Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:56:33 -0500
From: Garth Eads <gartheads@gmail.com>
Subject: A Secondary Chance - part 4

Disclaimer: This is a work of science fiction/fantasy. None of the
characters are real or based on real people. The author holds no
responsibility for any similarities readers find to real life.  All
characters engaged in sexual acts are of legal age. Please do not copy this
story or ideas without the author's permission. Please donate to keep
stories like these on the Nifty site.

As Quaternary sits and watches the news, I busy myself with the reason for
endangering my life by leaving my house. Heading towards the back of the
house, I find the door that leads to the basement. I also find that said
door is locked with three different kinds of locks. Knowing those locks
mean something bad.

"Is there a reason the door is locked?" I ask towards the tv room. My reply
comes with banging from the other side and what I assume is yelling. It's
loud and strong enough that I can make out most of it.

"Let me out of here you freaks. When Meredith comes home, I'm going to fill
you with enough shit to make your eyes brown."  I turn to the twins and ask,

"Who does he think he is?"

"Meredith Riddle's husband." I look perplexed.

"Who?" Rebecca sighs a huge fake sigh.

"You don't TV do you? She's only the  lead character on the most popular
legal drama in the whole world."

"And why does he think he's her husband? My scramble should make him think
you're his nieces, nothing more." There's a pause. A long pause. A `We
don't want to tell you but can't think of an excuse pause.' Finally,

"He electrocuted himself a few weeks ago and we think it might have caused
some damage to the scramble." I am very annoyed but I can't do anything at
the moment. Anymore and the man downstairs might end up brain dead. I
ignore the screaming and head into the massive designer kitchen and sit on
one of the extremely fancy bar stools, lay my arms on the island and place
my head in my arms. I'm not tired, nor am I upset, but being in this house
brings back more memories of the night so long ago. Without my realizing
it, I am humming. It's not a song that I listen to frequently. In fact, the
last time I heard the song was that night...

(ABout Seven Years Ago)

I feel ridiculous. If I knew that would be times that I would be put into
strange and awkward positions but this had never been something I would
agree to if it wasn't absolutely necessary and I'm still not sure it is. I
look at myself in the place we've stopped at to change into what we will be
wearing tonight. The original plan was to have one of us dress up as a
guest, Primary, one of dress as a security guard, Tertiary, and one of us
dress up as house staff, me, and infiltrate the party that way while
Quaternary monitored us from inside the roving hotel as we call it. That
had changed with the presence of an active Super Team on the presence. We
were prepared for off duty heroes whom we could fool since they wouldn't be
paying much attention but with an active team there, who know what was
bound to happen. So instead of dressing up as a electrician or a gardener
or some such, I was wearing what looked like the carcass of a dead penguin.
Primary was busy trying to get Tertiary's hair to behave but was having no
such luck. The comb she bought had already broken and her brush wasn't
doing much better.

"Fuck, Tertiary, what do you put in your hair, cement?" Even after a
thorough washing and rinsing through a carwash, his hair still had product
in it. Tertiary seems proud of this.

"Best stuff money can buy. My baby likes it." Primary rolls her eyes.

"How can she? She's never actually seen you in person." Tertiary growls and
the heat in the bathroom spikes.

"We don't need to meet, we've got a soul connection." Instead of answering,
Primary turns to me as I attempt to come to grips with what I am wearing.
She smiles approvingly.

"Looking sharp there Secondary. I could almost take you as my date." I look
sullenly at her.

"Why can't you?" She gives her best sympathetic smile.

"You know why. I can't do my job if I have a date." She's right. I know she
is but this still annoys me.

"I hate this." I mumble under my breath. I truly wish I could set my
clothes on fire or ask Tertiary to but we did go through a lot of trouble
finding this outfit for this evening. My feeling didn't matter at the
moment. All that mattered was doing what we came here to do. Primary gives
me a pained smile.

"It will be over tonight and you won't have to wear one again for as long
as you like." I accept this with sullen grace and take the comb from the
sink and begin to comb my hair into something professional. If I have to
put on this horror show tonight, then I will be the best looking one there.
Once the three of us are ready, we head back to the roving hotel and make
our way to the party.

As expected, the party wasn't hard to find. Floodlights will make anyplace
easy to spot. We park the roving hotel in a place no one will find it or
try to impound it and make our way over. We stop about a block away in the
shadows of one of the biggest limos I have ever seen.

"Alright, all we ready?" Tertiary and I nod. "Good. Remember, be on guard.
We don't know what the Gem Knights are like or who else is going to be
here. Find your marks and don't leave them until the jewels are shown, then
strike." She held up her new fancy diamond watch and we synchronize and
with that, she stands up and without much difficulty, finds a man and hooks
her arm around his and enters the party grounds. Tertiary turns to me.

"Don't holler if you run into trouble." I roll my eyes.

"Don't start trouble." I respond and he grins, Stands up and heads towards
a very large man in a black suit and starts talking as if he's known the
guys for years. If doesn't take much time before Tertiary joins the party
as well. Before I stand up and fulfill my responsibilities, I check in with
Quaternary. "Everything good?

"We're all set over here. Good luck."

"Thanks. Be safe. If trouble starts, run like hell and say..."

"That we're scared and lost our parents, we know Secondary." There's a
smile in the thoughts and I send a smile back. I stand up and head over to
a large white van where several young men and women are gathering. One sees
me and I quickly grab hold of his thoughts and add myself to them. He looks
blank for a second or two then grins.

"There you are. I thought you got lost or something." I flex my mind to the
others gathered there as the turn to stare. They all look blank for a
second then smile at me. I worry that I'm getting better at twisting people
but it can't be helped. What I do isn't permanent and is necessary to
complete my side of the job.

"Sorry," I say as if I know these people and own them an explanation "I was
asked to work valet." One of the other guys groans.

"I hate when they confuse us for the valets. Do I look like I'm wearing a
polo shirt? Do I?" I smile as the others laugh and we head towards the back
of the party, where the food is being kept. I stop the first guy.

"Hey, so I just need to go over something real quick." I reach into his
mind for everything I will need to know about what I am to do as he turns
to me.

"Shoot." Making sure everything is clear, I nod my head towards a woman in
a beautiful designer dress.

"Do we ask the Supers or is that only for the house staff?" The guy pauses
to admire the woman then coughs and looks at me.

"Boss said to stay away from the supers if possible. There's another group
here to handle them so no worries there. If one comes up to you, be polite
but be silent. No need to talk. Let them make the first move." God, it was
like dealing with rapid lions only these people were worse. Super Heroes
had permission to kill in the line of duty, even the off duty ones. If one
of them even thought a normal was a threat, the normal wouldn't have a
chance. Before I can say anything in reply, Primary is in my head.

"Veil us now." I nod as if accepting the wisdom of the other young man and
put all my thought into cloudy the identity of myself, Primary and Tertiary
from all of the other Strangers in the area. It leaves me winded with an
awful migraine but it works and that's all that matters.

I hate wearing the catering uniform, it reminds me far too much of Lucas
and his obsessive need to always be wearing a suit and his brutal methods
of getting me to wear one. He's gone now, has been for five years, but the
dread of wearing anything even remotely like a suit makes me ill. Primary
knows this which is why she is only having me wear a bowtie and not a full
tie like the other men. Anything to keep me from having a panic attack in
what is our highest paying gig in months. I know how to act profession
regardless of the situation, another thing Lucas taught me, so I am able to
keep a blank stare on as my mind feels like it's going through a blender
trying to keep the Supers there from sensing us. We could fight them off if
needed, we are that strong, but it would mean no paycheck and a possible
visit to the local detention center or concentration camp. Neither was a
fun place to be in for Strangers. As I am waiting in line for my tray of
food to carry around, I try to spot all of the Supers and identify them
based on Quaternary's database. It's not hard, they stand out like bonfires
to me. That's another one of our mutual talents we all share, we all can
see Strangers. There's a certain radiance that surrounds them that makes it
almost impossible to miss them. When it is my turn to be given a tray of
food, the head caterer gives me a hard look. I look her straight in the eye
and don't flinch, Lucas's words in my head. Only fools and cowards flinch
when looked in the eye. Never flinch or you're dead.

"You're the lucky one tonight." She says, her voice is filled with barely
tolerated glee. "I don't know what it is about these rich and almighty
types but they just love quiches." I try not to look startled as I realize
what she just said. I look down and see a silver tray filled with tiny
pies. The head caterer notices my look and gives me a sickly grin. "They're
going to be after you like wolves tonight buster, be careful." Lady you
just went on my shit list. Without realizing it, I had entered her mind and
tweaked a single neuron. The woman didn't seem to notice as I removed her
ability to hold a knife correctly. Let's see you smile after you cut off
your fingers bitch. I smile as I take the tray and head into the party, my
posture mimicking the stances of the other tray bearers.

I am just now realizing how extravagant this party really is. I can't seem
to go three feet without another Super glowing like a beacon around me. I
don't see Primary or Tertiary and with the veil up, I can't contact
Quaternary either. I simple walk around aimlessly as I try to find a mark
while passing by guests in clothing and accessories that could easily buy a
poorer family a house. I'm not bothered by it anymore now that I know I can
make them throw it all away with just a thought. I try to hide my grin as
the woman I'm offering the tray too takes more than one of the tiny
pastries and all but shoves them in her mouth. She's talking to an older
fellow who looks as blank as I do at the sight. I do as I always do and
remember everything she says.

"Can you believe it Winston? Allowing that man here tonight after what
happened in Nevada." She huffs and crumbs fly everywhere. "It's as if they
are making fun of us."

"I doubt that Louisa." The man called Winston says, "You weren't in Nevada
when it happened, I was. If it wasn't for him, there would be a new Grand
Canyon less than 300 miles away from the old one." Louisa huffs again.
Winston ignores her. "Besides, it's not like they were going to say no.
They're a new team and having that kind of experience with them will give
them the much needed edge they wouldn't otherwise have in fights."

"I still don't like it. I am certainly glad Lady Glorious is here as well
to put a stop to him if needed." With that, I leave the pair and disappear,
having seen my mark as the two were talking. As instructed, I move in.

My mark is moving about with as much recklessness as I would expect from
the information gathered previously. I stay back far enough that it's not
obvious that I am following my mark. My mark stops next to an alcove and I
stop under a different one about fifteen or so feet away. I am waiting for
the signal when two guests head towards me. They are talking to each other
and I would ignore it if it wasn't for the near blinding glare around one
of them. The girl can't be much older than I and the glow around her isn't
stable but it is certainly there.  If that wasn't enough, the leotard she
was wearing was a dead give away. She was talking animately with a much
larger man who might have only been five or so years older. He was a
thuggish looking brute with muscles that Tertiary would kill for and a look
of annoyed concentration on his face. Unlike his companion, he was in a
nice looking tuxedo that did well in showing off his physique. I blush as I
realize that I am staring and look down. That's been a new develop for me
actually. I haven't really ever had time to figure out things like puberty
while trying to keep safe and my powers in line so the realization that I
like guys, well men, well built muscular men, was new to me and I am still
not sure how to progress with it. Tertiary would laugh and call me faggot
but he does that anyways so that's nothing new. I keep a calm look as I
wait for the two to pass by only they don't. They stop right next to me.

"Oh look, quiches." The girl says with far too much excitement. She grabs
one and eats it in one bite. "Yum, cheese." She says with a dreamy look
before returning back to her companion. "As I was saying, I can't see why
you didn't say hello to them. It's only polite and they seemed to really
want to talk to you." If a person could sound like cotton candy, this girl
had perfected it. Her voice had so much sugar in it, I wonder how her teeth
are as white and straight as they are.

The man groans which sounds like a growl.

"Because they didn't want to talk to me, they wanted to make fun of me."

"Why?" The man doesn't answer, just growls again. I ignore the two and go
back to checking on my mark. The mark hasn't moved so neither shall I. I
stand there, listening and not listening as the part moves around me.
There's an orchestra playing in the background but no one is paying
attention. The Super and the man remain next to me talking when I realize
something. My migraine is gone. Well not gone, but significantly reduced. I
hurried check to make sure the veil is still up and it is but it's very
fuzzy and I can't always sense it. This is very bad. I try not to look
around but my mark hasn't moved so neither do I. I am scared as I'm not
sure what is happening but I remain in the alcove, hoping that whatever
this is isn't permanent.

"Hey." I'm not registering what is going on around me. "Hey." How could my
veil falling apart? "Yo!" A large hand grabs my shoulder and I turn and
find the large man next to me, staring at me with guilt and worry on his
face.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" My voice is shaking but this has never
happened before. My mind doesn't feel hacked into and yet I can feel my
powers lessen somehow. The man continues to look worried which makes his
rough face even rougher looking.

"Yeah, sorry. I thought you should know that you're out of quiches." I look
down and see that I am carrying an empty tray. I look back up at the man.
He gives me a hard grin. "My new compatriot ate all of them, sorry." I
begin to nod but worry takes control and without my say so I start to
shake. Am I losing my powers like Lucas did? The look on my face must be
bad because the large man grabs my arm and throws me behind the alcove. I
drop the tray but I don't care. I am no longer worthy? What will happen to
me? Do I have to go back to that house?

"Hey, kid, you alright?" The voice is quiet and quite close. I look up and
find that I am being pressed up against a wall with the large man over men.
I can smell him from this close. He smells nice, like cinnamon and smoke. I
have to be blushing but it's dark so I pray he doesn't notice. I am still
shaking, worry about my powers. "Stupid question, of course you're not."
The large man says. There is a silence that follows, the large man doesn't
move and I notice how close I am to his rather impressive chest. It's level
with my head. God this man is tall. It's at this point I realize that the
large man is actually holding me up against the wall. Did I look like I was
going to pass out?

"Excuse me." I say trying to keep my voice low and strong, "But I am fine
now, I need to get back to work." The man moves closer. He gives me a
smirk. A Smirk!?

"You're not going anywhere until I say so kid. You looked like you were
about to pass out so why don't you just stay here with me and visit for a
while. I'm sure your boss won't mind."

"I mean it. I have work to do." He looks at men and smirks again.

"You sure?"

"Of course."

"Because there seems to a part of you that doesn't want to leave." His
voice has changed. There's an accent present but I can't place it then I
look down and much to my horror, see that I am hard. Whatever God has
cursed me, please strike me dead now. The man chuckles. "No worries there
kid, you're not the only one." I feel it then, a rather large something on
my leg. I thought it was a gun but it's most certainly not. Please strike
me dead now God, I really mean it. The man flexes and pushes me into the
wall more. "I don't know about you but I haven't had a good fuck in a
while." Is he saying what I think he's saying? "So how about we help each
other out here." Oh dearest creator, he is. I am not ready for my first
sexual experience, especially when I should be working. I try to talk but
nothing comes out. The man smirks at me again. "So why don't you point me
towards a dark corner." I finally am able to speak.

"Are you making fun of me?" I am glad I don't sound petulant. He doesn't
say anything, just moves closer. I feel like I should be upset but I feel
too many new things to care. My migraine is completely gone now and I don't
care. This might be the first and last time I get to experience this kind
of thing so why not. Primary has used sex as a way to get information
before so why shouldn't I? It's then that I can think clearly enough to
realize what is happening. I look into the larger man's eyes and whisper.

"Usually guys will ask me my name first but I'll make an exception for you
since you seem desperate." He grins at me.

"You're a wiseass punk, ain't ya?" I shrug.

"I have my moments." Pause "so, who are you spying on or how is spying on
you?" His grin gets larger making him look feral. His green eyes blaze.

"You are a punk, ain't ya. What's makes you think I'm spying on someone?"

I know this trick, Tertiary has used it before. Drag someone unassuming off
to a dark corner and pretend to ravish them while you're actually using
your location as a lookout point. It's very cheesy but effective. I give
him my best profession smile.

"Because someone who hangs out with Supers has no reason to try anything
with the likes of me." Instead of getting mad, the large man leans in close
and I can smell his breath. It's mint.

"I don't know about that. You're sure a hell of a better sight than my ex.
I wouldn't mind that dark corner with you." I know I am blushing now. He
leans in closer and he begins to hum. I don't recognize it but it matches
with what the band is playing. It sounds like jazz and it sounds almost
sexual coming from him. He breaks the spell he has cast of me when he says,
"Feeling better?" I understand now. He was taking my mind off of my worries
with his flirting. I don't feel like my world is ending now. I smile and
nod.

"Thank you." He gives me a real grin this time.

"My pleasure. If you ever need someone to lean on, don't hesitate to ask
me."

"And you would be?"

"Nathaniel, where are you?" A woman's voice calls out.

"Damn her and here I was finally enjoying myself." The large man stands up
straight, gives me a wink and leaves the alcove in a hurry. As soon as he
leaves, my migraine comes back as if it never left. It leaves me flummoxed
but I shake myself back to reality and look for my mark. The mark is moving
towards the center of the room. It's time then. I follow.

As i make my way through the crowd, I notice that the room as grown
increasingly more still in some way. It is as if everything in the room is
waiting for something and any type of interruption would prevent the much
anticipated event. There are other servers with empty trays and I hope that
my lack of presence hasn't been noticed. It's only when the lights go down
does it come to me. It's show time. I might not be able to see Primary and
Tertiary but I know that they are close by. They have to be for this to
work out the way it's suppose to. A tall woman who I know to be Mrs. Ima
Pratt makes her way into the middle of the darkening room as my mark closes
in on her. The two stop at just about the middle and turn to face the crowd.

"Welcome All!" Mrs. Pratt says into the darkness, "It is my pleasure to
welcome you to my humble home." There is faint applause. "Tonight is to
celebrate my dear husband's 65th birthday." More applause. "In honor of
that event, I will be wearing my family's tradition jewels." Louder
applause. "Thank you, and now if you don't mind." She turns and my mark
reveals itself. The glass trolley I have been following all night is
finally uncovered and inside is a set of jewels that glow with all the
colors of the ocean. The Mermaid's tears are one of the most priceless sets
of jewels in the world and the reason for my presence here. Mrs. Pratt
knows that anyone would kill for those jewels and liked to show them off.
What Mrs. Pratt didn't know was that the person they would kill to get them
was her. Just as she picked up the first piece, I dropped the veil and
moved into action. Pushing my way to Mrs. Pratt, I knew that even with a
head start, this would still be very tricky. Mrs. Pratt notices me and
looks angry.

"What are you doing? You're ruining my moment. I don't know who you are but
I promise you won't be happy when I'm..." Mrs. Pratt didn't get to finish her
sentence as her head falls from her shoulders and hits the floor with a
muffled thump. No one else is moving as I barely get to the jewels before
the killer.

"Primary, Tertiary!" I scream out, "It's the escorts." The next few seconds
are quiet as I grab as many of the jewels as I can and begin to run. Most
of the crowd still doesn't understand but when a well-dressed young man in
an Italian suit pulls a gun on me only to have four steak knives impale his
chest do things start coming together. The screaming that follows doesn't
help.

"Secondary." I hear Primary call out and I know what's next. I focus and
send out the command to all the normal folk in the room.

"Drop!" I scream into their minds and 90% of the room drops to their knees
or to the floor as one. The quests still standing are the Supers who are
looked stunned and our targets for the evening, The Diovani Family.

"Son of A Virgin Whore!" I hear someone curse," Get that server, he has the
jewels." Ten well-dressed men turn and come after me while the rest go for
the Supers. My sending the party to the floor makes this hard and several
of the members fall cursing at the quests. It's only when one man is burned
alive by a candle made flamethrowing courtesy of Tertiary to the Supers
wake up.

"Tertiary, don't kill all of them. We need as many alive as possible."
Primary, who has three men underside down in the air, scolds Tertiary as he
sets another man on fire and wards off the Supers trying to help. I am
still running when I run into leotard girl and another girl in spandex.

Leotard girl holds out a hand and calls out in her most demanding voice.

"HALT THIEF!"  I am not stopping, not for her and not for the security
guard coming in from the back.

"He's not stopping Quartz."

"I can see that Opal. Halt Thief."

"Girl, if you don't want to die, so please move out of my way." I call as I
quickly approach. The girl called Quartz looks annoyed at the threat and
doesn't move. The only thing that saves her life is her friend pulling her
down as I duck and the razor sharp gust of air slashes easily through the
security guard, slicing him in two. I run past them and the body of the
dead guard and head out the back way, my pursuers behind me.

This is the part about catching Stranger Villains I always find  difficult.
Not the catching part but figuring out their talents and how to avoid them
and counter them. Most of the time, records on them are incorrect or lack
information and whatever I and Quaternary can find out is only based on
what the villain doesn't hide. We know that the Diovani Family has several
Strangers with Cutting abilities and that they were after the Mermaid Tears
but that was about it. Even after all our research, the only thing we could
come up with was to catch them in the act and get the jewels before they
do. They would chase us, as they are doing, and we would catch them, as I'm
suppose to do once I get far away enough.

"Secondary?"

"Kinda busy Quart."

"Yes but things are about to get worse."

"Why?" I already know why, because there's more of them in front of me. I
can feel them already.

"There's something following you."

"Yes, the Diovani Family."

"No, there's something else. It feels like a void." Feels? She can't see
it? Oh Fudgesicles. I jam the jewels into my pockets and run faster.

"Where are they going to ambush me?"

"Three minutes up. Aim for the fence." I see it and make a dash for it.
Wind slashes behind me and I feel it close but manage to duck out of the
way before I'm hit and turned into sliced telepath.  The attack rips
through the fence in front of me giving a perfect place to escape. It's
times like these I'm glad a steady diet is not something I follow.
Unfortunately for me, being as skinny as I am, it also makes me easy to
grab.

"Not so fast there, ya punk. I believe yous has something of ours." God,
the Jersey accent makes me cringe. I try to break the hold on me but this
guy is stronger than Tertiary and he easily throws me up against the wall.
He's an ugly brute. A mutant by the looks of him. He honestly looks like
that pig dude from the TMNT series and he smells worse. He moves in close
and I gag as I try not to smell his breath. Without a second thought, the
pig man takes my arm and rips it out of the socket. I don't scream because
there are worse things that I'm imagining at the moment, like what he plans
to do with those tusks of his. He reaches into my pockets to take the
jewels and tosses them to his friend behind him. His hand is huge and tears
my pants. He gives me a lecherous grin as he grazes my penis.

"Maybe I'll teach ya what it means to steal from the Diovani, you little
rat punk." He grabs me and bashes my head against a wall and he uses his
other hand to grab my crotch and squeezes. I'm still not registering
anything until the void descends on us.

All I hear in my head is the sound of a great howl like a mad dog about to
attack and then nothing but darkness. There is screaming, so much screaming
and something that sounds like ripping leather, silence, then more
screaming, a squishing sound, then more silence. Finally, the darkness
disappears and I am now on the ground  in a bloody shirt, my arm hanging
uselessly by my side, my pants, torn to pieces, and an outraged looking
beast of a man standing in front of me, his back to me. At his feet were
the bodies of five of the Diovani Strangers including the pig man. I look
from the mess to the man and recognize him immediately. He doesn't turn to
face me, he just kneels and picks up the jewels that are now scattered on
the ground. He stands up again and speaks into his watch.

"Alright Quartz, I got the jewels back." Something came out of the watch.
"There was a scuffle and some casualties." More something, "Right, I'm
heading back inside now to help." He doesn't notice me at all, he just
moves away as if I am nothing more than part of the scenery. I should
probably be offended but all I am is relieved that the void is leaving me
alone but there is something inside of me that hates that he doesn't even
seem to care that he saved my life. I get to my knees and crawl through the
hole in the wall and use the wall to stand up and walk to the roving hotel,
my job done. I don't cry but from a lack of tears but from a sense of pure
astonishment. I had just been witness to something amazing and had no idea
how to explain it. What kind of thing could dampen out the Phoenix Fire
inside me. I make it back to the roving hotel first and manage to get the
door open with my one arm and drag myself in.

"Who goes there?" a small feminine voice called out from pitch darkness.

"Easy Quart, it's me."

"Secondary? Oh thank goodness. Please, there's something wrong with
rebecca." That worries me so i head to the voice and find the twins on the
bed, Allison, the pigtailed twin, looking at her sister Rebecca, the short
curly haired one. Rebecca is laying on her back, staring off into space.
While this itself is not strange, the near violent spasms are.

"Rebecca!" I call out and try to move her but it does no good. "Rebecca,
can you hear me?! It's Secondary." No answer. "It's Wesley." That seems to
get her attention as she turns to me as another spasms hits. Despite the
violent shaking of her body, her voice is as calm as a winter lake. Her
voice, though, is no longer her own. It belongs to a higher power now. What
she says next I know will never leave my mind.

(Present)

"Beware all for the Dread has chosen its form. It gathers in all those who
seek power and destroys those who challenge it. The Dread has chosen its
form and the power of its form shall rain ruin on all the lands of life.
But fear not.  The enemy of all men will be brought down by the dark but
only by the endless light will we be saved. Only in the bright burning
meadow forged of impossibility may we be saved." I remember that Rebecca
went still after that then whispered something that only I heard. "He has
to die. To save us all, the Alchemist has to die." I lift my head and find
Allison and Rebecca staring at me.

"Yes?"

"You need to come see this." Allison says, her voice filled with
trepidation.

"Is he hurt? Is he dead?" Fear and dread fill my voice but they shake their
heads and motion for me towards the television where He is on and holding
one of the news cameras right up to his evil looking face. I will never
forget his face as long as I live. It has haunted my dreams for years. The
voice that comes through the tv is all too haunting, all too terrible and
all too familiar.

"Hey there little buddy, little West, I know you're watching this because
you want to make sure I don't kill your husband but I'm not interested in
him, I'm only interested in you and what you did so listen up." He pulls
the camera back and smiles a horrible smile.

"I'm going to find you and I'm going to destroy you and there's nothing you
can do to stop me. This I promise you." The man gets knocked out by a blast
of pure black energy and my man, my Obsidian Knight, My Nate, appears,
battered and bruised and screams defiance to the heavens.

"You ain't getting anywhere near him Bastard, that I promise you." The
screen goes dark as the camera breaks and Quaternary turns to face me. I
face them, determination on my face. This time I won't run away, this time
there won't be another hand to do the dirty work. This time, I'm going to
finish this.
"Come after me and I will bring you down, once and for all dearest brother
of mine."


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