Gifted

Once everyone's tables were served with the multiple dishes prepared by Cameron, Maria stood up. Everyone immediately became quiet, as they turned their attention to Maria.

"First of all, to Scott and his guild members, we welcome you. Normally we would be throwing a feast in your honor, if not for the current dire situation. I know that all of you have went through a truly harrowing experience and had many loses along the way."

The atmosphere in the dinning pavilion became somber with the reminder of the Gifteds that had lost their lives. Trace, who's been staying quite for quite some time now, has now crumbled and broke down. His body started to shake uncontrollably as tears streamed down his face like a waterfall. His sobs broke the hearts of his guild mates, because they knew that Trace is blaming himself for not being able to save a lot of his brothers from the guild.

Gabe was still deep in trauma, that he didn't even know what he should feel anymore. Feelings of extreme guilt, sadness, helplessness, fear and frustration have all mixed together, leaving him very muddled.

Scott wasn't doing any better, as he himself, felt deep sadness envelop his heart with the recent events. The realization that he failed as a Guild leader, was really tough for Scott to swallow. His heart felt like it was breaking into pieces, as he remembered the promises that he made to young Gifteds that placed their undeniable trust in him to protect and take care of them. The hope in their eyes, reminded him of how much a failure he really was. Even the thought of his own brother turning against him, has also reminded him of what a failure as a brother he has truly become.

"Tonight, let us eat and continue living on, in honor to the lives of those who have fallen" Maria said before sitting back down.

Maria's speech was short but it held a lot sincerity and meaning to it.

Sobs and soft cries where the only thing that could be heard in the pavilion as everyone, especially the one's from Scott's guild, remembered the lives of the Gifteds that they had once shared a meal with.

The mood in the pavilion has really turned depressing, and June didn't want for it to continue. Because once depression has really entered and has taken a hold on someone, it is very hard to break free from its clutches.

When June stood up from his seat, all of his guild mates turned to him in curiosity.

"Mourning is natural when we lose someone dear in our lives. If you want to cry? Go ahead, no one will judge you. It's your right to be sad tonight, but you cannot stay that way forever. We the living, need to keep living our lives and move on. It doesn't mean we are forgetting the people that we've lost but we are moving on because of them. We have a responsibility to withhold the legacies of the people that we've lost, no matter how big or small. That way, we can honor their lives and the time that they have spent here on earth, with us. So, tonight let's all mourn our fallen brothers and sisters, so when tomorrow comes, we can move forwards with them in our hearts." June said with great sympathy in his voice, before raising his glass that has orange juice in it and said "To the lives of our fallen loved ones."

Everyone was quiet after June's speech that it actually made him nervous but what came after was something that he never expected.

"To the *Sob* lives of our fallen *Sob* loved ones!" Trace was the first one to stand, raising his glass high in the air, as tears continued to cascade down his face like a waterfall.

"To the lives of our fallen loved ones!" Gabe stood a beat after Trace. Tears now fell from his eyes, as he began to weep.

When Trance and Gabe heard what June had said, they felt like a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders. They didn't know if they were hallucinating or not, but as June spoke, they saw the people that died, stand in front of them with smiles in their faces that says "It's not your fault. Go and live!". After seeing that vision, both of them felt liberated from the guilt that they've been carrying.

"To the lives of our fallen loved ones!" Scott soon followed, as he looked like he was struggling to keep his tears from falling.

By then, one by one, everyone raised their glass and made a toast in honor of their fallen loved ones.

The atmosphere has slightly gone better once everyone started eating but there's one person who is not happy with how things are going.

"Hey, bro" Jordan gently nudged June, getting his attention.

"Hm?" June turned to Jordan, as he slowly chew on the chicken strip that he'd just eaten.

"That guy is gonna burn a hole on your head with how long he kept glaring at you" Jordan said with a low voice, while slightly jerked his head towards Arthur's direction.

"Just let him. Sooner or later, he'll be showing us his true nature." June just said, before going back to his food. June immediately knew that Jordan was talking about Arthur, as he long felt the killing intent directed at him for some time now.

"That guy is really dangerous" Jordan suddenly said, which caught June's attention once again.

"Why do you say that?" June asked curiously

"I dunno, but whenever I look at him, dark smoke kept oozing out of him. It felt suffocating and creepy." Jordan answered, while shivering to really make his point across.

"Yeah, just stay away from that guy, no matter what." June said in warning, before adding "Most of all, we can't let him anywhere near Halberd"

"How are we going to do that? He's still technically in Scott's guild" Jordan said while munching on his carrot sticks.

Jordan has been a vegetarian for quite some time now. Ever since witnessing Luke's arms fly off, Jordan never wanted to be near any kind of meat. Imagine a young teenage boy, turning vegan? Well, it's not impossible since Jordan had become one. It made everyone laugh when Jordan visibly squirms, whenever he sees raw meat.

"I don't know yet but we'll have to get Scott to release him somehow." June said with a slight frown on his face, as he himself has been continuously wracking his brain to think of a plan.

"I might be able to help with that" Jordan suddenly said with a slight triumphant smirk on his face, as he turned his head towards where Scott sat.

June waited for Jordan to elaborate, but the latter just kept enjoying himself as he kept munching on his carrot sticks like a rabbit.

June couldn't help but let out a sight, as he softly shook his head with an amused smile on his face. He told himself that he would eventually know what the little guy is thinking, so he let Jordan enjoy himself about being mysterious, for the time being.

"Talking to Scott is easy. What we really should be worrying is, how are we going to talk to him when that annoying guy is basically attached to Scott like a leech?" Jordan muttered as he began to think of ways to separate Arthur from Scott, even if it's just for a little while.

"I might have an idea how." Andrew suddenly said, immediately catching both of his bothers' attention. Andrew has quietly been listening to June and Jordan's conversation, so when he heard what Jordan said, a light bulb immediately lit up in his head.

"Go on, we're listening" Jordan said with an intrigued voice, as he urged Andrew to share his idea.

"We're going to need Dr. Ahn's help with this one" Andrew just said, but June and Jordan already has a pretty firm grasp on their brother's idea.

"That might actually work" June said, as he nodded his head in approval towards Andrew.

"Once dinner is finished, operation 'Emancipation' will commence!" Jordan said with a huge smile, similar to that of a cheshire cat.

"Since when did you learn that word?" Andrew asked teasingly, which caused Jordan to frown.

"June has been forcing me to read books, since he said that 'Even though were not in school anymore, doesn't mean we should stop learning' or something like that." Jordan grumbled adorably, causing June and Andrew to chuckle at their adorable little brother.

The dinner was smooth sailing to say the least, as everyone left the dinning pavilion with a satisfied stomach. As Arthur was about to pull Scott's wheelchair away, Jae approached them.

"Jae, what's up?" Arthur asked, looking genuinely happy to talk to his friend. It was as if he was back to the Arthur that Scott knew him to be.

"Care to join me for a drink? I owe you, remember?" Jae asked with a smile on his face. Although he was smiling, he still remembered the stunt that Arthur pulled earlier in the night. They may be long time friends but to Jae, nobody disrespects Maria and gets away with it, at least not unscathed.

Jae didn't really want to talk with Arthur for the time being but June managed to convinced him, when he was promised by the latter to provide more of his blood samples for Jae to study. Jae knew that he was being bribed but his hunger for knowledge is telling him that the bribe was to eye catching for him to refuse and was very much worth it. So it was then that Jae had agreed to pull Arthur away from Scott for as long as possible, in order for the brothers to have a private talk with Scott.

"But-"

"Don't worry about me, you can go. You'll never know when you'll have the chance to hang out again. Go on, it's your long time friend that's asking" Scott strongly urged Arthur, really liking the idea of being left alone for the time being. Scott was starting to get tired of Arthur, constantly checking in on him and his health. He knows that Arthur meant well but when he is being constantly being questioned after every five second, then it's only natural that he would like to have some time alone.

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked with clear hesitation in his voice.

"Yeah, don't worry about me" Arthur said reassuringly

"You sure, you're going to be okay?" Arthur asked once again, as hesitation waged war inside of him again. A voice inside of Arthur is telling him that he should not leave the Guild master alone, but another side of him, his youthful side, is urging him to take up on the offer.

"Yes, now go!" Scott confirmed once again with a hint of annoyance in his voice, as he had to visibly push Arthur towards Jae.

"Jae take this guy and help him loosen up. That guy has been pretty uptight lately." Scott said, which almost looked like he was begging.

"Don't worry Master Scott, I'll take care of this guy" Jae promised with a smile before dragging Arthur away, who actually looked slightly excited and reluctant at the same time.

Once Jae has whisked Arthur away, there's only one more thing left for Scott to take care of.

"So, what can I do for you three?" Scott asked as he turned his head towards a single table, where three young men still sat. When Jae suddenly invited Arthur for a drink, Scott knew that there was much more to what was happening. Once Jae and Arthur left and only four people were left in the pavilion, it wasn't hard for Scott to figure out who the instigators were.

"Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us." June said with a grateful tone in his voice, as he already knew that Scott has figured them out.

"I'm actually happy that I can finally have some peace." Scott responded with friendly tone.

June was actually worried that Scott might not want to talk with them as they are basically forcing him into doing so, but in the end, everything turned out just as they planned.

"We don't have much time, so if I may, I will get straight to the point." June politely said, to which Scott gestured for him to continue as he looked like he had no problem with the arrangement. So, June continued.

"You won't make it for much longer" June stated straight forwardly, but Scott just stayed quiet.

June, Andrew and Jordan thought that, Scott would at least be surprised with what they were about to drop on him, but instead he looked clam as a cuc.u.mber, like he already knew of this fact.

"You don't looked surprised at all" June said with deep curiosity and a hint of his own surprise in his voice.

"Well, I kinda figure that, that was the case. You guys just confirmed it" Scott said with a sigh, as if he had already made his peace with the news.

"You did?" Andrew asked in surprise and disbelief.

"Just me being on a wheelchair is evidence enough" Scott respond, which caused the brothers to turn silent.

"If that was all you guys wanted to say, then I'll be leaving first-" Scott said after a couple minutes of silence. He thought that, that was the only thing that the brothers wanted to say to him, but when he was about to roll his wheelchair to leave, Jordan suddenly spoke.

"We can help you!" Jordan said, which swiftly caught Scott's attention.

"What do you mean? How? I was told that there's nothing wrong with my body." Scott said with a slight frown in his face. Jae and Arthur had already done multiple tests on him, but in the end, they still couldn't find what's wrong with his body. It was weird because his health was still deteriorating, even when every tests that's been done to him had came out negative.

Scott actually wouldn't mind receiving any help in making him better but he became skeptical when he had heard what Jordan said. He thought that one of them has a healing Gift, that can somehow restore his physical body.

"Physically, yes there is nothing wrong with you. The main problem actually lies in your soul." Jordan explained, which made Scott's eyes widen.

"It actually makes sense" Scott said breathlessly, in realization. Scott thought back on what type of enemy he had faced, and remembered that it was a demon that eats people's souls, through having s.e.x.u.a.l i.n.t.e.r.c.o.u.r.s.e with them. It was that same demon, that caused him so much pain on his backside, that still lingers until to that present moment.

"Can you really do it? Can you really help me?" Scott asked, as hope started to bubble from inside of him.

"You bet, I can" Jordan answered with confidence, before he continued "Buuuut~ we actually have something to ask you in return, first"

Scott really wanted to get better, and seeing as there is nothing wrong with knowing what the three wants from him, Scott urged for them to continue, as he said "Go on, I'm listening".

"I could always refuse, if I have to" Scott told himself as he patiently waits for the three's request/demand.

"We would like for you to release Halberd from your Guild" June flat out said, which caused Scott to almost fell off from his wheelchair.

"What?! Why would I do such a thing!" Scott almost shouted at the sheer absurdity of the demand. If it was in the past, he would be issuing a challenge in the arena, almost immediately.

"Before you strongly act, please understand that we are doing this with only the best of intentions. IT might be hard, but will you be able to carry the burden of separating Halberd from his wife, when they had just reunited after five years. Last I remembered, your Guild is an all male Guild, which means Charlotte will not be able to join. But if Halberd were to join Maria's Guild, he won't be separated from his wife anymore. Also, with the current situation that we are in, where everyone's life is in danger of being lost; Will you really be able to separate Halberd from his wife. If you put yourself in Halberd's shoes, which is more important, the Guild or the one you truly love." June logically explained calmly.

Taking what June had said into careful consideration, Scott really didn't really see anything wrong with the request/demand. Scott had just subconsciously reacted, like he would in the past, when everything was still peaceful. Scott knew that what June has stated is a very logical and has a valid point, but he couldn't shake of the feeling that the young man in front of him is not telling him the whole truth.

Then, he suddenly started thinking about his Guild and how they needed their Guild master, now, more that ever. With that in mind, Scott steeled his resolved, as he thought that the request/demand was fair and is a small price to pay for the greater good of his Guild.

"I accept your condition. From here on out, Halberd Wisteria is no longer a part of my Guild and is now free to choose whether he wants to return or join a new guild." Scott said with a hard voice.

"Thank you so much" June said with sincerity. Although, he might be seen as cunning or shameless for demanding for such a thing; But just like Scott, June was doing it all for Halberd sake.