AN: This is another short chapter, sadly. However, I felt I needed a transitional chapter between the last one and the next one. I'll be back with the conclusion of this arc sometime this week. :)

Chapter 94: Memories That Reach Across

A chill wind blew across his skin despite the fact that the doors and windows were closed tight. Whether something was wrong with him, something new, or he was merely tired, it was impossible to know.

"Man, was what I did really that big of a deal?" he asked softly. No answer came to him. He was alone in his hospital room. Rhea returned to the heavens, rather the divine city, and he was left with her unconscious body.

Scott ran his fingers through her hair gently. Everything was quite distinctly fucked at the moment. It made little logical sense that she would be so angry to him, but the anguish on her face did not give him the impression that she was being logical.

Angry words had spewed from her lips. She'd become the cold and slightly distant version of herself that he'd met in the boat on the way to Eizen. At the time only a tropical island and undersea adventure softened her icy demeanor.

He thought of those events then sighed. The truth was that a lot of what had happened to cause her to become aloof at the time was his fault. He became more than a little butt-hurt about not being able to do more to the guys that slit her throat.

Hanging from a rope while watching the girl he loved bleed out, it wasn't something a guy could handle easily. Even the fact that respawning was a thing did not change the memory of the situation. He burned inside every time he thought about it.

The more he thought about it, the more he burned. It made him angry to remember it. Corpse Rat and all of its members deserved to die as often as possible from that moment on. There was no doubt of it in his mind.

Thoughts of Rhea bleeding out, of the noose around his neck, and of the slightly bored faces of the people running that horror show, they filled him with an indescribable sense of rage whenever he thought about them. It was not the sort of feeling that made him want to burn the world, but he did want to pound people like them into the dirt.

"Why do I keep thinking about it, though? That was an entire world away," said Scott.

There was something there, something in those memories. He could feel it. If he could understand why he continued to think about those moments and how they caused him to feel afterwards, he might understand more of the current situation.

He understood everything on a basic level at least. He'd done something that could have gotten him killed. Rhea was worried about him, and angry.

It wasn't enough, though. There was something else. The full truth eluded him.

"What am I missing?" he asked the empty room.

Scott sighed loudly then lowered himself gently back down onto his bed. The majority of his severe injuries were healed, but his body was quite sore. Whatever he'd done to himself was extensive enough that simple healing spells did not work. Only a lengthy potion drip, other medical components, and a lot of effort kept him among the living.

The more he tried to understand the full reason for her anger and sadness, the less he could concentrate. Strangely, after a while Ero began to pop into his head.

It was a weird transition, as far as he was concerned. He missed Ero. She was sweet and he cared for her greatly. She was even having his child! Yet, it made no sense that she kept invading his mind.

Slowly, as time passed, memories and thoughts of Ero occurred more often. A sense of deep foreboding began to creep through Scott's body. It wrapped him tightly and he found it impossible to let it go.

Finally, he whispered, "Is something wrong with Ero, or am I just going crazy?"

They could feel other's presence, and even sense each other's emotional state when they were close by. Yet, he knew she was not nearby.

He got up and reached for his phone. Scott sent a message to Rhea asking if she would be willing to check on Ero's status.

She did not respond. After a few minutes, Scott stood up and went about attempting to get dressed. Some of his gear was destroyed in the attempt to become the stupid wind, or whatever it was that he was doing. Thankfully, the helmet Herbert made remained intact.

By the time he was dressed, replacing his missing and presumed destroyed top with a simple shirt, Rhea finally responded back to him. Her only reply was, I'll be right there.

Rhea awoke from her slumber and immediately sat up. Her legs dangled off the side of the bed while she hunched over slightly. "Scott..."

"Yeah?" he asked casually.

She took a deep breath then sighed. "There's something wrong with Ero. We need to go."

"What?" Scott rushed over to Rhea and knelt down. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Yeah. It— I checked her status records. It would be better if she told you what's going on," said Rhea.

"If something's happened to her, just please tell me now," said Scott.

Rhea shook her head softly. "No. Not something like this..."

"Is— Is it about the baby?" he asked. There was really little else that it could legitimately be as far as he was concerned. Still, he needed to ask.

"Yes, but let's go. She needs you to be with her right now," said Rhea without looking at him.

Scott placed his hand on her knee. "Hey, Rhea. She needs you too, you know. Whatever this is..."

"I know... So, I'm going to," she replied in soft tones.

They joined hands and left the room after that. Moving took a bit of effort for Scott. The soreness of his body, and the weakness of his limbs caused the journey to be slow and painful.

On the way out, he asked a wandering doctor if it was fine for him to leave. He planned to leave regardless, but as it turned out there was no problem with him checking out of the hospital. The military operation ended two days prior as well. There was nothing holding him here.

The better part of half an hour passed before they made it to the train station. They sat quietly together for a while before the train arrived. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them accused the other of anything. They were simply together.

Fairywood was a few hours away by train. While world travel was an option, the train was still faster than attempting to use that method to travel. At least, it was faster now that it took this line once more. It was shut down during the invasion.

Scott squeezed her hand gently then closed his eyes. She sighed a little then leaned against his shoulder.

"Do we really need to fight?" he asked her.

"I don't know..." she said, "I just wish you'd be more careful when you're alone."

He would argue that he'd been with an entire group of people, but there was no need. He knew what she really meant. She wanted him to be more careful when she was not around to fret over him, or to assist him.

"I love you, too," he replied without looking at her.

Rhea, however, looked over to him. She eyed him critically for a moment then slowly nodded. Maybe he did understand her a little bit after all.

She hated not to tell him what was going on with Ero, but given what she'd learned it would be best for Ero to tell him directly. In many ways, Rhea was a third wheel in the situation.

Uncertain of her place, despite how well they'd all been getting along recently, Rhea could not help but wonder what she should be doing. Was she supposed to comfort and keep Scott calm while traveling to Ero? Was she supposed to just be near him and keep quite? There were many ways to handle the situation and she just did not know what to do.

"I'm not really mad at you, you know," she said after a moment.

"Really?" asked Scott in a neutral tone.

"No. I just..." she sighed loudly and looked down at the ground. "If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"If it makes you feel better. I'd be the same way if anything happened to you," said Scott.

"I believe that," she said. Rhea kissed him on the cheek then laid her head on his shoulder. "I don't want either of us to go through that."

Scott kissed her on the side of the head then wrapped his arm around her. He pulled her close then sighed as well. She was scared. He was scared. People yell when they are frightened. That didn't mean that they did not care. If anything, it was a sign that they were extremely concerned.

Whatever news he would receive in Fairywood, at least he could be confident that Rhea did care. Now if only everything with Ero would turn out to be alright. From the way Rhea spoke, it was obvious something have gone wrong with the baby. It was the only reason she would not simply tell him everything that she knew.

It was with a heavy heart that the waited for the train that day. His body already battered by his own ill wind, all he could do was prepare his heart to weather a different sort of storm. Either way, he wanted to be there for Ero, for their child, and for Rhea.