C22:

Together Again

"So what have we learned about the Hunter's blood?"

"Well, it's apparently able to survive, unprotected, outside his veins for an exceptional period of time. And it is actively mutating to resist environmental hazards."

"His blood is alive."

"Something like that."

Arianna looked up from the book she was reading in surprise as a knock came at her door, it was past sunset, and all others had likely long since sought their beds. Curiously she rose and went to the door, opening it to see one of Annalise's maids outside, head lowered demurely as she mumbled that someone was here to speak with Arianna. The blonde woman became even more confused when she told the maid to escort the visitor in. The visitor was unlike any person Arianna had ever met in her life.

The... man? Was only three feet tall with an enormous torso and short legs, he bustled in with the air of a person who is exceptionally proud of their work. The odd little fellow cleared his throat and spoke in a resonant baritone that had a strange, warbling, quality to it, "Ah, milady Arianna, what a distinctly singular pleasure to meet you." She inclined her head, flabbergasted, as the man continued, "I am called the Emissary, and I am here on behalf of my client to extend a personal invitation to his home in our glorious Arena! It is a great honor, I assure you." He held out an envelope embossed with a strange wax seal on it.

Warily, Arianna looked at the letter, then at the man, "Who… Who sent you to me? I have never seen one such as you before." She had lived through far too much to be completely trusting now. There were precious few she trusted as it was, and this… Emissary, almost felt wrong somehow. Besides, she wasn't the sort to accept invitations from strange men, not anymore at least.

The Emissary smiled, he seemed to have too many teeth, "Ah, I forgot this is your first encounter with our staff, I apologize." He still held out the invitation, "This missive is on behalf of one of our combatants. Our newest, as a matter of fact! He has made quite an impression on us all." The strange fellow's eyes flashed, "He calls himself 'The Hunter'. I'm sure you're familiar with the title."

Arianna took, almost snatched, the letter from him and opened it, her eyes frantically scanning down the page and her expression becoming more shocked by the second. Then she looked at the Emissary and asked, "Is...is this true? Am I really going to be taken to...to..." Her melodic voice began to quaver, like a harp string having just been struck, tears budding at the corners of her eyes, "May I truly see him?" She whispered, desperation in her every word. The Emissary nodded and she embraced him fiercely, to his utmost shock, "Then I shall make ready at once!"

The blonde began to prepare with an urgency and fervor that had not been present in Cainhurst for a very long time. The letter had specified how much time she would have, a few days, but she would absolutely make the most of it. While she did so, the Emissary turned and gave the maid at the door a few suggestions, then strode out and down the hall towards the chambers of Queen Annalise, leaving the maid to quietly watch over Arianna's excited preparations.

In less than an hour Arianna was ready to depart, she didn't need to take much, after all. Still, the Emissary was waiting outside her room when she was finished, and he was all smiles, "Ah, ready so soon! Excellent, that does make things easier. Now, before we depart I must ask, are you currently expecting a child or have you borne children in the past month?" Arianna's face flamed and she shook her head, toi shocked to speak, "Ah! Good, that means we can use the Arena's primary method of travel." He beckoned her to follow him and she did, mutely carrying her belongings as he continued to chatter at her.

"Your Hunter has quite impressed everyone back at the Arena." Arianna couldn't help but listen as close as she could as the two of them made their way down, towards the gates. "Why, during his first battle he beat one of the crowd favorites, Bayonetta, the Umbra Witch! And she is quite the combatant, fast, strong, ruthless, and stunningly beautiful. She's not even the oldest fighter we have, yet she's amassed a fanbase to rival that of our most experienced gladiators!" The Emissary turned left, out onto a deserted parapet that looked over the courtyard, with no discernible way down to the gates below.

"Ah, here's the place. Just give me a moment to communicate with the travelers…" He took a strange tablet from his pocket and tapped it a few times with one finger before raising it up to his ear and speaking, "Yes, I am at the arranged coordinates with our esteemed guest. Please open the gateway to the pre arranged arrival pad reserved by the Hunter." There were a few moments where Arianna could have sworn she heard voices coming from the tablet before the Emissary spoke again, "Excellent! We shall be there momentarily then!" He then pocketed the strange object once more and looked at Arianna, "Please observe the platform, Lady Arianna."

She looked out over the area which the Emissary had indicated and gasped, eyes widening. Before her, with no more sound than a whisper, a hole had opened in the very air before her. Seven feet high and four wide, the vortex was filled with a deep violet light that swirled like a whirlpool inside the radiant borders that encircled it. The Emissary cleared his throat, "Lady Arianna, please enter first. The gateway will close after I pass through it." She looked at him in sudden consternation, then back at the 'gateway'.

"My… The Hunter is beyond this?" The Emissary nodded. Arianna steeled herself, then stepped into the unknown, eyes closed tight. She expected nothingness, to somehow fall through a completely empty void with no sign of solid earth beneath her feet. But that did not happen. Instead she felt as though she was passing into a much warmer room as she moved forward. She opened her eyes and saw another world span before her.

The room was immense and filled with steady, unwavering light reflecting off of gleaming metal surfaces decorated with shimmering scenes of yet more unfamiliar locales. Displays of vast green fields were beside starlit skies and foreboding mansions, and even as Arianna looked at them the scenes changed. She was thunderstruck by the alien construction before her, taking a few more tentative steps forward as the Emissary came through behind her and the gateway closed.

Above them a feminine voice declared, "Cainhurst gateway is now closed, portal floor is open for traversal. Next Gateway will open to Dreamland in fifteen minutes." Arianna looked up, startled, but there was no one above her. The Emissary cleared his throat and stepped up beside her.

"Lady Arianna, we must move on into the welcoming lounge from here. Other travelers will have need of the gateways soon." She looked at him, her mind still reeling from all that she was seeing, "If you would please follow me?" The Emissary beckoned her onward and, not knowing what else to do, Arianna walked behind him, trying not to be completely overwhelmed by everything around her. This place even smelled strange.

They walked past oddly shaped desks where humans worked alongside animals who walked on their hind legs, tiny round creatures that squeaked when they walked, and strangely shaped people with proportions like no other Arianna had ever seen in her life. None of them even seemed to notice her and the Emissary as they passed, barely sparing them a glance as they moved towards an open doorway. The room beyond looked to be floored with lush red carpet, and there were yet more people sitting upon richly upholstered furniture.

Her eyes locked upon one person in particular, however. He looked so different now. Not older, but more relaxed and carefree. His once drawn and haggard face now filled with life, green eyes sparkling with mirth as he laughed with someone else Arianna barely even saw. But it was him. Those long brown locks cascading down beyond his shoulders, no longer matted and tangled, but clean and glistening. His beard, no longer rough and ragged, but trimmed and even. It was him, and he was gorgeous.

Then those green eyes shifted to meet hers and the whole world came to a crawl as those emerald irises widened in recognition. Her arms fell, bag forgotten upon the floor, as she took a slow step forward, tears of joy filling her own eyes, "My darling Hunter…" She murmured.

-x-

The Hunter was impatient, but he knew that there was little he could do about this particular passage of time. For the duration of Arianna's stay both his world and the Arena's would be completely in sync with one another. This would be the case any time Arianna visited, he understood, unless she decided to live there, which he had two minds about. Still, it was more bearable with Link along. The Hylian and Midna had accompanied him to the portal room, though not by any particular invitation, they had just shown up and essentially told him they'd wait with him whether he liked it or not.

They were in the middle of speaking, the Hunter laughing as Midna told him how Link had once lost a fight to what was essentially a chicken, when the door to the portal room slid open. The Hunter glanced through it idly, then froze, his eyes turning back to look upon the slender woman standing in the doorway, her arms clasped around a bag held to her chest. He stopped laughing, he almost stopped breathing, as he locked eyes with her.

She looked healthier than he had ever seen her, no longer as malnourished and frightened as she had been during the hunt, no longer desperate and despairing as she had been when he had left Cainhurst, no longer pale and sickly as she had been when he had viewed her so many months ago. His eyes looked for any sign of injury or sickness, and found none, then they settled upon those storm gray eyes that had saved him so many times. Ah, but they were so beautiful, and he drank her in like a dying man in a desert. Her lips moved and he heard her clear as a bell, "My darling Hunter…"

No one else was in the room when they embraced, there was no other sight or sound around them as the Hunter wrapped his arms around his Arianna, and she clasped him just as tightly to her, head pressed to his chest as he buried his face in her hair and breathed deep, savoring that now clear sweet scent that had always clung to her. They were totally alone in the world as they clung to one another, two lost souls found at last.

Then Arianna looked up at him, and for the first time she did not have to ask him for what she desired. With none of the hesitation that had marked him in Yharnam and Cainhurst, the Hunter's lips met hers. Arianna noticed that he felt stronger and more sure of himself, and the Hunter realized she was warmer and softer than she had been before. There was some kind of noise around them, but they didn't really hear it as they held that kiss. Then, as if at some signal, the spell broke, and their lips parted, the world coming in upon them once again.

There was the sound of clapping behind the Hunter and he glanced to see the source was none other than Link, who he had completely forgotten about. Midna was smiling, her eyes filled with a soft gentleness instead of her usual mischievous mirth. He looked back at his blonde darling and smiled, a bit embarrassed, "I missed you." He whispered to her, stroking her hair before letting her go, one hand drifting down to grasp hers.

Arianna smiled, and to him it was if a new star had been born, "And I you, darling Hunter." Her fingers intertwined with his and she squeezed tightly, looking over his shoulder, "Are these friends of yours, my Hunter?" She asked softly, noticing the strangely dressed man and the alien yet strikingly beautiful woman beside him.

He nodded and turned, "Arianna, this is Link and Midna." A flicker of a grin passed over his face, "Link there tried to beat me in a fight the other day, he came close, but I suppose greater skill prevailed."

The green clad man scowled, "I come with you to meet the woman that inspired you to come here in the first place, after months and months of being your backup and guide, and you just have to bring up the fact that you beat me in a fight." Midna laughed and ruffled his hair, which earned her a sullen glance, "You're supposed to be on my side for Farore's sake."

"Oh really?" She taunted him, tracing a finger down his jawline, "Well, I suppose I must be a traitor today!" She smirked at Link before turning to face Arianna, "It is a pleasure to meet you. The Hunter tried to describe you, but he didn't do your beauty justice."

Arianna blushed and curtseyed slightly, hard to do one handed and she refused to let go of her Hunter's hand for even a heartbeat, "Thank you. I… I am still overwhelmed by all that I have seen here, though I am sure it is only but a little of this place. I am glad my Hunter has friends such as you to help him." She frowned slightly and looked at her paramour, "If you are friends, then why is it you fight one another here?"

The Hunter ran his free hand through his hair, Arianna noticed it was at least a few inches longer than it had been before he had left her, and shrugged, "That's why we're here, to fight. I'll explain more in a bit. For now," he looked at Link, "there are other people I'd like to introduce you to. I've made more than one friend in this mess, believe it or not." Even the way he spoke had become so much more relaxed. Arianna loved seeing him like this, full of life instead of fear, this was the man she knew had been behind all that pain and all those scars.

Link nodded, no longer grumbling about being the butt of yet another joke, "That's right. The Hunter here has actually opened up to a few of us." He winked at her, "I'd say it was easier for you than for us. He's been downright mulish about it. Getting anything out of him is like trying to herd a blindfolded goat backwards. Or like trying to talk a twili out of anything." The last comment was directed at Midna, who rolled her eyes.

"Come, Arianna." The Hunter said, squeezing her hand, "Let me introduce you to my friends. I owe them that consideration, at the very least. I cannot begin to tell you how much I am truly indebted to each of them." She smiled and nodded, then remembered her bag and looked around for it. It was gone and she felt a sudden flash of anxiety.

"The Emissary ordered it taken to the Hunter's rooms." Link said, noticing her expression, "You were uh, a little distracted at the time." Arianna's cheeks turned a little pink. "Come on you two. They're waiting on the balcony."

"Which one?" The Hunter asked dryly as they began walking, "The one where you nearly fell or the one where Midna cornered you on her first visit?"

"The one where you decided to take up philosophy as a part time job my goatlike friend." Retorted Link with aplomb.

The two men bantered back and forth as they walked through the massive halls of the Arena. Arianna was once again nearly in shock from how marvelous this place was. Everything seemed immaculately designed and constructed to provide a sense of grandeur and spectacle and it achieved that effect with ease. Everything seemed to have details heaped upon it, yet it was combined with a grander design through which all else flowed like a million tiny streams into one mighty river.

The Hunter smiled at her wonder filled expression, once again taking in everything about her with the same level of fascination she had about the Arena. Then they stopped at a familiar outcropping that extended outside the walls and out over the starry void. There was a table there this time, and over half a dozen chairs. Sitting at and gathered around the table were three women and another man.

The Hunter paused to introduce each of them to Arianna in turn. The first woman, who Arianna noticed was flying above the ground by several inches and was crowned with light, he named Palutena, a Goddess. The second was Bayonetta, the black clad Umbra Witch who was clad in clothes that would have made Arianna's former… coworkers gasp. The third woman, sitting next to Bayonetta, looked almost as grim as her Hunter had before he had left, she was dressed in a severely plain white shirt and pants, with some strange blue raiment beneath that clung to her skin. This was Samus, a Bounty Hunter that plied her own trade among the very stars. And lastly was the man, Marth, King of Archanea, from yet another world. His manners and clothing certainly seemed regal enough, and Arianna wasn't sure how to respond to the eminence of her Hunter's compatriots.

Midna laughed a bit and said, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm a queen, and my little wolf here is a Legendary Hero!"

That made nothing easier, but Arianna was able to gather herself enough to curtsey as best she could and say, "A...A pleasure to meet you all. I had no idea my Hunter had made such grand and important friends." Bayonetta smirked and seemed about to speak, but a look from Samus silenced the Umbra Witch long enough for Palutena to speak first.

The Goddess stepped forward and smiled so gently Arianna was reminded of times long past, when her mother raised her next to a tiny garden and looked down at her with that same graceful smile. Palutena reached out and touched Arianna's brow, "It is wonderful to meet you, young and gentle child. It pleases me greatly to see the Hunter's trials rewarded with one such as you." The Goddess then kissed Arianna's brow, "You are every bit the reward he deserves for such hard and thankless work as he has done." Arianna was speechless and felt herself on the verge of tears once more.

"Come, all of you," Marth spoke up, "Sit down and we can talk. We all have questions and I'm sure these two would prefer to not spend hours upon their feet." The young king smiled and gestured to the chairs arranged around the table. Once they were all seated Marth spoke again, looking around at the group as a whole, "Here we all are then. Good." He looked at the Hunter, "You had better start us off by telling Arianna where we are and why you came here at all."

The Hunter raised an eyebrow, "Putting me on the spot so soon, o mighty king?" Marth simply smiled and waited, he didn't wait long, "Well, I had best start from when I… left." Arianna saw a certain tightness about her Hunter's eyes and knew that parting was still as painful for him as it was for her. She squeezed his hand and felt him react, "When I left Cainhurst, I went as far from you as I could bear to go…"

So the Hunter explained where he had gone, how he had spent several months living as a hermit along some unknown shore before the Ambassador had arrived and he had come to the Arena. Arianna felt herself caught up in the tale as the various members of the group spoke about the Hunter's arrival and his subsequent time in the Arena as a fighter. She did notice that some things were being left out. There were gaps here and there in the tale, nothing exceptionally obvious, but it was increasingly apparent to the blonde woman that much was being left out by some prior arrangement on their part.

She did not know whose idea it had been, but she knew she had to stop it before they went much farther. Arianna raised one hand and looked at her Hunter, "This is not everything my darling Hunter, and I know it." A flicker of chagrin crossed his face and the rest of the table went quiet, though Bayonetta looked somehow smug, "I have already heard all I could about your hunt, darling Hunter, from both the Doll and our queen. Do not withhold more from me here." She had surprised him, the Hunter had not expected her to know so much about the hunt or what he had done.

With a sigh her Hunter shook his head, "Alright. I should have listened to the rest of them," he gestured around the table, "and simply started out by telling you everything. But…" he looked into her eyes and Arianna was struck by the depth there, it was almost like gazing through two green windows that looked out over a vast sea, "I have my reasons, Arianna. So I will ask you this once, because I wish to spare you from fear and doubt, are you sure?"

"Yes. I am sure, darling Hunter. Tell me all."

So they did. They told her about how Bayonetta had broken into the Hunter's mind and nearly destroyed them both. They told her about She Who Is and the pale eyed shades. They told her about the visions and flashbacks the Hunter had experienced and how those had nearly crippled his mind and body by their sheer force. They told her about the beasts that had invaded the Arena. And the Hunter told them all about the Nightmare he had fought within his own mind, something he had withheld from everyone present until then.

They also described their fights, how the Hunter had met each of them and how he had come to trust and rely upon them one by one. Link and Marth, his first true friends there in the Arena. Palutena, the Goddess who had blessed him and restored his faith in more benevolent powers. Samus, a fellow hunter, the one who had allowed him to come to terms with what he had done in his long hunt. And Bayonetta, his near constant and often unwanted companion throughout each and every step of his time in the Arena, from his first battle to the arrival of beasts, she had been there.

And she had more secrets that the Hunter himself didn't know, but she was saving those for the end, once all else had been told. Then she would be able to fill in some of those oh so glaring gaps in the Hunter's visions, and she would be able to restore his past. As a matter of fact she had been waiting for him to summon Arianna here in order to explain it, because she knew he would need his blonde lover to see him through to the end of Bayonetta's revelations.

Hours had passed and Arianna had gravely accepted everything each of them had revealed to her. Finally it was time and Bayonetta spoke as the Hunter finished telling Arianna about how he had woken up after slaying the Nightmare. "Well, Calahan," she smirked as the Hunter twitched in response to the name, "I have a few more mysteries we can unravel tonight, if you all have the energy for it."

Arianna gave the witch a sharp look, "What did you call him?" She asked quickly, before anyone else could speak.

"Calahan. It's his name." Bayonetta's smirk became a grin, "And I'd say it is about time he remembered it."

"How do you know his name when he didn't know it himself?" Marth asked, taken aback by the Umbra Witch's sudden pronouncement.

"Remember that first fight we had?" She stretched languidly, surreptitiously glancing at Samus, who was pointedly not looking at her, "Well, I got quite a bit when I went exploring inside his mind. Before I was so… rudely interrupted." All their attention was on her now, and she always loved being in the spotlight.

The Hunter's expression, a little wild, somewhat fearful, but filled with a desire to know, was specially satisfying to see. Palutena spoke and Bayonetta looked at her quizzically, "I asked you why you took so long to reveal this knowledge, given it has been many months since the Hunter's first arrival here."

Bayonetta shrugged, angling herself slightly in her chair so that the stubborn Samus would be afforded a better view when her resolve finally cracked. "I was waiting for her." She gestured languidly towards Arianna, "He's going to need her here before I start telling him exactly what happened to him during his little hunt."

"Me?" Arianna's confused expression was absolutely adorable, "Why would he need me?"

Bayonetta leaned forward, her eyes locking on the younger woman's, "Because he needs to see you alive and breathing, beside him. Because if you aren't here, he'll probably go mad." She looked at the Hunter, "Brace yourself, Calahan. This is going to be a long ride for you."