Chapter 63

Rean's fuchsia eyes were very conflicted as he stared at her, realizing she was holding what he had said against him. I don't trust you. He didn't know what to tell her to be honest. He still wasn't sure if she would have come clean about anything if not for Crow calling her out on it. Rean didn't trust her. She had been with Ouroboros for two years and regardless of what she said, there was no way she had come out of it completely herself and ready to join back up with the good guys, not straight out the gate. He narrowed his eyes at Crow, who seemed to be reading his mind and snorted when Crow simply shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"No, not at the moment." Not with her present anyway, not just yet.

"What exactly was the purpose of everyone coming then?" Celine asked, sounding bored.

"Ask Crow."

"I see. Well, just so you know, my former Instructor, I did not tell Crow because he saw past the mask." She read his mind and narrowed her eyes at the look on his face, her upper lip starting to curl. "I told him who I really am because of an…old friend. An acquaintance of YOURS, I'm sure." Now he was staring at her hardening and she smiled coldly in return, slipping her mask back on in front of everyone. "You can thank Aurelia for convincing me to come clean to Crow. I can tell you don't trust me, though, and without trust, we can't work together. So, I bid you all adieu." This was a mistake – a COLOSSAL mistake. "Emma, drop the magic barrier. I'm leaving."

"But…"

"Drop. The. Magic. Barrier. Now." It wasn't a request and the witch sighed before waving her hand, the barrier gone. "Thank you for wasting my time coming here, Schwarzer. MUCH appreciated." She bowed mockingly at him before storming out of the log cabin, doing everything in her power to hold back tears. Screw him! He doesn't know what it was like these past two years! He has no idea what I went through! He can go to Gehenna, for all I care!

"Crow, the next time you call a meeting like this, make sure you know what you're doing first." Emma scolded, walking into the kitchen to start putting food away since it was obvious nobody was hungry anymore.

"How was I supposed to know she expected him to fall in line?" Everyone else had, it was true so maybe she thought Rean would as well, and forgave her readily, but Rean still hadn't forgiven himself. "I can't MAKE her understand where he's coming from just like I can't MAKE him understand her!"

"The fact that she manipulates the way she does tells me I'm not bothering with anymore of this." Rean was already on his own way out the door. "From my understanding, she's friendly with everyone who trusts her and instantly accepted everything she says. She's not with the one person who doesn't immediately roll over and accept what she says as gospel, which is a huge red flag. Work with her if you like, I won't." And he was gone. Without trust, we can't work together…. Of course he didn't trust her, she did things her way because she saw no other choice and had saved everyone and now it was her way or nothing. Crow, Ash, Emma, Altina and the rest could kiss his backside, he wasn't going through this again because Melyssa said so.

"REAN SCHWARZER!" Emma was done. Emma was fed up and had stopped him with magic, holding him completely and firmly in place. He was floating in the air and she tightened her fist, bringing him back inside the log cabin. "Shut your mouth and listen to me right now. That girl is scared and it took her A LOT of courage to come to Crow! She doesn't think she's worthy of forgiveness from anyone, so you giving her the cold shoulder IS NOT HELPING! This isn't you! This isn't the Rean Schwarzer we know! You have changed and not for the better! Even Alisa has noticed it and it stops NOW! I know what happened in Jurai two years ago devastated you! We were ALL devastated, but did you ever stop to THINK that maybe, just maybe, Melyssa did what she did to save all of us?! You think it was easy for me to learn she SACRIFICED everything, her own life and FREEDOM, for two years with those psychos, in order to save and protect us?! NO! It wasn't! But let me tell you something, that is the most UNSELFISH woman I've ever met in my life and she is MORE than worthy of my forgiveness! She's worthy of all of our forgiveness!" Now, she was really angry and her face turned beat red. "HOW CAN YOU FORGIVE CROW FOR EVERYTHING HE DID TO US, BUT NOT HER?! SHE DIDN'T DO A DAMN THING TO YOU EXCEPT PROTECT YOU AND ALL OF US! CROW WAS A MURDERER, A TERRORIST AND EVEN TRIED KILLING US ON MORE THAN A FEW OCCASIONS AND YET, HE'S WORTHY OF YOUR FORGIVENESS, SO WHY ISN'T SHE WORTHY OF IT?! WHY ISN'T SHE TRUSTWORTHY?! SHE HAD TO WEAR THAT MASK TO PROTECT HER IDENTITY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT OUROBOROS TOLD HER TO DO! SHE'S NOT GOING TO GO AGAINST THEM UNTIL THERE'S A PLAN TO TAKE THEM DOWN! SO YOU CAN SIT THERE AND YOU CAN BE ALL HIGH AND MIGHTY WITH YOURSELF AND YOUR COLD, DEAD HEART BECAUSE THAT'S ALL YOU'VE BECOME! YOU'RE A SHELL OF YOUR FORMER SELF AND WE WON'T TOLERATE IT ANYMORE! AS CLASS VII'S FORMER PRESIDENT, I ORDER YOU TO GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF AND WAKE UP BEFORE YOU END UP LOSING THIS FIGHT FOR GOOD, MR. ASHEN CHEVALIER!" Releasing him, Emma stormed out the back to breathe because she had NEVER exploded like that before.

Everyone was completely silent with dropped jaws and wide eyes.

Rean still left.

~!~

"I can't make him do anything." Crow said later in the day to Ash, sighing because he knew this was his fault.

He knew Rean had changed and he wasn't saying a word about that because he wasn't entirely sure he blamed the guy. Rean had cared for Melyssa, she had been under HIS protection, and things had gone so far south, it made the man's head spin. It didn't make him right, but it also didn't necessarily mean he had to be like the rest of them and do the open arm thing. Crow began laughing.

"It is a little funny, you know? Rean went out of his way for ALL of us and now that he's finally doing what we've all been telling him to do for years, to stop over caring and just… handle himself, we're shitting on him."

"Yeah well… it sounds like if he's not on board, Melyssa isn't either." Why she felt like they NEEDED Rean, it wasn't exactly like one man was going to make the difference here. Rean had already proven his leadership skills were sorely lacking. "I don't know why she cares."

"Because she did it for him and he's shitting on her. Everyone is shitting on everyone."

"Well, I figured out what made Emma lose her temper earlier, gentlemen." Machias walked up to them, looking both sheepish, scared and excited all at the same time. "She is with child. MY child."

"Get outta here!" Ash grinned, wrapping his arm around Machias' shoulders. "Really?! She's got a bun in the oven?!" No wonder her hormones were going haywire and she exploded on Rean the way she did.

"Yes, which also means…"

"She's out of the plan." Crow finished for the man, not blaming him one bit. "Powerful as she is, there's no way we can risk her and your unborn child. We won't put them at risk."

"I could not help overhearing what you said, Ash, regarding Rean and…I wish I could deny everything, but the truth of the matter is, he is not the same he once was. He's…colder, distant, he barely talks to any of us anymore, try as we might. I think it would be best if we cut him out of the picture as well, completely."

Now Ash was beaming. "Sounds like a great idea to me, boss! We need to celebrate with some drinks!"

"Who needs him?"

Crow shook his head, feeling briefly like the world had gone mad, but there it was. Rean had been a hero once, but he had also understood things like self-sacrifice and putting others over yourself. He had used to be a team player. If he couldn't understand or even bring himself to care about Melyssa and why she had done what she did, then that was on him and they didn't need him. They needed to fully trust one another and that meant trusting someone's judgment, just like Melyssa would do if one of them ever decided to make that call.

The 'my life for yours' call.

That was how it worked.

"Apparently not us."

Ash was a bit skeptical of Crow's dismissal. Crow and Rean had once been best friends, but… then again, they had seriously drifted apart over the last two years. Melyssa had been Crow's family for most of his life, so to speak, even though he had forgotten about her for a while because of being an immortal.

"There is darkness in Rean now." Altina joined the fray, sitting down with her musical yet robotic voice. "It is sad to see how far into the depths he has driven himself. This is worse than when he was taken captive by his own father in the Black Workshop, when we had to save him. He had gone berserk and that was MILD compared to how he feels now. I do not comprehend why he has changed so drastically. It is almost as if he has given up the will to live."

"Or maybe the will to fight." Machias correctly gently, heaving a sigh. "I have asked Sara and Fie to converse with him, but to no avail. They will not. Rean has alienated everyone he has ever loved and cared about…and we do not really know why. It has to be more than just what happened in Jurai, I suspect."

"As you said, Machias, he has lost the will to fight. That sums it up perfectly."

"I do admit, he was the leader of Class VII for a very long time, and perhaps we have asked too much of him. Perhaps being the leader is what drove him to the deep despair he is in now."

"We kept asking him to stop being… him." Crow pointed out. "How many times did we give him shit for being in our business, or putting himself first?"

"A lot but to be fair, he was always, always thinking of everyone else except himself, putting everyone before himself. So he flipped and finally did what everyone told him to do." Ash shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the look he received. "Hey, we wanted him to back off and now Melyssa is the new Rean."

"Maybe," Machias shook his head, dismissing it. "We have other things to be worried about. Rean will either pull himself out of this darkness or he'll drown in it, that will be up to him. He knows we're here."

"Well, no, Melyssa and your wife kind of… let him have it."

"He knows better… and Emma is pregnant, it doesn't count."

"She is right in what she said, however. Without trust, they cannot work together. There has to be trust and that is gone between Melyssa and Rean because of what she did." Machias was on Melyssa's side, but that was because he understood where she was coming from, just like Emma. "I regret to inform you that I heard from Laura and Alisa and they will not be assisting us. They have their own duties to perform. And I cannot seem to get a hold of Elliot, so more than likely, he has sided with Rean on this matter. That leaves us, Sara, Fie and Toval of the Bracer Guild, Gaius from the Nord Highlands, Jusis of Barehard, Millium, Altina and a few others. I have tried contacting the unit in Crossbell City, but they are underground in hiding again, so I am not sure how reliable they will be." The numbers were on their side, just not the experience and power.

"With active Ouroboros in the city, they may not trust anyone in places of power, not even you, Machias." Crow sounded almost apologetic, hoping Melyssa was prepared for the lifelong twinges of guilt that came with redemption.

She only needed redemption if she had done something bad. Joining Ouroboros, even for pristine reasons, would still leave her with that… aftertaste, he already knew it would. There was just something tainted about that organization, something that left an almost slimy feeling on one's skin after even being in close proximity.

"It wouldn't be the first time they've managed to lure our people over to their side."

Which was kind of one of Rean's points, not that he was there to say it nor would he be.

"You should send Emma away." Ash was done with this 'his side, her side' thing; he didn't care about Rean's trust issues. They already had enough on their plate without adding drama. "So she's not caught in the crossfire."

"But of course, young Ash. It's already been taken care of." Rosalie, the leader of the Hexen Clan and Emma's grandmother, walked up to them, looking beautiful as ever. She had extremely long blonde hair and fiery red eyes. "To think, my granddaughter is making me a great-grandmother already." She sighed almost wistfully, clasping her hands together. "In her stead, I will be taking her place and fighting alongside all of you. I hope you find this acceptable."

Emma was not taking any chances, refusing to lose her husband and father of her unborn child. Not to mention, Rosalie was A LOT stronger and powerful than Emma. They all knew it too, both Crow and Ash bowing to the older woman respectfully. Emma could be scary powerful, they were well aware that Rosalie was way past that point. Her presence emanated power and demanded respect.

"Of course." Ash said solemnly, straightening his back finally and nodded at Machias, who looked both amused and concerned.

Yes, he was concerned. He got the reasons for Rosalie being here, he'd feel like complete crap if his pregnant wife's grandmother got caught in the crossfire somehow. But he was trying to squash that because it was rather disrespectful of Rosalie's abilities.

Too bad grandmother wasn't here when Rean was being a complete tool because the old woman would have set him straight.