---

---

"Oh, oh! I'm great with slow deaths, so I can definitely help with Shoe," Kayin assured, smiling. "Though, I-I don't really like the idea of killing my daughter...but I guess she favors Ludo more than she does me, otherwise she'd be on our side. I must be a terrible father, huh...?"

"Don't worry, I doubt you're worse than the twins," Life assured, only half-joking. "And as to what you two are getting at--well, I-I've kind of lost count of the years, to be honest. I think I've had this body for at least four hundred? I know it hardly looks so much as adolescent, but I've discovered over time that the hosts I take on tend to stop aging. I think it's the result of having the soul inside them being the actual entity of...well, life. It makes them eternal, if you will. But I can assure you it hardly makes them any less immune to death, because wow have I died in just about every way possible, haha. ...Ah, I'm going to regret saying that later."

She paused, blinking. "...Haha. Hold on. Now that I think about it, this is the longest I've ever been in a single body without it dying in some horrible way. Of course, I've tried to use my powers in almost all of them at some point, but every time I was terribly unsuccessful. But if what you're saying is true, then..."

Life glanced around the house, looking for any manner of life form. Her eyes landed on a plant sitting on one of the windowsills--rising to a stand, she gently pushed the doctor away and walked toward the flower. It was, like most plants nowadays, hunched over and sickly-looking, color having long since faded.

Expectations low, she waved her hand over the plant...and it sprung to life.

...It worked?

She brushed a finger along one of the petals, now beautiful, full, and soft. The slightest of smiles stretched across her face; she turned back to the others, stepping aside so they could see. "It's not much, but it's...it's something. It's more than it's ever been before. And it means that back there wasn't just a burst of power, it was...it's consistent, if only to a degree."

Curious, Kayin stepped over to look at the flower, green eyes sparkling. "...Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a plant this healthy."

Really? Life looked at him as though he were crazy, but then it hit her--he'd been born just before she'd been sealed. Of course, the first time he'd ever seen the world...it was beginning its decline. ...Then that probably means Malin hasn't seen a flower in its fullest state either, right?

Gingerly, Life picked up the potted plant and handed it over to Malin. Though she would never admit it, the way she did was almost akin to the way a child proudly showed off a drawing to their parents--of course, her 'drawing' was a work of beauty in its purest form, so there was a bit of a difference. ...A big difference. Life was no child.

"Look." She smiled more fully. If he thought this Earth was beautiful, wait until he sees it when in full bloom.

---

---

Niven followed not far behind Alfonso and Ingris, the idea of going back to Earth admittedly a bit nauseating. As much as he did like most of life in itself--trees, grass, flowers--being around so many souls was somewhat overwhelming, especially since they all seemed so miserable all the time. All it did was make him feel miserable, which made him irritable, which made him snap at his stupid family and just make an enemy out of himself.

It was bad enough that he didn't seem nearly as bent on destruction as the others were, but actually saying that out loud or anything along the lines of "I don't think living things aside from humans are that bad" was most likely asking for some horrible form of torture, knowing his mother. Really, it was safer to just side with her and not mention anything about anything...well, ever.

As long as we don't run into someone like Cherry Blossom, I'll be fine...hopefully. I wonder what they'd say if I just randomly ducked out. He blinked. ...Do they even know what my power is? Do they even realize I'm a weird enigma who feels the pain of all the souls around me?

Have they been completely blind to my constant suffering?

He suppressed a scowl, still trailing after his father. Of course they are. If they're blind to the pain of all manner of living organisms, then of course they wouldn't even notice mine. Or maybe they enjoy it?

...I hate everyone.

Cautiously, afraid it might come apart in his fingers, Malin reached out and delicately took the flower by the stem. He gently ran a finger along the petal, eyes sparkling.

So this is...life. This is what her power can do. Before, I really didn't have a chance to admire it because we were in so much pain, but...

Ah...my back hurts so bad...

In the excitement, he'd almost forgotten about the severe injuries to his back and shoulder from the squirrels and Shoe's relentless attacks. Still...Cherry Blossom wouldn't protect them forever and they needed to quickly get Life to the temple. He could wait if it meant she'd be safe. Malin was sure he'd die before he ever let Life fall again. It wasn't a stretch to say she was the most important person in his life--she has made things like this flower, after all, and without her the world would never again see such gorgeous displays of nature. So much potential and hope and beauty was contained in just one tiny flower and now, Malin held all of that in his hand.

There it was--everything he had worked so hard for. Everything he had given his whole life to find and protect was sitting right there in front of him in the body of a young child and one small flower. Things were finally going to change. The world was finally going to be full again--full of life.

Ah...

Malin reached up to wipe his eyes, sniffling.

I'm crying.

"Sorry," he muttered, blushing. "I-I don't usually cry, I swear. It's not the pain or anything, I actually kinda forgot about that. It's just...it's just that you're back. ...You're really back. I've waited so long just to see something like this...something this beautiful, this full of hope and potential and...and this world has been so dead for so long. I...I never even knew what 'beauty' was until I met you."

Quietly, the doctor reached out to touch the flower. Malin offered it to him and the doctor took it. The light in his eyes returned at once--Malin wondered if this man had ever seen a flower either.

How many of them had lost this?

"We...we lost beauty," Malin continued. "No, it was stolen from us. Hope, trust, love, magic...all these things I associated with life and with humans for so long, all these things I read about in storybooks and saw in art and longed for so desperately, all of it...it's here. It's here with you, Life. Right here in front of me for the first time...well, ever! And I guess now that I'm...I'm truly happy, I'm realizing that I've never been happy before. ...Until now. Until you."

She's here. She's really here. She's really right here, and I...I'd give my life to keep her safe.

"Oh boo, just f*ck 'er already."

Malin screeched, bright red. "What are you talking about?!"

Bennie shrugged. "Please. 'I never knew what beauty was until I met you!' 'The magic is here with you, Life!' 'I've never been happy until you!' You're so obviously crushing on her, just stick your d*ck in it so we can move along."

Malin spluttered, snatching back the flower from the doctor. Startled, the doctor returned to his work. "Gross, Aunt Bennie! I meant it platonically, stupid!"

"Honey, listen. There is nothing at all platonic about literally anything you just said. You're horny for your grandma. It's fine, we all get like that sometimes. I mean, look at your parents, amirite?"

"It's stuff like that that's the exact reason I hate my stupid parents! S-stop being disgusting!"

And why is my heart racing?! Calm down, stupid, Aunt Bennie's just being a stupid loser and you definitely don't see Life like that at all! You just met her like, two hours ago! Who cares if she's all you ever think about and you'd give your life for her and you used to lay awake at night thinking about what you would do if you ever met her and she smells like roses even if I don't even know what roses smell like and oh my gosh, is Aunt Bennie right?! Am I crushing on my own grandmother?! Gosh, I knew this stupid family's stupid sex genes were going to catch on some day!

No! That's enough! Absolutely not! You are an adult and you respect her as a role model and that is as far as it goes!

Huffing, Malin plopped down on the floor, keeping his eyes locked on the flower. "W-whatever, just hurry up and fix her stupid wounds so we can go!"

"Atmosphere's nice for a good ol' f*ckin'."

"Aunt Bennie!"

"I'm just sayin', kid, if you were gonna fulfill your crazy wet dreams now would be a good time to do it. Ain't like this is my first time seeing that kind of thing. Heck, I might join you, she's cute."

"She's in the body of a FREAKING TWELVE-YEAR-OLD!"

"Ouch, yikes, you're more like your dad than we thought, huh?"

"Go home."

---

---

Life cackled loudly, Bennie's teasing making her feel strangely at ease--at least, even in times of great hardship, she could always depend on Bennie to be herself.

"You didn't change much at all, did you, Bennie?" She said with a chuckle, plopping back into her chair as the doctor resumed dressing up Life's wounds. "Ha...ah. So, while Malin is no doubt waiting for a change of subject, how is Maria? I miss her. She was always so understanding when I ended up ranting to her about how terrible and inconsiderate and pathetic and petty Death is."

Kayin blinked. "'Pathetic'? That's not usually a word people use to describe Death."

"Yes, well, you don't know her like I do," Life muttered, frowning. "I could get into it but I'm in a good mood right now so I really don't want to. And believe me, nothing gets me angrier than talking about Death. You can ask Bennie, she knows."

Malin grumbled, shifting slightly. "...I keep forgetting you used to know all these people. It must be weird, huh?"

"Call it weird or call it a nice reunion." Bennie offered a smile, surprisingly warm and free of her usual seduction or teasing. She moved to stand closer to Life, reaching to pat her old friend on the shoulder. "And yeah, we had some times rambling about the old lady upstairs, huh? I've missed you."

Malin decided to let Bennie handle the conversations for a bit. Now that there was a chance to relax, he assumed it would be nice for her to just...talk to Life. In all the ruckus, he had almost forgotten the two were once partners until he remembered where Kayin came from.

Yeah...Aunt Bennie's weird, but she means well.

"Anyways, Maria..." Bennie paused, sighing. "Well...she's melancholy, but she's alright. Still loves us all the same as she always has. But I think being used to make more kids for Death's army has really taken a toll on her. ...Ludo's her daughter, after all. And she wasn't very lucky with her other kid either, considering...well, the kid you two had was Xenos. I think--no, I'm sure--she feels responsible for what happened to you."

Malin shifted again, tucking the flower behind his ear and resuming fiddling with his pencil. He sighed, bringing his knees to his chest. Though he didn't speak to her often, Maria was truly the only entity whose neutrality was born from a love for the others instead of selfishness. She truly was "the in-between".

"...It's sad," Bennie murmured, seeming unusually solemn. "Things have fallen apart so much. ...I wonder when we lost the love that attracted us all to each other in the first place. I wonder when affection for our parents and families died. I wonder..."

She glanced at Kayin, sighed, and dragged the boy into a hug.

"...I wonder when I forgot what it's like to be a family."

---

---

"Ah..." Life stared at nothing in particular, feeling a familiar regret begin to stir in her chest.

Kayin seemed briefly stunned. He went stiff for a moment before tentatively hugging his mother back, eyes darting around the room as if for some kind of explanation. When met with none, they shifted to stare at the ground, apparently lost in thought.

"...Did we even have it in the first place?" Life asked, a strange emptiness in her voice. Even now...thinking back as far as she could, Life could hardly remember a time when her and Death were actually happy together. Sure, there were good moments between the two, but they were always fleeting. Every positive interaction they had was always stunted by the war between them--the war between their very existences. They were opposites, through and through.

Life and Death.

In a way, one wasn't significant without the other. Life was only so precious because it was fleeting--if cherry blossoms bloomed year round, then they wouldn't be considered nearly as beautiful nor as special. It was because their majesty could only be witnessed in spring that they were so appreciated.

And of course, death wouldn't exist without life. If nothing lived, nothing could die. And...in a sense, nothing could truly 'live' if it didn't die. Even if they were opposites, both life and death needed each other. Otherwise, neither meant anything.

And I tried to get that across to her, but no matter what happened, it always ended in a fight. She never understood. Or maybe she just didn't care. Life frowned, finding herself caught up in one of the arguments she and Death always used to have. Of course, Death never had a sense for those things. No, she only liked destroying things I made because it was fun for her. It gave her a twisted feeling of power, so she exercised it over me whenever she could. She enjoyed watching me suffer.

Life scowled to herself, fingers tapping on the end of her chair. I was only ever a plaything to her. A way for her to feel superior, a person she loved tormenting. And when she was finally too fed up with my attitude, she had my own son toss me in the garbage. Gosh, I hate that woman...

It was only after a minute more of thinking about all of the ways Death succeeded in being a terrible person that Life snapped back to her senses. She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes exactly once before re-attuning herself with her surroundings. It was getting easier and easier to get lost in the past these days...

Life took a deep breath. "Well, at least it's nice to see you again, Bennie. ...And, um...if you see Maria anytime soon, please tell her...that I said 'I'm sorry.' For everything. ...She'll know what I mean."

I never should've dragged you into any of this. This wasn't even your fight to begin with...

Bennie smiled comfortingly. "I'll tell 'er, pumpkin. How are those wounds?"

"Just about done," the doctor murmured, wrapping a roll of bandages around Life's damaged arms. "I wouldn't suggest any strenuous activity. Try to get as much rest as you can."

"Can your powers heal you up at all?" Malin asked curiously. More importantly, can they fix me? No way I'm waiting for some doctor's treatment now, but I guess it hurts a lot.

He shifted again, trying to cover the wince that showed every time his back nuzzled something the wrong way.

"...I'll carry you either way," Malin continued. "I mean...so you have a chance to rest and stuff. It's fine. It's whatever, I mean. Not that you're whatever, it's just...whatever."

It was getting more and more difficult to carry on intelligent conversation in the presence of these people. Malin had a feeling it had something to do with Bennie being around.

Speaking of...the woman patted Kayin on the head and gave Malin a look that just screamed, "Kiss her, dork."

Malin stuck his tongue out at her. She blew him a kiss.

---

---

"I'm not sure," Life admitted, glancing down at her arms. She was technically one of her own creations, or rather, was stuck inside one of them. So it would make sense if she could--like she could the flower--heal herself. Right?

Brow furrowing slightly, she held out one of her arms and waved her arm over it as she did the flower. Even if the bandages covered up any physical reaction, she did feel something--her entire body felt lighter all of the sudden. If nothing else, it was an incredibly freeing feeling.

"I think it worked," Life muttered, staring. "Although I'm not willing to unbandage all of this doctor's hard work to find out. That said, though, thank you. I really do appreciate it."

"Of course," the doctor replied, nodding.

Life paused--she hopped out of the chair and walked over to Malin, glancing to see his back. "Are you sure you'd be okay with that, though? Shoe did quite a number on you, so I'd understand if you wanted to rest your muscles for a bit. Besides, Bennie and Kayin are here now, and...well, I have legs."

---

---

Niven continued to lag behind his family, mostly just looking around the forest as Ingris and his father followed Shoe's pawprints. The further they went, the more he began to notice a very particular kind of pain trickling in the air--at first, it manifested as only a slight headache. Then, a slightly more annoying one.

...It was after the first thought of wanting to die popped up in his head that he realized what it was--"Cherry Blossom is around here. I'm...I do not want to be around her."

"Ah..."

Malin scratched his neck, chuckling nervously. "Well, uh, if you're sure you'll be okay and you were able to heal yourself up...I guess it's okay to admit that I'm kind of in a lot of excruciating pain right now and if you think your powers might work on an entity of death it'd be neat if you thought you could fix that at all. N-no pressure, though, I'll be fine."

Bennie raised an eyebrow, moving away from her odd hug with Kayin. "You're hurt? Why didn't you say something earlier? Oh, now that I think of it, you are pretty bloody."

"It's fine," Malin repeated. "It doesn't hurt that much. Life's the priority, it'd take too long to fix me. Unless her powers work in which case it might be okay to use them a bit."

I'm a wuss. A wuss in a lot of pain, but a wuss nonetheless.

---

Cherry Blossom?

Come to think of it...where was she? She'd gone down to look for Life, hadn't she? Had she found Life?

There was only one way to find out. Alfonso marched forwards, expression unusually serious. "She might know where Life is. We're going to find her."

Ingris raised an eyebrow, then glanced at Niven with a bored expression. "I think Cous wants to peace out. Do we have to go after CB?"

"Yes." Alfonso scowled at Niven over his shoulder, then sighed. "Oh, I get it. It's the souls, isn't it? She must be in rare form today."

Ingris raised her eyebrow again.

"Well..." Alfonso shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "No matter. We need your help if we're going to beat Life's location out of her. And once we find Life, we need to get to her quickly. I can't have deserters now, my sweet prince. You understand, sweetie, don't you?"

Ingris seemed oddly on-edge. She scuffled her heels in the dirt. "What, it's not like you can make him stay."

"No...I can't." Alfonso offered a smile to Ingris, wondering when the chill had returned to his voice. "But you can."

Ingris was silent for a moment.

"How about we make a deal, love?" Alfonso winked at Niven, continuing his stroll towards where he felt Cherry Blossom's presence steadily growing. "Either you come along quietly and help us out for just a bit until I've safely delivered Life to Death's door, or I'll have Ingris petrify your legs in place so you can't run. I really need your help, darling..."

Ingris seemed to have protests, but she kept her mouth shut; whether it was from curiosity or subtle fear, Alfonso wasn't sure.

He just knew it felt nice to be the one in control again.

Much better, Alfonso. You've made it.

---

---

"I...actually have no idea if my powers will work on you or not, so let's find out." As she did both other times, Life waved her hand over Malin's back, watching carefully for any change--there was some, though it only seemed slight. She looked to his face for any sort of reaction. "Did that help at all? I haven't done this in...well, centuries, so I'm a bit rusty."

She frowned, glancing over at the doctor. "If you're in so much pain, then I'm sure the doctor can help. And if Death has taught me anything over the years, 'fine' is a very deceiving word."

---

---

Niven fought off a shudder, scowling. "When are you ever not creepy?"

Of course, his father's lack of sympathy was both surprising and completely unsurprising. It was hard to remember why he bothered associating with any of them in the first place--and why he didn't try and condemn them to lives of eternal pain centuries ago. "And that's not even a deal, it's just an outright threat. You're worse than Aunt Bennie."

A moment or two passed--he frowned, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Besides, I'll just put you in so much pain you'll have to tell Ingris to reverse it."

I'm not going to give you any power over me. That's not how this works. With the family Niven had, he couldn't afford to show any weakness. And he already had a lot of weakness. It was almost surprising that, after all the time Alfonso had spent as Niven's terrible father, he thought Niven was going to lie down and take any of his crap. ...Unless, of course, he already knew this and had some kind of contingency plan. Then that would make more sense.

...Crap.

Malin let out a soft sigh, admittedly already feeling much better. He offered Life a somewhat awkward smile.

"This is good," he assured. Shoulder's still a mess, but much better. "I'll take care of the rest later. We should move now while we still have a chance. Are you ready to go?"

---

Alfonso shrugged, glancing at Ingris. "Well, if you try anything I'm sure Ingris would be willing to petrify you completely until we have need of you again. Would that make the deal a bit better?"

Ingris's gaze shifted. She shrugged, oddly fidgety.

Alfonso nodded. "I'm sorry, dear. I wish I didn't have to do this, but we do really need your help. You're either with us all the way or not with us at all. I'm sure Cherry won't bother you that much."

And if she does, that's your own fault.

---

"Yes," Life replied, glancing over at the door. "Are the rest of you? Because with that wolf on their side, it probably isn't wise to stick around here much longer..."

She paused, eyes wandering to the flower that she'd helped bloom just a few minutes ago. She bit her lip, looking to see how much room she had in her travel bag--not a lot, but enough. "...Can we bring the flower with us? "

---

---

"Keep threatening me, maybe I won't be with you at all," Niven said, secretly beginning to worry whether or not this was worth it or if he'd be better off staying quiet. "Besides, you won't be able to shout many orders through a mouthful of vomit. I chose to come with you because it was my decision. I can also choose to go back to my realm whenever I want, and I can choose not to help you when 'you have need of me.'"

Niven paused, taking a deep breath. "Don't test me. That goes for you too, Ingris."

M-maybe I should just go back to my realm before he can actually deliver on these threats...

Malin lightly touched the flower tucked in his ear, then shrugged. "I see no reason not to. I can hold on to it if you need me to. ...I-I kinda like having it close by anyways."

"Because it reminds you of your obvious crush, right?" Bennie blurted.

Malin threw his pencil at her. "It's not a crush, she's my great-grandmother!"

"That never stopped the rest of us! She was my grandma too and I still banged 'er!"

"Literally how is that helpful?!"

"Anyways," Bennie continued, "Life's right. We should get moving. Uh, kiddo..."

She paused, something flickering briefly in her eyes as she gazed at Kayin. Malin could almost see the wheels in her head turn as she watched him, something bordering on genuine motherly affection reflected in her eyes.

"Are you ready to go..." She offered a small smile, surprisingly sincere. "...Karen?"

Malin stared at her for a moment. "...Aunt Bennie, it's Kayin."

"I said that!" Bennie insisted. "Isn't that what I said?"

"You said Karen. How are you so bad at this?! You literally just heard his name!"

"Far be it from me to explain my own quirks, point is I love my son and we gotta go!"

---

Alfonso chuckled, the sound dark and chilling. "I wonder what'll be faster," he murmured. "Your powers, or Ingris'? Ingris, I think a demonstration may be in order."

Ingris shifted. "It only works with a touch."

That was frustrating, admittedly, but Alfonso was sure it would work out somehow. He sighed. "I'm sure you're very fast. ...Alright, then. Suppose you would like to leave. Suppose you go back home and Xenos finds out you skipped out on helping us find Life. Suppose he tells Death. ...I will leave it to you whether or not you wish to let our beloved queen mother know that you were more concerned with your own selfishness than helping with the one mission she actually considers important. That goes for you as well, Ingris, my dear."

Ingris flinched. "...I guess I'm pretty fast," she mumbled, deliberately avoiding looking at either Alfonso or Niven.

---

Kayin...sighed miserably, hanging his head. "I don't even know why I hope. It's clear you are not sincere, mother. Those words are like a dagger to my heart!"

"At least I'll always remember your name, Kayin," Life offered warmly, as she headed over to the door. She reached into her bag and pulled out a compass, glancing down at it briefly. "Come on, let's go. The longer we wait around here, the higher the chance we have of getting caught. We are in Quagmire, correct? The temple should be south of here..."

Kayin smiled gratefully at Life, following her to the door. "Yes, that's true. I love you, other mother! You're so much better than my other mother!"

Life chuckled to herself. "Likewise."

---

Niven stiffened, for once some genuine fear in his dark green eyes. He swallowed, pace slowing slightly.

"That's just like you, you know?" Niven mumbled as he walked, kicking a nearby stone. That slight headache from before turned from a slight annoyance to a throbbing pain in his head. He fought off a shudder, actively thinking about his next words in an attempt to keep his mind focused. "To hide behind Mom. It's pathetic. Maybe for once, you should fight your own battles."

Either way, I still have to listen to him right now, Niven lamented, sickness pooling in his stomach. How unbearable...