Reject and Regret

Some days had passed since Ian's departure from the hideout, where Gian-Luca, Veronica, and Venus were left behind to contemplate. During this time, with enough pester, Gian-Luca was able to close some distance between him and Venus. He knocked gently on his door frequently, asking to have an important talk whenever he got the chance, and after enough tries Venus finally replied quietly through the door.

"I don't want to open the door just yet…"

"It's okay, that'll do," Gian-Luca sighed, speaking to the closed door. "Venus, listen closely, please. Ian has disbanded from the Sins."

"Ian…?"

"Yes. His views differed significantly from ours, so he left. But our secrets lay with him, so his abandonment poses a major threat. Do you understand where I'm getting at?"

"No…"

"He can expose us entirely. Not only our identities as Sins, but also the location of this hideout. We're walking on a thin thread just staying here. We need to leave this place."

"B-But I don't wanna go. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I can't…"

"Venus," Gian-Luca laid his hand against the door. "I'm not asking you to hurt anybody. I don't want to hurt anybody either. The reason I want us to leave is so that we ourselves don't get hurt."

"Won't we stay safe if we just stay here…?"

"Not if Ian decides to fully turn against us. Just as Midas would say, information and knowledge is a lethal weapon. Knowledge of the remaining Sins' whereabouts can be really useful in this day and age."

Venus remained quiet.

"If we hypothetically do get ambushed, the only way to survive is to defend ourselves, and that'll involve hurting others. That's not what you want, right?"

Venus nodded silently behind the door.

"If it isn't, then you should understand that leaving this place before something like that happens is the best way to avoid conflict and casualties, whether it be our own or others'."

"Ah…" Venus gritted his teeth with guilt. He was still trying to overcome his past trauma.

Sensing the unease, Gian-Luca took a deep breath and leaned against the door. "I'm sorry again about what happened to you, and what'd been revealed to you. Just know that me and Veronica have chosen to accept you for who you are no matter how much you've changed, and no matter what you've done. We're all Sins, so we're all in this together. We all share many of the same burdens, so you're like a brother to me, Venus. I know it's been hard as hell lately, but all we can do now is make do with what we have. I hope you're okay in there. We hope to see you come out of the room sometime soon."

"B-But I can't, not after everything I've done… There is just so much blood on my hands, and no matter how much I wipe it won't go away!" Venus broke into tears. "This life is a broken one. I can't handle knowing what I've done. I can't handle knowing that it won't ever go away! I hate myself!!!"

Venus banged against the door with anger. Gian-Luca could only gulp anxiously with what he was about to say.

"Venus, if you really can't handle those memories, I can wipe them for you."

The banging stopped.

"Wipe my memories…?"

"Yeah. That's all I'm good for after all, right?"

"All the bad ones? All the ones I want to forget?"

"Well…" Gian-Luca hesitated. "It sounds to me like you have a lot of them. In order for me to wipe such a large amount, it comes with the risk of possibly wiping all your memories as a whole. It'd be just like what I'd done to Reed."

There was a minute of silence. Venus thought of the idea, basking in the idea of peace that could be bestowed if he'd let go of all his regrets and guilt of the past. With one fell swoop, Gian-Luca could really erase it all. But that included all of his memories.

Even the good ones.

"What good ones?" Venus asked himself. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him again. He scoffed at the thought, as if he had any genuine good memories. He had joyful times with Julia before his downfall, but it was all a lie. And his time as a Sin was not even spent as his true self, but rather as an imposter with a kill count too high for him to fathom.

What was left of his memories that was good enough to keep?

"Nothing." Venus made the conclusion. But doubt struck immediately. He was presented with the only memory that mattered.

"I need your strength to help me out, because without it I don't think I've got a chance here."

"You need my help…?"

"Of course I need your help! You're Venus! The strongest subject in this entire facility. Now throw away that pitiable attitude and come back to your prideful senses. If that's gonna help us win, then I want it."

The moment Midas accepted him for who he truly was.

"Midas…"

Wiping all his memories included those of Midas, the only individual Venus could ever consider his friend. The one who not only guided him, but gave him a chance to redeem himself in the moments he faltered. Midas was the one who gave him a goal when he couldn't create a real one. If it weren't for Midas, Venus would have been unhinged, possibly staining the lives of even more innocent people.

"No," Venus blurted aloud. "I can't… Don't wipe my memories."

Gian-Luca was surprised to hear the change of tone in his voice. "Are you sure…?"

Venus thought about it one more time, but his regrets felt less heavy. He looked into Midas' perspective, realizing just how much pressure, expectation, and guilt must have landed on his shoulders alone.

"He must have faced so much mental burden alone."

"Who?" Gian-Luca asked.

"Midas… It's only fair that I carry some of the burden in honor of his passing, so I'll hold onto my memories. I don't think erasing my trauma will make me a better person. Using these regrets of the past to guide what I do in the future will be a better outcome, I think."

"Wow…" Gian-Luca began to smile. "I'm honestly amazed you made up your mind that quickly."

"No. I think the time helped a lot."

The door suddenly opened. Gian-Luca's eyes grew wide.

"You said we gotta leave this place, right?"

There at the open door, Venus stood, finally coming out of his room after nearly two weeks. Before the surprise could settle in for Gian-Luca, another sound coming from up above interrupted them.

Creak!

The entry-latch had opened, and slammed closed in pursuit. Soon, footsteps could be heard making its way down the entrance ladder.

Someone had just entered the hideout.