Chapter 95 - Return

The walk was quiet for a while. Morrigan’s mind raced, trying to think of a way to save Pepper. The younger girl walked ahead, marching toward her doom in somber silence, while Morrigan trailed behind, deep in thought.

There has to be something I can do. Damn it! Fate sucks. Why does Pepper have to die? Why even if I can save someone, I’m not allowed to. Is it even possible? Even if saving her means limbo for me, I might be okay with that. But what if Alice just reaps her anyway?

“Noir…” Morrigan whispered under her breath. In her peripheral vision, she noticed a darker pool of shadow shifting along the side of the building next to her.

“What is it, Morrigan?”

“Please… is there anything I can do?”

“You’ll need to be more specific.”

“Can I save Pepper’s life?” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“If you make purposeful attempts to alter fate, you will be in violation of your duties as a reaper.”

“And then it’s limbo for me, huh?”

Noir paused for a moment, then spoke carefully. “Let me tell you of two stories I am aware of. In the first, a reaper of five years returned home to watch his family from afar—he just wanted to see that they were doing well in his absence. However, when he saw another reaper following his daughter, he realized something was soon to happen. He followed in secrecy until she saw her nearly get run over by a horse and carriage, and then he acted on instinct, saved her before the other reaper could do his work, and changed her fate.”

“And he got sent to limbo for that? Anybody would’ve done the same!”

“Let me finish. No, he wasn’t sent to limbo. It was deemed an unusual, unlikely-to-repeat event. He was reprimanded, relocated to a distant country, and forbidden from visiting his family again. Other than that, he continued his duties.”

“But what about his daughter? Did she get to live?”

“She did survive that day. I’m afraid I don’t know her story from there. However, that is not the point I wish to make.”

“Okay…”

“Now for the second story. She was a reaper in what is now California, back in 1612. She was a descendant of the Aztecs and born a slave. She lived a brutal life of constant beatings, being forced to kneel in church, and watching as her people suffered. When she died and was offered a reaper contract, she soon abandoned her duties and used her new powers to satisfy her own ambitions—causing the deaths of her people’s oppressors and protecting the rebels. Thus, the arbiters were sent. She was labeled a rogue reaper and managed to evade them for ten years as she continued effecting fate as she saw fit.”

“What happened to her?” Morrigan asked.

“The arbiters eventually found her and imprisoned her. Limbo isn’t the worst punishment rouge reapers may face—there are harsher sentences for those extreme cases where a reaper willfully changes the course of fate. I don’t know exactly what happened to her, but I imagine she spent many years in a living hell before finally facing execution.”

“Damn. That’s so screwed up, though! Why couldn’t they just relocate her like the other guy? How could they expect her to stand by and watch that kind of cruelty?”

“What they expected, was for her to understand her role. Being a reaper isn’t about right or wrong, or about being a hero or a villain. You can offer comfort to those passing on if you seek higher purpose, but that’s not a reaper’s job. It’s about maintaining order and balance. You should already know this, Morrigan. That is all.”

“So, you’re saying enslaving and beating people is what ‘order’ wants?”

“It’s not about what order wants. Order doesn’t want anything. It’s about what is true and correct. The planes must be separate, and people die if they are killed.”

“That’s such bullshit!”

“You can feel however you like, but it is your actions that will be judged, not your feelings.”

“So what happens if I try to save Pepper?”

“I would advise against pursuing that line of thought.”

“Just tell me! Will I be relocated, get tortured and executed, or just go straight to limbo?”

“Considering you’ve only known her a couple of days, and that you’ve struggled with your duties before… I doubt relocation would be their solution.”

“Why? I’d just be trying to save a friend! Like the guy who saved his daughter.”

“That’s entirely different. Pepper you’ve known for barely a day. They’d see you as someone who forms attachments too easily and lets those attachments interfere with your duties.”

“Fuck my duties!”

“That’s precisely the issue. With that attitude, you have no place as a reaper.”

Morrigan gritted her teeth, turning her face away. “Well, I guess I’d finally stop being a problem for you, then, huh? Bet you’ve been looking forward to me screwing up bad enough to get sent to limbo.”

Noir was silent for a long moment. Morrigan shifted her gaze away from the shadow on the wall and back to Pepper, still walking ahead. His silence felt like confirmation. But eventually, he spoke, and his words surprised her.

“In truth, I do not wish to see such an outcome.”

Morrigan clicked her teeth. “Not sure I believe that. You’ve had a problem with me since day one.”

“Indeed. And it continues to be so. But, I suppose you’ve grown on me to some extent. Should you be sent to limbo, I’d consider it one of my greatest failures. And… I do believe I would miss you.”

Morrigan stared ahead, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Bullshit,” she said with a hint of humor. “Without me, your life would be a hundred times easier.”

“Certainly that’s an exaggeration. But I’ve come to understand what Master sees in you—and perhaps, what he hoped I’d learn from you as well.”

Morrigan turned her head. “What do you mean?”

“I must admit, after thousands of years, I don’t always understand his intentions. But in the most dire circumstances, when I’m sure he’s wrong and I have to intervene, I often find, in hindsight, that he saw what I couldn’t.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Huh…” Morrigan murmured.

“Though, he’s not infallible, mind you. That’s what makes it difficult. When should I trust my master’s judgment, and when should I intervene? These are questions not all voidlings must grapple with. And… I do find it quite challenging.”

Morrigan raised an eyebrow. Was Noir actually opening up to her? She didn’t think that was possible. “But… it’s better this way, isn’t it? It means you’re not just some mindless tool.”

“Perhaps. But imagine a life bound entirely to contracts. No uncertainty, no struggle over choice—that is its own kind of freedom.”

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before,” Morrigan muttered. “But, you’re not like that. You do make choices, right? I mean, granted, you’re a big advocate for following the rules and all… but…”

“In this way, I differ from most other voidlings. It is because Master cultivated these changes in me over many centuries.”

Morrigan thought about that in silence for a moment. “What about my choices, though? On the day I died, it was either become a reaper or go to limbo. Then it’s follow the list, don’t change fate. This… this just sucks. Pepper’s my friend. How am I supposed to just watch her die?”

“In terms of your role in maintaining order and your service to fate, you’re right—you have little choice. But, in exchange, you get to continue your existence here. That’s the price.”

“If I stop Pepper from dying and change fate… is there a chance Alice won’t just reap her anyway?”

“I do not wish to answer that.”

“So the answer is yes?” Morrigan asked, stopping in her tracks. The shadow alongside her also stopped, hanging still on the brick wall. “Noir, tell me. Is there actually a chance I could save her?”

“Didn’t Pepper already say she’s accepted that she is to die tonight?”

“That’s not what I asked!” Morrigan snapped. Instead of responding, Noir’s shadow slithered off the wall and vanished. “Hey! I’m not done talking to you!” she yelled at the brick wall.

“Um… Morrigan?” Pepper called, turning around. Morrigan realized how ridiculous she looked, shouting at a wall.

“Yeah?” Morrigan replied.

“I can tell you’re having a hard time with this, but… don’t do anything that’ll get you into trouble.”

“But, Pepper, I can’t just watch you die.”

Pepper quickly shook her head in her usual manner. “That’s not your responsibility. Please don’t. If something happens to you because of me, I’ll feel guilty. So don’t do that.”

“How can you be so calm about this? I-I mean…”

“I’m not! I’m really scared, but that doesn’t change anything. Um… Noir said stepping in would be playing into that other girl’s hands, right? I don’t want her to win. If she hadn’t said anything, we wouldn’t even know. Let’s just… do what we came here to do.”

“Pepper…” Morrigan pleaded, but the smaller girl turned back around and continued her slow march toward her fate.

“Just listen to her, Morrigan,” Noir’s voice echoed from the shadows. “There’s no need to feel guilty. Let Pepper do what she came here to do. Let her death come as it will, and let Alice finish her work.”

Morrigan ignored him and kept following Pepper. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t even want to imagine the course of events unfolding, but a problem crept into her mind that she hadn’t considered before: the police. Morrigan shared a room with Pepper. When they both turned up missing in the morning, and Pepper eventually turned up dead, how would she explain it?

The only solution that came to mind was sneaking back into the shelter and playing dumb. Maybe she could admit to helping Pepper sneak out, saying she unlocked the door but stayed in the room. It could work… maybe.

But a horrible sense of detachment sank into her heart as she imagined lying to the police. She was a notably good liar, but she couldn’t imagine hiding that much guilt. It would be written all over her face.

No… there was only one choice at that point. After Pepper’s death, Morrigan would just have to run again. She’d have to say goodbye to any chance of returning to her old life. She wouldn’t be there for her mom, but maybe she could send letters from time to time. She would have to be careful about seeing Emma as well.

“Damn it…” she muttered, feeling overwhelmed by this possible future. She didn’t want it! She would be a fugitive, and Pepper would be dead.

But then, there was no more time to think.

Pepper stopped at a street corner. Morrigan glanced up at the green street sign: Airport Road. Pepper looked back at her with a subdued smile. “My… my sister should be just down the block.”

Morrigan quickened her pace to walk alongside Pepper. “Are you sure about this?”

Pepper remained silent for a moment, their footsteps the only sound on the dark city streets. “Yeah,” she eventually whispered.

Suddenly, a discordant wail pierced the night. Pepper froze, shivering as she shut her eyes tightly, fists clenched. Morrigan stared ahead as a glowing silhouette slowly floated into the middle of the street. Like all hollows, Juniper’s upper half appeared humanoid, but from the waist down, it dissolved into a wispy tail.

It didn’t seem that Juniper had noticed them yet. She paused in the center of the intersection, looked toward the sky, and screamed. The sound was filled with unbearable pain and despair, echoing through the night, slicing through the air and into Morrigan’s bones.

Pepper’s body went rigid. When Morrigan glanced at her, she saw the tears welling in the corners of her friend’s eyes.

“Pepper…” Morrigan whispered, unsure of what to say. She hesitated before placing a hand on the smaller girl’s shoulder. “Are you sure you want to—”

Pepper flinched slightly at the touch. “She’s still… she’s still like this. She’s been like this for so long,” she murmured. “Juniper… why?”

“Maybe you should go back,” Morrigan suggested gently. “Let me handle this.” The thought that maybe this could save Pepper’s life crossed her mind. It wouldn’t technically be disrupting fate if she had no clear idea how Pepper was meant to die. She could easily claim ignorance.

But that vague hope shattered as Pepper shook her head quickly.

“No… I can do this.” Pepper’s gaze fixed on her sister, who remained still in the intersection, staring up at the sky as her scream faded into silence. “M-Morrigan, I really meant what I said before. I’m so grateful to have met you. Thank you. Thank you for being kind to me.”

“Pepper…” Morrigan felt fear, horror, longing, and anxiety churn inside her. A dozen emotions, all tangled up as Pepper moved forward.

As she approached, Juniper turned. Her hollow face was like any other—mostly featureless, yet still clearly the image of a young girl. Her white, unseeing eyes and placid expression held an eerie depth. It was kind of the way Death’s technically emotionless face could convey feeling. It was in the stillness of her white, unseeing eyes, as her gaze locked onto Pepper’s trembling form.

Morrigan wanted to pull her back, to stop her from walking toward that nightmare. But she couldn’t—not now. This was what Pepper had come for, and nothing Morrigan said would change her mind.

Her throat tightened, words slipping away before they could form. Pepper stopped just a few feet from her sister’s hollow, and for a moment, everything was still. The distant hum of life and traffic felt worlds away.

“Juniper… it’s me,” Pepper’s voice was soft, almost a whisper.

Juniper didn’t respond. She just stared blankly.

Pepper stepped closer, her voice trembling. “Juniper, I’m here. I—I came to see you! I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left you alone. I’m really, really sorry.”

Juniper began to move, floating slowly toward her. Tears streamed down Pepper’s face. “I-I don’t blame you for anything. I know you didn’t want to hurt anyone or scare me. I just wish I knew how to help you. Just like you were always there to help me. But I’m here to change things. I have a friend here who can help you and… if you want me to come with you, I will. I should’ve been with you all along.”

Morrigan felt something was terribly wrong. Just because Pepper survived the crash didn’t mean she’d done anything wrong, and if Juniper were in her right mind, Morrigan doubted she’d want Pepper to think that.

Morrigan summoned her scythe, gripping the smooth pole in her gloved hands. Her body was tense, fighting the urge to intervene.

Juniper floated closer, her hollow form swaying in the dim light. Those empty, white eyes stayed fixed on her sister. Pepper stood trembling, but resolute, the tears streaking down her face.

Juniper’s hand slowly extended, her fingers barely solid. Morrigan watched, frozen, her breath caught in her throat. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Pepper shouldn’t be doing this! This was wrong!

“Pepper, wait!” Morrigan’s voice slipped out before she could stop it.

Pepper turned slightly, offering her a fragile smile through the tears. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “She’s my sister. So it’s okay.”

Juniper’s hand hovered inches from Pepper’s cheek. The air grew colder, thick with the unmistakable pull of death.

And then, it happened.

Juniper’s hollow let out a gut-wrenching shriek that tore through the night. Her hands shot forward, grabbing Pepper’s face. In an instant, the soft, sorrowful glow around the hollow darkened, turning violent.

Pepper gasped in pain, her body jerking as Juniper’s grip tightened. Morrigan’s heart dropped into her stomach. This wasn’t a reunion—this was something far worse.

“Juniper!” Pepper cried out, her voice frantic as she struggled against the hollow’s hold.

Without thinking, Morrigan lunged forward, her scythe blazing with ethereal light as she raised it.

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