Let's Try This Again, Shall we? (A SPM Swap AU)

That's What Love Is

~ Flashback ~

~ Third Person POV ~

"STOP!" Blumiere's father cried, catching up to Timpani, out of breath, panic lining his voice. "Please! Don't!! Not even us tribe members could handle that dark book, let alone a human!"

Timpani didn't even acknowledge his presence, as if she didn't hear him. Or perhaps maybe she didn't want to hear him.

"Please! If you open it, there's no telling what could happen!" He begged. 

"I don't care," Timpani spat, snatching the book and turning to glare at Blumiere's father. "A world without him is empty. A LIFE without him is empty!"

"Please!" Blumiere's father begged. "Believe me, I know! But-"

"NO YOU DON'T!!!" Timpani interrupted, sounding angrier than she ever had. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GAVE HIM THAT SCAR ON HIS EYE! QUIT PRETENDING YOU LOVED HIM! YOU ONLY LOVE YOURSELF! YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF! QUIT PRETENDING YOU CARED ABOUT HIM! YOU DIDN'T! YOU'RE A HORRIBLE FATHER WHO JUST STOOD BY WHILE YOUR TRIBE KILLED HIM! A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A PERSON IS WHAT YOU ARE!"

The blue man visibly winced at her words as she opened the book and held it out in front of her, making Blumiere's father shield his eyes in horror.

"SPEAK, Dark Prognosticus. Teach me your dark history! I await your command!" Timpani shouted, voice steady, but demanding.

Blumiere's father briefly unshielded his eyes to see a large dark mass begin circling around the young woman, turning her long white hair a shade of pure black, and her eyes a red color.

"T-TIMPANI! STOP!" He cried, voice shaky and filled with terror. "PLEASE! THIS WON'T BRING HIM BACK!! TRUST ME, I'VE STUDIED OTHER BOOKS ABOUT THIS BOOK! NO ONE WHO READS IT COULD EVER FIND HAPPINESS!"

But it was too late to stop things now. "Teeheehee, TIPPI!" She laughed maniacally, clutching the book as a strong wind seemed to circle her.

"TIMPANI-"

"SILENCE!" She screamed at him. "The first prophecy beckons. I will erase every last inch of this blasted world!"

"T-T-Timpani! Don't do this! PLEASE!" Blumiere's father cried, voice squeaky and filled with horror when she suddenly held up a finger, smiling an almost amused smile.

"Uh-uh-uh. Timpani is no more. I am Countess Tippi! And no one shall stand in my way!" She teased, slowly taking steps towards him.

"Not... even... you."

He nervously stepped backward until his back was to a wall and there was no escape, fear coursing through his veins. She quickly rushed up to him and grabbed his throat, squeezing tightly, causing him to yelp out in pain. 

"I'm going to destroy EVERYTHING that took him away... starting with you. I'm going to drain the life out of you. Inch by inch," She beamed, smiling like a maniac as Blumiere's father squeezed his eyes shut in pain, desperately thrashing.

"P-Please," He begged, voice soft and weak, close to a whisper. "P-Please, Timpani-"

"SILENCE!" She yelled, squeezing harder. Blumiere's father opened his eyes, only to see all the color fading from his arms and hands. Timpani seemed to drain all the life and color from his body with her anger as she stood there, sucking every last inch of life away.

He felt his strength and power all draining, along with his life force. It hurt. Not as much as losing Blumiere did, but it still was unbearably painful.

He wondered if Blumiere felt this much pain when the tribe got rid of him. Hopefully not. He desperately hoped that it wasn't painful for him.

Blumiere's father' squeezed his eyes shut in horror and pain as he felt the color drain from everything. His arms, his neck, his face, his hair.

"You were never a father to him. You NEVER loved him. You don't even know what love is!!! He's gone BECAUSE OF YOU!" She cried.

'You NEVER loved him. You don't even know what love is.' Those words...

That's when he opened his still blue eyes, looking into Tippi's now red ones. His eyes were perhaps the only part of him still filled with the same vibrant blue color.

He took all the strength he had to stay alive, just for this moment. Because he needed to say this.

"Didn't love him...?" He started, sharply inhaling for air so he coule say when he needed to say.

"I love my son... with all my heart." He stated, eyes seeming to glow brighter, sounding perhaps stronger than he ever had. "And I'll always love him. I've cried for him every single day... wishing I could take back everything that led up to his death. Wishing it was me instead. Wishing I could be a better father. Wishing I could give him my life."

He paused, still trembling, feeling searing amounts of pain.

"I feel pain and grief for him every single day. I miss him every single day, wishing there was something I could do. That's what love is." He stated.

And one moment was all it took. One brief moment of weakness gave him what he needed to escape. Because at that moment when she looked into his glowing blue eyes, she could almost see Blumiere. She could almost be reminded of the feeling she got when she looked into his eyes. Of drops of calm water flowing from the mountain tops to the ocean in a tranquil, flowing river.

But a river isn't always calm. There are rapids and waterfalls. The journey of a waterdrop isn't always easy, and she could see that in this man's eyes now. She could see that now.

But it was too late. In that moment of weakness, her grip loosened, giving him the opportunity. In a fit of desperation, he kicked her back, causing her to let go and drop him, stumbling back a few feet.

He gasped for breath, quickly sitting up and teleporting to escape. However, he found he couldn't teleport all that far. A mile at most, was all he could get, due to all the life that had been drained from him. So, the man started sprinting away, leaving his tribe behind.

There was no saving it now.