My Tourniquet

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Capital City, Orb, Summer CE 74:

The incoherent hollering fused together into a demanding chorus of "One more song! One more song!" before the last notes echoed out of existence.

Amy looked thoughtful and took a quick look at us. I nodded, as did the rest of the band. Why not? Upon noting the glimmer in her eyes, I knew she would make the fans beg just a little more before she gave in.

Grasping the microphone, she strode across the stage front. "All right, are you enjoying this thing?"

A couple hundred voices shouted back, "Yeah!"

She shouted back, voice amplified, "What did you say?"

"YEAH!"

"And what do you want now?"

"One more!"

She smirked, toning down her voice, "And who are we to den…?"

The exited screamed created by her voice washed away her last words. Being less than 10 feet from her and I couldn't even hear what she said. We moved back to let her sit down at the piano, her one true treasure in life. The rest of us waited while she began to play, the first gentle notes hushing the fans.

I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

Amy's voice carried over the quieted audience. The heat of the lights shone down over us, making it difficult to discern the individual faces watching her intently. But I knew which seats sat Lacus and the rest of our friends and family. Em had come along with the two girls. Cagalli and Lacus had come with their parents.

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me

Paul stood still and stoic next to me just out of arm's reach, listening to the song as Amy played. She sang for all of us, what we felt together on our own and together. My words but it was meant for anyone who heard. For the people we've lost, the pasts that haunted us.

You used to captivate me by your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase

We continued to stand by silently. The lights shifted giving me just a break in the dark. I smiled, seeing Lacus close to the stage. Back in my mind I know we're just starting to go, but the events of the last few years felt like a torrid lifetime's worth. Most of us wouldn't have survived this to this point without each other. We came together and saved ourselves. Each member was a broken piece, but the band became the tourniquet by which we healed ourselves.

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along

Together we played the final chorus, the full band collecting to sweep across the expanse of the stadium. I glanced around once more, taking in the moment briefly as we played the last notes.

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have all of me…

This is true success. Finding family, growing beyond expectations, defying the odds, living better than we hoped. We made it.

My Evanescent Soul I: My Tourniquet

The End

Wow…I actually finished this. I'm so sorry it took forever but it's done. Coming up will be the deleted pieces that you must be curious about and possible the next story, My Last Breath. Thank you all for hanging in there and enjoying this for what it was.

~EA