It's a Long Way Down

Chapter Eighty-Five: Additions

"Alright, my ghouls, I just have one request of you," Copia said, walking into the common room. Everyone looked at him with confusion. It was already late. Copia would usually be asleep by this point. Swiss glanced at the clock and saw it read 11:13. All the ghouls were confused on why he was still awake. He simply walked closer and said, "Stop having bad shit happen to you. If you get put out of commission, I must find someone to replace you. That isn't easy because I find all of you irreplaceable. So please, stop having bad shit happen to you."

Ember slowly raised her hand. One of her hands on her belly, Copia just saying, "No, put your hand down, you don't count. Your child is not a bad thing and yours is temporary. I already know who will take yours and Sodo's place during that time. But now I have to find someone for Aether."

Ember's hand slowly went down. It had been about a week since Aeris had gone to see Aether in rehab. Sure, he was still hurting from it all, but he was doing a little better being able to go see Aether.

Sodo put his arm around Embets shoulder as he said, "I'll tell you one thing, there is no one that is already here who can replace Aether. You might have to summon a new ghoul. Besides, it needs to be a quintessence ghoul, and unless Omega wants to come out of retirement, which I highly doubt, you'll need to summon a new quintessence ghoul."

"Yes," Copia said softly, "Yes, that's what I was afraid of."

He walked out of the ghoul common room, muttering some things to himself. Swiss laughed a little once Copia was gone, "Crazy old man. Of course it'll be impossible to replace Aether, even if it's temporary."

A voice came from down the call, "Sodo?"

The fire ghoul stood up, telling Ember he'd be back as he walked down the hall. He knew exactly who was calling him. Aeris had been confiding to him more and more. He was starting to understand that Sodo had some idea of how he felt. Besides, he had experience with rehab himself. He could give some insight to what Aether might be doing there.

Sodo walked into Aeris' room, closing the door behind him, "Everything okay?"

"I guess it's just hitting me I almost did lose Aether. It's just a lot to take in that he did die for a second. Three times," Aeris said, sitting down on the bed. Sodo walked over and sat next to him as he said, "When I saw Ember die in front of me, the whole world came crashing down on me. I thought this is it, at least I'll go with her and we can be together. But I lived, and I watched her die and she died in my arms. First, you're frozen because you don't believe it. Then you fight it, you fight for them and you fight for yourself because there's nothing left for you to do. Then there's the reality that they are dead, it hits you like a train and sends you into a spiral. I don't know what is next because I didn't lose Ember like you lost Aether, I really only lost her once. You lost him at least four times. You first lost him when he started using the drugs. Then the three times that he died in the hospital. But I will be alongside you for all of it and even when you get past the part that I never experienced."

Aeris sighed, "I'm not mated to Aether like you are to Ember. I could've just been reassigned a mate. But, in all honesty, after Aether, I don't think I'd want another mate. I went through a lot with Aether. A lot of stuff that can't be replaced by someone else. He was the one who encouraged me to transition. He was the one who was there and got me comfortable in the ministry. He's the one who made me feel like I belonged here. He was the first one I told that I was trans. And he accepted it. He didn't seem grossed out. He didn't hate me. Hell, when I told him that I had faked my name when I first met him, he didn't care. He understood why I did it. He never tried to use my old name. I even told him it, and he didn't care. He told me I will always be Aeris to him."

"You never said you faked your name," Sodo said. Aeris chuckled, "Yeah, when I met Aether, I hadn't thought of another name for myself. I had ideas, but that was it. When I met him, I just spat out the first idea I had. And that was Aeris. That's how I got my name. Because I was scared to tell the first person who talked to me my actual name."