Written By: Armina Qi Saxton

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Epilogue: End Game II

The lights had only went out for a moment or two, perhaps even longer then that, but it was just long enough for Johnny to grab what he thought was his son's wrist and pull him towards the main entrance to the mansion. There were screams coming from inside the ballroom, shouts of frustration from the top floors, and quietness from certain patches everywhere else. It didn't matter where someone was, or why they were inside the rooms they were in, but they knew something was up and they wanted a piece of the action before it passed them by.

He didn't want to leave when there was so much other things to be done, but he found that he had worn out his welcome in the mansion this night. If he stayed any longer, he might just find himself in the middle of something larger then what he had expected to be in. There would be other times that he could more support for himself and Gino, when it didn't involve worrying about being thrown out by security that had more strength in one arm then he did in his whole body. He also didn't want any harm to befall Gino, not now, not ever.

His escape was short lived, however, as the lights returned to the mansion and the ability to see gave way to more then just the view of the main entrance. Johnny was only a few feet away from the large double doors, when he skidded to a stop and stared at what was in front of him. No less then ten muscled men were standing in front of the doorway, blocking anyone from moving from outside or inside the mansion. They stood there, their backs to the doorway and their eyes staring at the man who looked ready to leave the mansion again without much thought.

"That lousy Gambino managed to sabotage our little party," He heard Marie say from inside the other room, her voice booming from somewhere inside the ballroom. She must have had put on a microphone sometime during the few moments that the lights had gone out, but he didn't care. He wanted out with this son and hopefully anything else that he managed to get away with. "Somehow he figured out how to manipulate the security system---"

"But we've fixed that now. The party shall now continue. That is all," Anna's voice finished for her sister and the music that once had been playing before the blackout continued to play. Johnny muttered something under his breath about lies, although he couldn't help but smile at the idea of him being able to sabotage something like the security system.

"Get out of my way," Johnny growled at the security, glaring at the ones that were directly in his path. None of them moved, instead keeping themselves between his escape route and the rest of the mansion. They narrowed their eyes at him, keeping still and waiting to see if he would make a move on all of them. It was true that he was outnumbered and even his own size couldn't measure up to those that might just have been up against others twice his own weight. Even so, he started to wonder if he should have gone the same way that he had come in: through the kitchens and out the back door. It would have been simpler and few people would have thought to check the main entrance to see if he had gone that way.

After several minutes of seeing how he wasn't going to be able to get out this way, Johnny turned around and opened his mouth to say something to his son. As soon as he did, he realized that the person that he had pulled towards the entrance of the mansion was not, in fact, Gino, but someone that was giving him more then just a murderous glare. He let go of this Gaian's hand as she gave him one last glare and turned back towards the ballroom, stomping towards where others were wondering what was going on. Johnny felt frantic, trying to place where his son last was before a realization came over him. He couldn't have lost Gino during those few moments of darkness, not when he was right next to him the entire time. The only other thing that could have happened was him being taken away without his father's knowledge. That made him more then angry as he balled his hands together, trying to control his anger.

"This has gone too far," He hissed to himself, spinning around and running back towards the ballroom. His heart was beating rapidly, fear setting overtop anger as he tried to hide the franticness that he felt. He knew Gino hadn't been lost in the crowd when the lights had gone off, nor had he intentionally lost him. He knew someone had taken them and those someones would pay dearly for taking his son away from him.

He didn't have to go far into the ballroom to see that there was already a large circle of empty space where there used to be Gaians dancing, the music still going on but not a dancing tune. It was a more foreboding melody, one that he knew meant something else entirely. Johnny pushed his way through the crowd that was on the outer ridges of the empty circle, some moving out of the way to let him pass. The rest he roughly pushed aside, not caring if they gave him several names they wouldn't call anyone else or glares. He had more important things to worry about, namely finding his son.

And he knew that his son's captures were in the middle of the circle, just by the way Anna's cold, heartless laughter rang from inside of it. Johnny shuddered at it, the coldness in it replacing the coldness that he would have felt if he was outside in the cold, February weather. Anna had perfected that laugh by now and he hated that laugh; it made him wince every time he heard it and this time was no different.

"Silly Gambino!" She called out to him as soon as Johnny appeared from out of the forest of Gaians. Marie stood next to her sister, her arms crossed over her chest and a smile playing on her lips. Right behind both of them, Gino stood trembling, his eyes looking terrified and worried. There were two security guards behind him, to make sure that he didn't run away or that any of Johnny's supporters could kidnap him back. "You seem to be missing something."

"It ends here, Gambino," Marie said, staring daggers at him as Johnny took several steps towards the sisters. He was now shaking with rage, on the verge of running towards them with all his might and punching them both in the face. There was nothing they could do to him that would remotely harm him, but do anything to his son and all bets were off. That was the one thing they should not have dared done.

"Gino?" He called softly to him, making sure that the boy was still there, despite the fact that he could barely see him behind the sisters. Gino stood on his toes and looked over Marie's, his eyes going wide with a quick smile of happiness before Anna gave him a glare to move back down into a cowering position. Gino looked at her, cringing as though she was about to hit him as he took a step back away from him. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?"

His voice was loud enough to echo across the ballroom and back again, so much so that those that were listening to the confrontation thought that there was more then one person shouting at the sisters. Those that had not been listening or even paying attention to what was going on in the middle of the ballroom, now had their full attention centered on what was going on. No one dared to breathe, as they watched what the sisters reactions would be. They knew not to dare confront a man that was the size of Johnny Gambino and knew more then that to mess with his son, despite the rumors they heard. Those that were the closest to the circle backed up as best as they could, trembling with more then a bit of excitement.

"You were so caught up with yourself that you neglected your own son," Anna said with a dirty smile, shaking her head. It was pitiful to her that a man like him would have left his son without any attention, although her own father had done the same to her and Marie more times then they could count. This was an opportunity to give Gino more then he could ever wanted or that anyone else could give him.

"What a pitiful man you are," Marie said tauntingly. "It just goes to further prove that you are a neglectful father."

Johnny stared at the sisters as their insults came full circle to him, his anger dying down. He knew that their words were the truth, that he could have down more with Gino instead of pushing him into the hands of caregivers that had come and gone with the years. Yet, he had a good reason for keeping his distance from his son, one that broke his heart just thinking about it. How he couldn't stand to see his son for the first two years of his life, how closely he now resembled his lost mother, how much he had wanted everything to change. That was the past now and he doubted anyone in the ballroom, or even the entire mansion, could understand what was going on inside his mind at the moment.

"No wonder Gino is a vegetable now and it's all your fault!" They shouted together once they saw that their insults had caused some effect on him. The words, like the ones that had been shouted by Johnny only moments before, echoed through the room. Everyone gasped, taking a step back and all eyes were upon Johnny, who was staring at the sisters and attempting to keep his emotions inside.

"M-my fault?" He whispered, his voice holding not it's usual tone. His eyes broke away from the sisters and moved to Gino, who was looking down at the ground. The boy was separated from the rest of the world, like he had been before even Halloween. Was this boy's amnesia his father's fault by his neglectfulness, or was it something else entirely?

Johnny's shoulders sagged slightly as he thought back to before Halloween, to the times after the Olympics and before. How he had cursed his son for not winning, for not doing the things that he had tried to teach the boy, and for ignoring everything. How his eyes looked when he stared up at his father, so tired, so worn and yet held a desire to make his father happy. How he had stopped walking when his father shouted his name from across the mansion, the scared look that came upon his face when he saw the anger in Johnny's own eyes. It was his fault, for not being a better father to him, for not trying to see past the features that held a painful reminder of what he had lost and trying to see the things that others had seen.

But, hadn't he tried to get past that since Christmas? Hadn't he been ready and willing to end his own life when he couldn't find Gino? Johnny had felt joy when Gino had stopped him from certain death, yet that joy had gone just as fast as it had come when he realized that the boy's memories were gone. That moment he had made a promise to himself that he would get those memories back, even if it killed him. Even if it was the last thing he would ever do.

"Darn you, Von Helsons!" Johnny shouted to them, his eyes flashing with the same anger that they had held before. The Gaians that stood behind him were surprised, just as Marie and Anna were, at the sudden outburst of anger towards them. They had thought they had broken him down to a point that he would have given up, but they were wrong. "What must I do to get my son back?"

Both Anna and Marie looked surprised at the question, as the looked at each other to see if they had any response to it. There was a cheer from his supporters across the ballroom, a chant of 'Gambino' starting to rise from them. Johnny dismissed any other comments made by those that no longer stood by him, defiant that he could win back his son without raising a hand to them or throwing any more insults towards anyone. At the end of the Ball, he would be walking out with his son and the support of others, with or without bringing the sisters down.

But he didn't know that they had something else up their sleeves, as they turned back to him with a smug smirk going across their lips. They knew he would do anything to get Gino back, even if it meant that he would have to die to do so. They only had to get him to choose between his son and his revolution, the revolution, they knew, being the more important thing rather then his son. They knew he would choose that, leaving Gino in their care rather then himself. That was their new plan, to show that the man in front of them cared more about gaining his power back then his own flesh and blood. That was the decision their father would have made, even if they did not like it.

"Oh, it's much simpler then you think, old man," Marie said lightly, laughing at the mere idea of showing the rest of Gaia on how cold-hearted this man really was. "All you have to do is---"

"---leave .And never come back to Durem again," Anna finished for her sister, her smirk broadening. Johnny opened his mouth to respond, then closed it just as quickly. He was faced with a decision that could make or break him. It was either his son or his gain back to power without him that the sisters wanted him to choose between, a decision that he didn't want to make.

"But, that would mean....." He started carefully, trying to get the sisters plan out in the open. "Never attending another event ever again."

Johnny stopped, his voice trailing off as he lingered between choosing something no one else would have taken this long to even think about. This would have caused those at the Ball to think that he was trying to weight what was more important, that he didn't care about Gino and that the last few months of trying to take care of him was just something to sway the Gaian population. Choosing his son would mean that he could still be with him, but all of the things that he had done, no matter how small, would have been for vain. Choosing to stay in Durem would allow him to regain what he had lost, but the shell of a son that stood apart from him would no longer be in his grasp. He couldn't live with that.

"The clock is ticking. What will it be?" Marie demanded, impatient that it was taking this long for him to decide.

"But what would my fellow Gaians think? Can I just abandon their support of me?" He whispered. Marie's face lit up when he spoke those words, a gleam of what was in store for the boy more then he could bare. "And, yet, Gino. My son. My reason for doing all of this to begin with."

That's when the realization hit Johnny, that he didn't have the need to choose between these two things. Gino was the reason that he was standing there at the moment, that he was still alive and doing everything in his own limited power to do regain something he had lost. His prior fortune had been easily obtained by hard work and dedication, something he could do again, no matter how long it took him. Perhaps, it in the process, Gino's memory would return to him and there wouldn't be a need to be as rich as he had been before. He was rich already, with his son with him even in the form he was in now. That was all he needed, to have Gino completely back to his normal self. Then he could start repairing the damage that had been done to the boy before he had lost his memories.

"Fine. I will leave and never return," Johnny said, loud enough for everyone to hear. There was another cheer behind him, this time from more then just his supporters. Even the ones that did not even have the slightest bit of respect for him, were relieved to know that he choose his son rather then trying to get his riches back. That could be done later, when everything had died down.

But the look on the sisters faces were priceless, as they stared at him in shock and disbelief. How could this man, the one that they had thought hadn't changed since the last time they had seen him, choose not the revolution he had started the night before? Their father would have done it and more then once, without a thought as to who he was hurting in the process. But here, here was a man that had stared them right in the eyes and choose not the riches he had wanted to get back, but his own son. They had thought that he would have chosen differently, but they were mistaken.

"We thought you'd see it our way," Both said together once they had composed themselves to a point that most of the shock had worn off. They stepped to the side, revealing his son to him.

Gino didn't move right away, looking between one sister and the other, wondering if he was allowed to leave their presence now. They didn't seem to care if he chose to stay where he was or go back to his father, both hoping that he would stay with them rather then go back out in the coldness of the winter's snap. He didn't feel comfortable around them, like he knew them just like his father knew them, and felt that, if he stayed with them, he wouldn't ever see the man again. Somehow, deep inside of him, that was not what he wanted as he took his first steps away from the sisters, ready for this event to be over. Then he broke out into a run and went into the arms of Johnny, who held him tightly.

"Security, get him out," Marie barked to the security guards that had once stood by the main entrance to the mansion. They turned their backs on them, walking over to the staircases as one of the guards took Johnny by the arm to escort him out. He snatched his elbow away from him, giving him a glare as he took Gino by the hand and started to walk towards the entrance. He stopped only for a moment and looked over his shoulder at the sisters, who were standing on the first stair and watching him leave with frowns. They were ready to make everyone leave, even though there was only a few moments left until the Ball was over with.

"Von Helsons, mark my words," He yelled to them as he was pulled towards the doorway. "I may not return to Durem, but you shall hear the name Gambino again."

Johnny knew that they heard him but whether they had heeded them or not was not his concern, as he was pushed forwards and out into the cold once again. The security that had pushed him out, stared at the man and boy for a moment, as if daring them to try and come back inside before turning around and walking away. The doors then slammed in his face for the second time in less then twenty-four hours, the sting of it feeling even worse then before. It wasn't because he had been kicked out twice in one day from the same place, but because this was the last thing he would most likely remember about Durem. Him being forced out of the mansion, out of the city, out of the only place he knew he could have regained any hope of power.

Now that was lost before it had even begun, before he had any chances of putting his grasp upon it. It didn't matter to him any more, whether or not his chances had dwindled next to nothing or ever returning to Durem, so long as he had his son with him. That was the most important thing he had now, more important then the power he had held before. He just needed a small reminder of how close he had come to losing his son once again.

Johnny sighed and turned around, walking down the steps of the mansion without a look back at it. At any moment, the doors would open again and a large mob of tired Gaians would be storming out from the day-long Ball. That wasn't something he wanted to be in the middle of, not when he had endured a crippling blow already. He didn't need to be laughed at any more then he already had; he had been insulted by the sisters in front of everyone and blamed for what happened to his son. Gino! He thought, suddenly stopping when he realized that his son wasn't by his side for the second time in less then a half hour. Where is he?

A soft weeping came from behind him, Johnny turning around to see Gino standing rigid by the stairs, his arms held straight down, hands baling into small fists, and head bowed down. He assumed the boy did not want his father to see him cry, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs as Johnny walked up to him and kneeled in front of him.

"Gino, what's wrong?" He asked softly, placing a hand underneath Gino's chin and lifting his head up. Gino's eyes were beginning to become red form his crying, his cheeks puffy and tear stained; he couldn't look his father in the eyes, not even when they were face-to-face.

"I'm the reason that caused you to be kicked out of the mansion and the city," Gino whispered, choking on his words. There was a forceful tug at Johnny's heart, one with a sadness that he wished he could push away. He hated the look on his son's face, a look that told him that if there was any slight remembrance from the past, it had started to slightly come out.

"No, no you're not," Johnny said as calmly as he could, pulling Gino close to him. His own tears broke loose of their hold and streamed down his cheeks, a small breakdown of emotions between father and son. "I chose to leave the city because I....."

He stopped, his words fading on the tip of his tongue. If he had told Gino he left because of him, because he wasn't about to let the sisters attempt to turn his son against him, Johnny would have contradicted himself. He had left the city because of Gino, but it was not the boy's fault that he had to leave, far from it. There had to be an admittance of blame on someone and that someone was the man that pushed the boy away and held him at arms length. He wasn't going to pt the blame on anyone but himself this time around, more determined to change for his son then any time before.

"Gino, listen to me carefully and listen to me well. You are not at fault here and you never will be. It's true that I have to leave Durem and never return, but it is the only way I can be sure that you are safe. I can't trust anyone else to care for you. You have no reason to believe you are in the wrong here. Understand?" Johnny smiled half-heartedly through the tears, hoping that it would console Gino to a point that he smiled back. The boy didn't seem too comforted by the smile, but by the fact that the words that had been spoken were true. He nodded that he at least understood those simple words, wiping away the tears from his cheek. Johnny stood up, patting his son on the shoulder and turning towards the entrance of Durem as he took Gino's hand in his.

A new day had started and it held a new beginning for both.