Winter: I Cried; And I Cried And I Cried; And Then, I Laughed PT. 3/6

"Major!" I yelled out, rushing after him as he fled into the woods.

I managed to grab him, and he turned around, and I gasped at the sight of his eyes, his once clear brown eyes now almost a murky black.

"L-Lachy?" He pushed me away, starting to stumble backwards as he held his head.

"Who's Depra!?" He yelled out, and I felt my head start to throb at that name.

"We're here to save you Depra!"

"No, you can't die on me yet Lachesis!" Depra yelled out, crying and screaming out as he watched me die in front of him.

"Depra, don't, don't do it…" I managed to stammer out, watching him laugh maniacally as he watched me die.

Huh? I winced, shaking my head. "Major, it's me!" I yelled out, and he started to claw at his head, leaving deep claw marks over his forehead and on his head.

"What's wrong Major!?" I yelled out before turning to Necessitas, whose glasses had dropped onto the grass. "What did you do!? Why is he like this!?"

"I, I don't understand what's happening," she stammered out, falling to her knees.

"What do you mean you don't know!?" I yelled out, and Major let out another scream.

I turned to Hemera, who nodded as she rushed towards Major, hugging tight. "Major, calm down! It'll be al-!" She got flung back as Major started to claw at himself again, this time around his chest, blood starting to drip down as his wounds got worse.

"I wanna forget!" he yelled out, stumbling backwards once more as he started to claw at his face again.

"Major, what's wrong! Tell us so we-!"

"NO! I wanna forget!" Major roared out, cutting me off mid-sentence as shook his head.

"MAJOR!" I screeched out, rushing towards him again, and he shook his head, holding it tight.

"It would be better for me to forget! I, I can't do it anymore! I don't deserve such happiness when, when!"

Eh? Is he talking about Captain? "Wait, Major! He wouldn't want-!"

"DISAPPEAR!" I felt a large force of wind blow all of us back as Major screamed out that word, and I groaned, sitting up, wincing in pain.

Major collapsed onto the ground, convulsing as he let out a scream of pain before passing out.

"Major!" I was the first to reach him, and I cradled his head in my arms, looking at the various injuries that he had inflicted upon himself.

"We, we need to get him to the nurse's office now!" I yelled out, and the others groaned as they sat up as well, holding their heads in pain. Erebus was the first to get up, making his way over to me before lifting him with ease.

"I got him Lachy, don't worry. I'll take him there now." I nodded, before Erebus started to walk away.

"What did you do King?" He murmured before shaking his head. "Shadow Step."

And then he was gone, leaving the rest of us alone in the woods.

I made my way to the others, wincing in pain as I held my side. "What just happened Necessitas?"

She didn't answer me; it looked she had hit her head against a nearby tree when she got sent flying back, knocking her unconscious. I grimaced before shaking my head, the pain having gone away from earlier.

"Hey, c'mon guys, get up," I said, shaking Hemera awake. She groaned as she sat up, holding her head.

"Oh, what happened?" She looked around and shot to her feet, her yellow eyes darting around. "Where's King!?"

"Ugh, quiet down you ball of sunshine," Nyx groaned sitting up as well. "I'm pretty sure Erebus took him already, so hurry up and sit back down."

"Yeah, Erebus took him to the nurse's office, so hopefully he'll be okay…" I said, trailing off before waking up the others.

Soon, everyone except for Necessitas had awoken, who was still knocked out from hitting a tree.

"Hey, let's take her to the nurse's office too," I said. "She could have a concussion or something bad."

They nodded, and Aether lifted her up, carrying her over his back before we made our way back into the school, where Erebus was waiting outside the nurse's office.

"Is he gonna be okay?" I asked, twirling my hair around my finger and he sighed, shaking his head.

"They decided to take him to a hospital to get treated, so who knows," he responded, his red eye gazing upon Necessitas. "What happened to my beloved Dark Empress?"

"She hit her head on a tree and went unconscious," I explained, and Aether handed her off to Erebus, who took her into the office.

"Well, what should we do now my dear Lachy~?" Eros half-heartedly purred, glancing over at me. "It seems two of us are out for the time being."

"I guess we wait for both of them to wake up…" I murmured, and so we waited three weeks for both of them to wake up, the first one being Major.

I was lounging around his hospital room when I heard a groan emerge from the bed, causing me to nearly fall out of my chair.

"M-Major!?" I yelled out, rushing to his side. He had bandages over his head and chest, and he groaned again as he opened one eye to look at me, the color a murky brown.

"L-Lachy? W-where am I?" He winced in pain as he tried to sit up, and I gently pushed him back down, a smile of relief on my face.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're alright! It's been three weeks, you know that!?" I yelled out, and he winced as he held his head.

"Hey, you're quite loud you know."

"Oh, sorry," I said, starting to twirl my hair around my finger. "Um, you've been in the hospital for three weeks now Major…"

"Huh? Why, did I get into an accident or something?"

"You mean you don't remember? You started to scream out in pain after Necessitas used her ability on you before-!" Major cut me off as he held up his hand, shaking his head.

"Um, I'm sorry, but who's… Necessity? Was that what you said?"

Eh? I blinked at him, and he blinked at me, both of us having confused looks on our faces.

"Necessitas, you don't remember her? Wears glasses, has a fluffy afro, she's quite nice," I said, and he shook his head.

"I really don't know who you're talking about."

"Wait, you're not joking?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Nope, never heard of her."

What? "Wait, do you remember Hemera? Nyx?"

He frowned, shaking his head again. "Nope, can't say that I have."

Huh? "But, you remember Aether and Eros right?"

"Again, I have no clue who you're talking about, but their names are pretty cool though."

No way. I took a step back, my brain in a flurry. "But surely you have to remember Erebus, right!? I mean, you've known him since the first grade!?"

He frowned again, looking up towards the ceiling. "First… grade? Huh, I don't remember much about first grade actually. How weird."

"You, you really don't remember any of them?" I said, starting to shake slightly, and once more, Major shook his head.

"No, I really haven't heard of these people. Are you sure you aren't messing with me Lachy?"

"Wh-what did you do to yourself Major!?" I roared out, and he held his head, wincing in pain.

"Hey, I really don't remember, so stop yelling already!"

"You don't remember any of them!?" I yelled out again, and he held his head, groaning out in pain.

"Ow, that really hurts," He muttered, before looking at me with his murky brown eyes. "Um, what were we talking about again?"

I took a step back as I heard the door open behind me, doctors starting to pour in to begin examining him.

What just happened? I felt myself walk out the door and sit on a nearby bench, starting to shake slightly once again.

"Major, what did you do to yourself?" I whispered out, holding myself together within my arms.

"Lachy? What's wrong?" I felt myself tense up as I heard Hemera's voice, and I slowly looked up at the five of them, all coming to visit Major.

"He, he's awake now…" I said, looking away, taking a shaky breath.

"Wait, King's awake!?" Erebus exclaimed, but his excitement died down as he saw my reaction. "Is something wrong Lachesis?"

"doesn't remember…"

"Hmm? What was that?"

I looked back at them, tears staining my shirt with its salt. "He, he doesn't remember you guys; none of you, except me…"

A look of shock passed over their faces, but they all ended up having different reactions.

Erebus immediately rushed into his hospital room, Eros started to cry, Hemera went to hug me, Nyx continued to stare at me, a blank look on her face, and Aether just looked up towards the ceiling, sighing to himself.

A couple seconds later, Erebus walked out, holding his right eye as he collapsed on the spot, starting to visibly shake.

"What did King do, for him to end up like that?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"Maybe he used his abilities on himself for some reason, I don't really get it myself…" I trailed off, and he gritted his teeth, letting out a hiss.

"Maybe it's a part of an elaborate plan of his? Maybe it involves getting rid of his memories so that he can go undercover so we can slay a demon properly? Or maybe it's so he can handicap himself, since he realized he was getting to strong, so this was a way to help seal his powers? But it could possibly be…"

I could only watch as Erebus continued to mutter off crazy scenarios to himself, before turning to Nyx, who started to slowly walk away.

"N-Nyx! Where are you going?" Hemera asked, sniffling as she started to wipe her tears away.

She didn't respond and continued to walk off towards the stairwell. Hemera leapt up from the bench and ran after her, grabbing her hand to pull her to a stop.

"Hey, we can't leave yet! Where do you think you're going!?"

Aether sighed again, his silver-grey hair covering his eyes. "I see, so that's how it is then…" He glanced at Eros, who was silently crying to himself, before looking back up towards the ceiling.

"It's unbecoming of those of your stature to act this way you know. So what if he doesn't remember? I only need myself anyway, so that's why, that's why…" He trailed off, and all of us turned to him as his tears started to fall, sobbing without making any noise.

"You're a stupid idiot…" He said, trailing off as he looked away from us, hiding away his tears.

Eros wiped at his eyes, nodding to himself. "You always seem to have a way with words Tae~Tae…"

"He's gone…" We turned to Nyx, the first words she had spoken since she had gotten here.

"No, he's not gone Nyx, he's right-!"

"He may as well be gone Hemera!" she lashed out, brushing away Hemera's hand. "I, I don't…"

Hemera's faced scrunched up, trying to hold back the tears that had already started to fall long ago. "But, he's right there. He's right there, but he's not here at all anymore." Hemera turned to me, her lip quivering. "Hey, is he really gonna be gone forever? He won't ever remember us?"

She clutched her shirt tightly, shaking her head. "I, I would hate that. I haven't even repaid you all for the kindness you've given me yet, let alone King! How am I supposed to pay him back now…?"

We all fell into silence, before Erebus perked up, looking down the hallway.

"Dark Empress?" he let out, stopping his ramblings before bolting off.

"H-hey! Wait up Erebus!" I yelled out, and we rushed after him to Necessitas' room, where we could hear them conversing.

"E-Erebus? What are you doing here?"

"I heard you coming too, my beloved Dark Empress, and I rushed to be by your side!"

"H-huh!? What sort of weird nickname did you just give me!? And beloved?"

"Huh? What's wrong, you sound confused. You were the one who called yourself Dark Empress, remember?"

"Only you would give me such an absurd nickname Erebus, so stop lying."

I felt my blood turn into ice at her words, and we stopped just outside the open doorway, continuing to listen to their conversation.

"But, you were the one who came up with that glorious epithet about yourself, when you first introduced yourself to King and myself!"

"Um, who is King?"

"Surely you cannot forget our leader of our glorious group that we are in, for we are ones who slay demons for-!"

"Hey, stop trying to bring me into your fantasy! I really have no clue what you're talking about!"

Silence.

"Huh, what's up with you now Erebus?"

"Uh, it is nothing my dear Dark Empress. If you will excuse me…"

Erebus walked out of the room, his hair covering his face before stopping next to us.

"Hey, Erebus, are you…" I trailed off as I looked at him, my lip quivering.

"Huh, whatever do you mean Lachesis? I have never been better! Yes, this has to be a plan both King and the Dark Empress planned in secret! Surely, they must've left some clues somewhere, possibly within the hideout? Come, we haven't a moment to waste you guys, so I'll use my Shadow Step to take us all there, got it?"

Hemera started to cry, giving Erebus a fierce hug. "I, I'm so sorry Erebus!"

"Huh? Why are apologizing Daytime Beauty? Now let's tarry onward before we lose track of any hints-!"

"It's okay Erebus, don't push yourself anymore!" Hemera yelled out, looking up at him. "Please don't act like this, especially, especially when…"

I felt my face grow wet again as Erebus frowned. "Hmm? What's the matter with all of you? This is no time for tears, trust me on that one! If we don't hurry, a demon could-!"

"Please, when you look like that, I don't wanna hear anymore Erebus!" Hemera wailed out, burying herself into his shirt.

"H-huh? Look like what?" He felt his face, which had long been wet, and he frowned as he licked his hand.

"Hmm? Why is face wet, let alone salty? Huh, how strange, it seems no matter what I do, I can't wipe them away. How, how odd…" he trailed off as he tried to wipe away his tears, only starting to cry louder now.

"Oh, I see. These are my tears then…" he said before collapsing to his knees, sobbing out heaves of tears, shaking almost uncontrollably as he buried his face within Hemera's shirt.

We all lost a lot that day. Some memories, others friendship, but deep down, I think we all lost hope for our group of eight ever becoming complete once more…