't think he's dead?"

"Oh no, he's dead. What I mean is people's worship of him. Dei Volente specifically stated that he did not want people to worship him. So why do people worship him? And with the annual Global Mourning coming up, now more than ever we need people to see the truth."

"I'll admit it's stupid."

"So, will you join us in our mission?"

Gwen shrugged.

"Do you have a pamphlet?"

The man handed her one.

"I understand this is a difficult decision; the Church isn't particularly keen on our work."

"I can see why. I'll have a think about it."

"By all means. Come by our headquarters, address in the pamphlet, and we'll get you signed up. Thank you for your time today, madam."

"It's been a pleasure."

Gwen walked back to Grace and they walked down the street a little.

"This has been a productive trip. I need to drop this off with Miles; he's the undercover guy."

"You two barely act like you're married anymore. I think Max would be really upset about that."

"He's dead. It doesn't matter anymore."

"And I remember Miles being the one who loved nobody…"

Gwen shot Grace an irritated look as they set off for the spiders' apartment.

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Skyrim

Note

Well here we are: part eleven, the final part. It's been just a few days short of a year since I started writing, and it's been quite the journey. In the final chapter, I'll include a total of exactly how many crossovers there were in the entirety of the fic. But for now, enjoy the last twenty chapters of Labours of Their Love!