A Wilting Flower

by Terran34

3. The Years Gone By

The silence settles over us like an oppressive blanket, broken only by the sound of our footfalls upon the metal grating. The path ahead is completely obscured by a shroud of darkness. The only source of light comes from the back of my phone. Wherever I angle it, a dim circle of the floor is illuminated ahead of us.

“This is a pain...I can't see a damn thing,” I complain. My phone's flashlight isn't bad, but it's doing very little to peel away the thick darkness. A quick glance upwards reveals tubes along the ceiling that contain filaments similar to what you'd see in fluorescent lighting, but they're completely inert. I don't see any light switches around, so I'm guessing they're activated from some other central location. Not that they'd work anyway. Any type of power generator would be long useless by now.

“Hey, shine that light thingy over here,” Rainbow rather eloquently requests as she pushes past me. “Is this a door?”

I obligingly sweep the beam of light over to where she is standing. Rainbow steps aside slightly so that the light falls upon the strange door that she was looking at. I can tell it's a door due to the way it's set into the wall, but it looks like no door I've ever seen.

“I think so,” I reply uncertainly, joining her by it. I set the phone on the floor with its flashlight angled up so I can use both hands. Just like everything else, it's made of a hard metal that doesn't seem to have corroded at all. There's a small window set into the upper portion of the door, but I can't see through it. Even shining the light through doesn't reveal more than a few inches into the darkness. “Let me see if I can't get it open.”

I spot a recessed handle in the door about halfway up. It's not a typical door handle, the kind of which you'd see at an everyday institution like my college. It looks more like a crank than a handle or a doorknob. It’s a rather odd design. I clamp my hand on it and attempt to open the door, but nothing happens as I turn the crank. It doesn't sound like anything is moving in the structure of the door either.

“What, is it locked?” Rainbow questions. She shoves her way past me and attempts to push the door open with her shoulder, but that doesn't have any success. She even turns and tries to buck it open, with similar results. “It just won't budge! What's this thing made of?”

“Metal,” I deadpan, crossing my arms at her. Like she's really gonna be able to buck down a door like this. “Seriously though, this place was made to be sturdy. I couldn't punch the front door down, and these doors look like they're made to resist tons of pressure.”

“What, were they trying to keep something out?” Rainbow suggests.

“Yeah, probably. They were trying to hide from the Oppressed,” I explain with a shrug. Rainbow closes her mouth, remembering what I'd told her about the end of my species. It only makes sense that the bunker would be built so sturdily. “But it doesn't look like the front door was breached.”

“Does that mean some humans survived?” Rainbow asks hopefully.

“You'd think so...but this place was vacuum sealed. This doesn't make any sense.” I rest my back against the door, thinking hard. I'm trying to fit together everything I've learned in attempt to make sense of this place. It's likely that this was a bunker to hide from the Oppressed. But that doesn't explain the vacuum seal, or where the survivors went...if there were any.

I consider busting down the door, but decide better of it. The door could be constructed similarly to the front door. If so, punching it would be useless. Even if I could knock it down, who knows how sturdy this place is. The better choice would be to wait and see what else we can find.

“Let's keep moving. This door clearly isn't going to open anytime soon,” I tell her. Rainbow shrugs and joins me, losing interest in the door now that we can't get through it. Grasping my phone, I lead the way down the corridor to see what else we can find.

It seems like the bunker is laid out in a very practical fashion. The corridors are narrow and what rooms we can find are cramped. Saving space must have been a priority to the contractors. Security must have also been important; we can't go ten feet without finding another door we can't open. After the fifth door that we find bolted shut, I notice that some of the wires beneath the floor grate feed up into the door frame.

“If I'm not mistaken, I think these doors might actually be electric,” I hypothesize after inspecting one of the doors further. When Rainbow comes to investigate, I point her to where the wires connect with the door frame.

“Wow, that must have been expensive. I'd go broke trying to do that,” Rainbow comments, looking impressed.

“It's definitely not cheap. But it's not nearly as expensive for us; electricity for us is commonplace,” I remind her. “It does seem a little excessive though. As if anything was going to get through that front door.”

The thought also crosses my head that the door might be magnetic. I heard that electromagnets can be powered through an electric current, but I don't know the details. I don't say it aloud; Rainbow would never understand. I don't even know if the common ponies know about the concept of magnetism yet.

“Alright, then let's get this thing powered! That's all we gotta do to open it, right?” Rainbow determines.

“Yeah, but there is no way to power it. Whatever power source there might have been will have long since deteriorated,” I point out. Unless there's a hand crank generator. But given the sophistication of this place, I sincerely doubt there will be something so impractical.

“Ugh, that's lame. Didn't your people build anything to last?” Rainbow complains. She glares stubbornly at the door, as if giving up on it meant letting the door beat her.

“Not really. We built for functionality, and relied on ourselves to fix or replace what broke,” I admit with a shrug. My response then turns slightly bitter. “It's not like we expected to suddenly not be around anymore.”

“Oh...yeah...I guess you have a point,” Rainbow retracts, looking a little embarrassed. I'm not mad though. Now that she brought it up, I can't help but be a little confused.

Despite their flaws, humans were geniuses. We had the most sophisticated technology, with computers that can hold entire generations worth of information. We could travel the world in a matter of days with our knowledge of aviation. We had people who can make weapons that vaporize entire cities in moments. We even put a man on the goddamned moon. I bet if I ever told Luna that, she'd probably kick me out of the throne room. Before or after she finished laughing.

In light of all of mankind's technological accomplishments, how the hell did Vanta and his undead horde beat us?

---

Approximately 3000 Years Ago

By the time Amaryllis made it back to the front of the science building, where she had encountered the strange, sinister man, it seemed like everyone had forgotten about the incident. Now that the short term fear had passed and the other witnesses had run, students were passing through the area as though everything were normal. Amaryllis could already feel her ire rising as that thought came to her.

After storming into the clearing, she noticed two people standing near the top of the stairs that led to the parking lot. One of them was the student that had spoken to her moments after the strange man had made his exit. At the time she'd been too worried about Seth to care who he was, but now she recognized him from one of the classes she took last semester. If she remembered right, his name was William.

The other was a member of the campus police, judging from her attire. At the bottom of the stairs, in the parking lot, Amaryllis spotted a single patrol car parked against the side of the road. Good; that meant William had actually done what she asked and called them here. However, Amaryllis couldn't help but feel that just one policewoman wouldn't be enough.

As Amaryllis approached, she was able to hear the conversation currently in progress. “Sir, I'm going to need you to slow down and start over. I'm still not quite sure I'm fully understanding,” the officer was saying to the rather overwhelmed looking William. “You described the suspicious person as being fully clad in armor?”

“Not body armor like what the military uses, but actual, medieval...like knight armor,” William attempted to explain, but Amaryllis was already rolling her eyes. He kept stumbling over his words. In her mind, there was no way the officer was going to take him seriously.

“Knight armor,” the officer repeated. Amaryllis could already see the skeptical expression forming on her face. William nodded, gulping uncertainty in the face of the policewoman's skepticism. “Look, sir, if you called me out here for...”

“Okay, he didn't call you out here for anything,” Amaryllis interrupted. William clearly couldn't even handle the simple task of explaining himself believably. Upon her interruption, the officer cut off and turned to face her, her expression neutral. William sighed with relief and took a few steps back, allowing Amaryllis to take over the situation. “I did. He was just doing what he was told.”

“And you are?” the officer questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Amaryllis Meryl,” Amaryllis answered impatiently.

“I see. Then perhaps you can shed some light on the situation. The campus police keeps very busy; too busy to be distracted by trifles,” the officer responded smoothly and sternly. Amaryllis' brow twitched in annoyance at the way she was addressed. It felt like she was being talked down to, and that was enough to piss her off. “Did you too see the man in 'knight armor?'”

“Okay, first off, you can stop talking to me like that,” Amaryllis snapped, losing her composure. The officer blinked at the outburst, while William winced; the student knew full well how fiery Amaryllis could get. “I'm not some kid who calls the police over something stupid.”

“Excuse me?” the officer began showing some irritation as well.

Amaryllis turned slightly and pointed directly above the entrance to the science building. There, one of the school's many security cameras was installed at the fringe of the concrete overhang. “If you don't believe us, check the security footage,” she expressed. “But more importantly, my friend is missing, and that man is the last one to have seen him.”

“I don't appreciate your tone, miss,” the officer retorted, crossing her arms. Amaryllis rolled her eyes. Of course she didn't. This didn't bode well for the campus' safety if all Amaryllis could expect from the law enforcement was to get offended over their own incompetence. “Have you filed a missing person report with us?”

“...Are you serious? That's not how that works.” Amaryllis could hardly believe what she was hearing. “I've spoken to several people that saw my friend getting roughed up by that man before he went missing. I'm pretty sure that counts as foul play.”

The officer looked as though she wanted to argue, but it seemed she was finally getting the picture that she needed to do her duty. The officer rubbed her forehead and nodded. “Alright. I'll pull the security footage and see what we can find out. What's your friend's name?”

“Seth Rogers. Slender, shoulder length black hair, wears a messenger bag,” Amaryllis responded promptly. She was starting to realize that calling the police may have been a waste of time. They would need time to uncover the evidence, and she had a feeling that she didn't have time to waste.

“Okay. I'll take a look. I don't know about this armored knight stuff, but assault is worth looking into at least,” the officer admitted, sighing heavily. “Though in the future, you should have a little more respect.”

“Whatever,” Amaryllis grumbled, dismissing the officer's words. She found it pathetic how quick the law enforcement on this campus was to distrust students. She certainly didn't make a habit of calling the police for pranks. The very idea was ludicrous to her. As she turned to head back down towards the parking lot, she made a mental note to file a complaint to the campus administration.

Amaryllis was only moving for a few seconds before she could hear someone jogging up behind her. It was William again; she could tell that much without even turning her head. He was like a lost puppy, clinging to whoever seemed to know what the hell they were doing. Amaryllis rolled her eyes even before he started talking.

“Amaryllis? Where are you going?” he asks anxiously. At the very least, he seemed to be taking this all very seriously. Maybe it was because he just had nothing better to do. Amaryllis had no idea, nor did she really care.

“To find that man, obviously. You think I have time to sit around and wait for the police to actually do something?” Amaryllis snapped, her impatience evident in her tone.

“Don't you think the police are going to want to talk to you? What if they do find something on the cameras?”

“What does it matter to you? All I wanted you for was to get the police here. You can go home now for all I care,” Amaryllis shot back, quickly losing her patience with William.

“But what about that man? You said he was a threat, right?” William didn't seem like he was going to back off that easily. As far as Amaryllis could tell, it wasn't because he was being brave or anything. She could tell from William's tone that he was still terrified; that probably meant he was following her around because of her reputation. “Can we really just let him...”

Amaryllis sighed angrily and slowed to a halt. She whirled around and focused fully on William, intent on letting him know exactly where he stood. “Okay, buddy. First of all, there is no 'we.' Second of all, my friend is missing, and nobody seems to know a goddamn thing other than this freak show I'm following. Do you really think I have the time to stand here and babysit you?” She demanded. William flinched and took a step back. It was obvious that he knew of her, but this was the first time Amaryllis had ever yelled at him directly. “Just fucking go home. I don't have time for this.”

Amaryllis turned back around and broke into a brisk run. She didn't understand why, but she felt as though her time ..and by extension Seth's time...was running out. She didn't get much further, however, before she became aware of running footsteps behind her. William was still following her.

“I told you to go home!” She snapped at him, not even bothering to stop this time.

William was silent for several moments before responding.“...I want to help you find your friend,” he answers simply. Amaryllis' first reaction was to scoff. No doubt he was fishing for favors; nobody just offered to help for nothing. That went double for her...everybody knew how difficult she was to approach, much less to help.

“Whatever.” At this point, Amaryllis didn't feel like arguing. If he wanted to follow along, she guessed she didn't care that much. Finding Seth was much more important at the moment. “If you're gonna follow me, then shut up, keep up, and do what I tell you.”

“Got it,” William surprisingly responded. That was odd, but Amaryllis figured she'd analyze his angle later.

They moved through the parking lot in the last direction that Amaryllis remembered the armored man going; the two of them made good time. Every so often, Amaryllis stopped and accosted a nearby student for information. Most of the time, none of them knew anything, but sometimes, her diligence paid off and she found a student that had seen the strange man.

In this manner, Amaryllis and William made their way across campus, following student sightings of their target. She did most of the work, but with William helping, she were able to gather information much quicker than if she had just been on her own.

According to the information she gathered, the armored man walked directly down the main walkway, disturbing whole crowds of students. Then, upon reaching the dedicated mathematics building (a building in which Amaryllis spent a lot of time in, being a math major), the man cut through the western cluster of classroom buildings and doubled back towards the new dormitory complex, where Seth lived.

By the time they reached the Arboretum, or the copse of trees between the two roads leading towards the dormitories, the trail started to run cold. A student pointed them towards the trees, saying that the man had gone directly inside. However, once inside, there was no sign of the man, nor of any other students that had seen him.

The Arboretum exited out into the western parking lot close to the campus church and the dorms. There, Amaryllis noticed several students heading to and from their cars. She quickly made a beeline for one.

“Did you see anyone odd coming out from the forest here on your way in?” Amaryllis questioned the student after stopping him. Behind her, William rested his hands on his knees, winded from his attempts to keep up with her speed.

“You mean this forest?” the student replied at first. Amaryllis nodded, trying extremely hard not to roll her eyes. No, clearly she meant the other forests around here...the ones that didn't exist. “Well, no, I didn't see anyone really. But...”

“What?” Amaryllis pressed.

“You're not gonna believe this. There was this little black horse that walked out on its own,” the student revealed. Amaryllis blinked, wondering if she had heard him right.

“A horse,” she repeated.

“Yeah! It was all dressed up something fancy too,” the student answered. Amaryllis and William looked at one another, unsure of what to make of that information. “Other than that, nothing came out of the forest. Sorry.”

Amaryllis acknowledged the student and retreated a safe distance to think over her next course of action. “The hell? A horse? How does that help?” Amaryllis demanded, at a loss about what to do next.

“I don't know, seeing a horse is a bit odd. Think it's worth checking out?” William asks curiously. Amaryllis gives him a deadpan stare.

“Oh yes, totally. Completely ignore the armored man who may or may not have kidnapped my friend and go gallivanting around after the Equestrian team's fucking mascot. Seems like a great idea,” Amaryllis returned sarcastically. William shrugged, looking hurt by her scathing words. “No seriously. There are horses on campus whenever the Equestrian team has practice.”

“Oh...just thought it was odd that there'd be one in the Arboretum of all places,” he explained weakly, backing off pretty quick beneath her harsh reasoning. It seemed to her like he didn't have that much of a backbone.

“Then why don't you go question it? Maybe it knows something?” Amaryllis' voice practically dripped with sarcasm.

“Right, sounds a little dumb when you say it like that,” William admits. Amaryllis raised an eyebrow. Usually people snapped back at her by now. “So what do you want me to do?”

“Go home, but you're still here for some reason. So, of make yourself useful and search the service houses along the western road,” Amaryllis directed him. At this point, with no real leads on the strange man's whereabouts, she had little choice but to guess at his intended path. Perhaps the man knew he could be followed and went into the forest to shake off pursuit. “I'm going to search the dorms.”

“Got it. What if I find him? I need to be able to contact you somehow,” William points out. Amaryllis gave him a sharp look, understanding immediately what he was getting at. Usually, when she was forced to work with others in the past, she just gave them a school related email to protect her privacy. In any other situation, she'd laugh in the face of anyone who hinted or asked for her number.

“Sure, whatever,” She grumbled, recognizing the sense of coordinating with her unwanted helper. She exchanged numbers with him, making a mental note to flay him alive if he gave it out or something. “Still don't know what the hell is in this for you.”

“Seth is a good friend of yours, right? You guys are always together, and honestly it was a little nice to see. I'd hate to see something happen to that,” William attempts to explain. Amaryllis looks even more confused by that.

“We've only worked with you once. You shouldn't give a shit,” she points out to him. During a core class a while ago that she and Seth had shared, William had been one of the few students that didn't try to move the sun and moon to get out of working with them.

“Can't a guy help someone out, just to be nice?” William tries again.

Amaryllis' response was most telling. “No,” she answered simply with a derisive scoff. “Anyway, let's stop wasting time on useless talk and get moving. The longer we wait, the more he gets away.”

“Right.” With that, William and Amaryllis headed in different directions, intent on finding the elusive armored man who stole Seth away.

---

No matter how hard the two of them looked, there was no sign of the armored man. It was as if he had just disappeared from the face of the earth. Ever since the forest, not a soul seemed to have seen him. After a fruitless search of the dorms (including Seth's dorm), Amaryllis returned to the forest and searched it thoroughly, convinced that maybe the man hadn't left the forest at all.

All of Amaryllis' searches turned up nothing, much to her growing frustration and desperation. For every moment she wasted running around, she felt as though Seth was getting further and further away from her.

Eventually, after meeting back up with William and determining that he too had come up with nothing, Amaryllis went directly to the building where the campus police were situated. She figured that it wouldn't have taken the police very long to seize the camera records.

Upon arriving, the police representatives that greeted Amaryllis appeared to be fully aware of the situation, surprisingly enough. What did surprise her, however, was how unwilling they were to tell her anything of value. They wouldn't tell her exactly what was viewed on the cameras; instead, they told her that the footage was being examined for “signs of tampering,” and that they would do everything in their power to find Seth for her.

Needless to say, that didn't satisfy Amaryllis in the slightest. William sat on a bench in the back corner of the room, while Amaryllis went off on them. This was her only friend...the only one to which she had ever opened up. The thought of losing him was too painful for her to bear.

To the representative's credit, he did not flinch beneath Amaryllis' tirade. “Ma'am, I understand your feelings. Your friend's safety is just as important to us as it is to you; we'll do everything we can to bring him back to you,” he reassured her smoothly.

At this point, Amaryllis was realizing that she couldn't do anything more from here. She did all she could, but she was at the limits for her ability to track down her friend. She had no choice but to leave it to the police...but knowing that Seth was out there somewhere, possibly needing her help, and that she could do nothing to help him...it was a crushing feeling unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.

Amaryllis stormed out of the police station. They had her cell number now, and had promised to call her if they uncovered any new information for her. It was the only hope she had left.

“I'm sorry we didn't find him,” William apologized to her weakly, following her out of the door. “I'm sure they'll find...”

“Oh, save it already,” Amaryllis cut him off irritably. William fell silent, though he didn't look offended. “I'm still not even convinced you care. If you want something from me, go ahead and fucking ask me now.”

“I don't want anything. Well, except for your friend back, that is,” he responds. Amaryllis didn't believe that in the slightest, but at this point, she wasn't in the mood to argue. “Are you gonna be alright?”

“God, what a dumb question. You fucking tell me,” she snapped back at him. She didn't think he had the right to ask her those kind of questions anyway. Only Seth did, and Seth wasn't the type to ask that kind of thing anyway. He would always just assume that Amaryllis was fine; which meant he thought she was strong, and she liked knowing that he thought of her like that. William was silent again, not knowing what to say in response to that. “I'm going home. Do what you want...and don't text me unless it's something important.”

She split off from William then and headed towards the bus stop near the science building. It was her means of getting to and from the small off-campus apartment where she went to sleep and finish her schoolwork.

Even though she knew it wouldn't work, she repeatedly called Seth's phone over regular intervals. Each time she received the same error message, and her spirits would drop further. She wanted to be back out there searching, even though she knew she wouldn't get anywhere.

Amaryllis reflected upon herself as she let herself into her apartment. She didn't remember ever feeling like this...not once in her life. She wasn't like Seth; there was no one event that shaped her into the woman she was now. She couldn't remember a time when she wasn't jaded and selfish.

That was why Seth was so special to her; he was the only one who could put up with her at her worst, and give as good as he got. At the same time, Seth was weaker than she was. He was emotional and irrational, and constantly needed someone to lean upon, whether he wanted to admit it or not. She always liked knowing that she was his emotional pillar. Amaryllis thought with a wry smirk that Seth was more like a woman than she was.

Amaryllis threw her bags onto the couch situated in the center of the small living room. The place was a mess; she never really cared to clean up after herself unless there was a potential health hazard.

Amaryllis had classwork to complete, but the very thought of trying to focus on numbers right now gave her a headache. No, all she could think of right now was taking her stress out on something. With that in mind, she retreated to her room and stripped herself down to her underwear. Then, she donned a set of easy to move in leggings and a sports bra. This was the outfit she usually wore when working out.

She moved to the small room in the back of the apartment, turned the thermostat to cool, and shut the door behind her. Inside was her makeshift gym, consisting of multiple workout machines, including a treadmill, a set of free weights, and similar weight lifting machines intended to work her upper and lower body. In the corner of the room was a single heavy punching bag hanging from a rack. Beside it was a stool upon which a roll of wrist-wrap and a jug of water rested.

Before getting started, she peered in the tall mirror leaning against the wall next to the punching bag. Despite the situation, she quirked a small smile of satisfaction at what she saw. Her pronounced abdominal muscles rippled through her midriff, shifting every time she flexed. Her body was far more muscular than girls in her age group.

Amaryllis remembered her early years, when she couldn't help getting into fights with kids that rubbed her the wrong way. That had eventually developed into an interest in fighting itself, despite all of the punishments she'd endured. Because of that, every workout ended with a session at the punching bag. This time however, Amaryllis forwent the usual workout routine and opted instead to head directly to the punching bag.

For the rest of the night, Amaryllis let her stress and anxiety melt into a haze of sweat and burning muscles. Her situation remained unchanged, but this at least brought her some semblance of peace.

---

Time passed, and no news of Seth ever came. The police promised Amaryllis that if any information at all were to be found on him, they would let her know. Days passed...and then weeks, and Amaryllis never heard a word. She called the police every other day, but it was an exercise in futility. Nobody seemed to have discovered or heard anything at all, as if Seth had just never existed to begin with. All Amaryllis could do was agonize in her workout room as she watched all of the leads dry up.

Eventually, Seth's parents, Elaine and Gerome, were notified of their son's disappearance. The two of them were understandably distraught at the news. Searching for Seth's phone through GPS turned up nothing at all...not even a hint. This baffled the three of them. Usually this method was foolproof, unless the phone was destroyed or powered off; neither of which were likely for someone as careful as Seth.

More than once, Amaryllis found herself at their house on weekends, sharing her misery with theirs. It was only a small comfort...the chances of seeing Seth again were growing more remote with every passing day.

Amaryllis grew even worse as the weeks turned into months. She hated how this made her feel. Before meeting Seth, she'd done just fine on her own. But now that she knew what it was like to have a friend...to love someone...losing that felt as though her heart had been ripped out.

If the students at Rainier University thought she was cold before, it grew even worse now that she no longer had Seth. Students like William felt bad for her, but any form of pity that Amaryllis perceived was answered with the full force of her fury. She focused fully on her schoolwork and her books, finding them to be the only escape from her pain.

The year passed, and the grim reality of her loss had sunk into Amaryllis' mind. Although it took seven years before a missing person was declared officially dead, the lack of any leads whatsoever killed any hope that Amaryllis may have had. She felt as though a part of her had disappeared with Seth, leaving her with an almost physical pain that stayed with her over time.

Amaryllis soon graduated with her bachelor's degree in mathematics, and eventually she found a job in finances, much to her annoyance. It paid well, but it wasn't what she had in mind when she decided to major in mathematics. Thankfully, it was exactly was she needed emotionally. When working, she didn't have to think about anything other than the work in front of her.

She handled herself well in the workplace. Despite her fiery personality, she never really lashed out at people as much as she used to. She was constantly angry on the inside, but any time she thought to snap, she would always lose interest and return to silence, reflecting on herself and the times when she was happy.

Because of her restraint, her superiors liked her and her work ethic, and as such job stability wasn't a problem for her. Her co-workers never knew much about of her other than she was mostly polite and kept to herself.

Years passed, and Amaryllis had to accept that her friend was never coming back. In public, nobody would know that anything was wrong with her. But whenever she returned home to her apartment, she would lose her composure and beat her punching bag with unrestrained fury. She went through punching bags much faster than anyone ever should. More than once, her anger and loneliness surfaced in the form of helpless tears as she beat her knuckles raw on the material.

She kept in touch loosely with Seth's family. Some of her best memories were with Seth's family...to the point where they felt like an extension of her own. Amaryllis was there when Seth's brother, Adam, got married to a young woman named Lena. She was there whenever Gerome would return from military deployment overseas. She was even there when Lena gave birth to Seth's niece, Maka.

Her life maintained some sense of normalcy. Unlike how she'd been in college, Amaryllis stopped dating entirely. Even back then, she'd slowly lost interest in dating, realizing that the only man that came close to satisfying her had been Seth. Now that he was gone, Amaryllis was certain that he had been the one she'd wanted. She'd only wished that she'd told him before it was too late.

Seven years to the day that Seth disappeared, the police finally closed the investigation on his disappearance, and officially declared him deceased. Although Amaryllis knew it was coming, it still made her angry that the state just gave up on him.

A small service was held for him at a local graveyard, where an empty casket was lowered into the ground. Amaryllis attended with Seth's family, as well as a few other friends of the family that she didn't recognize. The whole time, she stood there with with a stone cold expression, inwardly cursing the whole ceremony. As if something like this could ever bring her closure. The idea was ludicrous. She had to keep herself from leaving in disgust, if only for the sake of Seth's family. She wanted her friend back, not ridiculous ceremonies and useless apologies.

After that, Amaryllis returned to her quiet and lonely life. She eventually bought her own small house in a rural area, relatively close to her job and within driving distance of Seth's family...as well as her old college. It was a silly decision on her part. She wanted to be close to the area where she made the best memories of her life. Sometimes, she would go the college and walk through her old routines again, pretending that Seth was beside her once again.

Then, in March of 2022, eight years to the day her friend disappeared, Amaryllis received a call on her cell phone.

It was Seth.

Author's Note:

Finally. Here's chapter three. Sorry it took so long, I got really sick, and then school piled up and blah blah blah poor excuses are poor. At least you have a chapter now. This one gave me a ton of trouble to get out, because I ran into writer's block something fierce at the Seth portion. I couldn't figure out what I wanted them to do next, or how to transition it back into the next Amaryllis segment.

Speaking of the Amaryllis segment, the whole thing is just introducing a new character and detailing her continuing life while at the same time transitioning into the ending of Tales of the Oppressed. Then, after an Amaryllis version of that, I'll move on to the real meat of the story. This introduction is killing me.

Anyway, thanks again to Schadenponi for editing (and pointing out my flaws in reasoning) . And don't forget to leave a comment and tell me what you think! This story is taking ages longer to pick up in views than I'm used to. I guess I figured readers of the last one would just jump right over to this.

Comments

[Cereal-Killer]

And so, the wait for the next chapter begins once more...

[mylaptop]

6936291 indeed

[NobleLeader6]

So... Wait. After this, is the Tales of the Oppressed series done? Like, we don't get another story with Seth or anyone in this universe? Cause if so, I get it if you want to cut the story, it's huge right now, move on to other projects and shit. But if not, how in the hell are you gonna come up with more condlict? Go the classic route and follow the story, adding your own twists in there, or what? Just curious.

[Terran34]

6937268

Oh no, there's more. I still have two side stories planned, besides this one. I have Bird of Prey planned (which is Hawke's backstory, and also delves into Sombra and his generals) and Land of Storms (which is Bleak Island's history, focusing on Iron and Salamul). I won't continue much further with Seth's story though, else I fall into the trap of just throwing him against other villains in the series without any real development.

Other than that, I don't know. Might get struck with more inspiration or not. I definitely plan to rewrite a few chapters in Tales of the Oppressed.

[DezzarTac]

6937453
"fall into the trap of just throwing him against other villains in the series without any real development"
Yep. Sadly enough, some writers keep trying to go on. They try pulling a DOaMM, but instead get an On My Honor.
No one starts with a plotline intended to be read over a literal lifetime.

Great chapter by the way. I can practically feel the star that is her emotions. Grand, fusing, and on fire.

[Quirky View]

A midquel?

[Terran34]

6986243

Close enough

[Stjonal]

The end of this chapter gives me the tiniest bit of hope. Read on, brothers.

[Cracked Egg]

6946316

No one starts with a plotline intended to be read over a literal lifetime.

LET ME TELL YOU.

ABOUT A WEBCOMIC.

CALLED,

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