Zeldris wasn't expecting this to go well. 

It was basically a suicide mission to go back to the base to beg Estarossa on his hands and knees to please help him save their brother. But then again, so was the act of saving his brother, so what did he have to lose? He had told the other sins to wait where they were since they wouldn't be tracked if things went poorly, so the demon was here completely on his own, about to potentially face the other nine commandments in combat... again. Only this time, he doubted he'd be lucky enough to get let go like last time. 

Oh well, at least he didn't have to wait long. As soon as he got to the front gate, Estarossa was there to greet him. There was a sword in his hand, but at least he was alone.

"So apparently you are a traitor and a fool. Surely you know your acts have already condemned you. There won't be a chance for your redemption. Father will make sure of that for the both of you now..."

His voice was grim, and his stature was weighed down by hidden remorse as the ravennete quickly pieced together why with a heavy heart.

"Father has ordered the ten commandments to kill both myself and Meliodas, hasn't he?"

"...He didn't consider the boy's disappearance a kidnapping like I did."

His confidence of this working actually grew at the response. He had never seen his sibling sound so... defeated, before. He clearly didn't want to follow this order; he didn't want this fate to play out for the two of his kin. But... the question was, would his own desire to disobey the command be enough to make him actually do it?

"Before we fight, I want you to understand why I did what I have, and I want you to hear the proposition I have to make you."

He spoke far more boldly and confidently than he truly felt, but it worked as his brother's stance relaxed ever so slightly. 

"You have my attention for five minutes, afterwards, I hope you can forgive me for your fate."

His voice nearly cracked in emotion as the ravennete hoped that same feeling of dread would be enough to convince him to help. After all both Meliodas and the demon himself were both running out of time quickly. 

"The spell is hurting Meliodas!  I took him to the mage, Merlin. She says that his magic is attacking due to its connection to his emotions, Esta. Even though you took away his memories, how he feels is still there, it's just buried. It's making his magic attack with the more he remembers, and the spell counteract it by making him forget more and more of who he is. It's killing him. It... It is killing our little brother, and if we don't stop it and he somehow survives the physical strain, he's going to wake up in a few hours without a single memory to his name as the spell breaks it down further until there's nothing left but a shell. We need to reverse this, Estarossa. We need to reverse the mess you made- the mess WE made. Please, my magic isn't enough to help. It needs both of us. HE needs both of us! So please, help him. I... I can't lose him again and I don't think you can either."

He stayed silent after that. Every emotion that had been weighing him down for days- no- for years, had flooded into his voice as it cracked repeatedly from the fear and anguish and frustration, he felt over this. The pure helplessness of knowing he could do nothing if his brother said no, however, was the worst part of the stone seeming to sit in his stomach. And yet he was left here to sit with it, waiting for his fate one way or another. 

"T-That shouldn't be possible. His magic was supposed to heal any damage the spell could cause, protect him from it! Maybe I can fix it, maybe if I-"

"If you what, Esta? Use some sort of permanent rewind that causes some other unknown side effects? That being if father doesn't have him executed to begin with. Think about it! The only way to fix what we've done is to truly FIX it! No more roundabout solutions to spare our own feelings, no more lying and hurting Mel! He made a choice three thousand years ago to leave because of us doing the exact same thing! Ignoring what he wants for the sake of duty and our own desires. Face the truth, Estarossa. We've been selfish cowards, and it's time to make things right. It's time to face our mistakes head on instead of hiding them."

The line about being selfish cowards seemed to hurt the demon more than anything else he said, and for a moment Zeldris was expecting an attack purely out of anger as he worried he pushed the other too far. But instead, all that ensued was silence as either time stopped, or the ravenette's five minutes had been long over before one of them finally spoke again.

"If we do this, we'll be killed. Why should we bring back our enemy? We'll lose him either way. At least... At least if he goes now he won't have to face the wrath of the other commandants. And we won't have to fight him again."

Zeldris could hear the hesitation in Estarossa's voice. He was saying that to try to convince himself more than anything, but just as the man had pulled him out of his own daze when all of this began, he intended to do the same, even if it hurt the man for him to say.

"He's never been our enemy, Esta. He's only what we've made him. He gave us the choice to stay together as brothers, WE are the ones that turned him away. He was never the traitor. We were."

His brother's sharp inhale made it sound like he had been punched in the stomach, but Zeldris couldn't exactly blame him for the reaction considering he himself felt a very similar way at the moment.  But it was absolutely worth it to hear the next few words leave his sibling's mouth.

"Alright... I'll help you with this, but that is all. As soon as we're done, you will take me back and we'll pretend nothing happened. You and Meliodas will still be traitors, and I will still be the man designated with taking you down."

Relief at the first part was quickly squandered by the second as the urge to feel appalled by the demon's conviction won control over what left the other's mouth. 

"Are you serious? After all that you know, you're still willing to come back. Knowing that father has a death sentence for two of his sons-"

"You don't seem to understand. I will have control over the hunt for the two traitors. And if I happen to come back and say that I happened to come across you both with directions that don't quite add up, the others will trust me and follow my lead."

It clicked together quickly as Zeldris smiled softly at the sentiment.

"Esta... thank you. Truly."

The demon nodded, a tired, somber, look in his eyes as he sighed.

"Yes well... It's all I can do, really. So, where is Meliodas, and what must I do to help?"

Word count 1231