Come Back to Me

5

Varg smirked as he hung up the phone. He couldn't have planned it any better if he had wanted to. He hadn't planned on running into Vanessa, hadn't even given her any real thought since she 'disappeared.' Now, it was going to make his plan all that much easier. All it would take was a small, encouraging nudge and Euronymous would turn on Dead like a crazed animal. It was impossible for him to say that it wasn't anything personal, that it was really just good business...but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

True, there was some business involved, provided Euronymous heard him out with his plan and actually agreed to it, but to him it was extremely personal. Nearly all the success he could have had, and did have in another life, was almost non-existent now. Sure a lot of his fame had come from, what he considered, a well deserved murder and a few well deserved fires on some churches that really shouldn't have been where they were...but what artist, now or then, hadn't caused a few...controversies from time to time?

That's all they were really. Simple controversies that gained him his status in the underground community at one point in time. The burnings that he had been part of, and even most of the ones he hadn't been part of, were all part of a cause he agreed with. Those churches were an insult to his culture, a constant reminder that those who followed Christianity tried to force feed their beliefs onto those who didn't agree with it. Whether or not they liked it simply didn't matter. Why respect anyone who doesn't give respect? It made no sense to him. It was fine for them to destroy the Norse culture, but destroy theirs and suddenly you're the villain.

But that title suited him just fine.

~

There weren't many times when Dead wasn't at the house, and now that he wasn't, Euronymous wasn't so sure he liked the silence so much. The past years had been rough on them all since Vanessa had come and gone. Everything that seemed so easy then just felt like a constant game of waiting for someone to try and stab you in the back over something that could have easily been talked over. Or maybe it wasn't that simple. Even he had to admit that he had been extremely arrogant and cocky then. Maybe he really had crossed a line and it was his fault that Varg came after him. Whatever had happened had definitely changed all their lives...

Hellhammer was hardly around anymore, with Melanie being pregnant and all of the stress Dead had put on him, as well as their relationship, it wasn't hard to put himself in his shoes. He had his own life now, one even Euronymous would never have seen coming. Not once did he picture Hellhammer as the type to settle down with someone, let alone start a family.

Now that's a scary thought. He laughed. Hellhammer as a dad? Who would've thought.

Still, he couldn't deny that he was in fact happy for them. After everything they had been through they deserved to have a happy life.

Necro, still single of course, had tried to be around more often, trying to help keep an eye on Dead to make sure he didn't do anything stupid while helping Euronymous book shows, tours, and events. So far, they had done almost a dozen shows with Darkthrone and Satyricon as headliners, a few shows here and there with larger bands. Now they were in the middle of planning their biggest show yet. While a lot of the details still needed to be worked out, Euronymous hoped to not only have Darkthrone and Satyricon again, but some popular groups like Venom and Gorgoroth. Still, there was no promising anything until he talked to a few more people.

Jumping slightly at the vibration on the table beside him, Euronymous picked up the phone, his brow furrowing in confusion as he looked at the screen for a moment.

"Hello?" he answered hesitantly.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Varg's voice came through, almost upset.

Euronymous frowned even more, Varg hardly ever called him. "No, you're fine. What's up?

He tried to keep his tone light, keeping the fact that he didn't trust the man to himself. This was the part he hated. He was supposed to be the leader of Mayhem; strong and fearless. Yet here he was almost afraid of someone on the other end of the phone. It had taken some time for his mind to wrap itself around the idea that at one point he was dead, now it was just a matter of staying alive and hoping that he didn't do something to set Varg off. He wasn't terrified, but his guard would always be up.

He could hear a deep sigh, almost as if he hadn't wanted to call at all. "I 'm honestly not sure how to tell you this without you getting upset."

Euronymous rolled his eyes. "Just tell me."

He couldn't stop the snap that had come out.

"Alright, alright," Varg groaned out. "Long story short, I was on a trip out of town and happened to run into Vanessa."

Euronymous had to take a minute to gather himself. The anger he still had for her bubbling to the surface before he quickly pushed it back down again.

"Why are you telling me?" he asked evenly. "Kinda seems like something you should have called Dead about."

"Normally I would, but I wanted to run a small business deal by you first."

"What kind of deal?"

**A tad later than i had hoped to post, been kind of crazy. However...a special chapter is coming soon in honor of Dead this month as it marks his passing...Thank you all for your love and support. <3**