-CHAPTER 4-LOCK AND KEY-

"Not everything that happened that day was bad, Johnny." He was sitting on his couch, immersed in the sorrow and fear of the recollection. Freja's essence was still trying to calm him. "Since that day, we were never apart, right up until we became Lock & Key. It was just the two of us: us against the world. No one, mortal or otherwise, could break what we had. Unlimited understanding… uncompromised trust… boundless devotion… mutual respect…"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Johnny interrupted her musings. "Why are you putting me through this?"

Freja gave him a pained look; he knew instantly that she wasn't looking for sympathy. "Because it's my purpose," she answered simply, as though those few words were enough.

"Your purpose? Then why haven't you come to me before? If it's so important–"

"I couldn't," she interrupted quietly. "They wouldn't let me…"

"They?"

"I can't answer that. I never got a chance to find out."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Do you want me to explain this or not?" her voice was surprisingly calm despite Johnny's obvious irritation. He didn't answer so she continued: "After I lost you, I searched far and wide in vain. Slowly I began to loose my memory, like you did. That was when I became the Key: my job was to clean up wherever you messed up. The innocents you left for dead, it was my duty to ensure they survived. Anyway, eventually I found the locket that I showed you before and, as I told you, my memory came back to me. I took up my search again and began researching instances like ours – there have been one in a generation, in every civilization, since time began, in case you were wondering. A Lock and Key should never meet – before, during or after their service – because any emotional link could interfere with their opposing duties. The memory loss is a fail-safe incase, as with us, that happens. I eventually found you… too late of course – you were already dead. They told me that it was physically impossible for us to meet in our later lives by default, but I knew it was because they were afraid. Afraid of the power that we would possess together. With our command over both life and death we would've been unstoppable: one entity, purely immortal. They ruined our lives out of fear and greed, Nny. Never gave us a chance. I am here to make it right. You serve no one but yourself from now on."

Johnny opened his mouth to speak but was struck dumb: Freja was long gone. An old six-round colt lay in her place.