I paused, and my heart skipped a beat.

The surefire four words that could stop a man dead even with how used to conflict as I was. We need to talk, she had said. No, we didn’t. I hadn’t even had the chance for some proper noir introspection before starting the next chapter of my day. Hadn’t gotten dressed, even.

“You can get dressed first. It might make this slightly less awkward.” She grimaced, unable to hear my inner monologue, but still on the same page.

I did so. The awkwardness then front loaded as putting the clothes on under the tension made the process feel more difficult than it should be. She didn’t even make any wise remarks or flirty jabs, so I knew something must be up.

With no further avoiding the inevitable, I sat down on the bed beside her. She shuffled around so that she was facing me, and she took my hand to hold.

“So… I have some information to share, and it’s… it’s a lot.” She tilted her head, concern across her face. “I just want to make sure you’re in the right mind to hear it.”

“Are you…” My mind raced to catch up. “…pregnant?”

Exasperation flooded over her, the smile of disbelief cracking at the seriousness she was giving this conversation. “No… you…” She sighed. “It’s about your family.”

“Oh.”

The gears in my brain immediately seized up as if a metal rod had been jammed in between all the spinning parts. Answers seemed so distant, like a kite caught in the breeze, I had allowed the string to lengthen and it to soar further from me. Until the gust changed and it now dove sharply, striking me in the face.

“How… do you want me to proceed?”

I tried to remember how to breathe. “Do you know why they were killed?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know who killed them?”

“Yes.”

Air blew out from my lungs. She held the answers. But was I ready for them? She squeezed my hand. Well, it couldn’t be the worst thing I’ve been through.

“Who was it?”

“Higher demon called Makkari.”

Higher was trouble. It meant I wasn’t able to storm down into Hell and meet him personally. More questions jumped the queue, eager to be answered, as the gears started to overheat from the tension. “How did you find out?”

She worked her jaw. “He is leading the work on the old god resurrection.”

Puzzle pieces, fitting together. Cliche how convenient things were, how everything tied to a point that dragged everything together. A bottleneck of destiny.

But now the crux of it. “Why did he kill my family?”

Pearl looked away and ran her tongue across her teeth. “This is… it’s going to sound unbelievable—I don’t even know if I-”

“Tell me,” I insisted. Calmly, even despite how desperate for the truth I was.

“Your son. Cody. He was the one destined to be the Last Lantern.”

I heard the words, but they didn’t sink in, as if she hadn’t even said anything. My vision became blurry, but that’s not how the truth got blocked out. The ears on the sides of my head had heard it all already.

“What?” The only word that managed to make it out of the sludge that now filled my head. ‘How’ probably would have been the more efficient question to ask, but thankfully Pearl in front of my blurred vision could see clearer.

“Melissa was similar to a Blank. Between the both of you, you created the destined one.”

“…how?” Now the right word came out. I knew the motions, so I didn’t need that part explained. “I’m just a man.”

She placed a hand up to my bearded face, cupping my chin. Would have been cliche to push her away, reject her and the confusing words. But I didn’t. I needed that warmth, the comfort. I knew when I was being manipulated, and this was the cold truth.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“Are you?” she asked.

Mentally, I took a step back to try to understand the story being told. Dickbag demon wanted to bring about the old god, but the Last Lantern was destined to stop him. So he killed Cody, thinking it would be that easy. Somehow, it just transferred to me instead. Melissa was collateral, and I was ignored.

I leaned forward and Pearl pulled me in for a hug. We held each other, but I… wasn’t sad about it. Angry, sure, but it gave partial closure to an old wound. Some exposition to the greater play working in the background. But, other than a solid name on who I needed to kill, it didn’t change my plans.

“Are you okay, Eric?” she asked softly.

“Really hungry,” I admitted. “Thank you, though.”

We moved apart and kissed. “Want me to make you something to eat?”

“Rodney ordered already. We have food in the lounge.” My right eye twitched. Just as foretold, I gave up the information with such little a fight.

“In the lounge?” She narrowed her glowing eyes at me. “Want to pretend I haven’t returned yet, and I’ll appear and tell the others off?”

I smiled and rubbed at my eyes. “I love you, Pearl.”

“You’d best do,” she said with a grin. “I love you.”

Some weight no longer on my shoulders, I stood up easily and took a deep breath to stabilize my mood. Before long, one of them would be up to make sure I hadn’t died to some slapstick malady, or kidnapped by a powerful demon again. With a last glance back at her, I smiled and stepped from the bedroom.

----------------------------------------

“Ugh, I really needed that.” I put my fork down and relaxed into the dining room chair.

Rodney and Wight remained pecking at their food sheepishly, as Pearl shot them the occasional glare. I’d never seen them move so fast when she teleported in and practically burst into flame. Perhaps a bit unfair to bully them just to cheer me up, but it had worked.

[Have you told the Pearl about your eyes yet?]

Wight’s glance gave away that he was trying to get me in trouble. A little petty, but I deserved it.

“Your eyes?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I haven’t,” I glared at him. “Since we were busy eating, it wouldn’t be polite to bring that up.”

“I agree,” Rodney spoke up—wanting me to share some of the ire, but also planning to enjoy his meal.

She rolled her eyes. “Well, tell the story, but leave the gory details out until later.”

“Pretty usual stuff, really,” I lied, trying to buy some time before I had to get her up to date. “Went to the Higher Hells, saw the palace.”

“The fuck, Eric?” She scowled at me. “Don’t bullshit me.”

[Yeah, Eric. The fuck?]

“Look into my freshly regenerated eyes and tell me I’m lying.” I pushed the sunglasses down my nose and opened them wide for her. It probably didn’t really tell her much, but she could read me well enough.

Different emotions went over her face. Confusion. Anger. Worry. Disbelief. Respect? I might be making that last one up.

“How and why? And the fuck?”

[The fuck, Eric.]

We both glared at the bird-demon, who immediately went back to focusing on his food.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “I was summoned by someone using my demonic energy as a leash. They want me to destroy the Org. Gave me a hit-list as if I don’t have enough going on. Ended the meeting with an extremely brief tour of the palace.”

Pearl stared at me blankly for a while, to the point where I considered she might be broken by the tale I spun. “The fuck,” she eventually said. “You’re lucky to only lose your eyes. Any normal man would have exploded—literally. Or imploded, I forget which.”

[He also cut Eric’s hand off.]

She scowled at him before glaring at me. “Dare I ask why?”

“Just to dissuade me from trying to kill him.” I shrugged. Could do with another coffee. “I wasn’t going to try, just so we are clear. Not without Wight there.” I tried to hide a wry grin from going up at the side of my mouth.

“Wight wasn’t there?” Her jaw clenched as she shot daggers at him. “Why weren’t you there?”

[I wasn’t invited.]

Despite his cool tone, he sunk down into his chair a little under her blazing question.

“You are his patron. Do you have any other vocation other than keeping his ass alive?” She gripped at the table and looked ready to snap it in half and beat some sense into Wight.

I had to bail him out. “Something is up with that, too. He is no longer tied to the vessels—distance wise. I went to the Org, and he stayed here with no issue.”

“Eric went to the Org alone, and you didn’t accompany him?” She settled down and crossed her arms. A jaunt to the drab building seemingly less of a threatening place than the deepest part of Hell. Well, that went without saying, actually.

Rodney looked as though he was glad to not be bound to my sloppy attitude towards my own mortality, and had sunk away in hopes of not drawing any attention to himself. No such luck.

“And you.” She turned to him. “Takeaway in the lounge? I ought to flay you where you sit.”

“Please don’t,” he murmured, deflating even further.

Pearl turned back to me, “And Eric…” She stopped, seeing the wide grin across my face, and her ire melted away, even bringing a smile to her face. “Just don’t do anything stupid for a couple of days for a change, hmm?”

I clucked my tongue. “Too late. I told the Org I want to go to the Mids, and you’d vouch for me.”

She blinked twice before putting her face in her hands. The demon groaned and shook her head slowly. “Perhaps I need to get you on a leash, too. This is why you need to watch him, Wight.”

[I will endeavor to do better, the Pearl.]

“They do their best,” I tried to settle things diplomatically. “But you know how I am.”

“I do.” She deflated in her chair. “That is why I’m going to need to see what you’re capable of before I agree to vouch for you to go to the Mids.”

Ouch. A little tough love from an unexpected place. I nodded, despite my heart breaking. “Are we talking strength or soft skills?”

“Yes,” she said with a grim smile. “The whole package.”

I opened and closed my mouth before pouting and looking off to the side. Possible double-entendres aside, the times a good opportunity to use my full set of skills were few and far between. Especially if the Org was calling the shots. If only I had-

Rodney stood up to his feet with a jolt, his chair grinding against the floor as it was shoved back.

His earring was glowing blue, and he put his fingers up to it before focusing on us.

“Passage has co-ordinates for Gunther.”