The Unheard Of: Part 2

The twins were stopped from their celebration of alliance by a sudden phone call.

It was the phone in Finn's pocket. He pulled it out and looked confused. "It's the hospital…"

"Answer it. Could be important." Echo told him. Finn answered the phone...but his face showed a grim expression.

"Hello Finnley. This is Archemidies Porter, I play Pinochle with your grandmother..I-I was supposed to meet with her today." The elder man on the other end told him, his voice grim and bleak. He called from the hospital's waiting room. "When I got there...she wasn't breathing. You and your sister should come out here, quickly."

His face showed sadness and fear. "I...I understand. We'll be there soon. Thank you." His words were soft as he hung up.

Echo looked worried and confused. Her brother's silence was not helping. "What? What's wrong? Talk to me."

He looks at her and shakes his head. "Echo...it's Gran…"

Echo looked at him with wide eyes. "What about her?"

"One of her Pinochle friends found her...she wasn't breathing...breathing….breathing…" Finn's words echoed into Echo's head.

A knock on the door took her out of the memory of just the other day. Finn walked into the room, already in his black suit. "Hey, it's almost time...are you ready?" He asked, trying to be delicate about it.

Echo's eyes are puffy and red from cry. She didn't bother with make up or her contacts today…she knew she'd likely start crying again anyway. Echo wore a black dress and shoes, her hair was pulled out of her face and she had her glasses on. She looked to her brother and shook her head. "How do you answer that? I...I don't even…"

Finn nodded his head with a soft sigh and sat down beside her. "I know exactly what you mean...I should have seen it. I should have known…"

Echo took his hand and shook her head. "She didn't want us to know. She wanted us to be there for each other. And we are."

Finn tried to smile softly and nodded. "You're right. We should head over, the ceremony is starting soon."

Echo took in a breath and nodded her head, pulling herself off the bed. Offering a hand to get Finn up too. Then the two teleported over to the graveyard. Preparations were well underway, both twins started helping as a distraction. But, before long, people began showing up. People that their grandmother had known or helped or cared about. People that knew how close the twins were and were there for support.

The twins had lost their birth dad- he didn't even show up for their births! Their stepdad was killed by cancer, their mom was killed & brought back a few too many times, & resides in Triton's Bay. Not today though. Melody walked to her children, embracing them in the tightest of hugs & sitting with them. These two had lost a lot, but they gained so much. The loss of their grandmother reminded them of that as they watched everyone that came to say goodbye.

As the ceremony started, Melody sat in the middle of her children. ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ sat a bit away, her eyes not leaving the twins. Echo and Finn sat watching the ceremony. Nuvua and Toklo even came, staying in the far back. Everyone listened, tears were everywhere.

Except from Echo.

She couldn't bring herself to shed another tear. Not because she wasn't sad, but because she is. Echo just has nothing left to cry. When the twins had reached the hospital they were moments too late. Both of them broke down all over the hospital bed. Turns out their grandmother was suffering from Kuru. A disease that their grandmother never should have caught. The grandmother explained to the doctor that was caring for her that she had traveled a lot in her youth, and more so once her son became a sailing captain. It must have been something she caught from those. The disease slowly ate away at her brain. Their grandmother knew she was on borrowed time, but she hid it. To give the twins happiness for all the pain she has watched them endure.

But now, here they sat. The twins she tried to protect from the pain they're in, and they wish they could have at least said goodbye. Or seen the signs of the illness. Echo beat herself up for being so blind. For not seeing it in each conversation, each hug. Finn couldn't believe it, their last conversation was their last! He couldn't even tell her how grateful he was for how she'd push him to do better. To be better.

The funeral felt like timemoved around them...and they were just there. Watching as if in a movie and someone just pressed fast forward.

Then Echo was called up to speak and that world in fast motion screeched to a halt. Echo stood and felt her legs like Jello. What was she getting up to say? Did she write a speech? What had everyone else said? Finn could see her unease and stood up as she did, taking her hand. "Together." He whispered.

"Together." Echo nods and the two go up to speak. The pedestal seemed cold and everyone seemed to judge even though they actually weren't. Echo looked to her brother, with him by her side she felt more fearless. More confident. Echo turned back to the crowd. She didn't know what to say, but she had the confidence to say something. "Hello everyone. I...I want to thank you all for coming out. It means a lot to us, and I know it would mean the world to her. All of us did. She cared for all of us, and not just those in her family. All of us. She'd have done anything for us and to lose her so suddenly...without the chance to say goodbye...although, I guess that isn't true. Today is the day to say goodbye. To remember who she was. We're sad now, for some of us just lost. But when we remember what she gave us, we are close to her. She's with us. That's what she would tell me, what she taught me. Among other things. I will miss her smile, her stories. I'll miss her cooking, and her loving heart...not a day will go by that she won't be in mine. Goodbye Gran, we'll never forget what you gave us."

The last part came out rather softly, but still not a tear. Not from Echo anyway. She looked to Finn and hugged him. He was in tears from that, but she'd keep him steady. Just as he had done for her. They would return to their seats and others would speak. They'd share heart felt or humorous stories. But the twins could hardly listen to them. Echo found herself glancing at Nuvua, who never looked her way once! Finn was spacing out. It felt painful to really think about where they are, what they're doing.

After the funeral was a small reception back at their Gran's home. It was cleaned and organized. People brought food, mostly comfort foods and casseroles. A lot of casseroles.

The twins put on a brave face and did their best to be there for each other. They'd overhear stories about their Gran and a lot of just crying. Melody tried to comfort the twins, but they kept her at arm's length. Focusing on this too much, was too much. Though they would be there when their mother would cry. ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ offered condolences, though she never got to know their Gran too well she respected the woman. Never faltered or gave up, no matter what Melody or the twins brought home. ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ respected that, because even she couldn't handle all of it. ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ didn't stay long, she wasn't feeling well herself.

Echo did not see Nuvua or Toklo, and she had looked. They must have taken off after the funeral.

Before long, it was dark. Everyone had returned home, except for Melody. Mel stayed to help clean up and for moral support, planning to return to Triton's Bay sometime the next day. They would try to distract themselves with board games and a contest to see which casserole was the best tasting and which was the worst. The sweet potato casserole from their neighbor was easily the best. ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ's fish head casserole was too frightening to even try! So it took 1st place in being the worst. They had some laughs about it.

Though, it got late and they all decided they should try to sleep. Melody slept on the sofa and the twins slept in their room. No one could bring themselves to even open the door to Gran's room. The twins laid in bed, neither of them able to sleep.

"Hey, remember the time I set Gran's curtains on fire and mom thought it was you?" Finn asked, trying to break the silence.

"Mom and dad both thought it was me." Echo replied with a chuckle. "Remember when I broke Gran's favorite mug and successfully did my first spell to fix it?"

"She was so proud." He smiled. "Though, she was probably just glad her mug was okay."

"It was her favorite." Echo nodded in agreement. "We have to go through her things tomorrow…I don't think I can do it…"

"We can. Because we will do it together." Finn tells her.

"Once we finish with...all of this, we still need to save Savia. We can't let this get in the way of that. Gran wouldn't want us to." Echo tells him.

Finn actually agrees. "She'd want us to do the right thing. Though dangerous, it's certainly not the wrong thing. But, can you tell me something?"

"Of course." Echo nods. 

"Are...now don't get mad, but are you only saving Savia because of Nuvua?" He asks. Echo takes a moment to respond.

"That's not the only reason, but it's part of it." Echo nods. "I'm also saving her for me. If she can be saved, so can I."

"Why do you need to be saved? Because of your dark magic?" Finn asks, looking to her. "That isn't your fault. You were born with it and had no idea how to react with it. All things considered, you could have caused a lot worse than you did."

"Easy for you to say, Mr. Good Magic. Yours didn't make you shun everyone you care about or attack your family." Echo replied with an arched brow.

"You never did that to Gran." Finn pointed out. "Remember when I kidnapped you? Twice? And you almost had Emma arrest me for it? I did all of that with my 'good' magic."

Echo nodded. "Okay, we made some crappy decisions when we were younger...but we're getting better. Right?"

Finn looks over at her. "You're willing to risk your life for a little girl's soul that may or may not be long dead already. You're definitely doing better."

"I guess. And you're learning how to be a king. Taking a whole country into your hands, protecting and guiding it. That's definitely doing better." Echo agreed.

"It's a lot…mom makes it look easy. The people are so grateful after she stopped the dark king, but there's still so much to do. The town is in reconstruction still and is still healing. May be a good while before I'm ready for that." Finn sits up a bit. "What are your plans? After saving Savia, then what? What is next for Echo?"

Echo fell silent. For a long moment. "I don't know...we should get some sleep." She told him, rolling to keep her back to him. Not wanting to talk anymore. Honestly, Echo doesn't know. 

Sure, she has Finn with her. For now. But he is going to leave and become king! Not the life Echo wants. She wanted to be a hero. Do some heroic good...but that was before she was left alone. She'll need a real jib to cover rent. Food. Clothes! Everything is on her now. She'll probably need a new place, a cheaper place. The time to be a hero, a kid stuck in that delusion, may be over. She needs to be an adult and take care of herself...but these thoughts weren't helpful.

Finn watches her for a moment. He didn't want to push too much, especially not tonight. He laid back down, waiting for sleep to come. They both did. For a while, it didn't come. It felt like hours, perhaps most of the night. But they did sleep eventually.

When morning broke, they awoke to the smell of chocolatey pancakes. The twins exchanged a confused look, then remembered that their mother stayed the night. Finn got up first, fixing her hair with his hand before crawling out of bed to see if their mom needed help.

Echo got out of bed and made both of  beds. Knowing how.Gran hated when they forgot. Then she put a brush through her hair and pulled her hair back. Echo's contacts were...well, her prescription expired and she hadn't renewed it. So she grabs her glasses and then goes to join them. On her way to the kitchen, Echo hears a knock at the door. "I'll get it." She calls to her mom and Finn, heading to the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see Nuvua there. "Oh..hi. How are you?" Echo asks awkwardly.

"I'm okay...I...I'm sorry about your grandma. She was a really nice woman." Nuvua said as she rubbed her arm. "Look, I just came to say...Toklo and I will be leaving soon. We're not sure exactly when, but soon. We gave the spirits what they needed, so it is just a matter of time before they send us home. I wanted to say goodbye."

This hit Echo a bit hard, but she did her best not to show it. She adjusted her glasses, she knew Nuvua missed home more than anything. Echo knew she'd be heading back, she just didn't expect it to be so soon. "Well, safe travels I guess. I hope you two find what you're looking for."

Nuvua was silent a moment, Oh the things she wants to say. That's it?! After everything, that was Echo's big goodbye??? But she just shook her head at Echo. "Yeah. You too." She replied flatly and just started to walk away. Echo stepped outside,following her a bit. Which made Nuvua stop and turn around. "What?" She demanded.

"I was going to ask you that." Echo replied. "What do you want from me? You love me, you hate me. You want me to forget you and leave you alone, you want me to be heartbroken you're leaving. Make up your mind!" Echo replied, throwing her arms up in defeat. "I don't know what you want from me."

"How about an actual goodbye? 'Safe travels' is not a goodbye!" Nuvua snapped back at her.

"Okay, how about a eulogy? Turns out I'm not bad at those!" Echo replied. "Here lies Nuvua. I never had the pleasure of knowing her as a free, fun loving bear. Though she was rough in the end, I'll always remember the good times. Sneaking around, telling ourselves no one knew we were falling in love. Working at the ice cream parlor and going to school together. Some of the best times of my life. Goodbye N-" By that point, Nuvua got pissed and slapped Echo across the face. Which, with Nuvua's bear strength, it really hurt. She let out a yelp, and it busted Echo's lip. Realizing that, Nuvua tried to apologize, but Echo held up a hand. Using her other to wipe the blood away. "Goodbye Nuvua." Echo didn't want to hear another word.

She shook her head and went back inside. Finn was waiting for her. "There you are, I was wondering where...what happened?" He frowned as he saw her busted lip.

"Nuvua said goodbye." Echo said dryly before heading to the bathroom to clean her face. Finn frowned, but knew she needed a minute. So he gave her the space.

Echo went into the bathroom, cleaning her busted lip and sitting a cold,damp clothes to it. When she turns to the mirror, she jumps. Echo didn't see her reflection, instead Destiny was there. "Hello Echo...I'm sorry about your grandmother. I really had hoped she was going to tell you before her condition got worse.”

Echo removed the cloth from her face. “You knew?!” Her voice got angry. “After everything we all went through, why wouldn’t you tell us?!”

“Because it is not my place to interfere. You know this. It was your grandmother’s choice for you to not know, I could not change that. But I can send my condolences now. Which is why I am here.”

“I assume you also knew about Nuvua too?” She grumbled.

“I did. I didn’t expect her to hit you, but I knew she was planning to leave soon. Though she has been planning that since she returned. You knew this.” Des replied.

Echo sighs. “Yeah, I suppose I did...still. It was like a literal slap to the face.” She nods. “Is that all?”

“No. Your windows to lose your darkness is closing. All of you, especially with Nuvua planning to leave with Toklo. You all need to work on that.” Des told her.

“We are.” Echo replied. “We had a plan but all of us were tossed in a void. Paused in time. So the plan fell. We will find another way.”

“I suggest you hurry. If Nuvua leaves before you do, it will be too late and that darkness will be all of yours forever.” Des warns.

“And looks like we are back to work.” Echo sighs and scratches at the back of her neck, then nods. “I’ll see what I can find in the spell books I have access to. Something has to be strong enough to hold the Horned King’s darkness.”

“Hopefully.” Des points out. “I must end this transmission, I have to train my new recruits. Things haven’t been easy over here.”

“The universe was thrown out of balance. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of the darkness.” Echo nods. “Bye, Des.”

“Goodbye, Echo.” Des nods before fading off of the mirror. As Echo’s reflection came into focus she sighed. Her lip was bruised from the hit. Which she expected.

Ignoring it, she left the bathroom to join her brother and mother in the kitchen. Melody walked over with an ice pack wrapped with a towel, handing it to her. "Do you have any appetite?"

"Not anymore." Echo replied as she out the ice pack to her face. "But I will sit with you." They all sat together for breakfast.

On the other side of Storybrooke, ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ watched over her family. She is having an odd time. The more she uses magic, the weaker she has been feeling. Though she has been able to hide it from Liv, she hasn't felt right about it. ᎷᏋᏝ wanted to wait to mention something was wrong when she figured out what it was.

That morning, she had figured it out. In a small coughing fit, ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ coughed up a strange purple fluid. The last time she did that, was when she was infected with the poison that Madam Mim used on her years ago. With everything being rewritten and timelines being changed, ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ's poisoning was returned to her. Right where it left off.

The fact that it was cured last time was a fluke incident. It isn't an easy thing to cure because magic makes it worse. She wasn't sure antimagic would work either because it could end badly when mixed with her own magic. ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ watched her family sleep and wanted to just cry. She might not be able to stop this one or escape this fate. And right when her family was getting started. She couldn't tell them now. How could she? How does she look Liv in the face and admit that she's dying and there isn't a way around it?

How does ᎷᏋᏝᎾᎠᎩ say…goodbye?