The Red Hand

"Hmmm... The wind feels nice..." Zo said as she and her brother relaxed on the roof of the main building at the Dumetor base, sitting on the edge and staring out at the approaching sunset. With Labrys' disappearance they'd been left with little to do but wait for new orders; something that didn't sit well for the rambunctious Primordials.

"Yeah, nice and boring, you mean." Ro replied with a stretch. "I could use a bit of action. We didn't get to throw down with Labrys or anything."

The events surrounding the battle between Halifax and Labrys had frustrated the Twins greatly. The mission Akagi gave them had been to hunt down and capture the Axe, a mission in which they'd failed by letting him escape. The Demon may not have held them at fault, as it was her own restrictions on their powers that left them unable to challenge the Divine Blade, but that did not mean they'd forgiven themselves for that failure.

"The Boss is never going to give us another mission..." Zo said as she rested her head on her knee. "All because that stupid blade went and screwed everything up."

{I'd strangle her if she wasn't the Bosses' favorite pet!} (Zo)

"I bet she will. Just give it some time, and we'll be right back out there cracking skulls." Ro said, trying to cheer her up. "And this time we'll make sure to get it right."

"She hasn't told us to do anything since we got back... If she wanted us to do something, she'd have already told us." Ro said, her voice filled with despair. "I bet she thinks we're nothing but a bunch of worthless kids..."

{Just like how everyone else treated us.} (Ro)

"Maybe we are just a bunch of fuck ups..." Ro laughed at herself. "We've done nothing but screw everything up since Mom died. We got beat up, sealed away, and now... Even a Demon Lord gave up on us..."

"Hey, listen. We're a lot of things. Massive pains in the ass, idiots. But we're not screw ups." Ro said as he slid over and pulled his Sister into a hug. "You know that Mom would hate it if she heard you saying that. Sure, we make mistakes, but it's just like she always said."

"Life would be boring if you got everything right the first time." (Ro x Zo)

The two of them laughed as they recalled their Mother's words. To the Twins, that era so long ago was a better, happier time. A time in which their Mother's warmth surrounded them every day. A time that had ended in tragedy that still haunted them to this day.

"I miss Mom..." Zo said quietly in a voice that was far weaker, and showed more vulnerability than normal.

"Me too." Ro said as he squeezed his Sister. Their Mother's death had been hard on the two of them, especially since she was effectively the only parent they'd ever had. "Me too... But it's okay. We have each other, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Me either." Zo said as the two sat together quietly as the Sun dipped low on the horizon, bathing the land in a reddish-orange glow.

"I guess the two of you can be quiet." Elariel said as she floated onto the rooftop next to them. After the events with Labrys, the Demon loosened the restrictions on the Twins and the Goddess to allow them to be more useful, though the leash was far shorter on the Goddess than the Primordials. "And here I thought that wasn't possible." She chuckled.

"Oh great, Grandma is here." Zo said as the two turned to face her. "What do you want, witch? Can't you see we're having a moment together?"

"Leave us alone." Ro glared at the Goddess. "I thought we made it clear that we don't want anything to do with you."

"You're attitudes made it obvious that you don't like me..." Elariel sighed. Normally she'd've retorted but today she'd actually come to talk to them and thus didn't want to argue. "And my own actions are to blame for that." She said before bowing her head slightly, which shocked the Twins given what they knew about her. "Please allow me to apologize for both my actions and my words. Irrespective of our shared kinship, I've treated the two of you poorly ever since we first met, and that was a mistake. I should've done more to understand you."

Elariel's sudden display of humility and remorse left the Twins completely speechless. They'd never imagined a God, much less Elariel, lowering her head and apologizing. Everything they ever knew the Goddess, whether it be from direct interaction with her or stories from their Mother, painted her as an arrogant woman who would never do such a thing, so this completely flew in the face of everything they knew about her. True, the Goddess may have apologized to Halifax, a being she deeply wronged, but they presumed that was a one-off event due to the circumstances rather than an indication of a change of heart. That she seemed to have genuine remorse for how she'd treated them was unbelievable.

"No, it was not just you whom I treated poorly..." Elariel balled her fists in frustration at her past self. "Elmira... Your Mother... Our relationship was complicated to say the least... And... I was terrible to her. I don't even have the right to consider myself a Mother. To her or any of my children. She had every right to hate me, and to run away like she did."

{What in the Hells?!? Does she have a fever?!? Can Gods even get sick?!?} (Zo x Ro)

"I... I mean, we're not just going to accept your apology and be all smiles." Zo stammered, still reeling for this unexpected about face.

"I don't expect to be forgiven. Not after I sealed you away without first listening to anything you had to say..." Elariel replied. Their battle centuries ago was rather one sided, and she was more focused on crushing them and putting them in a veritable prison than actually trying to understand why they'd gone on a rampage in the first place. "I should've tried to calm the situation down, not add fuel to the fire." The Twins' rampage had gone on to cause significant collateral damage, though before Elariel's arrival, the amount of chaos they'd caused was rather low. It was largely due to the Goddess' words that the Twins blew their stack and began torching large sections of the continent.

"Being stuck in there for all those years sucked." Ro said. It was hard to describe how being sealed felt, but it was none to pleasant an experience. "You have no idea how awful it felt to be trapped like that, never knowing whether or not we'd get out."

"It was down to sheer luck that we could create a familiar on the outside. Without Rafferty, I doubt we'd ever have escaped." Zo said, barely holding back the venom in her voice. The foxkin familiar was currently on ice, refusing to materialize due to the trauma inflicted upon her by Shiroe, which made the Twins genuinely feel bad for her. Though Akagi found it quite hilarious.

"If I'm remembering right, you mentioned something about your Mother's death when we fought." Elariel said. She didn't ask them much about it a the time, which she was now kicking herself for.

"We were trying to find the bastard who killed her." Zo growled as she recalled that meeting. "We figured that causing enough trouble would get her to come out, and then we'd kill that bitch."

"Yeah, and I'll never forget or forgive her." Ro's body tensed in anger as his power flared. "That woman. If I ever see her..."

"Who was it?" Elariel asked, her calm words belying just how angry she was. "Who killed my Daughter?"

{If they're still alive then I'll-} (Elariel)

"You don't know?" Zo asked, seeming not to believe that the Goddess wasn't aware of who did it.

"We always figured that you ordered it." Ro scoffed. "After all, she is your chief enforcer."

"I would have never ordered Elmira's death!" Elariel replied sharply. "And had I known that another God ordered her execution, I would've stepped in personally and stopped it. Consequences be dammed!"

{Even back then, I'd learned enough from my past mistakes. I'd left Elmira alone largely out of respect for her choice. I may have been frustrated by her, but I knew it was best that she kept away from me or the other Gods. She always hated our scheming and refused to be drawn into it. Bad as our relationship was at the end I would never send someone to eliminate her.} (Elariel)

"It was the Demi-God known as the Reaper, the one you call Rehael, that took our Mother from us." Zo said with absolute contempt in her voice.

"What?!?" Elariel screamed, her body tensing in shock. "Rehael killed..."

"We were just kids at the time. Mom protected us with everything she had..." Ro looked away, cursing his own weakness. "In the end, all Mom could do was use the last of her power to send us away so that at least we'd live."

"I... I can't..." Elariel's face grew dark as rage swirled within her heart, her divine power flaring to the limit that Akagi's seal would allow.

"We were all alone with nothing but each other and a grudge that we've clung to until this very day." Zo hissed, her anger threatening to boil over as she recalled her Mother's death. "That was why we went off like we did. We'd hoped that Rehael would be sent to handle us, and we could crush that fucking bitch into dust for what she did. Demi-God or not the two of us together would've destroyed her as we are now."

"The Boss said that she'd be handled one way or the other, but I wish she'd let us go deal with her." Ro growled. "I'd tear this entire world apart just to find her."

"The only one who can command Rehael is Gale." Elariel said as she stood motionless, her mind struggling to comprehend everything. "She will not take orders from anyone else, which means that he... HE... HE... Is responsible for your Mother, my Daughter being murdered."Gale... YOU CONTEMPTABLE BASTARD!”

{If it is the last thing I do, I will ensure that you burn alongside this world! Gale, you will pay for what you've done to my family! Elmira, I'm so sorry. All you wanted was to be left alone to enjoy a peaceful life, and you weren't even allowed that... I failed you again.} (Elariel)

"Heh..." Elariel laughed quietly, which unnerved the Twins. "Now I'm actually kind of glad Akagi didn't just take me up on my offer to self-destruction. Because now, now I really want to be around to see the look on that son of a bitch's face when she brings his entire world crashing down." She said as she turned to leave. "Gale and his monster will pay for what they've done. I promise you that. He will not be allowed to get away with this."

"Pff, we don't need your promise. We'll do it ourselves." Zo said smugly.

"You're plenty strong, but fighting Gale... That will be a tall order indeed." Elariel said as a small smile formed on her lips. "He's lived for longer than just about any other being in this world, and his power has only increased over time. I think it will be impossible for you to defeat him as you are now... But... You won't be alone in that fight. This time... This time, Iwill be there, and I promise you that he won't harm another member of my family. As long as I draw breath, I won't allow harm to come to any of you." She said as she slowly walked away.

"Elariel." Zo's use of the Goddess' name caused her to pause. "Listen... Mom... Mom didn't hate you." She said. "Don't get me wrong, she said that you were a stuck-up pain in the ass... But never once did she say she hated you, and she wouldn't let us talk badly about you either. She always said that at the end of the day, that you were her Mom, and... And that she loved you despite everything..."

"Thank you for telling me that..." Elariel said as she walked away, tears flowing down her face.

{Elmira, I promise you that I'll make sure your children survive this, even if that means giving up my very life. They deserve to live in the kind of peaceful world you always dreamed of... I... I won't make the same mistakes again, I swear it.} (Elariel)

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