"Since we're here, you might as well use this. The cold doesn't bother me, anyway."

You seem to be in a forest covered in snow. The person with purple hair who brought you here trails behind you as you take a stroll through one of the paths.

You notice that it's a rather secluded area with a few park benches spaced far apart enough from each other. You hear faint murmuring in the distance. The further you walk through the forest, you can make out a more audible conversation.

"Are you sure he's here?" "Of course not! But that b---h wrote it in her diary clearly. She likes winter." "What are we going to do if we can't knock that guy out? He looks tougher than he lets on."

You slow down your pace.

"He's good as blind! I'm sure we can distract the rest of his senses." "So what do you plan to do with his alien b---h?"

Wait a second. You know one of these voices.

"We can always get someone to deflower her. That will be devastating to both of them." "Genius! He probably would refuse to have anything to do with her, with their BS about purity."

It's that suspicious vigilante named Brandon. You hear faint rustling to your left.

"Are you even sure those aliens have moral standards? You never know what kind of debauchery their kind partake in." "Shut up, Wayne! You talk too much!"

After you've walked a considerable distance, you see two people sitting on a bench. You recognise one of them as Grace, that alien you met. A girl has her arms wrapped around him, her head buried against his chest. He rubs her back, presumably to soothe her. She turns her head to the side, and the little you can make out of her face reveals a contented smile.

"Oh!", exclaims Grace. "I think we have company." This prompts the girl to sit back up, and look to her left and right. She covers her nose and mouth as soon as she takes notice of someone approaching their bench, seemingly embarrassed.

"I can't recognise them from this distance, but I'm pretty sure I invited them. Love is something to share, not something you keep a secret, after all!" A gleeful expression spreads through his face. There is a different glow to him today. The woman, on the other hand, starts to frown. She seems anxious about something, slowly raising one arm to point at three people, one of which you recognise to be Brandon, while tugging at Grace's jacket with the other.

She kneels on the snow in front of her, and traces something on the snow with her finger.

"Remember me?" The man with olive skin walks closer to someone unfamiliar to you, giving them a menacing smile.

"Sorry to interrupt you lovebirds, but it's time for payback." Brandon lunges at Grace and takes him by the neck. Grace shoves him to the ground, prompting the man to clench his fists.

"I'm Wayne, by the way, and this guy with me is Brandon," says the man wearing a red jacket. He extends his arm to the unfamiliar bystander, as though they were about to shake hands. His expression turns sardonic. "We met over some whiny alien scum who suckered us into helping her."

"What did you just say about Bella? You take that back this instant!" Grace turns to face Wayne. "I gave you the benefit of the doubt even if you were critical of us behind our backs, because you want to help people. I can see that. But what is this about making exceptions to the people you wish to help?"

You feel someone tap against your shoulder.

"At the count of three, seize those boys!"

Just then, Brandon stands up and thrusts one of his arms upward, his fist landing on Grace's chin.

"Three…"

"YOU. TALK. TOO. MUCH!"

"Two…"

As the woman crouches down to aid Grace, Wayne seizes her by her wrists, immobilising her. She tries to wriggle her way out of his tight grasp, when Grace stands back up and tries to punch Brandon in return. He dodges easily, owing to Grace's poor eyesight. After a while of the two dodging each other's attacks, Brandon pulls out a gun, and points it to Grace's forehead. Just then, the woman releases herself from Wayne and snatches Brandon's gun, pointing it back at him.

"One…"

You hear a gunshot.

[[If for any reason, you do not want the CW, I can swap it for a random CW on your wishlist (if I have one,) or 500 CSC (if I don't have any of your wishlist CWs!) I will give you more detailed instructions on how to do this at the end of the plot, but so that I can keep track for now, post "solid" on the thread if you want a WL CW instead, or "liquid" if you want the 500 CSC in its place.]]

As Brandon tries to get his gun back from her… You hope that nobody gets seriously hurt. You hope that the woman has a good aim.

"The only thing you scum are good for is deception! Why don't you show your true, ugly selves to us?" Brandon points at the magician. "I knew you were an alien too, but you told me you'd help me destroy them."

"Pithy mortal, you should have known better than to trust a deceiver such as I. You, of such pitiful hubris to even dare to see our true formes! If you would even survive such a sight, you will be sightless and voiceless for the rest of your days. Truly, you are fortunate that the only deception you receive is of a benign nature." Their skin becoming more translucent, they let out a cackle. "It is not I that time stands still for. My demise is fast approaching. My dying wish is to atone to those I've hurt so much… Orama… and my dearest Storge…"

A dazzling light emanates from the mysterious stranger and floods their immediate surroundings. You look away before you blind yourself.

Grace covers his mouth with his hand, and the cataracts obscuring his sight fade to reveal his dark brown eyes.

"Eros… is this really…", the woman says.

"I have committed the most deplorable of deeds. I will not be surprised if justice calls for you never to forgive me. My hands have destroyed entire worlds." The stranger walks closer to the woman. "Agape… I feel her energy. I think she's still out there, somewhere. Will you forgive Eros for being so reckless?

The woman tries to give the magician, who you assume to be named Eros, a hug. Her arms go through what should be his torso.

"That's right! I feel the radiance and the warmth of forgiveness… because you've become Agape! Continue to spread love into this new world… that is all I ask."

Just then, the figure completely fades into thin air, leaving behind some articles of clothing, right before your very eyes.

"Eish… awr ewe ahll dahn?" Brandon's speech is muffled by the snow stuffing his mouth. You consider stepping on his back so that he couldn't stand up, but he pushes himself off the cold ground. "This sappiness is sickening! I abhor Survival for this very reason. So much smooching and biting under the pretense of 'love'."

Grace and the woman lock each other into an embrace.

"I missed seeing your beautiful face and hearing your angelic voice, Bella." He releases the woman, who you think is named Bella, from his embrace, taking her hands in his.

"It must have been difficult to communicate with me all this time..."

Just then, Grace cups both of her cheeks in his hands, turning her head so that she's facing him, before abruptly giving her a kiss on the lips. Seeing this, Brandon is seething in rage. He storms off and walks the same way Wayne escaped to.

Bella hides her face as soon as he withdraws from her, later revealing a dumbfounded look.

"Was that really… Eros right there? How is that even possible?" "Yes, Bella." "I wonder what made him change like that. Why would he ask for forgiveness in his last moments? It doesn't seem like him at all." "That's one of the other things I wanted to tell you." "What, that Eros was here, and you knew about it?" "That's not all." "Then, what is it?"

There is a sparkle in Grace's eyes.

"Agape's essence is in you. I never thought it would have been possible while my visions were clouded, but I see it now. Agape and Eros chose us to continue their legacy.."

"I can understand why he chose you; he always wanted to turn you into his apprentice, all these years. But why me? The fulfillment of my duties as Storge have not even borne any fruit…"

"That's because you've embodied love -- for never harboring hatred for Eros, even after his desires consumed him and turned him into Ghysar. Like your sister, you given so much of yourself for the sake of love. It didn't matter whether they deserved it or not." He gives her a heartfelt smile. "You deserve the love you keep trying to give everyone else."

Bella yells, suddenly falling into panic. "That's right! Wilhelm kept telling me of this mission, that we had to bring love to others." She anxiously tugs on Grace's jacket with both of her hands. "What are we going to do now? Won't Survival be over soon?"

"It doesn't have to be Survival for us to share love with others. Love has no season, it's something you breathe and live." Grace turns to you. "What do you think?"

"That's right, Grace." The voice seems to be coming from behind you. "So this is where you went. I see you invited our friend here, too." Feeling something gently pressing against your shoulder, you turn around and find Wilhelm.

Grace appears to be quite shocked. "How did you get here? I was worried you'd be too scared to travel alone, just as you've been for quite a while."

"I suddenly found the courage while I was searching for both of you in the Ice Fields. There was a flash of blinding light, and all of a sudden, all my fears were dispelled. I just needed to follow the light."

"Wow, you saw it all the way there?", asked Grace.

"I would not be surprised if the light was seen throughout Ytiva. I'm surprised Eros' energy did not destroy the planet, but this is completely different from the force he used to destroy other worlds."

Bella looks at the clothing Eros left behind. "I still don't understand. Is Eros dead now? Is that why he asked us for forgiveness?"

"Dead isn't the right word, but I get your meaning. He lives on in some of the ways mortals choose to love." Grace picks Eros' clothes up and places them inside his bag. "But now that I think of it, if Eros chose me to succeed him, wouldn't that would make us--"

Bella then presses her index finger against Grace's lips. "Correction, you'd be assuming the role of my brother, you're not becoming my brother! Besides, you're the same tall, dark, and handsome Grace to me."

"Aw, shush you!" Grace pretends to cry. Noticing that his glasses are smudged and completely fogged up, Bella takes them off his face, and wipes them with her shirt, before replacing them.

"Grace, why don't you try looking at the possibilities again? I think being able to see every timeline overwhelmed you for a while. Just like sensory overload!" "Bella, that's not the same thing, and you know it. Should I tell our professors about this?" "Noo, don't!" Bella tries to tickle Grace on his sides, but he evades her quickly.

"Hey, I understand if it was hard to take in everything that just happened here. Sorry you had to see all these things and get involved in this mess." Wilhelm gives you a look of concern. "Would you like us to return you to your home? I'm sure the lovebirds wouldn't--"

"After we bring our friend to their place, we should try to look for a different venue for the community clinic. Somewhere more… accessible," Bella interrupts.

D) Why don't you try some place cut off from the rest of the planet? It's likely that every place in Subeta has access to medical care. You aren't quite sure. Perhaps they can provide their free services in a place which is cut off from most of the planet.

"Shengui Guo, perhaps? We arrived in this planet shortly after the void in that place was lifted." Bella turns to Wilhelm, observing his expression. He seems dissatisfied with the suggestion.

"What about the moon?" "As in Atebus?" "Yes!"

Wilhelm takes his phone out of his pocket, and scrolls through what you presume to be a message he just received.

"Would you look at that. Someone's inviting us to Ziara, up in Atebus. They told me they'll send a proper invitation to the office within a few days." Bella and Grace move closer to Wilhelm, peering into his screen.

Wilhelm returns his attention to you. "Are you attending the Masquerade this year? If you are, we might see you around!"

Grace raises an eyebrow at Wilhelm. "Wilhelm, aren't we forgetting something?"

"Taking our friend home? I did say we'll do that. What are you all waiting for?"

"No, that's not it…" Bella responds. "Thank you for showing us so much kindness." She grins at you and gives you a hug.

"Despite running into people who are less receptive to our coexistence among you, people like you have given us hope in Subetans as a whole," adds Grace.

"Continue to regard people as equals, regardless of their race, sex, creed, or any other differences." Wilhelm smiles as he leads the three of you out of the forest, where a snow-ready vehicle is parked at one side. He opens the passenger door and motions for all of you to enter the vehicle. Just when you notice a cardboard box bearing your name in one of the backseats, he enters on the driver's side. After he has started the engine, he begins to maneuver the vehicle through the snow.

No matter where it's located, a clinic is a good thing. Help for those that may not be able to get it otherwise. Love these two. :)

Thank you again for the wonderful gifts creative anon. This is a fun and interesting plot. hugs