Finally at long last, a hush settled within the canyon. Not even the wind stirred as Red's ashes finally settled upon the ground once again. The air seemed to shimmer, then tear as a line of white tore through the air and formed a circle, briefly taking on the appearance of a pocket watch before two figures stepped through it.
Nothing was said as one of them approached the large skull, reaching out with black gloves hesitantly. They snatched their fingers back as if the skull would burn, throwing and unsure look at the other. After a nod, the first figure reverently placed their hand on the skull, their eyes sweeping across the final mementos left behind.
"There is still time," the second figure spoke gently. "You see, time is not like a parade with each event passing by one by one in sequence right before us. I view the parade from above, seeing all the twists and turns that it might or might not take. You do not have to go through this."
From where she stood, Red turned around and shook her head. Earlier she had entered the Haunted House before the horsemen, expecting to wait in Clockwork's lair while the Horsemen made up their minds and possibly joined or not joined her. Instead she was taken here, to this canyon at the very top. Clockwork had joined her and requested her silence and patience; now she could see why.
It was strange, though. For the first time in a long while, Red could actually
think on her own for once. Before she would have attempted to battle the ancient time master for possession of what she viewed as her weapon. Now she was grateful that he had sealed it temporarily in another timeline, leaving her alone in her thoughts for the first time in many moons.
"Clockwork," Red began, shaking her head. "While I thank you for showing me this -- for showing me
all of this." She broke off, swallowing. "Ever since I was little," she tried again, "I knew I wanted to do something great. Something...
big, you know? I wanted to prove myself. I wanted to show them all, to show everyone that I could do something. That's... That's why I joined the Boogeymen, y'know? I respected them. I looked up to them. And it's because of them that I was able to do so many things, to make a name for myself."
She suddenly laughed. "You know my name, Red? I didn't get it because of my cloak. It's what everyone thinks, and it's why they insisted I wear it. It's part of my name, Red. It's not the full part, but I just used part of it to go by because it sounds more... official? Intimidating? More majestic? I don't know. I just --"
The werewolf broke off, wringing her hands and shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Cee. It's just. Just."
"Red," Clockwork broke in, drifting close to rest his hand on her shoulder. "I am the master of time. Do not feel rushed. We have all the time we need to decide your course. You do not need to retrace your footsteps."
"NO!" The word was a shout, a roar as the person before Clockwork shifted in an instant from woman to white werewolf. The creature's eyes blazed before going wide with recognition, realization setting in as she took one step back.
She stopped, looking down at herself. Red couldn't help but to run her hands over her arms, sighing as she returned to her humanoid form. "Do you see, Cee?" She asked, her eyes locked on the ground. "Just by being together for those three months... I've already changed. Both of us have changed, myself and my weapon." She laughed ruefully, shaking her head. "Look, even now I still think of him as my weapon. He and I... it's too late for us."
Her red gaze drew itself up to look at the ancient ghost's. Her tone was pleading, hands spread out in supplicant. "Just by being together we've changed. This isn't just for me, Cee. It's for the both of us and Halloween. If another member of Halloween gets their hands on a Hunter weapon and bonds with them... No. No, I don't wish that fate on them. On either Halloween or weapon. It's too horrid. I... No, We seek an ending, Clockwork. For ourselves, for everyone. But..."
A small smile lit up her face as she lowered her hands. "You have shown me an ending, Clockwork. I thank you for it.
We thank you for it. Let's... Let's take it again from the top. Can you please help me -- us get into place?"
The ghost nodded, pointing his staff at her. The flamethrower materialized in her hands in a blaze of white light. She couldn't resist tightening her hands on it, to hold it close as they communicated quickly. Red took a deep breath, steadying herself. On paper and according to her official papers she was merely a werewolf who possessed superior shapeshifting abilities. In reality she was far, far more than that even before she bonded with her weapon.
This was why she was chosen, why she was asked to slip away from both students and fellow teachers to infiltrate the Hunter's island. She closed her eyes, waiting as her features shifted and changed once again. This wasn't shapeshifting; this was something far more. Her features changed, red hair lengthening and changing from red to brown before sweeping itself up into a ponytail. Her red cloak wrapped around her, the color draining from it as it rearranged itself from cloak to coat. She was no longer Red; she now stood before Clockwork as Aria.
The huntress raised a hand to her chest and concentrated, pulling it away and opening her hand to stare at it. One last look, one last chance to see them. They weren't much: her own pin. Arel's pin. Cricket's pin. A small smile twitched at Red's lips as she closed her hand around her pins, looking up to Clockwork again. "If there is one thing I will ever regret," she said softly, "it's that I never got to tell them all good-bye. Arel, Cricket -- even Blue. All of them. But," she took a deep breath, straightening up as the pins dissipated, fading into her Fear. "Now I think I am ready. Thank you, Cee, for everything. From both of us."
The false Huntress raised her Flamethrower in a salute, disappearing in a circle of light as Clockwork moved her from where she stood next to her own skull. When she reappeared next, it would be upon a ledge on the cliff wall hidden from both Halloween and Hunters. There she would sit with her flamethrower across her lap, the two of them watching and waiting for their opportune moment to strike.
Finally it was time. Red-that-was-Aria stood up and straightened her shoulders, taking a deep breath. She emerged from the shadows of the cliffs,
calling out as she retraced her steps, fully aware of the ending that both she and weapon would face. 
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