Written By: Armina Qi Saxton

Standard Disclaimer: See Disclaimer Page

Epilogue: So Long, Farewell

A month had passed since Johnny Gambino was found, battered, bruised, and looked like he had survived another trip into hell and back again. The tower that he had built, had all but been erased from the minds of Gaians all across the land. The pieces of the tower that were able to be taken from Durem to the island, had been taken to Aekea and was now being used for furniture and other housing needs; what couldn't be taken from the ocean, or had sunk to the bottom, were left as reminders of what once had been.

Everything seemed to have gotten back to normal, as the shops, streets, and all areas that the path of the tower was in, had been cleaned and rebuilt to what they once had been. There were still imprints of the tower left along the Barton Coast and the Durem Reclamation Hub, still pieces of metal that were washing up along the shore, and memories that hadn't been erased, but it had gotten back to normal. At least, in a sense that all of Gaia could get back to it's normal, daily life. There were still those that had been affected by the tragedy that had happened only a month before, yet they went on as best as they could. Looking back, they could say they had survived one of the worst disasters in Gaia History, one that most certainly out-did Halloween of the year before.

Those that been in the hospital in the last month, going in for treatment of their injuries or finally being released from the hospital, were glad that it was all over and they no longer had to deal with being cooped in a room all day, every day. Gino Gambino had been released from the care of doctors in the same week that he had found out his father was still alive, returning most reluctantly to the mansion on Isle de Gambino. With his memories restored, he didn't know if there was anything underneath the island mansion or anything that would blow it up again. He had spent restless and sleepless nights dreaming and thinking about what might happen if he stayed inside the mansion.

He remained there, just as Johnny Gambino had remained in the hospital during the last few weeks of his stay. He had never really liked to be told to stay inside one room for long periods of time, not even when he needed the rest. His own injuries, sustained from being shot and falling down the monstrosity of a tower, had healed to a point where he could safely be released from the hospital. Edmund had come in the same time, for a quick lunchtime visit, that he was nearly pulling the IV out of his arm, a bewildered look on his face and doctors that were removing things off of Johnny's body, namely the casts that had been on his legs and arms.

He didn't ask any questions, nor expected any answers, when the doctors left and Johnny started to get dressed. He had done so quickly and quietly in the bathroom, muttering something about wanting Edmund to escort him down to the first floor. Edmund had to smile at the request and was more then willing to do that for a friend that still looked torn, tattered, and still not completely healed. At least he looked more healthier then he had been a month before, not as sickly pale as he had been and walking with less of a limp without the casts upon his legs. It's a miracle that he can still walk, Edmund thought to himself, as Johnny emerged from the bathroom, completely dressed with the exception of his once-tattered cape.

"You need to talk to your son. He has too many questions that I can't answer," Edmund said, leaning against one of the sides of the doorway. Johnny kept his back to him as soon as he had come around the bed to retrieve his cape, intent on straightening his vest instead of looking him in the eye. "I know he has been asking you questions in the last month about thins you've done that he's isn't aware of. Too many that can't be answered by anyone else then you."

He looked up from what he was doing, throwing the patched-up cape he had been found in, over his shoulders. If Gino was going to know anything about G-Corp, anything that was surrounding it, or anything about his father's own past, then Johnny would have to be six feet under when he found out. Or as far away as possible, since many things about it had never reached public ears or his own son's. He had always maintained G-Corp as something that was trying to make good differences happen, rather then the mishap that happened on Halloween. His own past was just as shady as that of G-Corp, something that he, Edmund, and his late wife knew the most about then anyone else. If Gino knew half of the things his father did, he wouldn't be able to handle it. Not at his age and after the last few events.

"I honestly don't have anything to tell him at the moment," Johnny said, turning around to face Edmund. "After all, he will get my share of G-Corp and my accounts when I am ready to give it to him or when I die. Whichever comes first."

"He can't wait around forever, which seems to be the amount of time you'll be living if you keep on the same path now." Edmund gave his friend a hard look as he pushed himself from the doorway. "Besides, he needs to know. It's best to learn from the source then from something else entirely."

"He doesn't need to know anything," He stated firmly, giving the other man a low glare. "When I am ready to tell him, he'll know."

"It's time you told him about his mother at least," Edmund said, ignoring the look upon Johnny's face as though it wasn't there. "It's been about seventeen years since she died, Johnny. Don't you think the pain should have been gone by now?"

There were a few moments where Johnny stared at Edmund with a fixed look on his face, just studying his face. There was nothing there, no outward expressions or sudden eye movements, that told him that Edmund was trying to get him the least bit angry. He had always been straight forwards with his friend as much as he could, without treading on unwanted emotions or going too far to invoke a heated argument. If he was trying to get Johnny to think rather then to become angry, then it was working just fine.

Johnny moved his gaze away, not saying anything right away. He was right, that the pain he felt for his late wife had dwindled over the years to a point that he was mourning nothing more then an old, washed up memory. There was still aping there, but not like it once had been during the first few years after she had died. Yet, the memory of her was the only thing he had left other then their own son, something that he had never really been willing to give up so easily. The question was, could he do it? Biting his lower lip, he looked at Edmund, who gave him a soft smile and a slightly wondering look.

"I know it has," Johnny said finally and as quietly as he could without Edmund straining to hear what he had to say. "There are times when I feel like she had died only hours before and days when I don't even remember her. I know I need to move on, feel what it is like to be in love again, and just be happy like I was before." He shook his head quickly, as if trying to forget something. "One day, I will. When all of this is put behind me."

Edmund's smile grew a little bit bigger. "My friend, that most likely won't happen for a while. Come on. Gino is waiting near the mansion for us."

Johnny nodded, looking around the room several times, a quick glance to see if anything was left behind that was his. When he was satisfied he had everything on him, he turned one last time around and headed out the doorway, not even bothering to look anywhere else for loose items of his. Edmund followed closely behind, keeping a short distance away but far enough so Johnny didn't feel like he was being cluttered by another person. They walked down the busy corridor in silence, making eye contact with as few people as possible. They didn't want to see the glares some were throwing them, or the smiles the rest held on their lips when they passed by. There were too many emotions that would flare up with one look and anything could happen on those same emotions. They played it safe and kept their gazes elsewhere until they knew that there wouldn't be anyone that would act upon sour memories.

There were a few nurses and doctors that Johnny said a low farewell to, partly because they had cared for him in some way during his stay. He couldn't exactly look each straight in the eye, rather glanced up and looked at their faces one last time before heading on. He had enough of being inside the hospital as it were and had desperately wanted to leave during the last month. That request had been refused so many times on so many different days and hours, that nurses knew what he was going to ask before he even opened his mouth to speak. And the answer had always been the same, that he needed to stay in the hospital because of the nearly-healed injuries he now had.

Now it was his turn to leave, as the two men took a left at one of the nurses station that was on the floor they were about to get off of, and made a direct beeline for the elevators on the other end of the corridor. There would be no time wasted on staying in the hospital, as they stopped at the two elevators and waited. There were several other Gaians waiting for one of the two elevators to come to this floor, one watching the floor number change as the elevator came up. The rest glanced in Edmund and Johnny's direction, giving both a weak smile before quickly moving their heads back forwards. Edmund frowned at the expressions on their faces, while Johnny ignored them completely.

It took only five minutes for an elevator to reach the floor they were on, at which point the doors opened and several Gaians wandered out from the now empty elevator. Those that had been waiting for one of the two to arrive, including Johnny and Edmund, entered the elevator, each pressing the floor button that they needed to go onto. The doors closed and the elevator moved downward, pausing only at the few levels in-between these two floors with a good portion of the Gaians leaving. Some mutter goodbyes to the two, as the elevator doors close, but otherwise remain silent and gazes down upon the floor.

Johnny hardly noticed that there were fewer people inside the elevator, as it made it's way down to it's last stop. His eyes were glazed over, his head straight ahead, and body still as though it was a statue; to those that did not know him, they would think something was wrong yet again. It was as though he had lapsed back into the realm of inanity and could snap again into what he had become during Easter. The few remaining Gaians in the elevator, ,save for Edmund, were already wary of him, so the blank look on his face was a sign of something they may not like.

In reality, he wandered into the quiet darkness of his thoughts, gathering what he had been told since he had been found, nearly dead and wishing he was so. Most of it haunted him to a point that he wished he could go back in time to fix things that had gone astray. Maybe not as far back as Halloween, but at least to Easter where he had felt the strings of insanity pulling him the most. If he had known that the tower would have caused so many other lives to be changed like they had, other then the ones it had been intended for, he would have never have had it built in the first place. He had been going insane then, so he figured that he hadn't know what he was really doing until it was too late.

Gino's life had taken another turn, in a direction that he had not foreseen. He had become distant, like his father had been since Gino had been born, hardly speaking when he had come to see his father lay there, unable to do most things himself. Johnny didn't know what was going through his son's mind, as he had stared at the boy so many times in the silence that had sat between them. He wanted to reach out to the boy that looked so ready to break down, often a hand upon Gino's was all that was needed for him to know that his father was there and not somewhere else that he couldn't be touched. But those times that he wanted to reach out, Gino would take a step back and be out of his reach.

So lost in thought, that Johnny hadn't realized the elevator had stopped and had opened until Edmund pulled him out by the arm. He blinked several times, shaking his arm out of his friend's grasp, and walked quickly towards the main exit of the hospital. There were numerous Gaian's lurking about in the lobby, some of which were laying down flowers upon other gifts near the main desk of the hospital, so that they would be taken to Marie's room. Some gave him a glare of pure hatred, while others reached out and gave him a light pat on the arm. He smiled back at those that grazed his arm, thankful at least that they did not want to act on any hard feelings they might have towards him.

Then a pang of dread hit him, as he and Edmund neared the sliding doors of the entrance. He did not want to face any reporters at the moment he left, not when he first got out of the hospital. That was the last thing he needed with everyone in Durem watching him sputter answers he wasn't about to give to the public. Whether there were camera crews and reporters waiting for him or not, Johnny kept his head held up high as the doors opened and stepped out into the fresh air. It felt good to step out into the sunlight, when he had only been able to see and feel it from inside a room. Now that he was outside, all pains that he felt vanished and a fog lifted from his mind.

Johnny glanced over at Edmund, who was walking towards the mansion that sat where the former Von Helson mansion once stood. He sighed, walking quickly to catch up to him as they made their way down one of the many side-streets of Durem. There were many Gaians walking along these streets, as they passed each other on the sides. There was a nervous feeling deep inside Johnny's stomach, one that told him he shouldn't be in the city, not after the promise he had made to the sister about never setting foot in Durem again. That had been during the Anniversary Ball, when Gino had been kidnapped by the sisters and held until Johnny made up his mind: either take his son and leave, or keep his revolution going. He had taken his son of course; there had been no doubt in his mind that they shouldn't be apart again.

Now that one of the sisters was dead and the other still recovering in the hospital, he didn't know what would happen as the two men turned sharply and headed straight for where the now second Gambino mansion stood. There were few Gaians standing around it, looking over the mansion and pointing to things upon it. Johnny smiled forcibly as these Gaians laughed and went back to their own business, leaving one person behind to stare up blankly up at it. Gino stood there, gazing up at the mansion without even turning around to the two that were coming towards him. His hands clasped behind his back, as Edmund moved to his right side and his father onto the left.

"What are you going to do with the mansion?" Gino said, blinking several times without even bothering to acknowledge the men that stood on either side of him. It was as though he knew that someone was there and that they were two familiar faces to him.

"Give it to Marie, if she wants it," Johnny said, glancing over at Gino before staring up at the mansion. "I don't know if she is going to stay in the city, or even Gaia. Maybe she'll go back to the life she had been living before she and Anna came back here."

"Maybe, she might," Edmund said with a quick nod. "She still has a ways to go before she can be let out of the hospital. Given her emotional state right now, I say she will most likely stay here. She has friends here, despite everything."

"Maybe," Gino said softly. Edmund gave both Johnny and Gino a quickly glance, then a look over to his shop that sat not far away from the mansion. His only reason for being there was to make sure Johnny had gotten out of the hospital without anyone doing something they might regret later and that reason was well over with.

"Well, I had better get back to my shop. I just wanted to get your father safely out of the hospital," He said, taking a step backwards. "Goodbye, for now."

Without waiting for either one to say goodbye to him in return, he turned around and started to head for his shop, leaving both father and son to stand together in silence. Johnny put an arm around his son's shoulders, pulling him closer to him as they stared up at the mansion in silence. He was glad to have his son back with him, complete in body and in memories. There was no denying that he felt as though nothing could stop him now, with his true family right beside him for all to see. He didn't care who whispered behind his back, so long as he kept his own family close to him for as long as he lived.

He didn't know if his son felt the same way, as Gino turned his attention from the mansion to his father. He watched him for several minutes, not understanding why this man had him so close to him without any reason to keep him this close to him. He was confused, not knowing what to think or even feel about this same man that had caused so much to happen in less then a year. How could he, with time flowing faster then he could blink? There were so many strings that were pulling him in so many different directions that he couldn't even make sense of it all until he was alone, away from the busy world around him.

"I know I have been dodging some subjects with you for a while now, and I should have told you so long ago," Johnny said, ignoring Gino's inquisitive stare. "I know I haven't been the best father to you for the last seventeen years, but I want to try to fix the mistakes I made in the past."

"Like the ones at Halloween and Easter?" He asked, frowning. He then pushed his father's arm off of him and took several steps back, so he wouldn't become entangled in anything else that came his way. "Those mistakes can't be erased, you know. I may not remember all the details, but I still remember the things that happened. I remember the things that were said and everything else. That hurt the most."

Johnny, with his mouth opened and eyes slightly wide, turned and faced Gino completely. "If you would let me explain the reasons why I...."

"You don't need to explain anything," Gino said, holding up a hand to stop him from speaking further. "I know that being all powerful, with G-Corp and the Gaian Council, was more important then your own son. That was one mistake you should have corrected long before Christmas came. I don't know where the father went that cared about me before Easter, but I don't see him standing before me." He shook his head. "I don't know why I don't see him, maybe because I have my memories back and know better or because of something else entirely. I can't tell you where he went either, since I don't know myself."

"Don't you think I wanted to be there with you as you grew up?" Johnny's voice had grown louder, enough to make several passing Gaian's look in his direction. "I wanted to do the things that other fathers did with their sons, but I couldn't. Work was something I couldn't avoid, not with G-Corp as it was. You are so much like your mother in appearances, that it hurt me just to watch you grow up. I missed her so much, and I still do today."

"As I said before, work was more important then your own flesh and blood. Pain fades with time, father, and I should have shared that pain with you," Gino snapped with narrowed eyes. "I never knew anything about my mother, and still don't, and I blame you for that. I blame a lot more on you then I should be, with everything that you have done." He turned his body towards the entrance to the city, as though he was about to walk off. "I don't know if you wanted to be with me when I was growing up, nor do I care. It's too late to fix the mistakes that you made when I was younger. I needed you so many times in my life, but you were never there. I wish you had been."

Two tears ran down his cheeks, his face set on not fully breaking down and crying where he was. That was the last thing he needed his father to see, when he walked out for good. That was what he had wanted to do in the last month, to walk away from everything and not look back behind him. His life in Gaia was over with and a new one was ready to start somewhere else, far away from those that knew him. There was too much that he wanted to get away from, too much that reminded him of the things that he had lost and the things that he never knew existed. The wall between him leaving and him staying had fallen and there was a clean path for him to leave and never return.

Gino took in a deep breath and started to walk away without even looking back, but his right arm was grabbed before he could get any further. There was that single moment in time where he wanted to stand there and not do anything, just to feel his father's flesh upon his, to know that everything was alright. But nothing was alright, as he yanked his arm out of his father's grasp and a cold glare was sent up to him. There was the same anger in Johnny's eyes that Gino had seen so many times before in his life and had been afraid of what his father would do to him. He had never raised a hand to him, never once hit him across the face or on the backside, but rather used his size and voice to get his point across. Those times were gone.

"Don't you walk away from me," Johnny hissed, his voice louder then it had been before. "I am not done talking with you quite yet."

"Well, I'm done talking with you," Gino growled back. "You've missed all the chances to make up for the things that you couldn't be there for me in my life. It's time that you paid for that."

"And during the time you had no memories? What about that?" Johnny asked, his voice loosing it's edge to it. Perhaps it was because someone was actually standing up to him or it was because there were people watching father and son fight. Whatever it was, the tone of his voice was shattered and a softer voice came into place.

"That isn't enough to cover everything that you have done to me," He said, shaking his head. "I wish it was, but it isn't."

"I wish it was too, but it is a step towards what I should have done a long time ago," Johnny said, taking a step forwards. "Gino, I want to be that father you've always wanted. Give me that chance to make it up to you."

"I want that as well, but it's too late," Gino said, looking up at his father with a trace of sadness on his face. "I've come to realize that maybe it's just an outward appearance you want to keep so that the public doesn't start wondering what goes on in our home anymore. I don't want it to become what it has been for the last few years."

Father and son stared at each for what seemed like an eternity, neither one moving towards or from each other. There was nothing else Gino wanted to say to his father he had already said to him in the last month., keeping is own promises that he would stay away for as long as he could. It would be a self-imposed exile to those that did not know what had actually gone on between the two, one he hoped his father could see as a way to change once and for all. If his disappearance between Halloween and Christmas could change one man just slightly, then maybe it would change the same man once again.

Gino didn't bother with a spoken farewell, but instead gave Johnny a small smile and a nod before turning around and walking to the entrance of the city. He wouldn't be stopped this time, not when he was so intent on leaving behind the memories that he now did not wish to remember. Gaians stepped out of his way, looks of bewilderment on their faces to see one Gambino leaving and one staying behind without protest. They didn't know what had been said or done between them that would make the younger one leave and they looked towards the only other person who was so unwilling to answer them.

Johnny stood where he was, ,watching his son walk out of the city and quite possibly from Gaia. He didn't know why he wasn't about to go running after Gino right then and there, to stop him from making a mistake that he would later regret. He just let the boy go, to let his anger subside and let his mind clear from everything that had happened. Some would later claim this was a mistake on Johnny's part, that he didn't attempt to bring his son back to him when he had the chance to. He found that, by going after Gino, the rift between them would become even bigger then it was now.

There was no doubt in his mind that his son would return to him, once he had calmed his mind and body to a point that he would return, ready to begin his life over once again. He cared about his son to let him leave, to let him have the space that he needed rather then force him to stay near his father like he had when there were no memories to be shared. That was why Johnny stood there without moving, just watching the entrance as Gaians came and went without even knowing why he was standing there in the first place. They just walked by him, many smiling up at him and muttering things to him. He hadn't heard a word that anyone had said to him, not even paying attention to the world that was passing him by.

So he stood there for the longest time, not doing anything but waiting.

****

By the time Johnny had finally left Durem, Gino was long gone from anywhere near the known regions of Gaia. He had spent many hours going over hills and meadows, past townships he did not know even existed, and past people who waved and said hello to him. He smiled and waved back, hoping that these strangers did not know who he was or why he was walking along the forgotten paths that many had came across so long ago. If they did, then he would be many miles away before those that did know him came to see if he was still there. There was no reason for him to stay in the familiar surroundings he knew since he was younger, not when there was so much that he could explore.

That was why Gino stood at what was the unmarked boundary between Gaia and another unknown land, a 'borrowed' cloak and hood hanging on his shoulders and head as he stood there unmoving. He had spent two full days walking from the city of Durem to where he now stood, the sun moving down into the horizon behind him. There was a cloth sack filled with food in his left hand and a wooden staff in the other, something he had been given to by a farming family he had been passed while wandering away from a life he couldn't outrun. Home-cooked food sat in his stomach, a content feeling weighing on his heart, and a distant look on his face, as he stared into the unknown lands that was just sitting there, waiting.

He wasn't running away from his life in Gaia, none the least. He would be back to see what it would become in later years, when his point had gotten across to his father. Gino couldn't help but feel a certain stab of regret that he hadn't at least dragged his father with him when he had walked across places he never knew existed, then left him at this boundary while he continued on. Gino blinked back the tears that threatened to overflow, as he turned around and looked back at the path he had taken. It was so far away from home, that he wanted to run back and hide in Johnny's arms, to know that he there and would always be. But he couldn't, not when he felt as though that illusion would only hide the truth for a short amount of time.

Gino didn't hate his father, far from it. He felt more anger towards Johnny because of the simple fact that he had never been the father he wanted then for anything else he had done. That was why he left, not because of the Halloween event of the year before or of the Easter and April Fools ones, but because of the torment he had suffered. It was never physical, that much he could say to people who asked, and there had been times that he had a father to run to. Those times had been few and far between and had never amounted to anything. The months between Christmas and the Anniversary Ball, although still not as vivid as his memories of the times before, had made up for some of the things he had been told and the emotional abuse he had gone through.

Maybe one day, his father would become what he had always wanted, as Gino turned towards the hidden border and stepped over it lightly. His journey into the unknown now began and would never end until he was home, safely in loving arms.