#fireteam

The Thralls seem to swell at the sound, hissing softly to each other. They scuttle off in another direction, away from Eris Morn.

Eris does not react to the scream beyond gripping the rough stone she is pressed against even more tightly. Omar's light is being flayed from him along with his flesh: slowly.

Eris does not know how long it has been that he has been intermittently screaming. But she knows it has been days.

And with a guilt that feels like a pit in her chest blacker than the one at her feet, she is aware that his screams have drawn them off of her several times now.

He was so afraid to come with them. He was convinced he would die. This is so much worse.

Eris is trying to retrace their steps back, to find the way out. She has come to the Abyss several times now. The weight of it makes traversing it near impossible, especially without the Chalices of Light that Toland had instructed they to use. Eris does not trust them now and even if she could find one, they attract too much attention. For five to hold off the hordes, after they lost Vell, was almost too much. On her own she must find another way.

Eris moves cautiously along what she thinks is a path. She no longer assumes it is the path they followed. She cannot stay here. She needs to get out before she is crushed by the pervading weight of the Abyss.

There is a sound of air. A sense of a heavy object approaching.

Shit.

Eris flings herself to the side.

The spikes from the massive pendulum only graze her. They tear long gouges across her back.

Eris grunts in pain and lies still a moment, face down, the chill of the Darkness seeping into her through her new wounds. She feels it pressing, like fingers, into the new injury. Twisting.

So cold.

So heavy.

She almost loses consciousness from the weight and the exhaustion and the pain but if she lies here much longer, she will be crushed.

Omar screams again. Eris retches, her stomach long empty. Dirt grinds into her mouth and nose. She must get up. She cannot lie down and die. She cannot.

Eris rolls on to her side and pulls her knees up, rolling on to them so she can stagger to her feet. She cannot linger.

There is a door in the cliff face to her right, dimly outlined in Soulfire.

She does not remember it. She does not think it is the way back. But perhaps it will provide some respite from the crushing weight of the Abyss.

She stumbles toward it and looses her balance, her left foot landing on air. No!

Another pit.

Eris' arms fly out and she tries to shift her weight to the side. Her knife digs deep between the cobbled stones and holds.

And then she is dangling, clutching her knife with both hands as her feet try to find purchase on the slick walls of the pit.

It will not end like this. She will not allow it.

Eris shifts her hips from side to side, swinging her legs. One heel hooks on the crumbling lip of the hole. She grinds her foot into any traction she can find, pulling herself up. Her knife almost comes loose before she succeeds but she makes it.

More careful now, Eris inches around the circular lip of the pit, approaching the Soulfire door from the side. The runes are different from the others. She does not know them.

Toland's journal would enable her to unlock the secret with his notes on the different vile sigils, but she cannot risk the attention that illuminating the pages would bring.

Eris tries one combination and then another. The runes remain lit with Soulfire when correct. All extinguish when the guess is wrong.

She is becoming dizzy from the pressure on her lungs as she tries different combinations, her body becoming more and more brittle with the weight of the Darkness. She is so cold. Her field of vision is shrinking.

She has learned two of the symbols correctly but the third… There.

The door slides open and Eris stumbles through into a hallway that seems bright in comparison to the Abyss behind her. As she steps through the threshold the weight lifts slightly and Eris falls forward into a heap, dragging herself into an alcove.

The door slides closed behind her.

Omar screams again. Fainter now through the door.

Eris the last. Eris the lost. Eris is all that remains.

Softly as the weight of the Darkness lessens and her lungs are able to properly fill themselves again Eris begins to sob. She has lost much blood. Her lungs can now expand enough to be able to cough.

A low laugh slithers through the hall at the sound. She is not alone.

Her brief indulgence of sorrow has betrayed her as surely as Toland betrayed them all.

Eris readies herself, one of Sai's knives in one hand, Eriana's hand cannon in the other.

She will wait until it approaches closer and strike.

Yet, shivering, blood steadily seeping from so many wounds, nothing approaches.

Somehow Eris is even more cold, so cold, she is shivering. It is, something in the back of her head tells her, most likely shock from blood loss. She unused to it. Unused to being injured for so long. Unused to the loneliness of being without her Ghost.

But no, it is not only that. The song begins pricking at the edges of her awareness, rhythmic, whispering.

"Eir… Ur… Xol… Yul…"

No. Not here! Not now! She is too weak. Eris' throat aches as she tries to swallow.

It does not need to show itself. It can simply sing and the sound will find her.

No.

"Eir… Ur… Xol… Yul…"

Eris darts out from her corner, snarling. She must find it and silence it or she will die. She must kill the Deathsinger before it can complete its song.

Eris searches. It must be near. It knows she is here.

But it also knows that if Eris does not find it in time, all it need do is sing.

"Eir… Ur… Xol… Yul…"

"No! Sai…Omar…Vell…Eriana!"

Eris tries to drown it out so she can think, she needs to find it.

"Eir…"

"SAI!"

"Ur…"

"OMAR!"

"Xol…"

"VELL!"

"Yul…"

"ERIANA!"

Eris screams out their names, clinging to them, demanding her mind overlay them on top of the Deathsong. She will NOT let it in.

She is warmer now. But the Deathsong… the Deathsong is here… and she cannot find the singer…

And another voice has joined… singing a different song… Eris does not understand what is going on… but it is a human voice. How? Her fireteam is dead and dying. Who is singing counter to the Deathsong with her?

"Eir… Ur… Xol… Yul…"

"Sai…Omar…Vell…Eriana!"

"…only thing a gambler needs…"

"Eir… Ur… Xol… Yul…"

"Sai…Omar…Vell…Eriana!"

"…suitcase and a trunk…"

Eris is going mad but it is a madness she embraces because anything that is not the Deathsong is strength for her in this moment. She does not know the song. She runs through the corridor, searching for the Deathsinger to kill it or the singer of the third song, because any human voice in the Hellmouth is something counter to the Hive.

"Eir… Ur… Xol… Yul…"

"No!" Eris croaks, her throat ragged. "Sai…Omar…Vell…Eriana!"

"…And the only time he'll be satisfied… Is when he's all a drunk."

A hand is rubbing her back in circles.

Eris turns sharply and there is a splashing sound. She is on her knees. Her legs tangled in something. No. Someone. The liquid is very warm. Is she in a pool of her own blood?

"Oh, mother, tell your children… not to do what I have done…"

The voice is low and rumbling. She feels it in the liquid. She feels the vibrations against her cheek. The hand is rubbing circles in her back and… and…

"Omar?" Eris calls out to the only other living human in the Hellmouth. "Omar is that you?"

"I'm sorry, darlin'. He's dead. But you're ok now. You're safe."

What is… what is going on?

Eris can't see. No. She can see. But she is also blind. Her sight is wrong. It's wrong.

"Eriana!" Eris cries out.

"Easy now," the rumbling voice says. The hands being gentle with her are soothing. Eris does not understand. "I gotcha. I gotcha. Eriana's gone, but I'm here, lover. You're safe."

"Gone," Eris sobs. "Eriana's gone. I watched her die."

"I know. I'm sorry but I'm here." The warm liquid splashes as Eris thrashes, unable to see properly. The sound of the water is different. Why is there water? Is it water?

"They're all gone," Eris whispers, still trying to understand what is physically going on. Still struggling to see with human eyes that do not respond. Still overwhelmed with sight that is alien and strange. "They're all dead!"

"They are, but I'm here," the voice says.

Is the Deathsinger gone? Its song has faded.

"I loved them," Eris croaks. "I loved them and they're gone. They're all gone."

"Easy now, I gotcha."

Eris has three eyes. She blinks them in the darkness. They glow with the malachite of the Hive. Her alien vision serves her even though her human vision is no more.

"I gotcha." He repeats. She both feels it and hears it.

"Drifter?" She asks, still blinking. Still straddling two worlds. One foot in the Hellmouth. The other foot in the now.

"Hey, Moonlight." Controlled. Gentle. "You back?"

Omar screams again but it is faint. Eris flinches and more water splashes.

"What is happening?" Lit candles come into focus. The surface of the water glints in the light of her three glowing eyes.

"We're ok. You're safe." Drifter's voice is an anchor. She realizes it is his body she is entangled with. His hand that is making circles on her back.

"I am… disoriented," Eris says. The Hellmouth is fading, fading. "Where are we?" she asks him.

"We're in your flat."

"My flat?"

"You were asleep and having a bad time."

"What is this?" Eris pushes hard against the hard slippery sides of what is containing them. Water sloshes.

"We're in your bathtub."

"My bathtub," she whispers. "Why?" she asks him. "Why are we in… my bathtub?"

"You were real out of it and yellin' and kept sayin how cold you were. Talkin' wasn't gettin through so I figured maybe a temperature change might help. This was the best I could think of."

"In our… clothes?"

"It's just sleep clothes. We got more. They're just wet. It's fine."

Still dizzy and confused, Eris sits up from him and looks around. Several candles have been knocked over. A shelf with books and towels has been toppled. The floor glistens.

"There is water everywhere," she says, trying to make sense of the situation.

"We splashed a bit. I'll clean it up, don't worry. It's just water." His voice is so gentle, filled with worry. "Want me to clean it up now?" He leans forward to stand up.

"No!" Eris cannot keep the panic from her voice at the thought of being separated from him right now. "Stay. Do not go. I cannot lose you again."

Drifter looks at her and reaches out a hand under the water, rubbing her arm. "I'm right here," he says. "I'm not goin' nowhere. You ain't lost me."

Eris looks at him, trembling. Her wet tshirt clinging to her. Her paracausal tears dripping slowly into the bathwater. She hears a distant hiss and flinches, scanning the bathroom for Hive.

"It's fine," the Drifter continues. "We're fine. I'm alive. You're alive. We're good. I know it was bad but you're not there no more. It's a nightmare. You're all right."

Eris blinks, clarity breaking through the fog in her mind, remembering previous nightmares, concern washing over her. Guilt.

"Did I hurt you?"

"No." His voice is assertive and firm. He keeps his hands rubbing her arms, soothing. He looks exhausted.

"I am grateful for that, at least. What has happened?"

"You were more out of it than you normally are. You weren't even tryin' to kill me - although if you had that'd be ok."

Eris shudders violently. "It would not be ok," she insists.

"But it didn't happen. We're fine. We're safe. Everything's ok right now."

"There is nowhere safe," Eris intones, her voice hollow.

The Drifter gives her a wry smile. "You sound more and more like me every day. Sometimes I worry I'm makin' it worse hangin' around you so much."

"No!" She grips his shoulders with both hands. "No you are not. Do not go."

He leans forward and pulls her close. "Not goin' nowhere. I'm right here."

Eris leans against him and rests her cheek on his shoulder. "I do not want to be alone right now," her voice trembles. "I have been alone for so long. Please do not leave."

"I ain't leavin'. I gotcha." He resumes rubbing circles in the wet cloth on her back as he talks. "We're a fireteam now, remember? We stick together. Watch each other's backs. Keep each other safe. We're not alone no more. Not you. Not me. We got each other now. As long as we got each other we'll be ok. That's how that works. Two peas in a pod, Moondust. I'm yours forever. Whether you fuck me or not… Whether you're pissed at me or not… Whether you're the one that needs help… Or me… Or both of us… Or neither." He kissed the top of her head before he continued. "More than lovers. More than friends. More than anything. I gotcha. I ain't what you lost, but I am what you have. And it' ain't much, but I'm yours."

Eris shudders in his arms and gripps him tightly as he continues, letting his words ground her to reality.

"You got a fireteam again," he said. "It's not the same one and it sure as hell ain't an upgrade, but we're good for each other. We help each other out. We're not alone no more."

Eris nods and a small sob escapes her lips. "I miss them," she says, her voice cracking. "I wish… I wish they could have known you as I do now. I wish we could have all been together at the same time. It hurts so much that they are gone." Her voice shrinks into a harsh whisper. "I will never be whole."

Drifter breathes out sharply at her words, feeling something inside his chest clench hard. Tears begin to flow quietly from his eyes. "Me neither, sister. Me neither."

They stay this way, holding each other, for a few long moments. Eris pulls gently away and takes his hands in hers.

"I am attempting to… compose myself but… it is still so vivid."

"That's fine. You don't have to. Just sit and soak in the tub with me an' when you're ready we'll get out together and… and go get some tea." He cups her cheek in his hand, letting her black tears trickle along and between his fingers.

This is abnormal for me." Eris states flatly.

Drifter shrugs, still crying. "Yeah, well, shit happens. And you an me? We seen a lot of shit. Sometimes it just… hits real hard all at once and there's nothin' you can do."

Eris reaches up and wipes away some of his tears. "I have frightened you."

He shrugs again, licking his lips, letting his hand slid down her neck to her shoulder, to just above her elbow where his thumb can rub back and forth across her arm. "Combination of fear and… needing to help you… not bein' sure how."

"You were singing."

"Sorry," he smirked. "I knew what you were hearin', based on what you were sayin' and I figured maybe a different song would help. Probably was not the best to listen to but…"

"No. It helped… but… what was the song?"

"It's a bar song… Not as in about a bar… Just… people play it and sing it in bars a lot for some reason. Very old. I uh… didn't have much time to come up with a set list." He gave her a gentle smile. "Just sang the first thing that came into my head and that was all I could think of."

Eris leans against him. He leans back against the bathtub. He cups some water in his hand and slides it up to warm her back.

"Will you sing it again?" she asks, her ear against his chest.

"Thought you hated my singin'."

"No." She swallows before continuing. "No I do not. Please. Brya… Brya used to sing to me. You sound nothing like her but… the sentiment is the same. Please sing. Please."

"Of course, Moonlight. Whatever you want."

Eris feels his voice in his chest almost more than she hears it. And as he continues, it is as though his song is bringing the real world more into focus, sharpening her alien eyesight, grounding her and anchoring her in the now.

"There is a house in New Orleans… they call the rising sun… and it's been the ruin of many a poor boy… and god I know I'm one."

"What is New Orleans?"

"I don't really know… place probably…"

"It almost sounds French."

"Yeah but it ain't a very French sounding song."

"No it is not. Is there more to the song?"

"Yeah."

Eris watches as the water in the bathtub ripples from the vibrations that come from his chest. She lets the heat of the water infuse into her and, as he continues, her muscles begin to relax.