Chapter Eighty Three: The Prayers We Sang Together
~BlackRoseRaven
Thesis was suddenly intent on getting them out of Canterlot as soon as possible, and Cadence didn't entirely know why. He was brisk and businesslike with the princesses when they returned, and Princess Celestia was barely able to cajole him into having his team spend the night.
Cadence was glad they were going home, there was no doubt about that, but she didn't like the way that La Croix and his 'brothers' slipped off, any more than she liked how fast Thesis was pushing them to leave, or the fact he was clearly keeping some information to himself. It pissed her off. And what frustrated her even more was that she was the one who was always reminding people about the intelligence blindfold they operated under, but here she was, getting mad at Thesis over something she knew he couldn't control.
But was their relationship going to be like this? Feeling betrayed when he was professional? He was the Regent of Decretum and she was a soldier, an officer. She had to listen to him. She had to be as impartial as she could outside of her relationship.
Like that was easy. Like that was even possible for her. She couldn't even keep her mouth shut with Hecate, and Hecate she respected as a mentor, as a matriarch. Thesis she... well... greatly enjoyed the company of, but even him she just couldn't stop...
Cadence glanced up as she heard a throat politely clear, and she sighed inwardly as she saw this world's Cadence smiling at her awkwardly, tiptoeing out to join her on the balcony with Luna floating along behind her. At least this Luna isn't horrible. Like every other Luna I've met. “Hi.”
“Hey.” Cygne said after a moment, and there was silence between the three as they stood awkwardly together out on this little balcony that gazed out over the mountains beyond Canterlot. It was a beautiful morning: the sun was shining, the sky was cloudless, the sea of mist that spilled over Canterlot seem more like the mystical, fantastical place it strove to be. And Cadence truly wished this was half the paradise it liked to be, purely because in fantastic worlds you never had to worry about the awkwardness of your nosy parallel shoving her face in your business.
After a few moments, Princess Cadence shifted a little, then she almost blurted as Cygne looked lamely away: “Why do you hate me so much?”
“I don't hate you.” Cygne said after a moment, looking back at the mare, and Cadence scowled a little, which made Cygne smile a little more. “I really don't.”
“Well, you shouldn't hate yourself, either.” Cadence said, and then she wilted a bit when Cygne's smile curdled and her eyes narrowed dangerously.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Luna said calmly: “You are both silly.”
Cadence and Cygne both looked at the mare, who floated a mug of coffee up to her muzzle to drink from it before she explained dryly: “It is very simple. Both of you look at one another, and see what you want to. Not what is really there, but simply... reflections.”
“We are reflections.” Cadence said with surprise, and Cygne frowned as she tilted her head, not wanting to echo the sentiment, but admittedly that was what she felt, too.
“Yes, but to what extent? You are also two individuals, shaped by your profoundly-different experiences.” Luna said tiredly, as she sipped slowly at her coffee before she swirled the liquid in the mug moodily. “Nightmare Moon is a reflection of who I am, too, but she is not me at the same time. Do you understand that?”
“Too well.” Cygne muttered, even as Cadence frowned uncertainly. “Look, it doesn't matter much either way, since we're going to be-”
“You dismiss. Why do you run away from it?” questioned Luna, and Cygne scowled at her, but Luna stood her ground as she continued: “You claim to disassociate yourself completely, to be Swan, to be Cygne, but... are you?” She paused, then asked quietly: “Do you even trust your friends, let alone yourself?”
“Yes!” Cygne burst out angrily, glaring at the mare before she shifted backwards in surprise when Luna thrust her coffee mug at her.
“Drink.” she ordered, and Cygne scowled and pushed the mug away.
“You're as bad as all the other Lunas.” she muttered, and Luna smiled wryly as she pulled her mug away, drinking from it again.
“You deflect, but you fail to trust. Name it a thousand things, but in the end it comes down to fear and distrust. I am certain, somehow, that Swan Maidens do not care about princess cooties or how icky black coffee is.” Luna paused, then turned her eyes towards Cadence and added bluntly: “This is not you. This is not a heroic version of you. This is not what you must become, Cadence. You are not Cygne, and Cygne, you are not Cadence.”
Cadence dropped her head silently, and Cygne's eyes shifted away before Luna turned to look down over the fog, muttering: “Ponies are blaming me for this, you know. Oh, it is so easy to mouth the words, 'Princess Luna we love you,' 'Princess Luna be mine,' 'Luna is my favorite princess,' but they forget themselves. The idolaters and the worshipers whom would all eagerly turn upon me should I ever turn blind eye to their cause, should I become for a mere moment in public eye what they do not want to see. Nor do they see how for all of those who loudly proclaim their love for me in idealized form, it will never be as great, as powerful, as the silent majority that loathes me. And could I ever blame them? Never. They have had a thousand years to love my sister. They have only just met me, these last few years, and what am I but exotic, and strange?”
Luna paused, chewing at her lip for a moment before she simply shrugged and said bluntly: “I am tired. I am going to go and find La Croix and his friends. At least they are interesting and dependable.”
“Hey, I'm the one who does all the work.” Cygne defended, and Luna smiled with mirthless amusement at her.
“Why is it always about you?” she asked, and the ivory mare blinked before Luna shrugged and turned around, adding: “Cadence, I am not your bodyguard or your talking point or your guardian. I am sure you can handle some personal time with your idol.”
With that, Luna simply turned and headed back inside, and there was silence for a few moments before Princess Cadence gave a lame smile to Cygne, saying almost meekly: “She's... I guess I've always sort of fallen back on using Luna as... help.”
Cygne sighed a little, then she lowered her head and muttered: “I guess I sort of understand. Luna was one of the first ponies I turned to when I started to discover... who I was. Someone I trusted enough to watch over my dreams and mind while I explored my memories...”
Cygne halted, then she looked up and said bluntly: “I guess I've been unfair to you. It's... been a hard last few days. We're leaving in an hour, so I guess I don't have much time to entertain you-”
“I don't want to be entertained, just...” Cadence smiled awkwardly, then she lowered her head a little and mumbled: “I just want to know you a little. You seem amazing. And I must seem... I don't know.”
She quieted, chewing on her lip before she looked up and asked quietly: “Shining Armor...”
“I wasn't right for him. And... I screwed up.” Cygne admitted after a moment, smiling faintly as she shook her head slowly. “I... I was never right for him. But he was available, and it was easy, and...”
Cygne looked back and forth, then she sighed softly and mumbled: “I still think about him a lot, though, and I wish sometimes things hadn't ended the way they had. I mean... I know things had to end. We were always friends, but never much more than that. We did all the things that couples did, but we were always so careful around each other. He was always so nice and thoughtful and including him was second nature and I trusted him but...”
Cadence gazed at her silently, as Cygne rose her head and looked up into the morning sky, saying: “It was all just... an imitation of perfection, though. It was wonderful, but it wasn't real, because I wasn't being who I really was at the end of the day. I wasn't...”
She bit her lip, but Cadence smiled faintly at her and nodded slowly, asking hesitantly: “So you've always been...”
“I have. I've always been... me. And if you've always been you, you don't really have anything to worry about.” Cygne smiled a bit, looking up and studying Cadence before she asked: “Are you a Princess?”
“Well, yes, you know I am.” Cadence seemed almost confused by the question, and it made Cygne smile wider. “What?”
“Just... reassuring, that's all.” Cygne shrugged a bit, and then she said finally: “I'm sorry for being judgmental. I guess it's a bad habit. I guess I have a lot of bad habits.”
“Hey, we all have our vices. You know, except for me, because I'm great.” Thesis chipped in, and Cadence jumped, but Cygne was somehow unsurprised as she turned with an amused smile towards the Replicant, who was on the neighboring balcony, leaning over the railing, mischievous eyes twinkling as they gazed at his love. “You over your hissy-fit?”
“Yeah.” Cygne admitted after a moment, shaking her head before she said mildly: “Although you know if it was anyone else...”
“You'd cream their corn, I know. Thank you for trusting me.” Thesis said honestly, and then he clapped his front hooves together and continued: “Mom expects us back within ten hours. If we take the train to Ponyville, it should cut a good amount of time off our journey, but I still want to leave within the next hour or two.”
Cygne frowned, but Thesis only looked pointedly back at her until she finally lowered her head and muttered: “Yeah. Alright. I'm doing my best to listen.”
Thesis smiled, before Cadence blurted out: “How did you two meet?”
Both Cygne and Thesis looked at the princess with surprise, and Cadence gave a lame smile before she reasoned awkwardly: “Well, I am the Princess of Love, you know... you... probably do know that very well, don't you?”
“You could say that.” Cygne said awkwardly, not wanting to get into how for her, being a princess had mostly consisted of her reminding herself to behave and smiling at people while letting Celestia and Luna handle all the diplomacy. And sometimes Shining. Because he was always better at that, too. “Well, uh... Thesis and I met... when...”
“Let's go get breakfast. Easier to talk over a meal.” Thesis suggested, and then he simply hopped onto the balcony rail and flung himself over the gap to theirs, Cadence squeaking but Cygne only smiling in amusement at him as he landed in front of her with a grin and a wink. “Plus I think it's supposed to be super cool to date twins or something.”
“I hate you.” Cygne said mildly, and then she traded a quick kiss with him before nodding and sighing, adding dryly: “It would have been nice to at least have a little bit of a honeymoon period with you, though.”
“Gosh, Cadence, I mean if you want to marry me that badly, I'm sure we can work something out, but it's pretty sudden.” Thesis remarked, before he winced when Cygne headbutted him and then shoved her face against his, forcing his eyes to look up into her own mild gaze.
“I don't think marriage suits us. But you do seem to like it when I 'suddenly' take things in a different direction.” she said, before she looked up almost awkwardly when Princess Cadence squealed a little, gazing at them brightly.
“You're just so adorable together!” she exclaimed, and Cygne winced as Thesis cleared his throat and looked away, and the princess hurriedly straightened and added awkwardly: “I mean, uh... breakfast would be excellent. Let's go get breakfast.”
“Let's.” Cygne said dryly, and then she sighed as Princess Cadence turned away, wondering if she had actually learned anything from all this, or she was just relieved that she wasn't destined to follow her parallel's path, or vice versa.
The train ride was muted, and their arrival in Ponyville wasn't celebrated, but went with only a meager greeting, a feeling of disappointment hanging heavy in the air. It was like the ponies had expected them to be able to come in and sweep up all their problems in a neat little bundle before they left, but life wasn't that easy, Cadence reflected.
She sighed a little as they walked along the road: some days were harder than other days when it came to things like this. And being confused, feeling unfulfilled and like they should have done more, and with all her worries about their new company and how easily and quickly La Croix fell in with that old, perhaps not so good crowd...
We don't do this for thank yous or credit, Cadence told herself as they left Ponyville behind, heading towards the Everfree Forest. We don't do this for praise. We fix the problems they can't handle themselves, then leave. They have to solve everything else themselves.
“Hey. Stop thinking and beating yourself up.” Thesis instructed gently, and Cadence glanced up, then grunted and lowered her head moodily. “Remember why we do this. Not just why we don't. You need to think positively sometimes, Sazerac.”
“What the hell did you just call me?” Cadence asked with a scowl, and Thesis shrugged lamely.
“Sazerac. It's a kind of drink, it used to be popular with the boys. It's mostly whiskey but you use a bit of sugar in it and that made me think of you because you're mostly whiskey even though when everyone looks at you they probably just see sugar at first.” Thesis said lamely, before he added awkwardly: “Don't hit me. I thought you might like it more than Honk.”
Cadence stared at the stallion for a few long moments, and then she sighed, but she couldn't hide the twitch of a smile at her lips as she said dryly: “You really never stop amazing me, you asshole.”
“I don't want that to be my nickname.” Thesis said blandly, and Cadence snorted before the stallion suggested hopefully: “How about Hero McAwesome?”
“How about Smoke?”
“Because where there's smoke, there's awesome pyrotechnics?” Thesis suggested with flex of one foreleg, and Cadence rolled her eyes.
“How about because you're nothing more than a puff that's easily blown away by a stiff wind?” she retorted, and then she added after a moment: “I guess Sazerac is okay. As long as it doesn't have anything to do with birds or anything. I'm tired of 'creative nicknames' that all just come back to 'Swan.'”
“Y'know, Cygne just means Swan too. But I can always change it up and start callin' you ours if you want, you got the strength of one, after all.” La Croix said mildly, and Cadence glanced back at him with a slight smile as the zebra grinned awkwardly up at her, and then he lowered his head and said humbly: “Merci. To both of you. 'Cause I know if y'both didn't agree, we'd be leavin' my brothers behind, and I don't wanna do that.”
He paused and glanced back over his shoulder: a few feet behind them, Samedi was chatting eloquently with Sombra, and Cimetaire was arguing loudly with Moonflower, but they both did seem to fit in already, Cadence reflected. “Well, I guess if there's one thing I've been reminded of a lot lately, it's the importance of family, La Croix. I mean, I don't think they're going to be permanent additions to our team...”
“Nah, they probably go to administration or somethin' like that. But I'm sure Nanny Hecate'll put real good use to 'em.” La Croix said positively, sounding perhaps more optimistic than Cadence had ever heard him be before.
Cadence began to open her mouth, but Thesis quickly cleared his throat before he agreed: “I'm sure she will. As long as they put in the work, anyone and everyone is welcome in Decretum.”
La Croix shifted awkwardly, and then he put on a wide grin when both Cadence and Thesis looked at him. “Y-Yeah! Well, you know me and mine, we might act like couyons from time to time, but ain't no one more intelligent 'round the bayou.”
“I just hope they're just as good out of the bayou as inside it, then.” Thesis replied mildly, and then he glanced up in surprise as there was a spark of magic in front of them before Twilight, Trixie, and Starlight Glimmer all popped into existence in front of them.
“Sorry sorry sorry!” Twilight blurted in embarrassment, almost stumbling over her own hooves as she hurried towards them, while Starlight rubbed at her head and Trixie shook herself out, her eyes rolling comically in her head. “I got so caught up with work I almost forgot to say goodbye!”
“Hey, I know that feeling.” Thesis said blandly, in a tone that told everyone very clearly he did not. “So uh... I guess you're here to say goodbye?”
“Yes, and to say thank you. So... thank you!” Twilight said awkwardly, but her big smile was honest. “I don't think we would have been able to survive without you. The complexity of the mist's magical equation was so fascinating that-”
“The Great and Powerful Trixie could have easily blown it all away with only a single gust of magic!” Trixie interrupted as she stomped forward, before she winced a bit when Twilight gave her a pointed look. “She just was told not to, that was all. Also the Great and Powerful Trixie could have easily handled everything herself but she is glad that you were there to help because she is too benevolent to dirty her hooves with such tasks.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Starlight Glimmer said finally: “Thank you for everything. These ponies are... sort of important to me. And we learned a lot in the brief time we spent together.”
Cadence smiled a bit at this, and Thesis simply shrugged amiably before Moonflower asked curiously: “How did you find us so quickly?”
“Oh, very simple! Trixie long ago taught Twilight Sparkle how to locate unicorns by sensing their horns!” Trixie said cheerfully, before she winked and continued: “Now, Twilight Sparkle is neither as Great, nor as Powerful as Trixie, but she is perhaps a little more sensitive.”
“After that it was merely a matter of triangulating your position and teleporting to you.” Twilight finished with a smile, gesturing absently at her friends. “They both wanted to come to thank you too-”
“Nonsense! We were sent here because Princess Twilight Sparkle cannot take care of herself and that is why we are here, as bodyguards!” Trixie argued quickly, looking away in embarrassment, and Twilight cocked her head almost curiously as Starlight Glimmer smiled in amusement.
“I can take care of myself very well. And I was the one who...” Twilight halted, then seemed to brighten slightly before she nodded slowly, saying after a moment: “I get it, you're... yes, I mean. It's very hard for me to take care of myself without your help.”
“See? The Great and Powerful Trixie never lies.” Trixie said comfortably, raising her head proudly, and Cadence gave maybe the smallest of smiles as she shook her head slowly. For a moment, her eyes roved to Twilight Sparkle, studying her curiously: what a strange mare she was. She had to be both powerful and skilled, but she was also so... weird. I'll have to ask Hecate about it.
Twilight glanced up suddenly, and then she blurted: “Well, I think we have to go! Thank you very much, but I have to go and meet up with one of my friends now. Take care!”
Trixie and Starlight Glimmer both stared as Twilight popped out of existence in a flash of magic, and then Trixie groaned loudly and grabbed at her face as Starlight Glimmer smiled despite herself. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is too Great and Powerful to walk all the way back to Ponyville! And does this mean she will have to buy train tickets as well?”
“Yes.” Starlight Glimmer said simply, and Trixie groaned again before Starlight Glimmer turned towards the odd group of ponies, Thesis tilting his head curiously as she seemed to gather her words for a moment.
Finally, she lowered her head, even though humility was clearly hard for her, as she said: “We would be glad to have you back here as guests any time. And... we were wondering...”
“We'll send a representative back. Right now we can't just have people visiting, though. Our world is... a little different than yours.” Thesis said delicately, before he smiled and continued tactfully: “But give us a week to send a delegate here to have a discussion with your princesses, and we'll see what we can do. I'm sure there's no mares more fitting for the job of exploring other worlds than you two, though, right?”
“Yes! We are the Special Investigators, after all!” Trixie proclaimed.
“The Mares in Black.” Cadence said ironically, and then she shrugged with a smile when Thesis glanced back at her curiously. “Don't blame me. Blame Shining Armor. He used to read those stupid comics all the time.”
“You and your ex.” Thesis said mildly, and Cadence favored the stallion with a flat look before he turned his eyes back towards Trixie and Starlight Glimmer. Trixie was posing proudly, but Starlight Glimmer was a little more refined, smiling awkwardly at them as she waited for... “Is there something else?”
“Well... no. No, of course not.” Starlight Glimmer paused, looking over the group of four, and Cadence frowned slightly as she glanced back over the group of ponies. Just ponies, she noted... “Well, Trixie, we'd better head back to Ponyville ourselves. You know what it's like when Twilight's off schedule.”
“Yes, yes. She will need the powers of the Great and Powerful Trixie to... do things.” Trixie somehow managed to look posh and arrogant despite her small speech error as she brushed slowly at herself, then she sniffed loudly as she reached up and pushed her glasses down slightly, saying pointedly as she glared at Thesis: “Just remember. The SIT is always watching you.”
“You know that acronym is never going to be threatening.” Thesis said blandly, and then he winced when Trixie leapt backwards and vanished in a burst of smog.
Except as the colorful smoke cleared, it revealed Trixie fighting to tug herself loose from a tree branch, mouthing swears to herself before she looked up with a deep blush as her glasses fell from her face before she yelled: “Starlight Glimmer!”
Starlight Glimmer rolled her eyes as her horn glowed before the magical aura encapsulated both her and Trixie as the baby blue mare stuck out her tongue, and then they simply vanished from the spot... along with a large part of the tree Trixie had been hooked on. The tree rumbled and shifted slowly to the side, but Cadence ignored the living plant in favor of turning and asking moodily: “Okay, La Croix. Why did you and your brothers hide?”
There was no response for a moment, and Cadence's eyes narrowed before they locked on the sight of the Loa peeking out from behind a nearby log, the mare glaring at him pointedly before she asked: “Well?”
La Croix winced, then popped back into existence, saying awkwardly: “H-Hey, Cygne, ain't nothing big. Just, y'know, avoidin' any complications. No one needs to know 'bout Cimetaire and Samedi, now do they? 'Srude of ponies to jump in like that, anyway.”
“'Srude.” Thesis half-agreed, and then he shook his head before he looked at Cadence. She looked back at him, disliking the instruction his eyes were giving, but after a moment, she sighed tiredly and nodded moodily, and Thesis smiled slightly before he returned his eyes to La Croix. “Of course, though. I trust you. You know that.”
La Croix smiled awkwardly, and then he lowered his head and murmured: “Oui. Merci.”
Cadence grumbled a little under her breath, but then she sighed and nodded slowly, murmuring: “Yeah. Trust. Don't screw it up, La Croix.”
La Croix shrugged awkwardly, before he winced when his brothers appeared on either side of him, both grinning in a way that wasn't reassuring in the slightest, both defensive, Cadence thought with a distinct scowl. “Hey, no worries, cher! La Croix might not be the best o' us out there, but he certainly ain't the worst, either. And now that we here to keep him in line, well...”
“What more could you ask for?” Samedi smiled, and Cadence hated the false genuity that he all but shone with. Had either of these Loa ever told a truth in their lives?
Even Sombra frowned a little, while Moonflower pursed his lips in a very disapproving-grandmotherly way. But Thesis was quick to cut them all off, smiling kindly himself and saying simply: “Don't screw this up. Because we will make you regret it.”
There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, and then Thesis pushed onward into the Everfree Forest, Cadence following behind him. Sombra and Moonflower came next, and the three Loa hesitated before La Croix sighed and muttered: “C'est des conneries.”
“Watch your mouth, boy. This is for your own good.” grumbled Samedi, but La Croix only waved a hoof irritably back at him before he continued on after his friends, and Samedi sighed before he glanced over at Cimetaire and muttered: “He always did get too close on the long cons.”
“He'd get too close on a short one.” Cimetaire grumbled, and then he sighed as twirled his cane once before he said finally: “Hope y'both are right.”
Samedi only shrugged, before the two Loa trudged behind their brother, following at a short distance. At the head of the pack, Cadence and Thesis both seemed to be aware something was going on, but Sombra was inscrutable and Moonflower just seemed confused.
They followed a natural path, La Croix losing some of his focus as he looked around, looking at the trees they passed, the blooming flowers, how it was all beautiful and alive and so far out of the control of the ponies. It was unbridled power and chaos, and yet La Croix seemed to see something else in it, too, as he smiled faintly to himself-
“Hey, where did you want to go?” Thesis asked suddenly, and La Croix blinked as he realized the question was directed at him. “Remember? It was sometime after we first got here. You said you wanted to go somewhere.”
“Oh, yeah. Yeah... uh... yeah.” La Croix laughed a little, and then he suddenly pushed quickly to the front of the group, Cadence blinking in surprise as the Loa bumped by to take a stumbling lead down the path. “This way!”
Cadence shot Thesis a look, but he only shrugged and followed wordlessly, so she did the same. Their group tightened as they walked down the path, La Croix becoming both hopeful and anxious, she thought. Incredibly anxious, almost as if he was scared, and yet something was dragging him along, until they reached...
La Croix stumbled into what seemed like nothing more than an empty dirt lot in the middle of the Everfree Forest, his mouth working slowly, spasmodically, before he whispered: “Cher...”
Cadece frowned, but La Croix cleared his throat and straightened quickly even as he clutched at his amulet, looking back and forth before he gave a short laugh and almost rasped: “Course. Of course. Wouldn't make no other sense otherwise...”
He lowered his head, then closed his eyes tightly as Cadence felt an unnatural chill fill the air. The mare readied herself, but without looking up, La Croix whispered: “Don't you worry none. Ain't no one but a bon rien couyon who think himself a cocodril...”
The ground beneath La Croix turned to swampy marshland, pulsating with unnatural heat as red and black water spilled in veins throughout the thrumming earth. The sky darkened above as clouds coalesced in the skies, swirling into a malevolent thunderhead that made the forest as black as night as trees cracked and warped, twisting themselves into eerie and unnatural shapes.
Cadence's eyes widened in shock as she looked back and forth, seeing both husks and flickering lights emerging throughout the trees as the air grew colder, even as the earth beneath them grew hotter. Reality itself seemed to fizzle as this hell-world overlapped the real world, twisting and bending it into an awful tumor in reality as Bondye growled: “Your brothers have led you into a trap, La Croix. You are mine, now.”
“Nah. I'm just done runnin' away, Bondye.” La Croix replied with a brief shake of his head, and then he tipped his hat back, looking up as the world rumbled, and something massive and terrible pushed its way through the trees; something dark and scaly, belly-crawling over the earth on its four stumpy, muscular legs, with a face painted into a white-skull mask, all teeth and hate as it glared down at him with eldritch emerald eyes.
“La Croix.” Bondye greeted contemptibly, as the mighty, forty-foot crocodile stopped at the edge of the marshy clearing. He glared down at La Croix, and La Croix looked back up at him in silence before Bondye said softly: “Your brothers have already run away. And your friends will not be enough to save you.”
Cadence bared her teeth at this, anger flaring through her body, and all of that rage she directed at Bondye as she stepped forward and shouted: “Who the hell do you think you are? Do you really think I'm scared of an overgrown lizard like you?”
Bondye's eyes flicked with contempt to Cadence before he said softly: “Swan. I wonder if you taste like your namesake: I think after I'm done with La Croix, I'll kill you next. For now, shut up, and stay out of my way.”
“Hey!” La Croix shouted, before Cadence could snap back at the crocodile, and all eyes turned to him as the zebra stepped forwards, the Loa glaring up at Bondye before he snapped: “This ain't about her, this be about me and you!”
Bondye smiled in derision, leaning down as he replied: “The only reason you are worth the moment of time it will take to destroy you, La Croix, is because of the way you have slipped, and slided, and managed to keep yourself on the run for so long, like the coward you are. Every other agent, every other force I have sent your way has been destroyed. But now you will not run. You will not escape again.”
“I'm done runnin', Bondye. I ain't scared no more.” La Croix whispered, but his eyes were defiant as he looked up at the Orisha, breathing hard in and out before he rose his head high and said clearer: “You... you all hear that? This be between me and him. Don't none of y'all try any heroics now.”
“You can do it, La Croix!” Moonflower shouted suddenly, surprising even Sombra as the unicorn stepped forwards and nodded vehemently. “This alligator is no match for your weird stripehorse magic! And if you can't teach him a lesson then I certainly will! Pose all you want but I won't just sit back and let this big stupid lizard eat you!”
Bondye scowled in disgust as Sombra nodded and Cadence grumbled under her breath, before Thesis leaned forwards and said, serious and professional: “Bondye! My name is Thesis, and I am the acting Regent of Decretum and the Clockwork Empire!”
“You are Voidborn, and a traitor to Loki. You are a fool, that is all you are.” Bondye answered, his poison gaze locked on Thesis for a few moments before he returned his eyes to La Croix, mocking: “And this is what you choose to ally yourself with now. Other cowards, other traitors, other weaklings, who stand uselessly against forces that they can never equal, never understand, who have all banded together in the delusion that somehow they will be strong enough to stand against death and beyond-death.”
“You fou, Bondye. Loki be the biggest traitor of them all. And he ain't gonna give you neither mercy nor power at the end of the day.” La Croix answered, and Bondye smiled, cold and cruel and arrogant.
“Even if he is beyond death, that does not mean he is beyond the power of death. Nothing is beyond destruction.” Bondye said, calm and terribly, irrationally rational. “I will learn his weaknesses, and I will destroy him from within, just as I conquered He Above. Just as I became the most powerful of all the Orisha in Darkwater: just as I became God.”
“You ain't never conquered He Above. And you ain't no god, Bondye... you just another stupid bayou-dweller who got too high and mighty an opinion of hisself after all the time he spent pickin' on tadpoles and ouaouarons.” La Croix shook his head slowly, and Bondye snarled at him. It was hard to tell what infuriated the giant crocodile more: La Croix's insults, or his lack of fear as he refused to bow to the giant.
Bondye loomed forwards, and then he smiled suddenly, rearing back as he said contemptibly: “Very well, La Croix. So be it, and so be your fate. Slaves, come forth and prove your loyalty to me by punishing this one for his betrayal.”
Bondye stepped backwards and smiled coldly as zebra crawled up out of the muck and slime at the edge of the clearing, gasping and snarling as they turned furious, hateful glares on La Croix. But La Croix only faced the five Nzambi with bitter smiles even as they twitched and hissed with feral eagerness, saying softly: “Can't even fight your own battles. So much for eatin' me up in one gulp, cocodril.”
“Kill him.” Bondye ordered, and the Nzambi howled before they charged eagerly forwards, but La Croix held his ground as he palmed a vial and a horn of powder out of his cape, waiting to the last moment before he popped the cork off the horn and flicked it sharply.
A wall of dust burst into the air in front of him, and two of the Nzambi bounced off this like it was a physical thing before a third screamed and burst into flames when the bottle smashed into it and shattered. The burning zebra zombie staggered into one of the remaining Nzambi, who hissed and shoved it away with a curse, while the last leapt at La Croix, but the Loa dodged backwards before he flicked out a burst of dust over its face, the Nzambi hissing as it was driven backwards, the dust eating through it like corrosive acid.
La Croix tossed the horn down, drawing another potion out of his cape and uncorking it before he splashed it over the face of a Nzambi that lunged at his flank, and the undead zebra staggered backwards with a snarl as his features bubbled before he rubbed wildly at his face, then howled in pain and fury as his skin sloughed off like paper.
La Croix vanished from sight, but Bondye simply flicked a claw irritably, and the Loa gasped as he was punched back into reality by a tremendous force, stumbling to the side before a Nzambi tackled him and drove him down under its hooves. It began to press down, but then gargled in shock when La Croix slammed his hoof up into its throat and the needle sprung free from the bracer, punching up through its brain.
The Loa yanked his needle back down and kicked the stunned Nzambi off, and Bondye snorted in disgust as La Croix scrambled up to his hooves before he ducked under another zombie, then swore as he stumbled out of the way of another grab- “Pathetic!”
The Nzambi looked up, and La Croix's eyes widened in horror before he winced and swept his cape up when Bondye leaned forwards and rasped out a toxic green hell of mist. The Nzambi howled in misery as they were dissolved beneath the flow of poison, while La Croix held his breath, clenching his eyes shut as his body sparked with green lightning until the toxic miasma settled.
La Croix let his cape drop, grimacing as it steamed slowly and the charms that had been sewn and woven throughout it glimmered eerily. Bondye snorted in disgust at this as the corpses of the Nzambi sank slowly back into the mud, then he rose his head slightly and ordered coolly: “Abdar. Come forth.”
Animalistic spirits flickered into being around the clearing, and La Croix's eyes widened in shock as he looked back and forth at the white shapes: the same ones that Bondye had made attack him before. He saw the glowing white lion among their number, and the Loa gritted his teeth before he snapped: “Y'ain't even good enough to do your own dirty work, you gonna make-”
“I have taken control of Darkwater now. All the guardians, the spirits, the other Orisha, all bow to me now, La Croix. And I think it would be most fitting if you were beaten, bloodied, and bludgeoned by the same powers that were stupid enough to try and save your worthless hide.” Bondye answered, as a cruel smile spread down his muzzle as he extended a claw.
La Corix reared back in disbelief, his eyes widening in horror as Bondye's claw flexed before a shape slowly rose up out of the mud: a zebra mare, Cadence saw. One she half-recognized from her commonality across the planes, in spite of the bone charms hanging around her neck, and how her mane fell in a loose mess around her shoulders...
“Cher.” La Croix whispered, as he clutched at his amulet, and the zebra looked listlessly up before she looked emotionlessly down at one of her hooves, inspecting the bracer around one foreleg: a bone and gold, awful imitation of the hornet needle around La Croix's own limb. “Cher... do you hear me, Zecora?”
“Loa.” Zecora said tonelessly, and she stared at him for a moment before she gasped, clutching at her throat as the hide collar around it tightened savagely when Bondye only flicked one of his claws lazily.
The animal spirits snarled and hissed, and La Croix shouted out as he stretched a hoof towards her before he looked up at Bondye, roaring: “You leave her alone, you fils de pute!”
“Break him, priestess. He Above orders that you make this Loa submit.” mocked Bondye, and Zecora looked blankly up before one of her hooves rose into the air as if pulled by a string, pointing at the Loa.
Spirits lunged in from all sides, and La Croix swore as he was smashed back and forth by the ghosts before he grabbed at his cape and yanked out a horn of powder. But before he could do anything with it, Zecora made a pulling motion, and the ghost of a bird shot down and snatched it out of his hoof, carrying it over to her.
She caught it and moved with eerie agility in spite of her large wooden movements, uncorking the horn and spilling the powder in a circle around herself before she poured a bit into a hoof, murmuring an incantation. Then she simply blew on the dust, and it streamed into the air, forming a black snake that shot through the air and streaked towards La Croix.
The Loa barely reacted in time, leaping backwards as he yanked a bundle out of his cape and flung it outwards, the packet exploding when it hit the snake of black powder in a bright flare of light. Zecora didn't so much as flinch away, staring emptily at La Croix as he hit the ground and skidded backwards from the force of the blast, wheezing once before he swore as a larger spirit crashed into him and trampled him into the sand.
He rolled several times, then clawed his way up to his hooves before he almost screamed: “Cher! Open your eyes, Zecora! Open your eyes you fou chaoui!”
Zecora flinched at this, her eyes unclouding for a moment, and then she choked as the collar around her neck tightened violently, driving the spirits into a frenzy again as Bondye growled: “Obey, priestess. You have no choice but to obey.”
La Croix snarled, tears in his eyes as he glared up at Bondye before he shouted: “You stop it! You bellycrawlin' monstre! Y'ain't nothin' but a-”
La Croix was tackled by a spirit, knocked onto his side before he swore as his hat was slapped away by another specter, and then he rolled quickly over, yanking another potion out of his cape. But this was smashed away by another specter, before he gasped as his cape was torn from his body by several bird spirits, as Bondye said coldly: “Kill him.”
Zecora hesitated, tilting her head to the side as if she didn't understand, and Bondye growled before he clenched his claw above her, the mare choking and falling to her knees inside the protective circle as she clutched uselessly at her throat. “Kill him!”
“Cher!” La Croix shouted, even as the spirits piled on to him, pinning him down, leaving bruises and welts across his body before he suddenly looked up and sang out in the old language as desperation surged through his body: “So I pray to you, my ancestors highest, for the strength to see this through... yet always I am thankful for the knowledge you will be at my side...”
Zecora's head rose, and La Croix gasped as he was pushed down, trembling as he was pressed down into the marsh, before he continued in those old words, those words he had never forgotten, reinforced a million times by the memories he relived every single day in his mind: “To He Above I sing this song, in praise for what he's done... and in apology for my people and our failings in the past; spirits, take this message to the one who created our wondrous land...”
“Shut up, La Croix. He Above is not here to save you.” Bondye said contemptibly, before he frowned and looked down as Zecora forced her head to rise.
“I do, I do, I take it there now, but He Above will not turn his head...” Zecora whispered in reply, and La Croix smiled even as he trembled beneath the weight of the spirits crushing down on him from all sides.
“With love I sing to He Above, I know there is no answer; for even if we have disappointed him, even if he remains aloof, all the same he has given to me you... he has given me to you...” La Croix sang back, with tears in his eyes, and Zecora's features cleared faintly as she stared at him.
“La Croix?” she asked, and then she screamed as green lightning ripped across her body and drove her to her knees.
“Worthless!” Bondye snarled, before he reached a claw out, then snorted in contempt as his talons contacted the invisible barrier created by the powder: but with only a flick of his claws, he shattered the protective ward, the powder bursting away in all directions as he stretched down-
The spirit of a lion leapt into the air and pounced onto Bondye's muzzle, making his head snap back in surprise before he snarled and seized the spirit, throwing it away. But La Croix felt the pressure rising as the other spirits turned on Bondye, leaping to defend Zecora as she crawled away with a gasp before she grabbed at the collar around her neck, trying to tear it loose.
La Croix flung himself to his hooves, dashing to mare to help her as Bondye snapped his head back and forth, biting like an animal back at the spirits as they harried him from all sides, roaring: “Worthless! Have you all forgotten who I am? I am your master! I am your ruler!”
“Y'ain't nothin' but a bête.” La Croix muttered as his hooves sizzled with green lightning, then he tore the collar quickly off Zecora's neck as he shattered the enchantment on it, throwing it aside before he grabbed the mare and hauled her to her hooves, half-pulling her behind him as he snapped: “You, get out of here and-”
“The same La Croix as ever, I see... you worry about you and I'll take care of me.” Zecora replied, pushing him firmly to the side, and La Croix huffed at her, even as he smiled, even as he had difficulty pulling his eyes away- “Focus on our foe. Bondye can still bring great woe.”
“No. Not anymore. Not now and not ever again.” La Croix said, as he turned his eyes back forward, and Zecora smiled back at him despite herself as they faced the massive crocodile.
Bondye snarled as he flung off the last of the spirits attacking him, the specters fleeing in all directions as the massive crocodile turned his furious eyes on them, leaning down and growling: “Traitors and cowards. Worthless.”
“Well, y'know what they say, Bondye. If you want somethin' done right, you best do it yourself.” La Croix retorted, before he pawed a hoof at the muddy marsh and readied himself as the behemoth Orisha took a lumbering step forwards with a cold smile.
“So very true, La Croix. I suppose it was foolish to count on you to even be able to die properly, considering how you've failed me in every other capacity in the past.” Bondye said contemptibly, before he added cruelly: “At least I was always planning on devouring you, priestess. But now you can consider it a punishment instead of an honorable sacrifice to your god.”
“You are no god of mine, tyrant of Darkwater; only the weak demand sacrifice and slaughter.” retorted Zecora, and Bondye laughed shortly, shaking his head in disgust.
“Nzambi.” Bondye growled, and the marshland trembled before mutilated zebra clawed their way up out of the earth, surrounding both Loa and shaman in a circle. “Keep them still for me.”
“Coward. Coward!” La Croix roared, and he rose his head high as he looked back and forth at the snarling, monstrous zebra zombies. “He ain't nothin' but a coward! And he gonna kill all of you after he done with me! He's leadin' all y'all to death and destruction!”
Zecora closed her eyes, lowering her head as she began to murmur under her breath, while La Croix glared back and forth at the zombies, shouting and gesturing wildly: “Y'idjits! Y'ain't supposed to be his slaves, his cannon fodder! How'd y'all fall so far? Look at yourselves, you ain't nothin' but thugs now, and I know that all y'all had to have started as somethin' more, been-”
“Shut him up.” Bondye ordered, and several Nzambi immediately leapt on top of the Loa, as two others seized Zecora by the forelegs and slammed her down into the marsh.
But Zecora didn't stop her recitation as La Croix flailed and shouted, Bondye leaning forwards as toxic fog vented out of his hungry jaws. Cadence gritted her teeth as she began to lean forwards, but Thesis reached out and stopped her as Sombra caught Moonflower before he could gallop into the fray: all the same, the movement caught Bondye's eyes, which flicked up before the Orisha grinned and said contemptibly: “You will all follow soon.”
“Your fight's with us, Bondye.” La Croix growled, looking up as Zecora finished her prayer, and Bondye scowled as he looked down, before his eyes narrowed at the wry grin on La Croix's face before his eyes widened as sudden, intense light blazed through the clouds above.
“What have you done?” Bondye snarled, before he stumbled backwards, trying haplessly to cover his eyes as his Nzambi wilted backwards, retreating as the light burned through the thunderhead and seared the marshy earth below. “I will not be cheated of my prize by sorcery!”
“No magic, but prayer, to He Above us all; I asked, not demanded, and he has answered my call.” Zecora said fearlessly, pushing herself up to her hooves as the Nzambi fled, the zebra glaring up at Bondye as he snarled in fury. “Every day you have lived, you fight who you are: without-”
“You will worship me with your silence! I am sick of your pathetic rhymes!” Bondye snarled, stepping forwards and stomping a claw out, but La Croix tackled Zecora out of the way before he shielded her with his body when the monster roared out a blast of toxic smog.
La Croix gasped as the malevolent mist ripped across his side, but the warmth and light in the air diluted Bondye's powers and magic and healed the Loa almost as quickly as he was injured. Yet all the same, the pain was horrific, almost unbearable, as Zecora grasped him and urged: “We must still forge our own path, be careful my friend! Both of us could still meet a grisly end!”
“Y'know, rhymin' takes a bit o' the seriousness out of the situation.” La Croix wheezed, before he turned and gritted his teeth, muttering: “And I know, cher. I'm startin' to remember all the old ways. He Above was always there to help us, but never to do anything for us, and that's how Bondye lured us all away... but we forgot, all of us forgot, that Darkwater was not ours at the end of the day...”
“It is mine!” Bondye leaned forwards, jaws snapping down at the zebra, but La Croix and Zecora leapt to either side. Bondye chased after La Croix, jaws snapping and biting after him as his massive body plowed across the marshland, claws raking up the clay and stumbling over the marshland that had hardened beneath the divine light.
La Croix winced as Bondye lunged at him before he flung himself into the air, green lightning sparking over his body before he transformed in a flash of energy into a black and white bird that flapped its wings wildly, shooting through the air before there was another sizzle of energy, and the Loa flopped out of the sky, landing with a thunk at the edge of the marshland as he mumbled: “Forgot why I don't do that.”
“La Croix!” Bondye roared as he charged across the marshes towards him, and La Croix gritted his teeth before his eyes locked on the sight of his hat, the Loa snapping this up before he winced as the massive Orisha pounced towards him with a furious roar-
The Loa swung his hat out in a scooping motion, and there was an indescribable sound of reality bending and fabric straining as Bondye was pulled into the hat before La Croix flung the hat as high into the air as he could, then he snapped a hoof out, sending a burst of green lightning into the charmed headpiece.
It exploded in a blast of emerald flames, and Bondye popped back into reality amidst a storm of powders and broken bottles, howling in pain and frustration as he flipped violently several times through the air before the mighty Orisha crashed face-first into the marshland with a resounding bang, the whole world shaking with the force of his impact. But even burned and bludgeoned as he was, wounds torn through armor-like scale by the violent rejection from pocket-reality, he was furious more than injured, clawing his way up towards La Croix as his eyes blazed with hate.
Emerald energy tore across La Croix, his limbs quavering as he barely managed to stay standing: if it hadn't been for the holy essence muffling the air, he knew he would have been simply erased from reality. But even as it was, he felt paralyzed with pain, barely able to keep from falling on his face as he gritted his teeth and stared both resolutely and desperately at Bondye.
The massive crocodile lumbered towards him, growling: “I should have destroyed you after your first failure. I should have had your skin ripped from your body and your bones shaped into charms and trinkets. I should have-”
Bondye paused, then he looked over his shoulder at Zecora, who was standing behind him with her head high, her eyes glaring into Bondye's fearlessly, La Croix's cape hanging from one of her hooves as the Orisha said coldly: “Wait your turn, witch.”
“For all your power, Bondye, you are a spirit same as any other: bound by the same rules as your sisters and your brothers.” Zecora said calmly, before she pulled a packet of powder out of La Croix's cape and said quietly: “But you are a force of evil, a Sároch who fancies himself Warobal Mama. I do not fear you, though, and my kind do not fear you. We stood strong against your corruption, even as you made victims of my brothers and sisters and our guardians. But you, Bondye, taught us to always be on guard, to always be strong... and to still, be good to those who turn upon us, for it was your touch that brought them low.”
“You stopped rhyming, witch. So perhaps you have forgotten the old ways as well.” Bondye said contemptibly, as he slowly turned himself around to lean down towards Zecora. “But I would still prefer you silent. And I will make you silent if-”
Zecora whispered a blessing, then blew on the packet, which unfurled like a blossoming flower as its contents spilled upwards, pouring across Bondye's face. The Orisha flinched to the side in surprise, before his lip curled in a derisive snarl as he turned his eyes disgustedly down to Zecora, asking coldly: “Do you really think your powers are so great they can compare to mine?”
“No.” Zecora answered, before she smiled up at him, the Orisha scowling in surprise. “But perhaps I can compel you to rejoin the path you lost; or at least help you acknowledge all that your darkness has cost.”
“I will kill you first.” Bondye said coldly, jaws opening wide as he leaned down towards the mare, before he straightened slightly in surprise as something bounced off his back.
He looked back over his shoulder to see La Croix standing again, the Loa shouting: “Hey! Bondye! Do you remember what we Loa used to do?”
Bondye snorted, and then he said contemptibly: “All the Loa have ever been are messengers and delivery boys. Expendable toys.”
“I prefer to think o' myself as an escort and an ambassador. 'Swhat you wanted me to be, after all.” La Croix retorted, before he asked suddenly, sharply: “What are you, Bondye? Ain't you Orisha? Ain't you one of us?”
“I am not one of you. I am above all of you. Darkwater is mine and I am no Orisha! I am God!” Bondye snarled back, and the light surrounding him grew brighter for a moment, the massive crocodile flinching before his eyes widened as the glow simply whiffed out around him, grasping at his own chest as he whispered: “What?”
“You rejected your place, in front of He Above.” La Croix said quietly, spreading his forelegs and looking up towards the warm light spilling down from the clouds: the light that was now fading, as the marshland bled out of reality, as they went from standing in Bondye's Darkwater hellscape to a simple dirt lot in a living, eerie forest... and Bondye, for all his might and power, was nothing more than a forty foot cocodril,wounded and bleeding and exiled. “You got what you wanted, mon ami. Y'ain't one of us.”
Bondye snarled in fury, before La Croix stomped his hooves down, and green lighting tore through the earth as Zecora thrust her hooves into the air, a thrum of power pulsing through reality as Bondye looked back and forth in shock. “What are you doing?”
“Sendin' you home.” La Croix growled.
Bondye snarled, then he charged straight for La Croix, but he stumbled as the earth beneath him suddenly gave away before he roared in horror as massive claws ripped out of the ground around him, greedily grabbing at him as hideous Unborn and Nzambi and wraiths clawed their way out of the cracked earth, steam and hell-mist venting up from the ground around the crocodile as he roared and struggled uselessly. His great strength and size allowed him to resist the pull of the dark world for a few moments, but then the bright, glowing specters of animals and zebras came down from above, shoving down on Bondye, pushing him into the hell-rift that had formed in the earth beneath the monster's claws as the light from the sun weighed down on him like a physical thing.
“I'll be back, La Croix! You cannot banish me forever!” roared Bondye, as he clawed uselessly at the crumbling ground, glaring furiously, hatefully at La Croix as the Loa grimaced and backed away, breathing hard. Nzambi crawled eagerly over their former master like hungry, vengeful ants, and claws seized into Bondye's body, ripped scales and flesh from the crocodile, tore every wound across his frame wider as they dragged him down.
And yet Bondye still glared with hate and fury up at La Croix, even as the earth began to seal itself shut, the crocodile promising even as the closing ground muffled his roars: “I'll devour you, La Croix! I'll destroy you and everything you've ever held dear! I'll-”
Finally, the earth slammed closed around him, and the glowing spirits circled above for a moment before they faded from the air, leaving La Croix and Zecora alone on the dusty battlefield. They looked at each other for a few moments, and then La Croix cleared his throat before he straightened up and strode quickly across the dirt lot, then blushed and halted when Zecora reached up and gently grasped the amulet hanging around his neck.
She smiled at him, then gently swept his cape around his shoulders and tightened the clasp that held it on, leaning her head against his before she murmured in his ear: “I have to go.”
“Cher... y'... you don't...” La Croix whispered, but when Zecora leaned back with a small smile, the Loa sighed and lowered his head, closing his eyes before he nodded once and murmured: “I... I don't like it. But I understand. Bondye interrupted your sleep, and... I guess you earned the rest. Darkwater... should be better, now that Bondye ain't gonna be around for a long time.”
Zecora nodded, straightening and gazing into his eyes before a voice called cheerfully: “Kiss him!”
Zecora smiled in amusement as La Croix blushed furiously and glared at his brothers, snapping: “Y'idjits might've been a help in gettin' him gone, but I'll send y'both to enfer if you keep this up!”
“Some way to talk to your brothers, La Croix! Without us, Bondye wouldn't have been drawn out in the first place, and nor would you have been able to send him down to the darkness.” replied Samedi reasonably, before he added easily: “It's a compliment to you, anyway. You look good with her. Pardonnez-moi, madame, I don't mean that you look good for La Croix... you're clearly far out of his league.”
La Croix grumbled, and Zecora chuckled softly before she turned her eyes towards the zebra, saying quietly: “I will remember you.”
La Croix looked up at her, and Zecora stole a kiss, making the Loa stare and blush before she smiled softly and stepped backwards, her body dissolving into streamers of white and black as she promised quietly: “We'll meet again, La Croix, my friend... if we are meant to be together...”
“We'll be together in the end. Until the end of forever.” La Croix finished, watching silently as the mare dissolved, before he closed his eyes and lowered his head. He breathed silently in and out as Cadence hesitantly approached, but then he slapped at his cheeks and shook himself out, straightening and grumbling to try and hide the tears in his eyes as he said: “Always says such long goodbyes. Don't know why she hung out so long. Mares! Uh, no offense, Cygne.”
Cadence only smiled briefly, before Moonflower asked almost anxiously: “But what just happened? She looked like... I mean, perhaps it wasn't as obvious to the other people here, but I certainly thought I saw... I mean, I think I saw...”
La Croix sighed tiredly, then he looked away as he explained: “Wasn't her time to come back. Bondye brought her back with whatever powers Loki gave him, but... not the power to control her. And so, now cher has gone to rest again in Darkwater, to sleep until it's time for her to be reborn, and... y'can't rush it. I can't rush it.”
He lowered his head, then cleared his throat and added as he glanced up: “Mo chagrin, for... not tellin' y'all I was tryin' to draw Bondye out. It was a crazy, stupid idea, but... I knew he needed to be dealt with, and I didn't wanna spoil anything by talkin' out loud. Bondye got too many ears. I didn't even know if we could get rid o' him, but... it was somethin' I had to do. Does that make any sense?”
“No. But I get it, all the same.” Cadence answered with a small smile and a shrug, and La Croix chuckled a little.
“We should set up the portal ring here. We've got a lot to explain to Mom.” Thesis said, before he glanced up as Samedi rose a hoof with a smile. “What? Another secret?”
“Nah. Just a change o' plans.” Samedi answered, before he looked at La Croix and said almost grudgingly: “You... seem to be doin' fine on your own now, La Croix. You mon petite frère... but I guess that without us two around, you've managed to grow up some. And with Bondye gone, there's no reason for us not to go back to Darkwater.”
“I guess we can't have you showin' us up like this. But I s'pose it's better that we go back home, where we'll be needed. Unlike you.” Cimetaire added, and La Croix smiled despite himself before the Loa sighed and added quietly: “Take care, La Croix. You done good. You done us proud.”
La Croix smiled warmly, and without another word, both Loa simply tipped their hats and vanished, Thesis cocking an eyebrow curiously as Cadence frowned and Moonflower stared blankly. But it was Sombra who spoke first, bowing his head and saying gently: “I'm glad that you've earned your brothers' approval, La Croix.”
“Nah. Think they just think I found a place where they're keepin' me out of trouble.” La Croix murmured, and then he chuckled and shook his head before he looked back at Cadence and Thesis, giving a wry grin as he tightened his cape around his shoulders before asking: “So the hell are we waitin' for? Let's go home.”
Thesis smiled at that, and Cadence sighed and shook her head. And La Croix only grinned, head raised, proud and happy for all he had gained in spite of all he had lost, ready to continue the fight.