Metis shook her head a little, giving him a small squeeze of encouragement. "In some respects, I suppose I am alone, but in all the ways that count? I consider myself rather fortunate. I... I am just sorry I wasn't there to help you more." Some friend she'd been.
The knowledge that she might have been able to prevent all this... it burned her, scorched her and ate her alive. She should have tried more. She should have reached out to him more.
Still, she had to agree with his assessment about others finding out about things. "The others would want to help as well, if they knew, but I'm alright keeping things on the... down low, as it is." Color flitted across her cheeks. She knew how... easy it was to scowl and tsk someone for trying to be friends with a Chaos agent. Yet here she was.
Metis pulled back a little, trying to keep the scowl from her face and failing a tad. Right. Work. She felt sick thinking about what he would be doing in his rounds, but she... she couldn't try to keep him away from it. There was too much of a risk of higher ups in the Negaverse stepping in.
Hesitating when she felt his lips against her forehead, Metis caught one of his hands, reaching one of hers up to unhook one of her earrings. It was gold, a half-lidded eye with a sapphire iris and a golden star that hung from it. Her symbol. She pressed it to his palm, a smile on her lips. "Keep it. I won't let you forget me again, Vic. I'll ask around, see what I can find out about what happens to memories when... when people go through something like this."
"Stay safe," she added as she stepped back, offering a final warm smile before he teleported away. When Vic vanished, only her energy waves lighting the area beyond the other basic energies of the park around her, Metis felt the heat burning at her eyes again, her arms wrapping around herself as she allowed herself that moment of solitude to weep for her friend.
Iris and ********* weren't here. She couldn't go to them for help. She... Metis would just have to find others. There was no other answer. Steadying herself, she continued on her own patrol, her mind rushing with the thoughts of who she could try to speak to, the hows, the whys...
LP
FIN!
