Queen's note: Okay after two false starts, scrapping half a chapter and then stalling writing the needed feels for characters… I survived. Also got a few plot seeds mixed in too!

Garnets

Chapter Twenty:

Broken

Waking up was painful for the first time in a long time. Jerking one's self off the bed and being tangled up in the CPAP hose was not pleasant. Lily was just able to free herself and crawl away from her bed confused and it took a bit to really see where she was.

The young woman curled up on her side. Feeling exhausted and needing real sleep but shivering as it seemed impossible. Not to mention she did not want to sleep now after everything in the nightmare.

Lily was not even fully aware of what Riggs was saying, could hear his voice but everything was distant and hollow sounding. She could hear her own heart beating, but not her breathing. Staring at everything and nothing.

In a very detached way, Lily wondered if this was a panic attack as her body curled into itself.

Had she ever had one before?

She remembered the thrill of shark diving but nothing like this.

Was she even awake?

Something so warm it was hot touched her back. Spreading and wrapping around the human as she was pulled upwards and back. A thunder deep vibration made it past the haze that held Lily tight. The vibration more than the sound proper, but slowly that neutral growling started to seep into her awareness. Working to ground her back into reality.

Lily was starting to recognize the room again. Leaning against the wall of .warmth, now aware of a large hand carefully running over her head and short hair. The young woman was starting to realize she had been hyperventilating in the numb haze, and was just settling down now.

"Hmm?" The bigger man gave a questioning sound, peering down at her as he noticed Lily was starting to focus again. His left arm wrapped around the human to hold tight against him and in the Demigod's lap, his right currently petting her head in his awkward attempt to help calm Lily down.

The young woman twitched, now aware of the comfort offered she tried to hide her face against her dad.

Wait.

What?

For a half a second, Lily could have sworn there was an overlay. An overlap of John and her dad. Being able to almost smell her dad's scent, of cedar soap and salty sea spray.

Lily finally started to see what was really around her, looking confused as something hard and metallic was pressed against her chest that she had to hold onto it. As if it had just been pushed against her chest. It was a dark metal gray color, with silver saw-like teeth in an almost 'S' curved hilt.

Hilt guards that looked extremely sharp….and familiar? Lily placed the thing as the sword hilt that John had attached on the armor of his right thigh when heading out last. She had not been able to ask about it before.

Why was it not cutting her with how tight she had been holding it?

"There she is," Valen's voice said, registering at last as Lily looked up at the words. Blinking slowly as her body suddenly went limp, as if the tension had been cut. "Can you hear me, my little one?"

"...?" Lily blink but nodded after a moment, reaching a hand to touch her face. It felt wet, and she felt bad for unconsciously crying on… yeah that was John who was still holding her. Her throat hurt, and chest, but that odd warmth was somehow in her chest making it easier to breathe. Lily managed to mumble as she curled into the not quite human as if trying to get that fleeting moment back. "...sorry…"

"There is nothing To be sorry for," Valen shook his head, reaching out to gently tap Lily on the head with his left hand, as he pointed out, "You are no warrior trained from young Lily. I'm surprised you held up this well. But even the best Sentimentals were affected after the hell invasion."

Valen shifted in his spot sitting, motioning to the Slayer as he was deliberately holding the smaller human that little bit tighter. A controlled but still snug hold the demigod had already learned had the best effect to calm down his human.

"You should have seen this one when the scouts found him. Far worse than you. Raving in one of your human languages." Valan chuckled, able 5o see the young woman was listening intently, "The Slayer never was able to speak Argenta nearly as well as you."

"...I'm not?" The soft voice spoke up in confusion, Lily finally looked up.

The other two immortals blinked down at her.

Valan sat up as John tilted his head. "Your words are accented, but you have been clearly speaking Argenta."

"Miss Lily has been speaking the new global standard this whole time." Riggs spoke up, "It was implemented almost six generations back, and picked up popularity on Terra-earth in the last two."

John loosened his hold to look down at Lily as he really thought about the words he had been hearing not just from her. But before on Mars, realizing he had heard both Argenta and English at least. Freeing a hand to sign a question. How many speaks?

It took a moment to understand the unspoken question. Lily quietly twitched her fingers, and held up four. "Counting sign language, four? Standard. English. Canadian-French."

The expression John had was so baffled that Lily had to bite back a giggle or snort. She looked up at Valen, shifting to sit up at last, facing the older man, even though one of the Demigod's arms was still looped around her. She could not get away unless John lifted his arm, but then Lily was fine where she was. It felt safe. "This is really Argenta spoken language to you?"

"Yes," Valen nodded, tweaking one of Lily's feet, noting the small sheaths on her ankles that he had only glimpsed. Amused her legs were drawn back to keep them away.

Lily frowned, hesitated and tried in each spoken language she knew. "This is English, do you recognize it?"

Valen tilted his head as John gave a thumbs up beside her.

"Okay, and this is French, do you recognize it?" Lilly tried, watching as the big hand beside her dropped, and Valen tilted his head the other way to listen to the alien words. Before switching back. "That's…odd.'

"How likely is it for two different races to come up with a similar language so exactly?" Valen wondered aloud though had an idea.

"Below zero." Riggs answered promptly, though did not give the exact percentage of zero unlike Vega.

"Would it be the same as two different races from different homewords looking so much alike?" Lily asked, leaning back as she was still tired. Fiddling with the odd sword hilt in her lap. "I mean, other than your height, you can pass as human Valen."

The near seven foot Sentinel arched an eyebrow at that. He considered what was said, "Hmm… true enough, other than your age, you're about the same size as most apprentices that came to the Night Sentinels. Very strange."

John frowned, not sure why he thought of that robotic doctor suddenly. Probably because he was the last big annoyance the Slayer remembered. He never could get a full reading or sense of who the once man was, other than judging actions and words.

…John should have ripped his metallic legs off given that first chance he had.

The Demigod looped both arms around the smaller human as he pulled his own attention back into the present. Looking down and finding his new crucible was given a faint blue light on the top hilt. Glad his idea to use it helped, but making a face as it also reminded him of a conversation John did not really want to have. Not just because his throat was still very raw from the 'talk' with Valen.

How do you approach the topic that your new living weapon was once someone's soul? Moreso when the person he needed to tell was just learning about this sort of thing… and was deeply attached to who his crucible used to be.

John looked down, feeling how Lily leaned to her left, using his arm to support herself as she was still tired.

More tired?

The Demigod lifted a hand, carefully patting the soft hair. When hazel eyes looked up he hummed, took a breath and signed at Valen. Leave, need to talk.

Valen dipped his head, getting up. He moved out of the converted storeroom, glancing back as the crucible was picked up and activated. The blue opel blade was the only light in the room before the Argenta man left.

Valen was not sure if it was the right time, considering the shut-down panic attack. He had to have faith in his lord though, and found a place to sit in the gardens. Valen smiled as the tawny color feline came over to make a soft sound and snuff his leg. Then reached a small paw to tap his leg until Valen gently reached out to let the pet sniff his fingers, and then rubbed her ears. Having already been introduced to the small animals earlier, they seemed to recognize him.

The once commander pushed a lot of his feelings down, focusing on the dim gardens. What had been done with available plants, the broad leaves were different but smelled wonderful to him after so long in Hell. He recognized some had the green fruit that the Slayer had given to him in his old camp.

The prayer tree had been left in the center, clearly having suffered for some time and some branches had been cut back quite a bit but others only trimmed. Valen frowned, taking the feline with him as the Argenta man got up and walked through to the old tree. Reaching out with his left hand, finding the dead bark had been taken off, and a good third of the dead branches on the lower section. Some sort of small climber had been planted in the fresh tilted dirt around the tree, but what had his attention was one of the lower branches was… a little leaf bud.

Valen hoped it was a good sign, not just metaphorically but also that the tree would come back to life. He did miss things from his homeworld, despite Valen's self imposed isolation.

A sound came from behind, not a true word but half demand and half startled sound. Valen glanced back, having not fully closed the door to the altered room. Just able to see his Lord's back, and not much else other than the end of the blue blade. The once commander winced, turning away to wait. He had wanted the Slayer to tell Lily but it still did not seem the right time.

If nothing else he knew the Slayer was honest. Maybe too honest.

Valen winced, wondering if he should move closer just in case. Just able to hear a low rumble from where he was, that not really speaking of primordial.

Valen sat, watching for a bit and then closed his eyes to wait.

Not that far away, 'John' half lidded his eyes, waiting until the smaller human stopped hitting his arm. Not letting go or letting Lily move too much. When she finally stilled, he waited some more, glancing down and then at the glowing blade balanced on his legs.

Lily finally leaned back on the Demigod, staring at the same opalescent energy blade. All this new information was confusing to wrap her head around. She had been doing good with the learning the semi alien technology, but only starting to learn about hell energies, souls dragged there. Her parents being something else.

Her dad's soul was in a sword!

In a detached way, Lily realized the moment before, she very well might have seen him.

"... he's not going to suffer…right?" Lily asked in a small voice, not looking up, even as the metal bar if an arm loosened at last. Lily was too exhausted to try and get away from him, or try to hit again.

John was moving to carefully wrap his hands over her own. To press them against the glowing blade. Sandwiching her hands over it and between his own before there was a faint crackle of his own energy in an attempt to show what he felt.

This was not something easily just said aloud to explain, let alone signed. For him at least.

The Demigod could feel the new crucible, it was not exactly human emotions. Yet he tried to bridge the gap between a living weapon and a real living being. The fact the blade was not cutting the girl, gave him the idea to try at least.

There was a soft crackle of barely visible energy. Almost like a moving, faint tattoo over the back of his hands. It was not fully controlled per say, but reacting to John's will to bridge.

He heard Lily gasp as something finally fitted into place.

Contentment.

It rolled off and down the active, opalescent blade as the new living weapon was happy to sit like this. Being next to the two souls it knew, one from before it remembered, the other it's chosen master. It was not really a human soul, or gorgon, or demonically corrupted soul. It was just… itself. As much as what it used to be, as something new. It was content, not feeling any pain, able to feed off of the Slayer's energy as well.

John felt the shaking, small shivers and trembling fingers. Looking down he found Lily finally letting herself cry since the sea platform. The not quite man pressed her hands to the blade a bit more firmly for a moment before lifting his own away. Sighing as he moved to wrap his arms around the girl, young woman. Lily still seemed so young to him as he did not pin this time, but tried to awkwardly give some semblance of reassuring attention.

He reached for her right hand. Making the human curl her fingers, letting her keep the other on the blade. Using her hand and his other to sign out, 'change' before tapping the blade. Change, and he tapped her chest. Change, he let go to sign 'world' before motioning in the general direction of their shared homeworld.

"My world has changed," Lily guessed, her voice more than a bit choked. At feeling the movement of a nod behind her, she sniffed to pull her legs up. "This isn't fair."

John gave a half huff like sound and then a low grumble following as he agreed. Staring down at the human, her hand was still resting in his, the other over the crucible blade.

"Why does it have to suck this bad?" Lily asked, fiddling with the edge of the energy blade. The longer it was out, the more she swore she could smell her dad.

Unfair. The man signed slowly around her, agreeing again as much as acknowledging that there was nothing he could answer the question with. John was not sure other than greed of the Maykrs and hell itself thirsting for new souls.

"I don't think I'm strong enough for all this." Lily said in a soft voice, sounding younger to even her own ears. Feeling tears burning down her face again. Almost at once the Demigod shifted forward, wrapping his arms around her once more, this time holding just that bit tighter when he was trying to comfort. As if the hugs itself could do it.

Protective.

It was not a true spoken word exactly, nothing that Lily had ever really heard… but partly was. It was like the recordings of the deep subsonic cracking of the Earth's crust. Or a landslide, edged with the long, low tones of blue whales singing. The emotion expressed vibrated in Lily's bones even as there was no massive sound. If anything, whatever John had done (said?) was almost a whisper behind her.

He slowly let go of her party, the Demigod mouthing the words he wanted to say, while signing with arms mostly around the smaller human. Let me be stronger. Just heal.

He tapped the blade, making a soft spark of green that Lily reflexively tried to catch. It was not hot but cool, and melted into the skin of her palm.

I am here. Valen will be here. Not same family. The not quite man struggled to put words into the right order. John settled for something simple. All broken. Can be broken together.

Lily laughed despite herself, tried to scrub her face as if that would help her stop crying. It did not. "I guess we are a little bit, and lot bit broken up here huh?"

Very. It was a simple word that held a lot behind it for John. He looked down, letting his forearms rest over Lily, just letting her cry herself out. He rumbled some humming notes in an attempt to help. Alternating his attention from the mortal being to her room before a hand grasped his.

"...can you do that thing again?" Lily asked in a small voice.

John smiled, leaning down to set the crucible to the side and picked up Lily. Carefully squeezing her into a tight hug. His head resting against her own. Protective-strength. Faith-trust. Affection. Safe.