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 Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:20 am
Takes place after: From the Ashes
He hadn’t been prepared for what they found at the Celestial Theatre. His heart had dropped into his stomach upon receiving the note from Ephesus. The bloody fingerprints and urgently written words already hinted at what to expect, and yet it was so much worse when they’d arrived.
Blood on marble. The air was heavy with emotions. They might have been almost adults, but they were still children. All of them. Although from their injuries -- and their survival -- they’d all fought like soldiers.
Once upon a time, he’d been seventeen and training to fight in a war that he didn’t truly understand, only that he felt it was his obligation. He never wanted his own son, or son-adjacent, or cousin, or any of them to have to face those horrors, no matter what war they were fighting.
Now, the cavern enveloped them with soft steam and the sound of falling water, warm and forgiving. The magic in the springs did what it always did, and washed away the red through torn fabric, soothing injuries, mending what could be mended. But there were things no springs could fix.
Sessrumnir exhaled through his nose, trying to get the weight to lift, but it was more difficult than he’d like. He glanced towards the smaller pools, where Yvoire and Reims had gone, where Rose and Lyon and Cynthus had taken space to just breathe and rest. He didn’t try to pry. They deserved a moment of respite.
But in the waist deep waters of the main pool, Ephesus sat curled against Alastor, his small frame trembling as he buried his face against his father’s chest and the blood was gently washed from his hair. Alastor had said little since they’d arrived, but Sessrumnir didn’t need to ask what he was thinking to see the storm of emotions in his husband’s eyes.
He crouched by the edge of the water, resting a hand on the damp tile, feeling the warmth beneath his hand, soothing him only slightly. He looked at Amarynthos, never more than an arm’s length away from Ephesus, and how there had been an injury that left his clothes stained with red, but had since been healed. At least from what could be seen, superficially.
“When you’re ready… I’d like to understand what happened,” he said gently.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:21 am
Amarynthos had a somewhat far-off look in his eye, though wherever his thoughts had wandered, they returned as soon as Sessrumnir spoke. “Hm? Oh. Yeah, I’m sort of trying to figure that out, too.”
He matched Sessrumnir’s tone, clearly with Ephesus in mind. Before he spoke again, he gave him a lingering look.
Ephesus was safe in Alastor’s arms. He was held gently, protectively. Alastor had learned to perfect moving with strength and tenderness. Amarynthos watched like it was something he might be able to learn through observation.
Across the room, Lucien was making his rounds. It was easier to watch him putter around the room while avoiding the water than it was to look Sessrumnir in the eye.
“One of our friends–you know Cassidy–found all these weird rumors online. He likes all those conspiracy theories. He’s really into local legends and stuff. Except some of them started to sound kind of weird so we decided to go look into it. I mean, I guess I was thinking we’d go out, it’d be a bust. We were over in No Point. It just seemed like–you know, weird, a little creepy.”
Amarynthos could have given the whole story but so much of it didn’t seem like it was worth the effort. Sessrumnir cared more about what happened–in the basement.
He drew in a long, steadying breath. “We tracked some weird stuff to the basement of one of the buildings there. Oh–here,” he said, pulling out his camera from subspace. There wasn’t anything on it that he was embarrassed for Sessrumnir to see, so he passed it over. Amarynthos had managed to take an array of pictures, shortly after they’d defeated the youma, and just before–
“There were all these weird plants growing down there. There’s pictures of them. And a bunch of youma. Like a nest or something, I don’t know. A bunch of dogs. A big one, with six legs. I guess we let our guard down, we’d only just finished getting rid of all of them when this guy showed up. I think he was a General. He was just–”
Amarynthos exhaled, slouching a little. His exhale was heavy, weighted.
Guilty.
“He was really fast. And he came in like he knew what he was doing. And it was like–bam-bam-bam. He hit me before I even felt his energy signature. I think. It’s a little foggy–but it was fast. We didn’t even have enough time to use our magic on him until he’d managed to get a hit on all of us. And he–”
Amraynthos glanced at Yvoire, and Reims. “He wasn’t taking it easy. He didn’t say anything. I don’t know who he was. We got a few hits in and he left. I wasn’t that close, I couldn’t see what happened, but–Effie was right there. And Dering, and Cynthus, and Lyon. They might have seen more. But then, he just left. So we did, too. We used some of the items–the pearl, and the bone? Yvoire needed them.”
An afterthought, he said, “Oh,” and looked down at the red staining his uniform. He placed one hand on his stomach–still healed–and added, “I needed the bone, too. But I’m fine now. Just–sort of still replaying everything. Trying to figure out what we should have done differently. It was a lot all at once, sorry. I think–I think--everyone is okay.”
Physically, at least.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:21 am
He’d stayed quiet through the exchange. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak… he just didn’t trust his voice not to break.
Amarynthos’s words came in and out through the fog in his head. There were pieces that didn’t always make sense, but he caught the important ones. The General, the youma, the way it happened so fast. He remembered the smell and the sound, and then… darkness.
His fingers curled against the fabric of Alastor’s shirt. He could feel his dad’s heartbeat. Solid and steady. There. He breathed with it for a moment before slowly lifting his head, his eyes red and wet.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like that,” he whispered. His voice was small, hoarse from crying, and the steam seemed to make it tremble even more. “We weren’t--... we weren’t looking for a fight. We just… wanted to explore. Maybe get some stories to tell. Something fun.”
He sniffled, rubbing the back of his hand against his eyes.
“But then everything got bad so fast, and we--”
He hesitated, as if saying it made it real again.
“We tried to get everyone out. We did our best. Cynthus and I tried to heal who we could, and Yvoire--...” he paused and swallowed down the emotions that bubbled up in his throat. “I’m sorry everyone got hurt. I should’ve known better. We should have been more careful…”
He tried to push the thoughts away before they settled too deep. He lifted a hand slightly from Alastor’s arm, reaching toward Amarynthos.
“I’m okay,” he said, softer. “I hit my head, but Cynthus used her magic on me. It still hurts a little, but I’m fine now. You don’t have to worry,” he said, the last words cracking a little. Not from pain, but from wanting it to be true.
Sessrumnir exchanged a long look with Alastor. They didn’t need words, not for this. He saw the fury mirrored back at him in the tightness of Alastor’s jaw, the tension in his shoulders. Whoever had done this had known exactly what they were doing. And they’d done it to children.
He forced his expression to stay even. The teens didn’t need to see anger. They’d seen enough of it that night.
Sessrumnir shifted closer to the edge, resting his elbows on his knees as he turned his sights to the camera Amarynthos had passed him. The photos flickered across the small screen. Plants, the twisted vines, the strange pods. His frown deepened.
“Dark place,” he murmured. “Too dark for anyone just wandering through.” He swiped to the next photo, where something non-organic caught his eye. A desk, organized and untouched.
Whatever had been set up in that basement was purposeful, and he suspected the teenagers realized that as well. He turned the camera slightly toward Alastor, letting him take a quick look at the images as well, carefully swiping through for him.
He glanced toward Ephesus, his expression softening even as the fury pulsed in his veins.
“You did everything you could,” he said, firmly enough that there was no room for argument. “All of you did. That’s the only reason any of you are still here. You didn’t fail. And we’re both incredibly proud of all of you.” There was no doubt in his mind that Alastor felt differently than he did.
He let the words settle, but then continued, quieter. “But whoever did this knew what they were walking into. If they moved so quickly that you couldn’t even fight back right away, then it sounds like they studied that place. Studied you.”
He paused for a long moment, clearly deep in thought. So deep that the tiles beneath his feet flickered with green sparks of light -- the Wonder responding to its Knight’s distress.
“Dev,” he said at last, lifting his eyes to meet his husband’s. “I think we need to contact Ganymede.” Possibly some others after they discussed further. He’d trusted Michel to help them before, and he’d trust him again, despite not being incredibly close to the man. “We should follow this lead sooner than later. But… after they all rest. I’m not going to make them leave this place until they get a chance to recover some more.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:22 am
Alastor examined the pictures quietly but his frown deepened at something he saw. He didn’t name it, didn’t want to draw attention to it right now. Later.
While they were making plans and figuring out who else to call in.
He ran his hand gently down Ephesus’ back again. “You have no need to apologize. You didn’t just ‘try’ to get everyone out, you did. You were all a very effective team. You went up against an enemy who had the advantage, while you were already weakened. How many youma?” he prompted.
Amarynthos had just leaned over to take Ephesus’ hand. He squeezed it gently and scooted a little closer. “I don’t know. More than fifteen? But less than thirty. It was really hard to see, and they looked so similar. But it was a lot more than I’m used to seeing. We’re really lucky there were so many of us.”
Alastor nodded approvingly, somehow managing to juggle an unyielding fury with an unshakable tenderness. “Fifteen at least is impressive. Don’t beat yourself up, Effie.” He knew he would. He knew, if left to his own devices, Ephesus would just criticize himself until there was nothing left to pick apart. “To me, it looks like you did everything right. You got all of your friends out. Everyone’s alive, everyone’s healing. Whatever you found down there sounds dangerous. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
He nodded to Sessrumnir, as if to say that he was done looking at the pictures for the time being. “I’d like to let Lucien get those saved for us so we can look into them. Will that work for you?” Alastor asked, to which Amarynthos nodded tiredly.
Nodding, Alastor leaned back just slightly, still holding Ephesus gently to his chest. The water wasn’t changing color anymore, and hadn’t for a moment, but he was keeping an eye on things to make sure Ephesus didn’t start bleeding again.
“You were all very brave,” Alastor continued. “Good job, thinking on your feet. And looking after each other. You made it out and now you have the chance to rest and regroup. Sessrumnir and I will do what we can to ask around and see about getting some other hands involved. It was very lucky that you decided to investigate. I’m sorry you all got hurt. But that’s not your fault. And if there’s a silver lining, it’s that we’re not going to let it happen again. Whatever is going on down there, we’ll stop it. So,” he kissed atop his son’s head. “Thank you all for looking into it. It sounds like you did everything right, from start to finish. Sometimes it’s just a bumpy road. But I’m very, very proud of all of you. Especially you two.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:22 am
Ephesus’s fingers curled tighter around Amarynthos’s hand. He didn’t mean to look as scared as he did, but the memory was there, even if he didn’t want to think about it. How quickly everyone fell. The sword, the sound it made as it cut through his friends. The screams and shouts of pain. How the man had moved like he wasn’t even human.
“He was… really strong,” he said quietly, his voice barely above the sound of the water. “And fast. Faster than I thought anyone could be.” He paused, his brow furrowing just slightly as if trying to sort through the static in his head. “He had a sword… It was dark, and there was--” His words faltered; he couldn’t remember the rest. Just the sickening crack of his own head against the wall. And then just pain and darkness.
He drew in a shaky breath and leaned more heavily against Alastor. His eyelids fluttered for a moment, the heat and soothing feeling of Alastor’s hand on his back lulling him towards sleep.
“What if you go and he’s still there? What if it’s a trap?”
He tightened his grip on Alastor’s shirt, looking up at him, then at Sessrumnir with fearful and earnest wide eyes. “He could’ve killed us. Maybe he thought he did.”
The thought came out before he could stop it, and he instantly wished he hadn’t said it.
Sessrumnir’s heart twisted. Ephesus’s voice was so soft it nearly vanished beneath the sound of the water around them, but every word was a weight he felt obligated to carry. He exchanged another look with Alastor, quiet understanding passing between them before he forced his tone to be steady and reassuring.
“Hey,” he said quietly as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You don’t have to worry about us. We’ll be careful. We won’t walk into anything without knowing what’s waiting first. Promise.”
He reached over to give Ephesus’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. Something brief but grounding, but mindful not to disturb the comfort he already had in Alastor’s arms.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Lucien’s unmistakable feline silhouette pacing near the rocks. The Mauvian looked miserable, tail flicking with visible disdain for the damp, although he still managed to radiate dignity and grace, even as he shook a paw with distress and began an indignant round of grooming. The sight almost-- almost-- made Sessrumnir smile.
“Lucien will make sure the images are safe,” he said, picking up from Alastor’s earlier comment. “And if there’s anything else buried in that data, he’ll find it. And I’m sure he’ll call in plenty of help on his own.” Lucien seemed to value Soleiyu and Lucasta’s opinions on things, although Sessrumnir wouldn’t be surprised if there were more Mauvians about that Lucien socialized with.
He straightened a little, his tone still calm and careful, wanting to convince them of confidence rather than bravado. “We’ll reach out to Ganymede, a few others we trust. If we go back, it’ll be with a team. Properly prepared. No one’s going into that alone.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:22 am
Amarynthos watched Sessrumnir, and looked at him like he was trying to figure out if he wanted to say something, too. In the end, he just kept quiet, and gently stroked Ephesus’ hand as he watched the ripple of the water as it passed through the springs.
“If it is a trap, it’s not one we’ll fall for,” Alastor promised. “We’ve all been around for a while. We’ll go in prepared for the worst. He won’t surprise us.” There was no hubris there. Alastor was often more practical than not, even if he did have an incredible amount of self-confidence.
Alastor was equally quick to reassure, “We’ll have time to prepare. So if there’s anything more you, or your friends, remember–or think would help us–you’ll have time to think about it and let us know. Your Papa and I have been doing this for a long time. You’ve given us a lot of information to work with. If we go in, we go in prepared. He won’t be expecting that from us. It’s okay to worry,” he said, because he knew Ephesus would. It wasn’t like he could just turn it off, anyway. “But we’ll be safe. And I promise, if we feel like it’s more than we can handle, we’ll get everyone out of there. Is that okay? So we can make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else again?”
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:22 am
Ephesus let out a trembling breath, but he nodded slowly and his grip loosened a little from Alastor’s shirt, although he didn’t let go completely. He believed them, but he was so scared of what might happen that they had no control over. His dads had seen worse, of course. Fought worse. Lived through so many things that he could barely even imagine it. He’d seen it too, the way they moved during a fight, like there wasn’t a thing in the universe that could stop them. But still--
“I know you’ll be careful. I just…” he paused and swallowed, his throat tightening around the rest. “I just don’t want either of you getting hurt. Or anyone else.”
He took a moment to steady himself, looking up at Amarynthos with pleading apology in his eyes, and a gentle squeeze of his hand. He knew he was probably stressing them out with his worrying. He didn’t want them to think he didn’t trust them. He did! He was just so fearful of the unknown.
“We found a few things, before it happened,” he said after a moment, the memory suddenly crossing his thoughts. “I think Rose found something, too. And Dering… he found a handful of starseeds. I think that might be why he left… to make sure they were put somewhere safe.”
He hoped his friend was okay. It wasn’t the first time Dering had needed time alone after something traumatic, and Reims seemed comforted to know that Dering planned on going to his Wonder, so he would just have to trust that they’d be in touch if anything was needed.
“I found some kind of USB, too… I, um… won’t pull it out here,” he mumbled, not wanting them to think he was going to risk ruining something potentially important. “Maybe it’s something Lucien can look into, too.”
Sessrumnir nodded as Ephesus explained things, both proud and also wishing these teenagers didn’t have to experience everything they had. “Smart thinking to grab what you could. Yeah, Lucien can check it out once we’re done here.”
He leaned back slightly, taking a moment to glance across the way toward where the others were. It almost felt peaceful. Except for the undercurrent of fury that still bubbled in his chest, and would continue to do so until they had the results they wanted from any further investigations.
“We’ll talk to Rose and the others, too,” he said after a moment. “See what they found. You did the right thing, Effie. All of you did.”
He glanced toward Amarynthos, taking in the young man’s silence, and the way he held tight to Ephesus’s hand.
“Are you holding up okay?” he asked, his tone light but full of quiet concern. He didn’t push for an answer, but he would like to spend more time checking up on the teenager he already considered a son, if only because he’d known him for so long.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:23 am
“Hm?” Amarynthos asked, aware that Sessrumnir was talking to him. It just took his brain a second to catch up. “Yeah.” He shrugged. “I’m good. Just thinking.”
He stroked the back of Ephesus’ hand, equally grounding for the both of them.
Amarynthos leaned back, perhaps to give the illusion of being more relaxed than he felt. “I wish we’d been a little faster. I mean, I know we did our best while fighting. I know nothing we did wrong was our fault. But I just wish I’d known what to pay attention to going into it. I’m glad I got the pictures, but.”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know. If I’d known we were only going to have a minute to do anything, I’d have gone faster.”
Because ‘not going at all’ wasn’t really an option. Of course he’d have done things differently if they’d known they were going to be attacked by some General who just popped up out of nowhere, but something was going on down there, and it seemed like something bad.
“There were a lot of things I didn’t get to take a picture of. And there were things that I couldn’t have gotten a picture of. I mean, it was a weird, grody place, with this strange energy signature, and a lot of youma. We didn’t even know they were there until they just popped out. So, I thought that’d be it. We had no reason to think anyone else would show up. I mean, yeah, there was a desk, but–that place was covered in all these gross plants, and weird spores, and–I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense, I guess. The air was so hard to breathe in. It wasn’t an area you’d want to work in. You could have built that to have better ventilation, right? So why there? Although.”
Amarynthos paused. “The General who attacked us, he had a mask. I didn’t get to see much.” It was too dark, and he was too fast, and the fog had been so thick. “He left in a hurry. He came in so strong but he left as fast as he showed up. I don’t know, I’m just trying to figure out why someone would willingly have a work station down there when the whole place felt toxic.”
Even now, his nose and throat and lungs burned. He wanted to dunk his head in the springs and scrub his face again, but he didn’t want to lose his train of thought.
“We should have had more people by the desk. There was a computer there, we didn’t even see if we could get on it. It was too big to grab. I know Lyon tore out some of the drawers. I didn’t get to see what was inside of them, but–good call on the USB, Effie.” He hadn’t really known about the starseeds, or whatever else they might have found. It was just hard to imagine there being anything but rot. “There was a file cabinet, too. I don’t know if anyone got to go through that?”
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:23 am
Ephesus listened, his thumb tracing absently over the back of Amarynthos’s hand. He was still quiet, still trying to take in everything that was being said. The warmth of the water and Alastor’s arms and Amarynthos’s hand made it difficult not to doze.
“You couldn’t have known, Mary,” he said finally, his voice small and gentle. “None of us could have. You did everything right.”
He believed that, even if his voice faltered under the weight of what they almost lost. He could still imagine the hot blood pulsing under his hand as he tried to help keep Amarynthos together. Could still smell the metallic sharpness of it. His head throbbed and he closed his eyes.
But he understood how Amarynthos felt, and Ephesus wouldn’t allow him to carry any guilt on his own.
Sessrumnir hummed thoughtfully, rubbing at his jaw. “If the computer’s intact, we’ll try to take it with us. We’ll bring tools to get into the file cabinet too. We’ll bring a Mauvian or two with us when we go. They can mask our signatures, maybe even help us get into any systems that are still running. No sense announcing ourselves if we don’t have to.”
His gaze softened as he looked between the two boys. “And you’ve both done more than enough for one night. You don’t need to worry about what comes next. I know you’re still scared, Effie, but that’s okay. That just means you care about people. But for now just rest. We’ll take it from here.”
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:23 am
With a little sigh, Amarynthos just nodded.
He knew better than to blame himself, because that meant blaming everyone, in a way. But it wasn’t like that. He just wanted to do better next time. So this didn’t happen again.
It would have been easier if his mind would stop racing, but it wouldn’t, so all Amarynthos could do was try not to sigh again and hunch forward a little as he rested his elbows on his knees.
It was hard to have to wait, even if they had done enough for tonight.
Alastor stroked down Ephesus’ back again. He’d already smoothed out his hair, as much to clean the blood from it as it was to soothe him–and assess the injury. It didn’t seem like anything life threatening but he knew it wasn’t comfortable so he was still being careful.
“You can rest,” he said softly. “I’ve got you. Close your eyes for a little bit, you’re safe.”
Ephesus needed to give his body and his mind time to relax–to heal. He knew Ephesus was tired, just holding on to be there with them, probably.
But they weren’t going anywhere.
“If we make any plans, we’ll tell you about them. You won’t miss anything.”
Amarynthos glanced at Alastor, and Ephesus, and smiled, squeezing his hand. He wanted Ephesus to rest–he’d wanted it since he saw the way his eyes didn’t look quite right. And it wasn’t like they had to worry about him sleeping with a concussion–Alastor was right there. He’d be able to tell if something was wrong. And Sessrumnir would know what to do, like always.
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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2026 8:23 am
Ephesus let out a soft sound of acknowledgement, almost a hum, as if to agree with Alastor but too tired to find the words. His fingers stayed tangled with Amarynthos’s, his grip loosening only when he felt safe enough to let it.
He wanted to stay awake, to listen to their plans, to know that they weren’t going to do anything too reckless. But the warmth was heavy and safe. His eyelids fluttered just a couple times before they remained closed.
“I’m okay,” he whispered, although it came out more like a breath. His head tipped against Alastor’s chest, letting the rhythm of his heart soothe him. “Wake me up… if you need me, okay?”
But he didn’t stay awake long enough to hear an answer. The exhaustion caught him at last, pulling him under.
Sessrumnir watched as Ephesus’s breathing steadied, the tightness in his chest easing only a little. The boys looked so small like this. Too young to carry what they’d seen that night. The sight made something cold and furious stir deep in him, but he swallowed it down. For now.
He reached out to brush a bit of damp hair from Ephesus’s forehead, careful not to wake him. Then straightened again, looking over Amarynthos with a swell of pride in his chest. Although he was aware how close they had been to losing any of them.
They would find that General again. Whoever he was. And next time, they would make sure the man could never hurt anyone ever again.
But for now, he would stand back and keep an eye on the teenagers while they rested.
Fin!
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