Chapter Twenty-Nine

Goodbye My Love

The morning was crisp in the hills and somehow even more refreshing than the days before had been. The low sound of birds rising through the air and singing mingled with the rustle of the grasses and the trees around the open area in a serene way similar to that of the palace garden. My palace. He had to correct himself of that now. It was still so foreign for him to say and think of it that way. His title, his status, his palace, his kingdom, his wife, his everything. Part of him wondered if he would ever truly feel it belonged to him or if any of it would every fully sink in. But time would hopefully help him adjust. It had to. Bacchus reflected all this as he rose from his sleeping mat to venture out of his tent and stretch.

What he did know though, what felt right even if only for that moment, was waking up out in the middle of nowhere and being on a mission. Despite the hard ground, the slight chill in the air at night, the bugs and the slow going of his search party, he found he was thoroughly enjoying being out on the road again. It feels good to be outside. It reminded him of his travels in Fiore as a mage and the countless nights he had spent gazing up at the night sky. Last night had been the clearest he had seen it for too long a time and it left him in silent wonder as he walked from his camp. One of his bodyguards had followed after him and was hesitant to leave him alone. It took a moment, but he finally convinced the man to leave him for just a few minutes and reassured him that he was not going much further.

Bacchus thought of his wife Fei Shi and how he wanted to take her to this very location some day to show her the sight he had witnessed. Though he was mostly certain she had seen more than enough of the starry night sky during her civil war against her sister and while out campaigning across the kingdom. Imagining the delicate Fei Shi roughing it out on the open road was not something that came to him easily. Zi Yu on the other hand, he could picture had fit in perfectly with the lifestyle as if she were born to it rather than royalty. She was a wild woman after all. Maybe I should have married her instead. I might have been able to venture out sooner with her by my side. Bacchus quickly dismissed the thought, knowing that he had already chosen Fei Shi and that thinking of her sister was neither quite fair nor husbandly to her.

As he sat in contemplation of this, his men began to rise and stir with the rest of the world around them. There weren't many in his group, truly only a handful of men from different ranks. He knew they were all highly capable fighters, but he was disappointed to find out that only a couple of them even knew basic magic to boost their abilities during a battle. Something I will have to change when I return.

Once they had eaten and their camp had been struck, they went on with the slow going through the open hills to their destination. He would liked to have traveled faster but, much to his annoyance, he was flanked on either side by his bodyguards, as well as a man picking up the rear. He was no longer just a man that could risk being singled out by an enemy. He was more than that now. He was more than the leader of a search party, more than a squadron leader, more than a simple mage. He was a ruler of the very land in which they traveled, and that meant being encircled by others willing to physically guard him against any possible danger.

It was not unlike the day that he and Fei Shi had wandered the city together, though there were only two men accompanying them as opposed to the five in his party. This however, being surrounded on all sides by so many, was something he knew he could not come to easily accept and something he hoped would not be necessary in any future endeavor.

More than half the day had passed before he and his unit had reached their destination. He admitted that being on horseback had taken less time than if had they gone on foot, but he knew that had he the option of riding ahead alone, it would have been even sooner.

"Stay here." He told his company as they approached the entrance. "I will only be a moment." Bacchus assured his guards as he dismounted his horse and approached the large courtyard. They seemed hesitant to allow him to enter alone and wary of the place in general, giving one another suspicious glances, yet they obeyed and agreed to wait for him without.

Giving them another assuring nod and smirk, Bacchus entered into the school. There was an almost unsettling silence about the place the second he passed through the gates and into open area giving him a sense of unease. There was a hint of something in the stagnant air that he could not place. His chest constricted tighter as he feared the worst and quickened his pace. Could they have gotten here first?

"Shan?" He called out, searching for any movement. "Mei?" He listened for any sign of life and walked cautiously. Are you here, Cana? He toured through the hall around the arena, checking in a few doors even as he went.

"Shan?" He tried again. "Anyone?" Nothing. Where have they gone? From what he observed as he went along, there were still recent signs of use throughout the school, yet not a single person to be found. Have I come too late? He picked up his stride, jogging around the barren space.

"Shan! Mei! Cana!" Bacchus spoke louder as he went, but the only sound was his own voice echoing off of the walls.

As he approached the garden, he felt it. His attention immediately perked at the sudden peak and fall of a magical presence. Cana! Instantly he rushed toward the sensed pressure, his mind racing with him as he felt the slowly fading pressure. But as he advanced, the signature became odd and fluctuated over and over making him uncertain. He knew that the fluctuation of magic pressure was only something typically expressed by lesser and inexperienced mages who were unable to stabilize their power. Cana was neither if not the complete opposite of such. But if it isn't her, then… It was when he had reached the garden's opening that he found the source of the strange magic he felt.

"Shan!" He called out to the man who stood in the shade of a tree he knew too well with his back to him. Seemingly pulled from a sort of daze, his old friend straightened up and turned to look at him at the sound of his voice, the magic pressure disappearing like a mist in the light. It stunned him to think that Shan had been able to wield any sort of magic and wondered why he had not picked up on it before.

"Jian." His eyes focused as he quickly walked over to Bacchus. "What are you doing here?"

"Where is everyone? Have you seen Cana?" His spark of hope had quickly faded when the man before him shook his head. Damn it. He grit his teeth in frustration.

"Why have you come here?" The words were not harsh, yet they felt to be more of an accusation than a question.

"Cana has gone missing. I was hoping to find her here."

Shan only coldly regarded him and then looked him up and down. When their eyes met, Bacchus noticed that the other man had a fine sheen of sweat over his forehead as if he had been exerting himself. The frown on his face only deepened when asked what he was doing.

"So it really is true then." Shan completely disregarded Bacchus' question. "You have taken your role as the new emperor."

"Yes. Strange is it not?" Bacchus met his friend's cold gaze with a suspicious one of his own.

"No. It was only a matter of time before you found out." Shan said as he walked past him to exit the garden and back toward the hall bordering the arena. Bacchus, who had started to follow after him, stopped in his tracks to stare at the back of Shan's head.

"You, you knew?" It was nearly a whisper when he spoke.

"I did." The martial artist had paused his step as well, but did not turn to speak to him directly.

"Why did you not tell me when I first came here?" His shock was easily replaced by anger as he recalled briefly the way he had to be enlightened of his unknown identity. He reached out, placing a hand on the Master's shoulder and turned him to face him.

"It was not my place to say." Shan merely said as he narrowed his eyes at him then turned and continued down the hall.

"Master. He was the one who told you then." Bacchus strode in beside him.

"Yes. But father did not tell me of your true parentage until after he had already sent you away to Fiore." The other man slowed his step some, glancing over to look at him.

"I see." He paused for a moment, twisting his mouth into a small frown. "And Mei? Did she know as well?"

"Not until recently. It would have destroyed her back then to know you were related to the people responsible for destroying her town and killing her family." Shan's voice had lowered. "Though she had seemed to have been more upset about your sudden marriage than your newfound bloodline." Guilt had clouded over him at the mention of Mei's tragedy that had brought her to the school in the first place. Though it was not his fault for what others had done in his true father's name, he could not help the sinking feeling from bearing down in his gut.

"Is she here?" He asked, remembering the stillness around them. He had become unsure if he could face her after she had come to face so many harsh realities, but another part of him wanted nothing more than to see her and at least try to make ameds. Shan paused a moment before giving his answer.

"She has locked herself away for the past few days, refusing to see anyone. Neither her nor the boy have spoken to me." His old friend said with a shallow sigh.

Bacchus found he was not sure which was the harder way for her to have found out, but there was nothing he could do to change the facts either way. Can we blame her? We were keeping such an immense secret for so long. He found he could not fault her for how she must have felt. Orphaned, abandoned, lied to, forgotten. I am surprised she has not simply left.

"I always had a feeling that we were more like brothers than close friends in our youth, but I did not imagine it would turn out to be the truth." Shan went on to say as they walked along the open corridor. "And now look at us." He stopped by the rail between two large pillars to look out at the empty arena space. "I wonder what mother would have to say of you. The welcomed newlywed emperor of Yi Kai finally taking his place on the throne, while I follow my father's footsteps toiling away here at an empty school and have become shunned by my wife and son."

"You knew her better than I." Bacchus stepped ahead of him and leaned onto the rail as both of them looked out at the vacant space before them. "And besides, this school was always meant to be yours."

"As Mei was for you." The comment took him by surprise as he looked over at him, brows furrowed.

"She never loved me. Though I suppose that was simply because I was not you. It was only because of father that I married her, really. She had not wanted to replace you and I am certain she begrudged him and I for trying." He said coolly. "But every one was always more fond of you over me anyway. Mother for certain, even father had come to favor you after a while. He even took it upon himself to send you away so that you might stand a better chance at survival when the rebel-alliance resumed their hunts for royal blood."

Bacchus found he had no words to say. It was no secret between them that he and Mei had been involved with one another before he left, but it was odd that Shan would so abruptly bringing up their mother and Master and claiming such things.

"Even the boy, Zhuang I am sure felt the same hate and fear toward me as his mother."

"What are you saying?" Bacchus looked at him then, searching his neutral expression for answers. "You cannot possibly-"

"This is only what I had meant to say to you when I first saw you and your false wife walking through the town that day." He kept his focus on something far off as he spoke. His eyes were glazed over, hiding the empty depths within. "Though it would be a lie if I had said I was not grateful that you had come."

"And why would that be?" Bacchus squinted his eyes as he felt the vastly gathering pressure around the man.

"So that I could kill you myself." Shan said under his breath.

Before he could react, a solid open hand struck the center of his chest, knocking all of the air from his lungs and sent him through the wooden rail and out into the middle of the training arena.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Bacchus gasped as he stood from the floor.

"Only what father should have done the day he brought you from the palace." Shan stood up taller from his crouched striking position and walked through the freshly broken and jagged opening in the rail.

He felt the sensation promptly. The recognizable way his body was quickly starting to fatigue and drain of magic, the smell from before growing stronger in the air as he struggled to stand. It was the same way Qi Peng had disabled him and Cana in the mountain village. "This magic." He managed to pant.

"A token of appreciation from the leader of the anti-monarchy rebel alliance." He stepped toward Bacchus, his once neutral features twisting into a wicked smile. "Or as your might know him, Lieutenant General Qi Peng."

Bacchus narrowed his eyes and frowned, recovering from the surprise attack.

Shan eyed him haughtily. "I am surprised you had not figured it out sooner. We have been friends for some time. Even came for a visit the night you and Mei were busy rekindling your love in the garden."

"That would explain a few things." Bacchus snorted, and stood more upright. Seemingly unimpressed by his rapid recovery, Shan continued on until he had stepped onto the stone floor of the platform.

"Is this how we settle it then?" Bacchus cocked his head to the side, a small grin on his lips.

"Is this not how we have settled everything before?" Shan shared the expression and slowly moved his arms into an offensive stance.

"How wild." Bacchus did the same, lowering his body as he slid one of his legs forward. "I will not be going easy on you like last time." Something that felt like his old self began to rattle in his chest.

"Likewise." Shan was apparently just as entertained by the sound of his enthusiasm.

The air around them surged as the two of them eyed the other carefully, watching and waiting for someone to make their move first. But, as it was the last time they fought, both had rushed forth simultaneously to attack and swiftly became a flurry of swings and kicks striking with immense strength. They went back and forth for countless turns, neither landing a single solid hit.

They were in close combat now as the Palm Mage caught hold of one of Shan's flying fists in his hand and held tight to it. The other man countered by catching his until both of them were locked in an unrelenting grip. Bacchus laughed as he released his hold of Shan's wrists and crashed his head into the other man's causing him to stumble backward. The bright blood leaking down his face, Shan started to laugh as well. Bacchus readied himself for the defensive as he anticipated him to lunge once more.

"I have been waiting for this day for nearly six years, Jian." Shan said as he wiped away the blood streaming down his brow.

"Have you?" Bacchus puffed as he stood taller, letting the thin line of his own blood run its course over his face. With his diminishing magic and strength and Shan's growing speed, they were evenly matched, making this for a harder fight than he had anticipated; yet he couldn't help but enjoy the adrenaline coursing through his whole body.

"Yes. But had I known it would take so long to lure you back here I would have just gone to Fiore myself."

"Lure me?" As his opponent reached into a pocket in his sleeve his adrenaline froze. He braced himself for assault, watching Shan's movements carefully.

"Look familiar?" The young Master withdrew a small, delicate item Bacchus knew all too well even from a distance.

"Where did you get that?" His arms lowered as he gave Shan an apprehensive glare.

"This is her real comb." He nodded, toying with the fragile piece. "The one I sent you was nothing more than an enchanted fake." Bacchus kept wary of the way Shan started to move.

"You still do not understand do you?" Shan chuckled at his reaction and tossed the delicate comb aside into the dust. He could hear pieces of it break off against the hard ground. "The merchant, the comb, even your nightmares." There was a twist to his features now, displaying his madness fully as he hissed out the last word. "It has all been a game from the start, Jian. And you have played into every part we set for you." A maniacal laughter erupted from him as he lowered himself into an unfamiliar with the stance. "And now that you are finally here, I can bring you and your family to justice for the evil that you all are." In a half a heartbeat, he plunged forth, his closed fist sprang forward in an attempt to land a solid hit.

"All of this to bring me to justice for a crime I had no part in." As he caught Shan's fist in his palm, Bacchus cracked a smile and laughed in his face. "You will have to do better than that!" He drew back his own hand then and landed an unyielding strike to his opponent's jaw, knocking him nearly all the way back to the the opposite side of the arena. It wore him down more than he had expected and left him winded as he fought to keep from falling to his knees.

"By being a part of that family, you are accountable for all of the death that has been brought upon this kingdom. Most especially mother's." Shan rose, wiping the blood that had started to weep down the corner of his mouth on the back of his hand. "That vile family of yours has brought nothing but chaos and I will not allow a new dynasty to arise and further the bloodshed."

"And so I must repay countless lives with my own. I must answer to the gallows for the sins of a father I never knew? That is what you have judged to be my purpose then, is that it?" Bacchus asked him, watching carefully for another charge. "And what of the blood shed by your father?"

"My father has already paid his debt." Shan had only scowled at him, a look of utter rage darkening his face.

"His death does not even breech the surface of the river blood he left behind that night." Bacchus said to him, his own glare surfacing. "No more than my death would rectify mother's or any of those taken by hands that were not my own."

"She was worth more than you and the rest of your wretched family could ever be worth!" Shan flew into another attack, this time going for Bacchus' legs. The palm mage had barely blocked the kick with his leg and ducked under Shan's other one that had risen to strike. He came at him again in frantic movements, driving him back until he had to cross his arms in front of his face to defend himself. Catching him in between kicks, Bacchus managed to jump up and drive a force down onto Shan's chest pinning him to the ground.

"You would kill your own brother?" Shan accused hoarsely, a mocking sneer upon his lips.

"I could ask you the same thing!" Bacchus drove his flat hand down harder until the cracks in the ground around Shan's pinned body grew larger from the strain.

"Of course." He spat blood in Bacchu's face. "I killed my own father, after all."

Blinded and shocked, it was enough to distract him and allow Shan to spring up and push him off. Damnit! Bacchus lifted his arm scarcely in time to block as the stiff hand came crashing down in it. He yelled out as he felt the bones nearly give under the massive pressure. They may have had completely shattered had he not taken the opportunity to force a left handed palm strike of his own upward to Shan's exposed gut and send him soaring back.

He immediately pulled his arm to his torso, feeling it shake from the pain while Shan recovered quickly.

"Killing your own kin. You are as mad as he was." Bacchus' struggled to refrain from snarling as he bared his teeth. "I cannot allow you to spill innocent blood for the sake of your falsely perceived vengeance."

"You are all far from innocent."

"As are you and your mistakenly just rebels." Bacchus focused his hard gaze on Shan. "Master came to the palace that night and killed our mother with his own two hands. Then he burnt the place to the ground, killing many and more blameless people." He saw the look in Shan's eyes that was more than reminiscent of the one on their master's face from that night. The memories he had witnessed came to life once again before him and deepen his building anger the longer he glared at him. Shan's lips pulled back into another sneer as he spat a mouthful of blood out onto the ground.

"I have seen the truth with my own eyes." Bacchus blinked to refocus his sight once again at the man only feet away from him and slowly forced himself onto a knee. "And the truth is that your father was a monster."

Shan wasted no time in attacking yet again. Bacchus countered with his other hand, and managed to place a direct hit to Shan's already injured chest. But when the other man suddenly roared out and grabbed hold of his wrist, gripping it tightly, he knew immediately he had just walked into a trap.

"ENERGY ABSORPTION, DIRECT MAGNETISM!" Shan cried out and dug his fingers deeper into the flesh of his wrist and forearm. Instantaneously, Bacchus could feel the remainder of his magic and strength being sucked from him. Instinctually he pulled his arm away and leapt backwards, kicking off of Shan for leverage. He fell back down to his knee when he landed and panted heavily as he held his assaulted limb.

"Father was a weak man." There was only madness on Shan's face now as he slowly approached. "He could not save mother from being killed by the emperor and brought home his bastard son instead when he should have killed you as retribution." He gave Bacchus' head a hard, swift kick knocking him onto his stomach. "He was consumed by madness that night. He did not sin intentionally."

"Madness, intent or none, he murdered. Is that not a sin to you?" He attempted to push himself up when Shan stepped down onto Bacchus' fractured arm, restraining him. A groan escaped him as he felt the weight bearing down on his injury.

"I have known of his sin for years. But it was the emperor who was responsible for pushing him to that edge." His foot pressed down harder, making it near impossible to keep from screaming. "Stealing mother from us, flaunting her favor of him so arrogantly, the humiliation of knowing he had gotten her with child and boasting of his new heir to come. It is no wonder my father lost his mind."

"So you killed him?" The remark earned a heavy stomp to his arm. Another one of those and it'll break. He strained to stifle his cries.

"His life is only one of many that needed to be taken. His death was a mercy he should not have known. I rid him of his guilt."

"Then you truly are just as mad as him." Bacchus mustered up whatever strength he could and grabbed Shan's other ankle, throwing the man off balance and freeing his arm. He managed to roll away far enough to stand and prepare for a counter.

"It does not have to be this way Jian." The other martial artist recuperated too quickly for Bacchus' likes and sighed. "We do not have to fight each other." The statement caught him off guard as he narrowed his eyes at him. "I am sure if I talk to Qi Peng he would allow you to join us." Shan's face had some humanity returning to it as he stood there with his hand outreached to him. "Join us in defeating them so that we might avenge our mother. Together we can destroy their wretched monarchy once and for all."

"All of your senses have left you. I refuse." Bacchus spat condescendingly at the offer.

"You would die then, protecting the family who had ruined your life?" The humanity was as quick to disappear as Shan's mouth trembled with anger.

"They are not the ones to be held accountable for my suffering. Nor should you hold them or I responsible for crimes in which we are not guilty of." He could feel his magic starting to seep out of him again. I have to hold on. His whole body trembled as he tried to steel himself.

"Then you are my enemy. And as my enemy, I will not stop until you have perished along with the rest of your tyrannical family!" The two of them sprang forth.

"And I will not stop until you give up this foolishness!" They both swung at one another and landed their strike which sent the both of them flying from the force of impact.

"Then you wish my death." Shan said before he quickly dove forth yet again.

"So be it." Unable to move, Bacchus clenched his jaw and braced himself for the attack.

The collision sent him sliding back into a crouching slide with his injured arm held tight to his chest again.

"Qi Peng was there the night she was taken. He was the one who told me of the evil that was the royal family."

"That snake is no man to learn anything from. Especially the truths of a matter." Bacchus hissed.

"But he is." Shan stood up straight, an all-too-knowing grin curling a corner of his lips. "Magic for one." He said casually as he held his right hand out in front of him, palm facing upward. Bacchus stared in a stupor as a magic circle sporadically flashed over his open hand and a tiny green spark and jittered.

"Shan stop! It is too unstable!" He tried to call out, but his voice went unheard.

"It is because of them that I have nothing left. I have suffered for years with this burden. I lied in bed with a woman I had come to despise as much as she had me. Watched her birth a son in which I have no pride of. Forced me to kill my own father for his failures and weakness. I have had to suffer these and more for over twelve years." His voice shook violently along with his outstretched hand. "So now they must suffer as I have! All of them. Starting with you!" Another came forth, larger than the first and attached itself to the other. More and more bright green jolts followed and began to form together in an uneven orb.

The magic in the air became even more unbalanced as it drew itself more and more out of Bacchus' body and toward Shan. He cannot handle the amount of magic he's absorbed. He feared the consequences in that very moment, knowing full well how little control Shan had over the warping magic circle and the oddly shaped concentration of magic above it. His whole body appeared to shake as the energies gathered into the erratically growing and moving ball.

"SHAN!" Bacchus called again, frozen to the ground. Erratic energy summoned itself to the crazed man as he allowed it to gather into the massive glowing ball.

"ENERGY ABSORBTION!"

"NO!"

"CHARGED EXPLOSION!"

In that moment, as the flash of light came hurtling at him, time stood still as Bacchus desperately crossed his arms over his face and awaited the pain to envelop him. There was a loud crash instead that came from behind. He missed?

"And so begins your suffering." Shan had nearly doubled over and fell to one knee while holding an arm across his middle, the magic blast having clearly drained him significantly. And yet he started to chuckle between his ragged breaths, his eyes wide with insanity.

"My suffering-"

"Before I kill you, you will suffer as I have." Shan panted when Bacchus had turned to look back at him with a perplexed expression. "You will know what it is to loose the one person you loved most." He immediately glanced back over to the ruins of the school wall behind him.

"No." His voice was barely above a strained whisper as his eyes grew with the realization of what Shan had truly been aiming at. "MEI!" He yelled as he turned to run to the smoldering pile of stone and wood. A hard strike to his back between his shoulder blades stopped him from going any further and forced him to the ground.

"Have you forgotten you were in the middle of a match?" Shan's foot crashed down onto his back. He could feel his ribs break from the crash.

"Mei." He called again, her name a strained whisper as he reached his hand desperately out toward the crumbled walls.

"She was your wife." The hot tears collected in his eyes making his vision of the destruction before him a blur.

"Was." Shan corrected. "But who needs an unfaithful wife?" He laughed again as he removed his planted foot to kick at Bacchus' side, rolling him onto his back. His whole body shook and trembled as he managed to grab onto Shan's leg when it struck him again. He held to it as best as he could despite his weakened state and dually injured arms.

"The only one who is still suffering," There was blood spilling from his mouth as he weakly spoke. "Is you."

"That is big talk coming from a broken man bleeding on the ground." Shan menacingly glared down at him and yanked his leg from Bacchus' grasp.

There was a small flash that erupted from thin air to Shan's left causing him to jump back, distracting him for only a fraction of a second. Before he could respond, a second one came, blinding him as he cried out. It was all Bacchus needed. He leapt upward then, gaining momentum and spun at the very final moment, landing his strike.

A stomach-turning crack came from where the side of his hand had hit Shan's temple. The other man managed to counter and land a direct two-handed palm assault straight to Bacchus' chest forcing all of the air from his lungs and driving him back a few feet. As he struggled to breathe, he looked up to see that Shan had stumbled back as well from delivering the blow. He had his hands up still in the position that he had used to deliver his attack, but stood as if he were frozen, his intense gaze fixated on nothing and his breathing ragged.

From where he knelt, Bacchus saw the red as it seeped into the whites of the other man's eyes and his entire body began shake visibly. In horror he watched as Shan dropped his arms, his jaw slackened and his eyes rolled into the back of his head only seconds before he collapsed onto his knees then with a sickening THUMP fell face first into the ground.

There were tears streaming down his face while he looked on unblinking at the body laid out only feet away from him. Someone had called out, but it was a feeble echo in his ear as he stared at Shan's now lifeless corpse. He wasn't sure if he was trembling so much that he could not tell or if he had been completely still while the world shook around him. The voice still called, but it was faint as he struggled to his feet to look to the demolished school behind him.

It felt as if it had all been a hazy dream as he abruptly recalled why he was standing in the middle of the ruins. What must have only been seconds felt like hours as his sluggish body carried itself to the destroyed area and started to pick through the broken chunks of stone. Curiously enough, he had not felt the pain from the several places where his hands hand been cut up, nor the ache in his forearms from his lethal battle. The blood dripped freely from the open wounds to stain every rock her turned over. It was a quick search.

When he came upon a bloody arm missing a few of it's delicate fingers sticking out from under a sizeable pile of shattered rock with a splintered piece of wood sticking straight out from it, he knew. Before even needing to pick up another broken brick he knew that he had found her. Fear gripped his entire being as he saw the blood seeping out from the rubble to pool in the dirt and debris. His heart tore into a thousand pieces as he fell to his knees and started to dig. Her face was the first thing he uncovered. Though he had wanted to stop there, he couldn't help the way his arms mechanically kept lifting and uncovering her mangled body. It had been crushed from the initial impact of the blast and the devastating weight of all the heavy stone that made up the building. One of her legs had been twisted so fiercely that it barely clung to her hip and left him nauseated.

"No." It was the only word he could utter past the vomit and growing lump in his throat. "No." He said again as he brushed the few strands of hair left on her smashed head from her face. A broken sliver of wood had almost gone completely through the middle of her neck, sticking out only a small bit from the back. She was running away when it hit. She had been conscious and was running away. He hesitantly grabbed onto it and with a hard tug, pulled it from her limp body, letting the blood spurt and pour out of the fatal wound. He took no notice the splinters that he received from doing so. She smelled of burnt flesh, blood and ash instead of jasmine. Her bright eyes were swollen shut. Her always-smiling lips, broken and bloody. The clothing had been burned and torn and still had wisps of smoke floating from it.

"Mei." He choked on a sob and pulled the mangled and distorted body out from under the wreckage and close to his chest. "No, Mei, no." Bacchus repeated the words like a prayer as he rocked himself back and forth, still holding tight to her.

The voice whispering into the back of his head had come again by then.

"Go." It said.

Go? He held tighter to Mei's body and wept. I can't. Not without Mei. I can't.

"We need to go." It whispered.

Go. I need to go back. I should have been here. The tears in his eyes burned down his face as he looked once more at Mei's distorted features. Mei, I should have taken you back with me. I should never have turned my back on you.

"I'm sorry." He said, looking at her, looking past her, to the last time he saw the brilliant shine of her eyes and the beautiful way she smiled. It's gone. How she always smelled of flowers and the way she laughed. Her caring and nurturing touch. But her smiles faded and her eyes had dulled. It's all gone. She began to smell of burnt ash instead of jasmine and became the corpse that he had in his arms. She's gone.

"Bacchus." The voice rang louder in his ears. "Bacchus!" It was clearer than before as his senses sluggishly returned. His muscles started to hurt as he felt himself rooting back into his worn body. The familiar voice was coming from in front of him now instead of behind. He looked up, finally seeing her; a woman with dark brown hair and deep eyes. He had not seen her there before. She was someone he knew, but he couldn't remember why.

"Bacchus, please." She pleaded. All at once the memories rushed back into his head, spinning his vision and making him blink a few times to refocus his sight.

Cana? He started to remember now. When did she get here? Bacchus stared at her, unable to understand the way her mouth moved.

Her lips moved again. He could not hear her words, but he watched how her lips moved. I'm sorry? She looked pained and afraid. He didn't understand. There was something in her hand then. A card. He watched in slow motion as she extended it out, touching it to his forehead.

From there, all around him was a deep, dark blackness. He screamed as he felt it completely envelope him.

A/N: Early upload for you all this week! Hope you enjoyed this week's emotional chapter. I had to do it guys. I'm sorry, but it was fate.

Don't hate me!

Anyway, we're getting closer and closer to the end here, but there's still quite a bit left in store for you all!

Again, hope you guys liked the chapter and hopefully I will see you next week!

Until then, Betty B.