Ch 13: Heart

A Chapter by KeithKVH

Despite having come far, Grey's past has broken him down once more, and Amy struggles to pull him together. Facing his darkness, she fights a hopeless battle. Has Grey given up?

Closing his eyes, Grey held onto Amy’s hand as though his life depended on it. Concentrating, trying to draw out his memories, as Grey looked in great pain, Amy could only watch. Struggling to support him, Amy said, “You can do it!” Suddenly once more Grey’s appearance changed, his hair turning white. As Amy stared in confusion, thinking, “Why does he… look like Alastor?” The manor started shaking, and as Grey let out a cry of distress Amy was blown away from him by a blast of energy from his body. Struggling onto her hands and knees, Amy looked up to see Grey clutching his head and screaming as energy crackled around him, and he cried out, “Someone help me!” Eyes wide, Amy got up and rushed back to him as she shouted, “Grey!” Disregarding the energy around him completely, Amy knelt down and threw her arms around him, and everything went dark.

Opening her eyes, unsure how they’d become closed, as Amy looked around her, her eyes went wide and she quickly sat up. Now sitting on an enormous circular platform in what seemed like an endless sea of stars, Amy could see illusionary strands of multicolored light connecting the various star-like points of light around her. Also, there was a large point of light hovering at the center of the platform, more like a sun compared to the other points of light. The light it was emitting was silvery and quite bright, and around it was a silver ring of unknown material with glowing runes on it. The small points all seemed to be connected to the larger one, and staring around at all the wondrous lights, Amy thought, “Are these the Links?” Then looking again at the large point of light, Amy thought, “Then could that really be Grey’s heart?! It’s beautiful…” Suddenly noticing the spreading cracks in the ring around Grey’s heart, Amy started to rush over to it as she thought, “Oh no! What do I do to fix it?!” Suddenly she stopped as she sensed something dangerous, and a moment later the platform shook as a black mist began pouring out of the cracks in the ring.

Staring in horror as the darkness pouring from the ring seemed to be gathering around Grey’s heart and taking shape, Amy thought, “The Nameless One? No… This is the darkness in Grey’s heart!” Raising her gloved hand, Amy formed Reaper’s blade and said, “I have to stop it!” Seeming to solidify around Grey’s heart, the darkness took shape as some form of skeletal horror. At least three stories tall and only comprised of a skeletal head, arms, and torso, it was attached to the platform at the base of its spine. Its giant bones were all black, and its eye sockets glowed red. Trapped inside its ribcage, Grey’s heart seemed to be growing dimmer. Summoning the golem’s shard, Amy shouted, “Memory Summon, Golem!” Glowing brightly, the golem’s shard disappeared and a gigantic three story creature appeared at Amy’s side. Its body made of what appeared to be hunks of gray stone and metal, its limbs had a muscular, almost bulbous appearance. In its eye sockets could be seen crystalline looking eyes, and jagged stone teeth jutted out from its mouth. Turning to Amy, the golem offered its hand and Amy leaped onto it. As the golem set her on its shoulder, Amy pointed at the horror and said, “Make sure you don’t hurt Grey’s heart!” With a mighty bellowing roar, the golem charged forth.

Channeling EDE into Reaper’s blade as the golem charged, Amy fired waves of dark energy at the skeletal horror. Raising its arm, the horror defended itself easily, and then as the golem closed in and fired a punch from its bulbous arm, the horror stopped its fist with an open skeletal palm. Running across the golem’s arm onto the horror’s arm, Amy started shooting dark waves at the horror’s skull. Explosions of darkness striking its head again and again, the horror turned to look at her and let out a roar of its own. Then the golem drew its attention back with a punch to the side of the horror’s head. Swaying on its spine, as the horror recovered it used its other hand to grab hold of the golem’s other fist as it struck again, and they began to grapple. Slashing at the horror’s arm, Amy couldn’t seem to make a dent in its dark bones, and she exclaimed, “How do I kill it?!”

Suddenly, Amy heard Grey’s voice say, “You can’t…” Looking around, Amy said, “Grey?!” Grey continued, “I’m the only one who could have.” Looking down at Grey’s heart, Amy desperately said, “You can still defeat it, I know you can!” Grey simply replied, “No… I’m too weak, I can’t take any more of this…” Clenching the handle of Reaper’s blade, Amy shouted, “Weak?! The man I fell in love with is anything but weak! His strength as an energist and as a person is so great that I’d believe he could do anything if he’d only try! He may not always have confidence in himself, no one does! That’s why we have friends to help us, and in case you didn’t notice, I’m trying to help you with everything I have!” Grey could only say, “I’m sorry…” With a cry of rage, the skeletal horror fired beams of darkness from its eyes, piercing the golem’s incredibly hard body straight through the chest. Staggering back, its heart destroyed by the beams, the golem began to disappear.

Moving away and slashing at the horror’s hand as it reached for her, Amy shouted, “You have to try! I won’t forgive you if you give up now!” Grabbing hold of her at last, the horror hurled Amy away. Landing hard and dropping Reaper’s blade, as the horror loomed over her, Amy looked up at Grey’s heart. The cracks spreading again, the ring suddenly shattered. Exploding into bits of light, Amy watched helplessly as Grey’s heart broke apart and all the strands of light connecting to it and even the points of light surrounding the platform disappeared.

In a strange circular room with a marble floor and no doors, light streamed in from the tall windows lining the walls as Grey sat chained to the black throne in the middle of the room, seemingly unconscious. Appearing before him suddenly, the mysterious white hooded figure that had appeared before Grey just before his death seemed to stare at him as he said, “Is this really how you’re going to let it end?” Not stirring from his slumber, Grey showed no signs that he was aware of the hooded figure. Shaking his head in disappointment, the figure said, “I see, so that’s it then. In the end, all your talk of changing the world, pursuing your dreams… If this is the limit of your resolve, such thoughts will only lead you to the same fate as Malum and Alastor before you…”

Suddenly, without opening his eyes, Grey responded, “I’m not like them…” Donning a grin, the hooded figure said, “Oh, is that so? Why don’t you hurry and remember who you are then?” Grey simply sat there in silence, and the figure continued, “Whether by the power of the phoenix stone or the twisted schemes of that pretender to the darkness, I know that the person you are cannot be so easily erased. You’ve come this far without me, and you still have far to go. Will you betray her faith in you, after all that young girl has said and done on your behalf? She believes in you, they all do.” Slowly opening his eyes, Grey saw that the hooded figure was gone. Then he heard his voice say, “You can overcome anything, do anything… All you must do is believe in her words, and accept who you are… I ask you now, who are you?” Struggling against the chains binding him to the throne, Grey said, “I’m…” As an aura of True EDE erupted around him, he broke free as he shouted, “Grey of the Infinite!”

As the skeletal horror raised its hand, Amy simply laid there, staring at the place where Grey’s heart had been and muttering in disbelief, “Why? After everything… I did to save him…” The horror brought its hand down, but just as it was about to crush her, some unseen force severed its hand from its arm. The severed hand disintegrated back into black mist, and watching as the horror reeled back with a cry of pain, Amy said, “Huh?” Suddenly, the points of light that were extinguished, all the illusory strands of multicolored light, all of them began to reappear. Then fragments of silvery light began to appear and gather before her, and in a flash of light, Grey suddenly stood before her, a blade of True EDE in his hand. Getting to her feet, Amy stared at him in utter disbelief as she whispered, “But… how…?” Looking back at her with a big grin, Grey said, “I can do anything if I just try, right?”

Turning to face the skeletal horror, Grey said, “That’s right, no matter what’s in my way… I won’t run away anymore!” Still clutching the stump of its bony arm, the skeletal horror turned to face Grey as well. As it did, it opened its mouth and countless voices began to pour out, screaming, “It’s your fault! You did it, you killed them all! You should die! You’re worthless! Freak! Monster! MURDERER!” Clutching her head, Amy felt fears, regrets, and doubts surging through her, and she thought, “What… is this?! Is this the pain in Grey’s heart?! This is just… unbearable!” Suddenly, Grey simply said, “Just shut up.”

Rushing forward with his blade of True EDE, Grey shouted, “I’m through listening to you! I KNOW WHO I AM!” The horror swung down its other hand, but severing it with a single slash, Grey leaped into the air and landed on its arm, quickly jumping off towards its head. Slashing the horror’s head in half horizontally, Grey then stabbed the blade into its chest with a cry of rage, and pushing off the horror’s chest he leaped through the air to land in front of Amy. Collapsing, the horror’s body began to disintegrate, and watching it disappear, Grey muttered, “I take responsibility for my actions, but I won’t be swallowed by my despair! My darkness, my past… It’s all a part of what makes me who I am! I can never change it, I can never forget it, but if I muster my courage, I can accept it for what it is! Accept it and move on, carrying it along with the shining light of my hopes and dreams for the future!”

Turning to Amy and letting the True EDE sword disappear, Grey approached her slowly without speaking a word. Watching him coming closer, Amy noticed a strange look in his eyes, but still suspected nothing and was caught by surprise as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Turning red, Amy hugged him back hesitantly and started to say, “G-Grey? What’s-” To her even greater surprise, as he started to let her free from his embrace, he pulled her close again and planted a kiss upon her lips as well. Releasing Amy, who had turned far redder than before, Grey smiled and said, “It seems like anytime there’s something I can’t handle, you’re there to help me get through it. I’m sorry I put you through all of this, but I swear that things will be different now. I’ll protect you, just like I promised.” Pulling herself together, her cheeks still flushed, Amy managed to smile back as she said, “Dummy. In the end, your strength is what saved both of us, just like always…” With a slight laugh, Grey said, “Guess so, but I would never have found that strength without you. You know what that means?” As Grey raised a hand and clenched it into a fist, Amy pumped a fist in the air, and they both said, “This is our victory!”

Both bursting into laughter, as Amy finally brought her laughter under control, she said, “You really like saying that, don’t you?” With a grin, Grey said, “I thought it was kind of catchy.” Suddenly a voice said, “Ugh, cut the mushy stuff already!” Startled, as she looked around Amy said, “Who said that?” The voice said, “In your pocket genius!” Reaching into her pocket, Amy withdrew Mai’s kitsune ball, and as they both stared at it, Grey said, “What’s that?” Coming from the kitsune ball, Mai’s voice said, “It’s MY kitsune ball! Rotten little thief… AGH, OW, OW! Ok, ok, jeez Sis! Uh, how do I put this? Sorry for the trouble I caused. Sis says good job and all that too. It was a little too close for me, but you did it, so whatever. Anyways, whenever you feel like heading back, just shut off Persona and you both should wake up. This is Mai, over and out!” As Amy put the kitsune ball away, wondering if it would still be there after she returned to reality, Grey said, “Made some new friends?” Considering his possible reaction to Mai’s attempts to erase his memory, Amy nervously said, “It’s a long story…”

Hesitantly, Grey said, “Speaking of long stories, I have some questions about what Ferid said back on the Vinculus.” Caught off guard, Amy said, “Uh, well… That’s…” Unable to think of what to say, she simply trailed off. Then heaving a sigh, Amy said, “I’m sorry you had to find out like that. I didn’t want to hide it from you, but Alexander said he wouldn’t be able to travel with us if you and Saria found out. He said he’d tell you at Loralu, and he really seemed to mean it, so I…” Looking slightly irritated, Grey thought to himself, “That b*****d! Not only did he lie, he put something like that on Amy just to keep her from telling me?!” Noticing the look on his face, Amy hesitantly asked, “Are you mad at me?” Shaken from his thoughts, Grey said, “The only one I’m mad at is Alexander! That day, onboard the Audentia, I told him not to lie to me about something like this again, but he still did it! He just stood there and lied through his teeth! He’s been lying since before I can remember, and I believed every damn word!” Watching him fume, Amy thought, “He’s actually more upset about the lies than the way Alexander orphaned them. I’m sure it bothers him, but I guess he must think the same thing I do. Alexander didn’t do it because he didn’t love them. He must have had some reason…”

Having watched the outcome of the battle for Grey’s heart from afar using her mind’s eye, as she drifted through the pitch black darkness of the boundaries between worlds, a woman with silver eyes with a black eye patch over the left one, a single black wing-like adornment on her right shoulder, ruby earrings, and hair that was silver but turned black near the ends thought to herself, “My, my, that was quite a show.” She wore a black and red top hat, a black and red corset, black and red sleeves, a long black skirt, and long black and red high heeled boots. Strapped to a belt on her waist was a sheathe containing a sword with a silver and black hilt. As she drifted there, someone called out to her, “Ah, Tepes!”

Coming through a spatial rift, a balding, gray haired old man with bushy eyebrows and thick spectacles floated over to her. He was dressed in a fancy black coat with green patterns on it, worn over a buttoned up brown vest with gold buttons. He also wore a pair of black pants and shiny black shoes. He carried a strange looking staff, which had various switches and buttons along it as well as a wrench head on the end, complete with the mechanisms to tighten and loosen the grip. Coming to a stop beside Tepes, he said, “I was thankfully able to smooth things over at the gathering, not that it was easy. Not only were you absent, Eazel did not even bother to show up! Doesn’t that idiot realize he’ll be under a proverbial microscope soon?!” Heaving a sigh, the man added, “Well, considering we’re all still here, I take it they performed admirably?” Nodding, Tepes replied, “With the aid of the Sage of Memories and the kitsune, the situation seems to have been resolved. They even got a kitsune ball as a bonus!”

Staring off into the endless dark space thoughtfully, Tepes added, “I still don’t understand how he did it though… His power to affect the flow of fate itself is a true mystery. He actually invoked it while his heart was already shattered and used it like some form of Fate Reversal.” Adjusting his spectacles with a confused look on his face, the old man said, “Hmm? What’s that you say? Fate Reversal? I’ve never heard of such a thing!” With an eloquent giggle, Tepes said, “Don’t think too hard about it Toshley. As for Eazel, it might soon be time for us to join forces. His champion has caught my eye, and I really have no intention of just watching this wonderful world full of mysteries disappear. Or at least, not without having a little bit of fun first…” Chuckling to himself, Toshley said, “Yes, I think it’s high time we forget the confounded code. If it weren’t for you and Gisette, I likely would have just keeled over from boredom by now!”

Hanging his head with a sigh, Toshley continued, “Oh Gisette! It just broke my heart what they did that poor old girl! She shows a bit of kindness to that little demonfolk child, and they use it as an excuse to exile her! It’s a conspiracy I tell you! They just wanted to get her out of the way before she could build support to abolish the code and defend the world!” Shrugging her shoulders, Tepes said, “It couldn’t be helped. Even we Observers know fear when faced with death, but Archon and his supporters hold sway over most of us for the moment, and for now they are intent on ensuring we all adhere to the code.”

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