Chapter 59

Crow made it clear to her not to expect anything and all she could do was ask for help. He wasn't wrong, as much as she hated admitting it. At the very least, Ash seemed to be forgiving and he was one of the most important people in her life. They had only known each other almost two months before all Gehenna broke loose, before everything fell apart and disaster struck.

"I am sorry…for making all of you worry about me. I told Crow if I could've reached out, I would have, but they had me under lock and key for two straight years. It was in some kind of labyrinth, underground and I didn't even see the light of day until I was ordered to attend that party the Emperor threw to celebrate Crossbell City's liberation, the anniversary, and that was also the night Machias debuted as the mayor. But I'm NOT sorry for what I did because at least you all survived and are alive." Melyssa wanted to make that crystal clear.

"I understand." Ash said with a nod, reaching over to take her hand and gently squeezed, knowing actions would help cement the words. "Emma and Celine aren't too far away, Emma put up some protective wards around an old cabin to make sure we aren't found and nobody can spy on us. Did Crow tell you that everyone is coming over the next few days?" All in pairs or solo, and never from the same direction. Now that it was verified Ouroboros was in Crossbell City, none of them wanted to risk coming in with the others.

Taking her hand, without any hesitation, to comfort her, stirred something inside of Melyssa. Ash was always there for her, since day one, even with his lude behavior and remarks. Crow was supposed to be the one to do this, not him, and yet, here she was, in a car, with Ash holding her hand like it was the most normal thing in the world to do. It felt downright foreign to her.

"N-No…"

It was 7 AM in the morning, 6 AM when he came banging on her door and he ushered her out straightaway. She didn't have time to talk to Crow or anyone. Crow actually did it. He told EVERYONE, so that meant…Rean. Rean knew the truth. Emma and Celine knew…everyone knew and they were coming. Was she about to have a panic attack?

You told Crow the ball was in his court and to do what he wanted, you fool! What did you think was going to happen?! Did you really think he wouldn't tell the others, especially his best friend? Rean… Pulling her hand away temporarily, Melyssa dug into her purse and pulled out the starry night necklace, also never leaving anywhere without it. "I guess it's safe to put this on for now, then." Clasping it around her neck, Melyssa shut her eyes to relish the feeling and took Ash's hand again, once mentally and emotionally preparing herself for what was to come.

"You worry too much." Ash laughed once he had pulled up to what looked like a 'rustic' log cabin. Emma was here, he spotted her ride parked off beneath some trees. "Did you feel the shift in the atmosphere when we came in? It apparently is a friend or foe system, it'll let us in because it recognizes us. Anyone hostile, it deters." Emma had upped her game after the events of two years ago, the spells and protections she had used for that night had sort of done what they were supposed too, but she had been disappointed in the results.

They all had been.

Melyssa nodded, feeling a wave of nausea hit her, but as fast as it came, it was gone. That had to be the magic barrier and protection Emma put in place. "Yeah, I did briefly."

Ash continued smiling at her and she had no idea why he was so happy. This wasn't a happy affair, at least not to her. She was literally about to walk into the lion's den and Emma could probably vaporize her in two seconds, if she wanted to. The witch was powerful – frighteningly powerful. Hesitantly, she stepped out of the car once Ash did and looked up at the log cabin, her mask left behind in the backseat. There was no reason to put it on here.

"Well, well, so it is true, then." Celine said by way of greeting, sashaying out of the door Emma made for her and sat down on the steps, her eyes unreadable. "It really is you, isn't it? I thought I smelled your scent during that interview process, but I wasn't 100% sure. I really must be getting rusty in my old age."

"You're ancient, kitty cat, get over it."

Celine hissed at him.

"Yeah, it's me, Celine. It's…nice to see you again, you know, as me…"

"Hmph, I suppose it's nice to see you again too. And just a little friendly advice, you really need to work on your lying skills. They suck." Celine was straightforward and blunt as ever. "Come on in, Emma has been waiting on you two to arrive. Crow should be here soon and Rean is on his way. He's leaving his new Class VII behind since they're all first years, but he did contact Juna, Altina, and Kurt and they're coming too."

Oh great, Melyssa thought, really not wanting to deal with Juna since they hadn't been friendly with each other.

"Yay! Machias said you were familiar or that you seemed familiar, and I KNEW there was something about you the night we 'met' at that party." Emma bounced over, looking pleased with herself, which she was. "That mask… Crow told us all about it, is creepy."

Ash nodded his agreement. That was a main theme here, they all found it creepy. Now they were all going to be paranoid that anyone they looked out might be wearing a literal second skin. "Gross, it's gross." He muttered, reaching up to tousle his hair, trying not to think about it too much.

"Did you bring it? I would love to see it and Altina is already talking about trying to copy it." Emma pulled a face, shaking her head. Altina saw 'practical' purposes for something like that.

"You want to SEE it?" When Emma nodded enthusiastically, Melyssa shrugged and walked out of the cabin to retrieve it out of the car. Ash was groaning, ordering her not to do it, but she brought the thing in anyway. "Here it is. I have 5 more at the apartment. Mariabell said I needed 'options' for makeup and whatnot, depending on what I wore." She made a face, handing it over to Emma, who looked completely fascinated by it.

"Okay, that is creepy. Wow." Celine pawed at the mask and couldn't believe how THIN it was with all that detail. "Did she make it with magic? I don't sense any coming from it…"

"No, I don't know how she made them. I didn't watch her, she just gave them to me and said they would hide my imperfections." Like the faint scar on her cheek, for example.

"Just imagine it, there's a creepy, face making factory out there and there are probably hundreds of Ouroboros agents wearing these things." Emma said after a moment, feeling it. It was very lifelike, that was kind of morbid, what if they were harvesting and then preserving the faces of dead people? She could see that happening. "It'd be perfect if it allowed you to imitate other people, but this contours to your bone structure." Which was why Melyssa had seemed familiar, but at the same time, she had been totally different. "Altina is going to love this." Altina was beyond weird but useful, so they all tolerated her weirdness.

"At least someone will."

Melyssa couldn't believe they were standing here, having a friendly conversation about her mask. That was what she called it, but she had no idea what exactly it was. That was what Mariabell referred it, so she had just stuck with the term.

"Damn it, Emma, thanks for the nightmares I'm going to have about Ouroboros agents running around wearing those damn things!" Ash growled, not appreciating the mental image the witch gave him and shook his head. "You're never wearing those again, Melyssa." He ordered, turning his attention on her. "We're burning them…after Altina gets her fill."

Melyssa didn't want to start a fight or argument with Ash, so she just nodded to keep the peace and tucked the mask back inside her purse for the time being. "I'll give it to Altina when she gets here."

"She'll have four more back home." Emma reminded him with an overly innocent smile, snickering when he growled at her.

"Rean won't make it today. I think Altina will be the first. Everyone is going to trickle in slowly, so we don't arouse suspicion." Change of subject, before he threw up. If they could do that with faces... What about bodies?

Good, gives me more time to prepare myself to face him again. "That's good. We'll have to head back into the city tonight and…" Ash shook his head firmly and Melyssa frowned, suddenly noticing all the beds that were in the cabin. "Wait, we're STAYING here?"

"Hiding out, actually. Machias is coming too. He's already given an emergency notice to his staff and they will handle things while we slowly reunite and figure out what we're going to do." Emma explained, seeing the fear cross Melyssa's face and wished there was a way to ease them. "You're safe here, Melyssa. And Ouroboros is going to find out sooner or later you are no longer with them. Might as well rip that band-aid off as soon as possible."

Ash had brought her under false pretenses, but then again, she hadn't asked him where they were going. IDIOT, YOU'RE AN IDIOT! "I'm just gonna step outside for some fresh air."

"Just so you know, if you try to leave the barrier, it will electrocute you." Emma made sure they would ALL be trapped here. Nobody was running away anymore.

"Got it." Melyssa left the cabin and sat down on the steps, burying her head in her hands. They're going to know now. If they didn't before, they will now and McBurn will be hunting for me. I have to be prepared.

Crow had also mentioned that she had seemed sort of wishy washy on the whole 'being her true self' and 'not lying' last night… Crow was a good friend, she would appreciate it in time, they were sure. Crow wasn't on board with the whole group showing up and shacking together, however, he had been very vocal against that. Why was it when things like this happened, people thought the best source of action was to become a giant fricking target? He would never understand it. Terrorists were successful because they operated in small packs and never put everything in one basket.

Personally, Melyssa would have agreed with Crow…on the whole shacking up together idea. This was a bad, BAD idea all the way around. Melyssa wasn't liked by a lot of Class VII and she knew it. She didn't get along with Juna, for one. Emma was freaking her out by treating her like a normal human being. Ash was…Ash. Altina had arrived and only said a couple words to her before flying off, without the barrier, with the mask in hand to 'examine' and 'study' it with Claimh Solais. Nightfall came, along with dinner, and Melyssa barely ate anything before heading back outside. She'd been secluded for so long and the stars were beautiful, twinkling down at her. She heard the door open and close, already knowing who was coming to join her.

"I'm not going to change my mind, you know." Melyssa spoke, continuing to look up instead of at Ash. "And I'm not going to do anything stupid by running off and getting myself electrocuted either." Crow still hadn't arrived, which was making everyone on edge since he was supposed to be here by now. She wondered if Ouroboros had gotten their hands on him again and immediately dismissed that thought, knowing worrying themselves silly wouldn't solve anything.

"They told you about the barrier then?"

Rean raised an eyebrow when Melyssa whirled around to gawk at him, taking in her proper face. He had flat out told her before he didn't trust her and now he knew why. Her face had been wrong, her voice had been wrong, she had just been all wrong. Now, now she was right. His fuchsia eyes took in her face, noting the scar and reached out, cupping her cheek for a brief moment before pulling it away.

"Crow's been in touch, he ran into a work related issue with Machias." He said quietly, taking a step back to give her space.

What was he doing here?! Emma said he wouldn't be here tonight, didn't she? Melyssa knew she didn't hear the witch wrong, so either Emma lied or Rean decided to surprise them all with his appearance. "Oh." She could not think of anything else to say to him, her own eyes guarded.

However, touching her cheek sent that familiar warmth throughout her body. The same warmth she felt every time they sparred together. That night they walked the academy grounds and ate gelato together. The necklace he gifted her currently around her neck for her birthday…all those moments flooded through her and she couldn't stop the tears building in her eyes.

Don't cry, don't you dare cry! Blink them back, stand strong! This is not the time to get emotional! "Emma warned me, in case I tried making a run for it, earlier. Are Crow and Machias going to be all right?"

"Yeah, they'll be fine. Some of Machias' proposed policies are pissing off some of the older families here in Crossbell, nothing we haven't heard before." Rean dropped down into the grass, shaking his head before laying backwards, folding his hands beneath his head. "Two years, Melyssa," He said quietly, his eyes on the stars now. "I was so scared that they killed you." Or worse, given that McBurn had shown an unnatural, predatory interest in her. Rean wasn't sure if he was relieved she had been alive and training with Ouroboros or not, which was not a good thought and he kept it to himself.

Ash had gone back inside, leaving them alone and his words cut right through her heart, hearing the pain in them. "Sometimes, I wish they would have." Melyssa sank down on the grass beside him, still giving him plenty of space and she finally let those tears fall, drawing her knees up to her chest. It was the same position she sat in while talking to Crow and explaining everything. "I couldn't reach out to anyone, Rean. They had me underground in some kind of labyrinth. I didn't see the light of day or the stars at night for two years…I was isolated and I trained from sunup to sundown. And it was either become an Enforcer or…McBurn's toy. I chose to protect myself…and all of you. That was my deal with the Grandmaster. None of Class VII, old and new, or my mother would be harmed. She accepted and my training started." That shudder…she couldn't suppress it just like she couldn't with Crow the previous night. "I'm sorry for worrying you…" She couldn't look at him, her heart felt as if it might explode from all the anguish, pain and guilt it was filled with.

Crow had already explained all of this. She had pulled the same move that Rean himself would have if the positions would have been reversed. All the logic against 'why' and knowing better than to cave because caving and not standing, and sometimes dying, for the right thing meant Ouroboros was not only winning the short game, but the long game. But he would have made the same move. Rean had been sick and torn up for two years, knowing HE had put her in that position. He had used her as bait because of McBurn's unnatural obsession with her and if he hadn't… she wouldn't have been taken.