Violet was walking down the street like on a usual day. However, she looked around and the gaze of people near her seemed resentful. Whenever she turned her attention to the people, they quickly turned away, as if meeting eye contact with her was a serious offence. As she wondered about the sudden, unwarranted treatment, she was confronted with a woman holding a baby.
"Um, can I help you?" Violet asked.
"Why…?" the woman said. "Why couldn't you stop him? If it wasn't for him, my life wouldn't have been in danger, and more importantly, my baby…"
Violet recognized the woman, who she saved when Undying One dropped the grenade on her balcony. "I…I'm…"
"I'm badly hurt by the elevator, all for what?!" a man's voice shouted. As Violet turned around, it was the man that was in the elevator with Undying One. "All because of you, who can't stop him, I couldn't work for a long time! Do you think that taking a blow for my son excuses your failure?!"
"Sir, please calm down and-"
"Me and my dad keep cleaning up after your mess fixing your damn arm!" Henry said. "Do you take our effort and sweat for nothing, trashing the prosthetic arm like that fighting Undying One?!"
"You think you can earn some praise from old bone because you picked a fight with a metal man?" Tom's voice said.
"You, are a very bad influence on my children, Violet." Madeline's voice said.
"I don't want you to go fight, Violet, yet you disobey me all the time, Violet!" Claudia's voice came. "Aren't you ashamed of yourself as a past soldier and doll?!"
Violet crouched and covered her ears with loud voices coming everywhere, and such words pierced her heart that she wished it to stop. After some time, the voices stopped, and when Violet raised her head, she was at Fort Intense. Before she could process what was going on, she saw Major Gilbert in front of her. "Major!" Violet said as she ran to embrace him. But her hands phased through him.
"Violet…After what I went through to give you new life, you threw it away by returning to your old instincts of fighting and hurting people…" he said with disappointment. "Is this how you give thanks to someone who set you free from war? Breaking their hearts acting however you want?"
"Major…I've failed you it seems…I understand a thousand sorry won't make it any of it right. So-"
Without giving her chance to finish, Fort Intense they were inside exploded, just as it did in the Great War, marking its end. Violet was knocked back, and after recovering from the shockwave, she looked up, and no longer saw Major Gilbert. There instead was Euler Pierce, with a hood over his head. They were in the middle of forest, with numerous tall trees.
"Do you really think you're redeemable after tricking me with your mindset of living for others? I've been slandered twice, the kind of slander that led to my master's death…And when I'm about to rise up and gain back the respect I had, you interfere in my fight with Undying One and make everyone's life harder…" Euler said. "Now suffer as I have, feel how it feels to be scorned by everyone. Alas, you deserve such scorn for all the mess you created…"
"Euler…Forgive me of my shortcomings…" Violet said as she lowered his head in tears. "All I wanted to do, was to do the right things I believed in…You may not see me as a friend anymore, but please remember this; I was always ready to be by your side when you needed help. If you wanted someone to talk to, I was always ready to. Perhaps even now, I'm ready, for I want to believe that good side of yours still exists within you…"
"How touching, enough to make the public feel as if you're an angel…" The sudden Undying One's voice alerted Violet. When she looked up, she saw Undying One's helmet beneath the hood instead of Euler, and he had his wrist blade unsheathed. "But history won't remember you that way."
As the blade was swung at Violet's neck, Violet woke up in a sweat on the floor in her own house. She breathed as if she was doing an intense exercise and saw that it was close to evening. Remembering the dreams that she just had from falling asleep, Violet let out more tears.
Then her door was opened by someone, and came in. As she glanced over, she saw Madeline with her two sons, Tim and Matt. Violet sighed. "Boys, don't look for me if you wanted to play. I've been a very bad example to you as I wronged many people from my overconfidence in my strength…"
"Whatever are you talking about being a bad influence, Violet? Well, it's a chance for you to become a good example by helping us out, because we need some helping hands right now." Madeline said.
"Don't be sad, Violet. We still think you're awesome." Tim said.
"Mom needs your help, and only you can do it." Matt said, tugging on Violet's sleeve.
"Are you sure that you want someone like me?" Violet asked.
"Yeah, silly! Forget about that uh, bully Mr. Pierce! He's just jealous!" Tim said.
"If you don't turn that frown upside down and come, we'll, um…haunt you in your dreams until you do! Spooky, isn't it?" Matt said.
Violet looked at Madeline, and she was giving a genuine smile, nodding. Combined with her son's eager look that didn't look like they would give up, Violet wiped her tears and got up. The boys cheered, holding on to her hand and constantly tugging her to where they wanted to go.
Where Violet arrived was at Henry's front yard, however, with nearby neighbors and their kids gathered. Violet could also smell grilling meat.
"What…exactly did you need help with, Madeline?" Violet asked.
"Well, we needed someone to fill in the missing spot in this neighbor barbeque, Violet. Only you could fill in that spot, then no one in this neighborhood is left out and everyone can have a good time!" Madeline replied.
"Um…I feel kind of tricked…I didn't know you could have this side of you, Madeline."
Madeline chuckled. "How else could we have invited you, Violet? We had to get you join in on the good time somehow, no? I'm not about to take no for an answer."
"What she said! Let's play some games with other kids! They said we'll eat hamburgers!" Tim said.
"Oh, but-"
"Tag! You're it!" Matt said as he tapped Violet's arm, and ran off with Tim. The sudden, unexpected turn of events had Violet confused, but given the situation she was put in now, she went along with the flow, and playfully chased after them.
After some Time, Tom announced that he and Rory finished grilling the hamburgers and called everyone to eat. At the line, Henry greeted Violet. "Hi Violet, are you enjoying yourself?"
"Well, I guess you could say that. I'm quite surprised that the kids managed to lift my mood. I sometimes envy their worry-free mindset."
"Glad to hear that. I invited some of my close colleagues from Rory's Metal too. Feel free to say hi."
Few metal workers behind Henry exchanged greetings with Violet, expressing some enthusiasm seeing Violet's prosthetic arm made from their company.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope that my…reputation in the city isn't too much of a barrier to you from me." Violet said to the workers.
"Oh no, Henry and boss only says good thing about you, and I think I'll trust them more than that Pierce guy after seeing you for myself." One of the workers replied.
"Fighting off some supervillain that you only see in kid's comic isn't something to take light of. Whatever that Pierce guy says, I think you should give yourself much more credit than that." Other worker said as well.
"Do remember that Undying One did steal our materials and made it his own…If it can make you feel better, you're kind of avenging that guy for us." Henry said.
"Even if…I lose to him now?" Violet said.
"The way I see it, what good is it defeating the bad guys if you don't have good heart?" Tom said as Violet arrived for her turn. "But enough of that. We're here to forget about the worries and enjoy ourselves." He then handed Violet the hamburger with the condiments he chose. "Eat to your heart's content today. Nothing beats the joy of eating a freshly grilled meat!"
With the hamburger on her plate, Violet took a seat at a table. It was her first time seeing a hamburger, and it was clear that Tom did everything to make it look tasty as possible. She took one bite, and the taste of ground beef freshly out of grill with vegetables brought some delight to her. Violet thought to herself to consider going out to eat more after this. Then she saw Madeline with a man she hasn't met before, but two seemed incredibly close as they were holding their hands. They sat on opposite side of. "Hello sir, I don't believe we've met before. May I ask your name?" Violet asked.
"Hi there. Name's Seth. I'm Madeline's husband. I don't know if Madeline told you, but I've been away working to get money for my son's prosthetic limb."
"Oh, so you've come back then. I'm Violet by the way. I'm happy for you both."
"Thanks for that. I've heard good things about you from Madeline from her letters. So many crazy things happened in the city since I left though. It nearly kept me all night just to catch up on everything."
"It was indeed…Then I'm sure you've heard of my news as well?"
There was a pause as Seth glanced at Madeline. She gave him a nod, as if giving her approval to what he was about to do. "I know this is unrelated, but do you feel as if you should've, and could've done something better and it kept you up at night?"
"Oh, um, yes, more or less. Perhaps Madeline caught you up, but even now, I still can't rest easy after all my shortcomings in taking down Undying One, and the casualties he inflicted as a result. I find myself regretting every time I think of my previous battles…"
"I know it's weird that a stranger like me is being open with you on a deep level, but I actually used to have similar thoughts as you. When Matt's leg was pressed under a boulder, my heart broke and thought I could've prevented it if I was there with him, if I was a little stronger to push the boulder off him, if I made a little more money, these were the thoughts I used to have."
"I'm…astonished. It's as if you've read through me sir…Tell me, how did you come to terms with those thoughts then? What did you do?"
Tim and Matt came to Seth and sat beside him. "I've remembered something important; that what matters the most is that those you deeply care about stand with you, and that you stand with them. I've become too occupied with making up for my shortcoming that I've neglected my sons without their father. I first thought that they would hold something against me after that accident, but it turned out I was wrong. You see Violet, this special bond between the ones you love, will not change by your shortcomings, nor your highest moment. Isn't that right, boys?"
"Yeah! We still love you dad!" Tim said.
"You're still a best dad to us!" Matt also said.
Violet looked at Seth's family, and their bond warmed her heart also. She couldn't help but smile.
"That goes same for you too, Violet." Rory joined. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but I hope what Seth said is nailed into your head. The friends in this neighborhood will be here for you, and I trust that you'll be there for us as well." He then sighed and looked towards the direction of Leiden downtown. "It's a shame that Euler boy couldn't hear this truth…"
Violet stood up. "Everyone, though I still may not be able to come to terms of the harms I may have caused to the city, or any hinderance I may have been to stop Undying One, what I can be sure of this; I can't thank you enough for being my friends and accepting me even if I may be scorned by history. With you, and many others like Mr. Hodgins, perhaps I can start again like that time when Great War ended. Thank you especially, Seth, for understanding my feelings when I needed it the most. I can now at least be assured, that I did the right thing when Euler needed me…"
The people expressed their joy, and the barbeque event went on with everyone continuing to enjoy each other's company until the end. Claudia, the one who thought of this and planned it, merely stood from a distancing listening to the conversation. It was because he wanted to make sure that Violet thought the neighbor genuinely planned this event among them, and not leave an impression that he did it all for Violet. He smiled that at least, Violet would be able to stand back up and move forward.