TWs: Talking on a roof, mention of bad memories/death/intrusive thoughts. Stay safe :)

Pau had no idea how he got here, but now he and Pat were standing in the middle of a mansion, admiring everything.

"Wow, this is much nicer than the Red Army base..." Pat muttered to himself as he stared at the chandelier.

"Tell me about it. That place was bigger than this, but at least this place has color." Pau spoke, glancing at a family portrait.

Arthur watched them momentarily. He had invited them over, wanting to discuss something with them.

Tord sighed, crossing his arms, "Honestly, can't bring them anywhere..."

That earned a glare from both of them.

The older ginger stepped into the living room, "Sorry for calling you on such short notice."

The group followed him, Pat's eyes wandering to the piano in the corner of the room.

"It's fine; we need to get out more anyway." He spoke as he set his gaze back to the older.

"Feel free to sit down wherever." Arthur gestured to the sofa and chairs, sitting slowly in a chair to the side.

Pau and Pat settled on the sofa, Tord taking the other chair and sitting cross-legged.

Arthur smiled, turning toward the sofa while leaning his cane against the fireplace mantle, "First off, it's good to see you again after all these years, Pau."

Pau quirked an eyebrow, confused, "What do you mean?"

"We met before under dire circumstances. It was years ago..." Arthur thought momentarily, "There was a monster trying to tear you to shreds, but I was there to distract it."

The ruffled brunet was bewildered, "That was you?"

"Yes, I was much more agile back then." He coughed awkwardly, "Anyway."

He clapped, making everyone blink.

"The reason I called you guys here." He clasped his hands, "How much do you know about the Black Army?"

Tord racked his brain, trying to remember what his father told him, "They're a bunch of nihilists, they seem to have some power dynamics going on, and they use chess phrases, for some reason."

"You keep saying they're nihilists." Arthur spoke, "Who told you that?"

"My father," Tord replied.

'Of course, Lynnedslag did.' Arthur frowned, 'William didn't seem like a nihilist in school; he kept lots of secrets from me, though. Could've been another one of his.'

He sighed as he pondered about it more.

"Something up?" Tord asked, peering at the older.

"Ah, it's nothing." Arthur smiled, "It's hard to imagine my friend turning from a Jehovah's Witness into a Nihilist."

Tord perked up at that, 'Another Jehovah? Ugh, knowing Tom is bad enough.'

"Pau, you know more than you let on, don't you?" Arthur inquired.

Pau hummed, "What?"

"The Black Army." He spoke, "You know more about them than you're letting on."

"I don't- I mean, I do, but I don't remember." Pau shrugged.

Arthur thought, then stood up, "Let's try something."

He went over to a window, shutting the curtains. He then went to the opposite side, mindful of the piano, as he closed the blinds.

"C, turn off the lights." He spoke as he went to the doorway and released the curtains to 'barricade' the entryway.

The group watched him, wondering what he was planning as the room grew dim. There was little light flowing in due to it being the afternoon. Arthur seemed to know his way around the room as he made his way to his chair.

"Now, Pau, I want you to relax." Arthur started, "And close your eyes."

"Uh, okay..." Pau muttered, leaning into the sofa as he took a deep breath. He glanced toward Pat and Tord, who both looked at him with puzzlement. He closed his eyes.

Moments after, Arthur spoke, "Now, imagine your first encounter with the Black Army. What were you doing? Where were you? Describe anything that you can."

Pau sighed, leaning back as he tugged on his forgotten memories.

He was a kid; he knew that for sure. He was also an idiot, choosing to be a stowaway on one of their ships, and then it all went downhill, yet he could almost picture their base.

"I was about nine or ten when it happened," Pau spoke, "I was a stowaway on one of their ships. This base was in Norway, although it looked off."

"What was off about it?" Arthur inquired.

"It smelled like a sort of... chemical, almost like nail polish." Pau winced at the memory, "They also used electric wire around their fences, and the place they were using had weird symbols on it and looked run-down."

The older nodded, "You could've smelled the spray paint."

'So I would need to look for highly spray-painted and run-down buildings...' Tord thought, 'Hopefully, that narrows my search.'

Pau opened his eyes, "Is that all you need?"

"I don't know. Is that all you need?" Arthur remarked.

"Wha...?" The ruffled brunet blinked, watching as Arthur chuckled and stood up.

"You know, every memory is precious, even the bad ones; why not look back at them?" He stared in the sofa's direction before shrugging, "Or don't; I can't make you do anything."

Arthur grabbed his cane and went to open all the curtains again. As he got to the doorway, he stopped.

"After all, learning from your past mistakes makes you stronger." He smiled, "How do you think I came to be who I am?"

As he chuckled to himself, the group shared glances, thinking similarly.

Pau knew the apartment complex had roof access; he hadn't used it before tonight. It was close to midnight as he pushed the door open, looking across the stony surface of the complex.

His eyes widened as he spotted another person. They were sitting on the ledge of the complex, looking over the city.

Pau stepped closer to them, noticing the silver flask in their dark-toned hand as they took a sip.

"Tom?" He spoke, startling the bassist out of his daze.

"Holy- oh, it's just you." He grumbled as he huffed.

Pau stepped onto the ledge, slowly sitting beside him, "What are you doing up here?"

"Could ask the same thing; this is my hang-out spot," Tom muttered.

"You hang out on a roof?" Pau asked.

"As if you can talk; you hang out with Tord."

Pau shrugged, "Fair enough."

They were silent as they looked out across England. Tom was more focused on the night sky, scratching his wrist lightly.

Pau caught the movement, noting it quietly.

"I usually come up here to get away from everything." Tom spoke, "But it seems even when I'm alone, I can't get out."

The other nodded, not saying anything, yet completely understanding.

"It's hard to be normal." Tom sighed, scratching again.

"Then don't," Pau spoke.

Tom looked at him, baffled.

"What's the fun in being normal when you can be yourself?"

"But what if 'myself' is..." Tom scowled, "A monster?"

"You've lived this long." Pau shrugged, "And I'm sure your friends are willing to help you."

The bassist bit his lip as the other looked back at the scenery.

'Right... I've lived this long.' He thought as he looked over the edge of the complex.

Yet there was a time when he almost didn't.

Shaking his head, he gazed back up at the stars, pushing down the thoughts of high school.