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Full Circle (Razgriz x Candira)

She frowned as she listened to his rather serious apology and something of a request. Needless to say she was startled, but she was well aware of the state of the world, and judging from his stories, she figured he knew what he was talking about. "If it comes down to it, I'll do what you asked," she said, frowning. "But I'll keep it as a last resort. As awful as your temper is, we do like having you around. Try to lighten up a little though, kay? We'll be out of here soon enough, and there will be kids coming along. If for no other reason, do it for them."

"Anyway, I appreciate the apology. But don't worry about thanking me. I'm sure someday you'll have to talk me down too." She smiled and then sighed. "Let's get out of this depressing hole."
 
Exodus nodded at her suggestion; though given his history, it was a lot easier said than done. But he would try, for Yoko and the children. He had to; he knew there were those who had it worse, but he honestly felt it was pretty hard to beat knowing you were a human selected for genetic modification, only to be turned against your own species. But somehow, having her around brought him some comfort. Funny how much she reminded him of Harbinger; physical appearances aside, her speech, mannerisms and her skill with a rifle made her a dead ringer. It both saddened him and lightened him up at the same time, an aggravating yet oddly welcome coincidence.

"Yeah, let's; this place brings back unpleasant memories, ones I'd rather forget." he then said; when everyone was inside Gurren Lagann and the transporter - which Kamina had the foresight to tell Simon to secure directly to Lagann using drills - they quickly ascended out of the cult village and back into the blazing sunlight. The sky was clear of any clouds, letting the bright blueness of its color shine for all to see. Exodus then said to the children, a slight smile on his face, "Welcome to the surface, little ones. Does it match what your book described it?"
 
Yoko settled into the cockpit of Lagann with Kamina, resting in his lap for the time being. She sighed and stared out at the surface. "The surface is so barren, but it's still way better than that last village. You and Simon were great back there..."

Darri and Gimmi pressed against the glass in awe, giggling and gazing at the horizon in amazement. Darri looked right up at him and shook her head. "We don't know what's in the book. We can't read."
 
Kamina nodded, "You got that right; I didn't like that place. At least here it's not boring." He then listened to her compliment him and Simon, "Yeah, we kicked some ass back there; shame the villagers had to stop Exodus though. The guy looked like he was going to bust an artery, I'm surprised he didn't just knock those assholes aside. That's what I would have done." He then asked, "So, what did you and Exodus talk about that was so important?"

Exodus was a bit shocked at the revelation that they couldn't read; he knew they were orphans, but not teaching them to read? He glared at Rossiu and growled, "Excuse me, Mr. Caretaker, care to explain?" Rossiu held his hands up in defense, "We don't have much in the way of books; even our High Priest can't read." Now Exodus was more confused than angry, but still fairly angry; that bastard WAS leading his people on! He then let out a sigh, "Well, I guess it can't be helped then. Next time we find something, I can teach you some, but it probably won't be a whole lot." He then looked down at the kids and asked, "How does that sound, me teaching you to read?"
 
Yoko nodded in agreement. It seemed more like Exodus' style to just break loose and do whatever it took to get away. She wondered if it had been her influence. "I guess he didn't want to cause more trouble than we had already." Shrugging she leaned into him. "Oh, he just wanted to apologize to me for something else. It wasn't anything important," she lied, not wanting to tell Kamina about Exodus' request. That was something the two men should work out together.

Darri and Gimmi's eyes lit up with joy and excitement. "Really?! You mean it?" Gimmi asked.

Darri just smiled. "Please teach us! We wanna learn!"
 
"Hmm, don't see what he needed to apologize for; perfectly justifiable in my eyes, given what he said. Gotta wonder, though, what else isn't he telling us?" Kamina then mused; as much as he trusted Exodus to have his back, the fact that he still had secrets bothered him a little. But then again, he never told Exodus about his father; even if Exodus hadn't really asked about it, he still didn't pry about his personal life. He then flashed Yoko a smile and said, with his usual air of exuberant confidence, "But it's really none of my business, so let's find this rally point and show the Beastmen what Team Gurren's made of!"

Exodus nodded as Gimmi and Darri both asked him to teach them; it definitely warmed his hear to see kids so excited. "Of course I will; but we need to find something first. Unless you have anything to offer, Rossiu." Rossiu nodded and pulled the small bag he was carrying on his side into his lap and pulled out a small book. "These are the scriptures that our Priest wrote; I hope this will be satisfactory." Exodus nodded as he took the book and looked it over. Well, there were complete sentences, but what it pertained to eluded him; but it would serve its purpose for the time-being. "A for effort" he thought humorously as he said, "Alright, you two, ready for your first lesson?"
 
Yoko nodded. "He's a mysterious guy, but I imagine he has his reasons." As he got geared up again she smiled and gave a little cheer to help him feel accomplished. After today, she was ready to kick some more ass. In the mean time, she stayed close to him, resting in his lap and watching the horizon with him. "I'm glad we're on our way."

Gimmi and Darri nodded and happily jumped up and down holding onto Exodus' knees. They clearly looked up to him as someone strong and smart. He could do no wrong in their eyes. In a way, he was their hero. If Harbringer could see this, she'd be so proud...and she'd wish that she could be a part of it as well. For the time being the two little ones settled down so they could learn their lesson.

And two weeks passed in a similar fashion--camping together at night and riding along during the day to find the rendezvous point. Whenever Yoko interacted with the young ones, she added on to what Exodus had taught them and smiled, and she liked the way Exodus was around them. He seemed far more relaxed. If he was a father, she felt like he would be a good one.

She became closer to Kamina and Simon over the two weeks and they all seemed to grow together--they even made connections with Rossiu. Especially Simon.

They were wandering on their way to their destination when a thick mist over took the land...

"Well what in the world is this all about?" Yoko wondered.
 
(Lol, I think Gimmi and Darri probably won't want to be anywhere near him in a while XD)
Kamina enjoyed spending time with Yoko; it was awesome out here on the surface. Well, having to fight a war to save humanity kind of put a damper on things, but at least it was never boring. And time and time again, they'd proven that they could overcome any obstacle; well, most of them did anyway. Exodus obviously still had some skeletons in his closet, whether he knew they existed or not no one could say for certain.

His lessons of teaching the young ones how to read, however, proved to help him deal with everything; of course, it brought up unpleasant memories....most of them Harbinger dying, them finding out that natural childbirth was impossible between them. But he knew Harbinger would be proud of him for taking these youngsters under his care and giving them a skill that he thought was necessary. Exodus would look and see Yoko with them as well; that too, served to remind him of Harbinger, but it was more along how she would have been as a mother. Yoko clearly loved children, and he would often think to himself how great of a mother she would be.

The two weeks passed by without a hitch; this further negated the theory that this was a fortress-type Gunman, with Exodus pointing out that there would be sentries on wide search patrols if that were the case. But, while Kamina appreciated the reprieve, Exodus didn't find comfort in it; call him paranoid, but he hated it when things were quiet like this. Made him a bit edgy, even with his lessons.

The sudden mist that appeared didn't serve to calm him down either. He tensed up noticeably, thinking this was a Beastman cover strategy. However, he couldn't hear or smell anything and he didn't really sense any imminent danger, so he figured it was alright. Kamina, however, was a tad flustered. "Oi, where'd all this mist come from?" he asked right after Yoko did; he could hardly see in front. "Bro! Watch out! Stop!" Simon then called out; Kamina pulled the brakes on the Gurren Lagann and stopped just in front of an old man, dressed in shorts, a cape-like garment and goggles hanging arond his neck, standing in front of them.

"Hey, you down there! What are you doing? We almost flattened you!" The man didn't respond; Simon then spoke up, "Um.....Mister, can you hear us?" The old man nodded slowly; Simon then asked, "Do you happen to know a way out of this fog? We're kind of lost." The old man then raised his arm and pointed off in a direction; the fog seemed to get thicker. "What do you think, Yoko? Should we trust this guy?" Kamina then asked, wondering what they should do.
 
((Rossiu was the voice of reason through this entire episode. Pretty much everyone else was like, "Just do it."))


Yoko shrugged. "He looks human enough to me. Besides, he's an old man. What's the worst that can happen?" She watched the old man, wondering what he was up to, but she wasn't really concerned. What did concern her was the mist, and if that little fellow knew a way out, why not follow him? In the mean time, she just focused on staying on track.

They'd already started moving by the time Rossiu's concerns had been voiced. The rest of the original team Gurren seemed pretty care-free.
 
(Yes, I'm aware of that. Though there was an inconsistency I noticed: If the Beastmen were hunting humans on the surface, then the hot springs would been destroyed long ago, wouldn't it? If it was actually run by humans, that is.)
Kamina nodded; he was just initially surprised to see someone out here in the mist and told Yoko that very sentiment. But he would take all the help they can get; this fog was impenetrable. "Alright, lead the way, old man." he said as he lowered an arm; the elderly gentleman climbed on and up to Gurren Lagann's shoulder, continuing to point the way with nothing but a single finger on an outstretched, wrinkly arm.

As they were led through the fog, it didn't seem to be getting any thinner; in fact, it was becoming harder and harder to see by the second. "Hey, old geezer! You sure we're going the right way!?" The old man just kept his arm pointed out without answering him; Kamina could only grumble in frustration and mutter, "If we crash into something, that guy is dead meat."

Soon enough, however, the fog cleared; off in the distance, a large Imperial-style building could be seen. "Whoa, Yoko, look over there! What the hell is that place?" Kamina exclaimed; ironically the old man was pointing them right in the direction of it and within moments they were at the archway in front of a wooden bridge leading to the front entrance of the grand building. Everyone dismounted from Gurren Lagann; Kamina then spotted a sign at the front. This was a bathhouse, a very fine-looking bathhouse.

Rossiu and Exodus climbed out of the transport; Rossiu found this place odd. Why would there be a bathhouse out here? According to Exodus - whose tales he found fascinating and in some cases, extremely frightening; Exodus of course did not reveal to Rossiu what he was -these 'Beastmen' were running an indiscriminate extermination campaign against the humans; surely this would be a huge target? As Rossiu explained this to Exodus, he saw definite truth in it. He then replied to Rossiu, "It's definitely human owned; no Beastman guards came after us. They always guard their points of interest......heavily. Something's not right here." Rossiu then added, "Maybe we should leave the old man here and go; this whole place is suspicious and I don't like it."

Before their objections to staying could be noted, however, Kamina was already leading everyone else into the bathhouse, leaving Rossiu and Exodus behind and their words all but unheard. "God damn it all; come on Rossiu" Exodus grumbled and followed after his comrades, Rossiu close in tow. Little did they know of the very pleasant surprise that awaited them inside, one that would even catch Exodus off guard. As they neared the door, Exodus tensed his body, ready for a fight; he wondered what laid beyond this door.....it couldn't be a bathhouse; the Beastmen would have leveled this place long ago if that were the case. At least, that was his logic that derived from his own dealings.
 
"Huh...I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like that before." The building was enormous and the fog that surrounded them seemed to be pretty thick and strong around the building. "I wonder what he was doing out there before...did he get lost?" she wondered, staying in Kamina's lap until the old man showed them a sign to stop. Yoko came out of the cockpit first and waited until the others joined her before she walked toward the giant door, the old man leading in front.

Before they reached it though, it burst open, dozens of bunny girls pouring out of the building--busty, pretty girls in fishnets, corsets and panties with fake bunny ears and a little cotton tail. Each of them pretty in their own way. They surrounded Exodus and Kamina, instantly attaching themselves and fawning over the gentlemen in the group--except for Ron, who just shook his head and hung out by Yoko. Yoko was momentarily stunned, and then instantly annoyed. Really?
 
Kamina and Simon both graciously accepted the embrace of their newfound admirers, letting the beautiful women smother them with attention and busty chests; Exodus on the other hand was not as comfortable. Not due to suspicion of anything Beastman-related, but because none of them were Harbinger; she was his one and only, even in death. No other woman would EVER get his permission to be like this with him. "Don't touch me!" Exodus barked, his tone one of elevated aggravation, as several girls tried to be all over him; just inside the door, an elderly woman wearing a kimono of very fine silk and a sedge hat, her left hand waving a decorative fan, came outside. "Oh, no need to be hostile, dear; you're safe here. Let us treat the heroes of Team Gurren......."

The woman then paused and said, closing and pointing her fan at Exodus, "Wait......I know you! You're the leader of the Trio! Oh what a splendid visit! Heroes of two groups of freedom fighters for humanity! Come! Come! We have plenty of food and drink to celebrate your victories against the horrible Beastmen! Girls, remember to give them the 'Hero' treatment!" She then turned and walked back inside to wait for them to follow. Exodus paused momentarily; Kamina just smiled and said with a laugh, "Ah, come on, Exodus, don't be such a stick in the mud! This woman knows you! You've got plenty of girls to take the pain of battle away! Now just let it go and cut back for a change, you've been doing too much! Come on, ladies!" He then wrapped his lean, muscular arms around the shoulders of two particularly attractive women and walked in with Simon, who currently had his face smothered between two sets of breasts as his bro led him inside. Exodus just sighed and thought to himself, "You still don't get it, do you, Kamina? Count yourself lucky."
 
Yoko blinked, watching the older woman as she came out and began flattering the group. She was still annoyed with the entire situation, her arms crossed as she stood back with Ron. "Ugh. Idiots," she muttered, watching as Kamina and Simon went in with their gaggle of girls. She was all for being rewarded, but there was a line. At least Exodus seemed to have some kind of principles. He at least had the grace to not look like he was enjoying himself. Though the women had backed off of Exodus a bit, they all hovered around him.

Yoko simply rolled her eyes and walked through the door, for once being the person with the worst mood in the group. Why she was so annoyed, she couldn't quite put a finger on, but there were a couple of reasons, swirling around in that pretty head of hers. She walked into the building, following the others.
 
As soon as they walked into the building, they were greeted with a grand buffet. Kamina and Simon's eyes were bulging at the incredulous amount of food before them; the woman stood at the other end of the table, her slender arms held out wide as she proclaimed, "Come, feast to your heart's content! You all must be so hungry after fighting so hard for humanity!" Kamina and Simon wasted no time in digging in; Ron, being the ever respectful one, merely bowed and said, "Thank you" before sitting and politely beginning to eat - neatly, of course. Rossiu sat down as well; he was surprised to see how many plates Simon and Kamina had stacked up already from eating. He took a sniff of a dish; something in his gut told him this wasn't right, and he didn't feel like getting poisoned or something. "Well, the food seems alright."

Exodus was beginning to tense again; despite having backed off, the scantily-clad women were still hovering near him. His massive form lumbered in, his eyes possessing a look of being haunted by the worst kind of ghosts. Why was he getting so worked up? Of course, the answer he knew was obvious; he was betraying Harbinger by just being here. At least in his mind he was; it made him sick to his stomach. Sick with himself; the wide assortment of food barely even registered with him. It was like he was merely a robot now, sitting because he felt he had to. When the bunny girls started trying to get too close, he snapped at them, "Didn't I just tell you to fuck off!?"

The woman was becoming slightly agitated at Exodus' behavior; these were her workers and while they served to please others, they were not to be disrespected. But she wouldn't try to provoke him; she knew just how powerful and tempermental Exodus was when he was cornered. "Girls, you may take your leave" she said; the woman then knelt behind Exodus and said, "Now, dear, this is a place of relaxation; even the greatest of warriors needs time to relax. And yet here you are, looking about as wound up as a children's toy. Whatever is bothering you, please don't get mad at the girls; they just want to help you be calm. Help them help you, for their sake; it's what they enjoy." Exodus just sighed; it was true that he was being harsh, but he wasn't exactly the kind to open up to strangers just because they had a pretty face or were kind to him. "I apologize; things have been a bit rough for me." he then said to the women and any of the bunny girls he shouted at, obviously downplaying the severity of his particular situation. The woman smiled and nodded, "War is a terrible thing, dear; and just look at what it did to you! All those horrible scars on such a perfect form of masculinity!"

Exodus just nodded and replied calmly, "I appreciate the compliment, but these scars aren't the worst that happened to me. Like you said, war can be a terrible thing." "But when war is all you know, all you've ever known, you have little choice but to face the waves of enemies head on and hope the tides of battle carry you to victory." he then added as an afterthought, reflecting his true opinion of war from his own perspective. The woman's smile never faltered as she said next, "So, will you let us relax you? Someone of your repute deserves a rest." Exodus just nodded and replied, "Very well, if it will make things easier", clearly still not comfortable with having another woman touching him that wasn't Harbinger or Yoko.
 
Yoko pointedly ignored the attention her teammates were getting, still annoyed. Rather than pay attention to their idiotic displays, she proceeded to stuff her face. The only time she stopped was when Exodus lashed out again. She set her bowl down, ready to defend him only to see that he'd given in in the end. He still looked pretty uncomfortable though...She frowned and finished off her last plate before speaking. "I think we're all a little tense. We've been in close-quarters for quite awhile now. Maybe some time alone would be helpful. Or maybe a nice hot bath..."
 
Well, maybe they weren't all a little tense; Kamina and Simon seemed to be perfectly content with their new-found fortune. At Yoko's mention of a bath, Kamina's expression brightened considerably and became slightly perverted; he'd finally get to see Yoko in all her uncovered beauty! "Yeah, a bath sounds awesome! Where do we go?" The bathhouse owner put her fan over her mouth, hiding her smile as she chuckled, "Someone's excited. Very well; ladies, could you please escort these fine examples of humanity to the baths? I'm sure they'll find them most enjoyable."

However, she knew having Exodus with them would only present a problem; however, as she contemplated how to separate him from the group, Exodus then spoke up, the part of the table in front of him containing three empty bottles of sake and a partially empty one, "If you don't mind, I need to step outside for a minute." His voice seemed slurred; he was a bit drunk. He didn't know why he was drinking so heavily....he hardly ever did. Maybe it was because these women trying to get on him brought up Harbinger, triggering the tragic series of images leading to her demise right before him. He then stood up and somewhat staggeringly left the room, the part-empty bottle in hand. The woman smiled behind her fan for a moment - that worked out better than she'd hoped - then closed it to reveal a concerned expression, looking to Yoko and asking, "Is he always this uptight? I would have figured a full belly and beautiful women surrounding him were something all men needed at some point."
 
Actually, yes, Exodus was usually pretty uptight, but she could hardly blame him for that. After all he'd been through he deserved a medal for managing to be as relaxed as he was. Yoko frowned softly as she watched him leave, not liking the idea that he would be all by himself. The woman's question rubbed her the wrong way--it came across as insanely rude. And suddenly she was important now. Whatever.

"Apparently this is not that point for him. Just let him be. He'll come around on his own time..." With that, she decided to follow her own advice, hoping Exodus would be alright on his own. In the mean time, the hordes of bunny girls led everyone to the bath portion of the house. before long, Yoko was in nothing but a flimsy white bikini and a sarong, headed for the warm, waters.
 
Kamina was as happy as a clam; his thoughts were that it was a communal bath. He charged ahead of the group and dove straight for the waters. He then said, "Alright, let the good times ro....." but cut himself off when he saw a giant wall in the way, obstructing his view of Yoko and the girls. "What the hell is this?!" Kamina said loudly, peeved that they dared to rob him of the chance to see a woman in all her naked glory. "It looks like a wall, Bro. Makes sense that they would have separate baths; can't imagine Yoko being too happy if a man was looking at her naked. Though, I did want to see her naked too." Kamina huffed and said, "Well, no wall's gonna stop me! I'm Kamina, and I'll bust down any wall between me and my prize! Simon, help me find a hole to look through!" Simon nodded and said, "Right, Bro!" Gimmi didn't even pay attention; he was too busy enjoying the waters themselves to care about that.

Exodus meanwhile was sitting on the wooden bridge, drowning his freshly awakened sorrows in sake. He hated feeling miserable, but he couldn't help it; he didn't want anyone touching him, especially not two-cent whores who sweetened every man's ears with words of a silver-tongued devil. While some part of him did long for the caring embrace of a woman, he only wanted Harbinger to have that right, even if she was dead. Frustrated, he shouted, "God damn it!" and threw the sake bottle away from him, causing it to hit a rock and shatter into bits. He laid his head in his hands, tears wanting to wet his eyes but refusing to come out, making him dry heave his choked-up sobs. "Harbinger.....Harbinger.....I want you back.....please come back....." he said to himself, his teeth clenched as the agonizing pain of loss made itself known to him once more.
 
"Exodus...I'm never really away from you..." The voice was coming from behind him, but soon, Harbringer was right beside him--or at least the very drunken hallucination of her. "I'm here for you, lover." She smiled and looked at him. "Why are you so sad?"

Back in the bath area, Yoko chuckled, listening to what was happening on the other side of the wall. She wondered if they knew she could hear them and doubted it. She blushed at the effort they seemed to be putting into this. Darri was humming and floating around in her little area swimming and cleaning up. Yoko kept watch and played along a little, but for the most part, she kept to herself, just letting the warm water relax her. she took down her hair and then found a stone bench to sit on in the water before she slowly removed her little swimsuit to enjoy the bath more fully, and to actually clean up a little.
 
Exodus was initially very shocked to hear a familiar voice; when he turned, he saw no one, but when he looked to his side, there she was. His beloved Harbinger, or at least that's what he perceived. "No....no....can it...." he said as he reached out a hand to caress her face; sure enough, he felt it as if it were real. "Harbinger.....how.....I saw you......" he said, trying to wrap his mind around what he was seeing. He was so drunk he forgot he was drunk, and thus perceived the illusion as being very real indeed. "Why am I sad?" Exodus then responded, his bottom lip quivering as he wiped away non-existent tears before continuing, "I miss you so much. So much that it hurts......Harbinger, my beloved.....I'm sorry.....I'm sorry I couldn't protect you!" He then wrapped around his arms around his 'lover', saying "Harbinger, forgive me!" Of course, what he was saying was self-contradictory; he felt she was real and yet acknowledging that she was gone. Perhaps he thought it was her spirit or something, but only because his inebriated mind was warping his perception of reality.

After what seemed like an eternity of scanning every inch of the wall, Kamina and Simon were getting nowhere. They were still completely oblivious to the fact that Yoko could hear them quite well. "Bro, I can't find a hole anywhere!" Simon said, to which Kamina replied, "Keep looking! A real man never gives up!" He then turned to Gimmi, "Hey Gimmi, help us find a hole!" Gimmi paused and said, "Hole?" but didn't get a response. But, oh did he find a hole - just not one that the two potential peepers wanted him to find. A finger found its way up Simon's butt, Gimmi saying in a delighted tone "Hole!"; Simon went for a little trip into the sky, clutching his backside in pain. His launch actually let him look over the wall, seeing Yoko starting to take off her swimsuit before he began his descent and eventually crash into the water.

Kamina went over to Simon, who was a bit dazed from the impact, and shook him, "Simon! Simon! Did you see anything?" Simon then said, a slightly perverted grin on his face, "I saw her cleavage, Bro" Kamina took his chance and leaned against the wall, saying, "Come on, Gimmi! Poke me in the ass!" Gimmi, however, was already back to swimming happily, blowing spurts of water from his mouth to create little arcs in the air. Kamina started looking around, "There's gotta be a way over, there just has to."
 
Harbringer's eyes widened as Exodus poured his heart out, the sadness he felt almost too much to bear. She put her arms around him and leaned into him as he hugged her. She patted and rubbed his back as he let it all out.

"Oh, Exodus...It's not your fault. You protected me from the moment you met me--even if it got us into trouble." She pulled away from him and looked straight into his eyes. She smiled softly and kissed his lips softly. "No, baby. What happened wasn't your fault. You couldn't have stopped me. I did what I did for you. So you could keep on living. Just like Sovereign did for the both of us." She smiled softly and shook her head. "None of what happened to me is your fault, my love. But if it makes you feel better, I forgive you. For anything and everything."
 
Exodus let out whimpering sobs, feeling Harbinger's comforting embrace and hearing her kind words; that was so like her. He pulled back from her, still keeping his arms wrapped loosely around her perfect form, "Even if you say that......I made a vow to protect us, to keep us safe from harm. And I failed. I failed miserably; you saw what happened to me when Sovereign died. And when I watched Adaine kill you, it felt like Adiane ripped out a piece of my soul." He didn't blame Harbinger for what he did; rather he blamed himself for having to force her to sacrifice herself to save him. He then said, "Just know Harbinger, I've not touched another woman. You were the only one I would allow to be initmate with." He then sniffed again and added, "I wouldn't dishonor you like that. Ever...."

It was clear that Exodus was becoming a tad unstable; he hot springs owner heard the commotion outside and went to investigate. There she saw Exodus, standing there with his arms wrapped around nothing, his words reaching no ears. She smirked and shook her head, saying in a low tone, "What a sad, sad fool; almost a shame I have to turn over to Genome." She felt, however, that he would be dangerous like this; his sadness would easily trigger his rage. "Mimi! Sayu! Could you come here please?" she called out to two of her girls, intending to use them to relax Exodus and make him unprepared.
 
Harbringer chuckled and kissed him softly. "Exodus, you didn't fail us. We knew what we were getting into. We followed you because, in our own ways, we loved you. I don't want to see you keep punishing yourself, lover. I want you to be happy and go on living. If you're not ready for another woman, then don't take her. But don't let me be the reason you shut people out." She smiled and put her hand on his face. "Don't push people away, Exodus. If there's anything you need to learn, it's that no one can be alone forever."
 
Exodus shook his head, "I don't I can ever get close again; I hate the pain of loss. It cuts deeper than any blade or bullet could ever hope to achieve. Harbinger, when you died..........." He trailed off as fresh tears somehow were produced, streaming down his cheeks. He embraced his lover ever closer, saying through his repressed, "I was only happy when you and Sovereign were around, and even happier when we became lovers. I won't be able to experience that again; and even if I did, what woman would want me?" It was clear Exodus didn't believe her, or rather, believe himself since this was a hallucination brought by misery and booze.
 
Harbringer snuggled into him as he clung to her and cried. She kissed his lips softly, hugging him. "I know it feels that way now, but someday you'll feel differently. I'm sure there's a woman out there who's willing to take you for everything you are. I know I loved you," She said with a smile. "Someone else is bound to if you just let them. Maybe you'll even find someone like me." She smiled and held him to her, trying to give him comfort. "Loss is a horrible thing, baby. We know it more than anyone else...but your problem is that you let it make you forget what gain is like. Just try to open up. Little by little."
 
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