The next morning, while everything else was quiet, Crys called Tomas on her phone. She was still in Brandon's room. She had stayed there all of the previous night. She was sitting up on Brandon's bed while he was still curled up, awake, but not doing much else.
"Hey, Crys." Tomas said as he answered his phone. He sounded a little tired, but not too much.
"Tomas, could, could you do me a favor?" Crys asked, sounding rather nervous and a bit frightened still.
"What's going on?" Tomas asked, slightly concerned. He could pick up on Crys' anxiety.
"I- it's about what's been going on. I was hoping I could ask your dad for help."
"But not me, or Emma?"
"I don't want the two of you getting involved, or hurt."
"But my dad can?" Tomas said back, mostly just to point out the ludicracy in what Crys was saying rather than being hurt.
"No, it's not like that Tomas." Crys said, hoping to explain better. "Look, your dad is in charge of Techno Corp. He has access to all sorts of things that might help, and he's helped us before, you know that."
"I have access to all the same things, but you'd rather have my dad help you?"
Crys thought for a second of a good way to explain why. "H-he isn't after you or your dad, but he's made threats to go after you and see if you know anything about me. He isn't after your dad, but you, you're already next in line."
Tomas assumed the person Crys was talking about was the one who had been tormenting her. He mulled over the explanation for a few seconds, and it made a decent amount of sense to him. If he tried to help, it would only make him be tormented just like Crys, but if his dad helped, it might keep him safe. He took a deep breath. "You're still putting my dad in danger." He said.
"And I'll own up to it." Crys said firmly.
Tomas knew Crys would keep to her word. He also knew his dad was no pushover. Of course, Crys wouldn't know that, but he did. He figured that if anyone other than him or Emma would be able to help, it would definitely be his dad. "Alright." He said. "I'll tell my dad you'll be coming over to talk to him."
"Thank you, Tomas." Crys said warmly.
"I... I hate to ask, but do I get to hear any of what you're going to say to him?" Tomas added on after a brief moment.
"It's not safe for you to know anything." Crys said quietly.
"I figured you would say that." Tomas replied, a bit bummed out.
"I-I really am sorry, Tomas. I don't like keeping you out of things. I wish I could tell you what's going on, but it just isn't safe for you to know."
Tomas sighed. "But of course, my dad gets to know."
"Look, Tomas, if your dad winds up being able to stop what's going on, I will personally tell you exactly what has been happening." Crys promised.
Tomas thought for a moment to himself. "I'll take you up on that." He said. He was more than glad to hear that Crys wasn't going to keep withholding everything from him, even if it meant he had to wait just a little bit longer.
"Thank you, Tomas." Crys said again, relieved. She was glad her friend understood, and she was glad to finally be getting some hope.
"I'll just head over to Em's place, I guess. Like I said, I will make sure my dad knows you're coming to talk with him." Tomas said.
"Thanks." Crys said yet again.
"I'll talk with you later." Tomas said.
"Bye, Tomas." Crys said, sounding genuinely happy.
Crys hung up the phone. She nudged the half-awake curled up ball that was Brandon. "Come on," she said, sounding antsy, "we need to get going!"
Brandon mumbled incoherently. Whatever he said sounded tired.
"Come on!" Crys nudged Brandon again.
"Alright I'm up!" He grumbled, clearly still quite tired from his poor sleep the night prior. He sat up in bed, looking exhausted.
Crys got up off the bed and went over to where Brandon had draped his jacket last night. She grabbed it, balled it up and tossed it at her friend.
Brandon looked unamused. He got up and shooed Crys out of his room for a moment so he could change out of his pajamas. Once he was ready to go, he joined up with Crys downstairs.
Both friends then headed out the front door and started making their way over to Tomas' house.
When they had arrived at Tomas' house, Crys knocked on the front door. Just a brief moment later, it opened.
"Well, hello." Tomas' dad said respectfully. "Tomas had said you wanted to speak with me, although I couldn't imagine why. Please, come in."
Crys and Brandon entered the house. Tomas' dad led them over to the kitchen where he stood by the counter, leaning back on it a bit.
Crys nervously stood a bit back with Brandon by her side to support her.
"So, what is it that you wanted to speak with me about?" Tomas' dad asked, curious.
"W-well..." Crys murmured. "I- we need your help." She said, scared.
"With what?" Tomas' dad asked, going from mildly curious to gently serious.
"I-I uh... um..." Crys stuttered.
Brandon took one of Crys' hands that was dangling by her side and grabbed it, letting her know he was there.
Tomas' dad stood up straight, being much less casual. He gave Crys a gentle look. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise." He said in a very fatherly way.
"I-I'm The Werewolf." Crys blurted out.
"Yes, I know." Tomas' dad replied, unphased by the information.
Crys gave a confused look.
"I've known for a long time, but I doubt that is the reason you're here." Tomas' dad continued, seeing Crys' look.
"I-well..." Crys shook her head to try and get back on track. "There-there's this man. He's been showing up in the middle of the night in my room, threatening me and everyone else. H-he did these tests on me and keeps saying I'm a threat..." She trailed off for a few moments. "Please, I-I don't know what to do. I thought you might be able to help since you've helped us before..."
Tomas' dad slowly leaned back against the counter and took a deep breath. "Crys," he said, gently but firmly, "did he say who he was?"
Crys was a little confused, but answered anyway. "Y-yeah. He said his name was Seinhou."
Tomas' dad clenched his jaw a little. For a few seconds he did absolutely nothing, just standing still in silence. "Seinhou..." He muttered under his breath.
Crys took a small step back, getting scared.
"And you're certain of that?" Tomas' dad asked.
Crys gave a little nod, still a little suspicious. "He mentioned he was part of some organization." She added on as bait.
"He is." Tomas' dad replied. "That organization is called The Directive."
Crys took a few more steps back, starting to tremble as the realization sunk in. Brandon helped to steady her and keep her standing.
Brandon was still rather tired, but he knew what was going on. He was a little nervous now too, but he kept quiet, trying to stay out of things as much as he could.
"Y-you...?" Crys murmured, horrified.
Tomas' dad hung his head. "I am a member of that organization, yes." He said carefully. "I know you have no reason to trust me. I know you're scared, and I am sorry. I am sorry for what Seinhou has done to you. What he did was wrong, and I want to help you. Please, at the very least, allow me to explain." He added on, being as sincere as possible.
Crys couldn't form any words. She was terrified, but the fact Tomas' dad was being upfront about things helped keep her from running.
Brandon figured it would be a good idea to listen. His curiosity was getting the better of him.
Tomas' dad let Crys have time to speak up if she wanted to. "Seinhou should not be here." He said clearly after Crys remained silent. "I have tried to keep him, and the rest of the organization, away from here, and away from you. This city falls under my jurisdiction, and so, no one, especially Seinhou, is allowed to be here unless under my explicit permission."
"B-but why is he here, then?" Crys spoke up, still frightened, but at the same time, unbelievably relieved to finally be getting answers.
"He must have snuck in to take care of things his own way." Tomas' dad replied.
"But he- he said you deal with werewolves?" Crys asked, hoping for clarification, confused on why Tomas' dad hadn't done anything.
"Our one goal is to keep humanity from destroying itself. Werewolves, if they were to get out of control, could lead to disaster. You remember the Werepocalypse. Imagine if it was never stopped. How many people would have become werewolves? How much chaos would it have created?"
Crys could see in her mind exactly what Tomas' dad was talking about. It was a little too easy to picture for comfort. It didn't help her fear, much.
"We keep an eye on any werewolves to make sure that never happens." Tomas' dad kept explaining after a moment.
"S-so you... you..." Crys tried to say.
"No." Tomas' dad replied swiftly and firmly. "Look, Crys," he said gently, "I respect your privacy. I respect the fact that you have your own life. I have not, and will never, invade it."
"But then how do you know-"
"That you are a werewolf?"
Crys nodded.
"I need to know some things, Crys. When we get word of a monstrous wolf-like creature attacking someone in the forest, we have to investigate. After that incident, I looked up who you were in the public records. Since then, all I have done is keep an eye and ear out for any rumors about a werewolf. That's it." Tomas' dad said in the gentlest way possible.
"Y-you didn't follow me o-or test me or spy on me or anything like that?" Crys asked, mostly just to cover her bases, still a little justly paranoid.
"Absolutely not." Tomas' dad replied with certainty. "Like I said, you have your own life. It's not my place to get involved in it like that."
"Did you ever do anything?" Crys asked nervously.
"I helped cover up some of the things that have happened, like the Werepocalypse and what had happened with Karen. I also try to make sure your picture gets spread around too much on things like the news."
Crys was starting to feel ever so slightly comfortable again. Just knowing that Tomas' dad had been helping her all along made her feel a bit safe. She still had her hesitations though, considering he and Seinhou worked for the same organization. "So why did Seinhou do all those things to me?" She asked, shakily.
"Seinhou has his own ideas of how these situations should be handled. He always has. He sees werewolves as vile threats that need to be dealt with like the monsters he sees them as." Tomas' dad said.
"A-and you?" Crys asked, scared to hear the response.
Tomas' dad made sure to look Crys in the eyes. "I believe that you are a good person, Crys. You care about people and want to help. You're a good friend to my son, and you put your life on the line for the sake of people you don't even know. You have a good heart, Crys, and I trust you."
Crys started tearing up hearing that. She had no idea how to respond, so she just nodded a little as she tried not to break down. She still felt uneasy, but she could tell Tomas' dad definitely was not the bad guy.
Brandon put an arm around Crys' shoulder and gave her a little smile. Things were going well, he thought.
"Crys," Tomas' dad spoke up again after a few seconds, letting her have a moment to breathe, "if you feel comfortable telling me, what exactly has Seinhou done to you, other than the threats and showing up at night?"
"He-he.." Crys trailed off, starting to tremble again.
Brandon took a small step forward so Crys could see him out of the corner of her eye. He gave her a little nod.
Crys took a deep breath. "He set up a robbery just to see what I would do, a-and then he injected me with a drug that made it so I couldn't control myself," she was tearing up as she spoke, reliving the memories with every word, "and then... h-he put me in a simulation to study me, a-and nothing was right and then the world was ending a... an..." she couldn't get out any more words. She choked up. All that was keeping her going at the moment was Brandon being there for her.
Tomas' dad silently took in the information for a few tense moments. He didn't have all the details, but he could make fairly decent assumptions on how bad things must have been. "I am sorry, Crys." He said, trying to repress his fury over Seinhou's actions. "I really am."
Crys stayed quiet.
"Crys just got back last night." Brandon finally spoke up. He figured since Crys could barely talk, he might as well try to help out a little.
Tomas' dad looked to Brandon with a raised eyebrow.
"From the simulation." Brandon explained.
Crys nodded a little, grateful that Brandon was speaking for her for the moment.
Tomas' dad thought for a moment.
"H-he's going to show up again." Crys murmured hopelessly.
"What do you mean?" Tomas' dad asked gently.
"He always shows up to mock me after doing something like this." Crys added on in a similar manner.
"How long after?" Tomas' dad asked.
"The night after." Crys quietly said.
"So, tonight." Tomas' dad said to himself.
Crys looked to the floor.
"Crys, I will take care of Seinhou for you." Tomas' dad said.
Crys quickly looked up with a wave of sheer relief washing over her.
Tomas' dad looked to Crys, but stayed where he was. "I am truly sorry that you have had to go through all of this." He said genuinely. "I hope I can make things right by you, and I hope that I can earn back your trust."
Crys gave a little nod, still uncertain about Tomas' dad, but willing to give him a chance.
"So, what should we do?" Brandon asked.
Tomas' dad turned his attention to Brandon. "I will take care of everything for now. I will tell both of you the plan later on tonight since it's so early right now. The two of you should go and try to enjoy the day."
Crys nodded.
"Okay." Brandon said.
"Thank you." Crys said weakly.
"No thanks is required." Tomas' dad said kindly.
Everyone bid their goodbyes, and Crys and Brandon made their way out of the house. The two friends started off towards the city to go grab some lunch before trying to have a peaceful rest of their day.
Much later on that night, when everything was silent, Crys woke up. She sat up in her bed and glared ahead of her.
Seinhou was standing by the wall with his arms crossed behind his back. He had a small, confident, smile on his face.
Crys kept her mouth shut, but her face twitched slightly. She had an itch to say a snarky, snide, remark, but she knew it wasn't a good idea.
"Nothing to say to me?" Seinhou commented with a sneer.
Crys grumbled, but kept quiet.
"Perhaps you learned a little restraint after our last encounter." Seinhou continued.
Crys clenched her jaw.
Seinhou shook his head a little. "How very unusual for you. Not even concerned about why I am here?"
"I don't have to be concerned anymore." Crys muttered with a restrained hatred.
Seinhou laughed. "Why, just because you saw through my simulation?"
"No." Said an authoritative voice through the doorway of Crys' room.
Seinhou instinctively drew his weapon and pointed it to the doorway, but nobody was there for him to shoot yet.
Tomas' dad slowly walked into Crys' room and glared at Seinhou with clear disappointment and anger.
Seinhou's face drained of color for a moment. He didn't move.
"Put your weapon down." Tomas' dad said, with severe, haunting, authority.
Seinhou obeyed his order and lowered his gun, still glaring at Tomas' dad.
"Crys," Tomas' dad said, in a much kinder, fatherly, tone, "go on. I'll handle this."
Crys gave a little nod to Tomas' dad, getting up out of her bed and leaving her room. As she walked down the hallway she could hear a bit of what was being said behind her.
"How did she know?" Seinhou asked with malice.
"She didn't. She went to me to get help. Help to deal with you." Tomas' dad replied harshly calm.
"And so she set me up."
"I, set you up. Not her."
Crys shook her head as she walked into Brandon's room and shut the door behind her. She walked over to Brandon's bed and sat on the corner of it. She nudged Brandon's leg.
Brandon stirred for a moment before sitting up, yawning. "He's here?" He asked.
Crys gave a nod. "Tomas' dad is in there with him."
"What do you think they're talking about?" Brandon asked out of curiosity.
"Last I heard, Seinhou was asking how I set him up." Crys said, mostly emotionless.
"Can you hear anything else they're saying?"
"I'm trying not to. I just want it to be over."
"It is, Crys." Brandon yawned again.
Crys looked at Brandon and tried to smile, but she couldn't. She looked back down at the floor and stared at it, not really knowing what to think or how to feel. "D-do you think we can trust him?" She asked quietly.
"Who?" Brandon responded, his brain not cooperating fully.
Crys gave a side glance at Brandon, not exactly sure if he was being genuinely serious or not. "Tomas' dad." She said, assuming he was being genuine.
Brandon thought for a moment. "I mean, he's helping us... what do you think?"
Crys took a few moments of hesitation, trying to figure out how she really felt. "I-I don't know." She murmured. "He's never asked me anything before, and he's helped us, but... Seinhou..."
"He hasn't done anything like Seinhou did." Brandon commented.
"That we know of." Crys replied.
"I don't think he'd do anything like that." Brandon said.
Crys mulled it over, but she still felt uncertain. "I don't want to think about this anymore." She said quietly.
Brandon sat for a moment, then got out from under the covers and took a seat next to Crys on the side of his bed.
Crys rested her head on Brandon's shoulder, staying quiet.
"Are you okay?" Brandon asked, concerned.
Crys took a moment to respond. "I don't know." She said, still not knowing how, or what, to feel.
The two friends stayed where they were. Neither of them said a word as they waited.
A few minutes later, a knock was heard on Brandon's door.
Brandon and Crys looked up.
"Come in." Crys said, just barely loud enough.
Tomas' dad gently opened the door. "Are the two of you okay?" He asked kindly.
"Yes." Brandon said.
Crys gave a solemn nod.
"Crys," Tomas' dad said, "I am so sorry that you have had to go through this."
"I-is he gone?" Crys murmured.
"He is." Tomas' dad replied in a calm, yet certain, voice. "I told him what would happen if he ever stepped foot in this city again."
"But what if-" Crys' anxiety took hold of her.
"Crys," Tomas' dad interrupted kindly, "I won't let him hurt you again."
Crys went quiet. She was worried still, but willing to take a chance that maybe, just maybe, Tomas' dad was right. She gave a little nod of confirmation.
"Both of you get some rest." Tomas' dad said in a fatherly way. "Everything is going to be okay, now."
Crys spoke up. "Y-you never spied on me... right?" She asked, horribly concerned.
"No, Crys. Your life is yours, and I have no right to intrude." Tomas' dad replied gently, understanding the paranoia Crys must have had.
"Th-thank you." Crys murmured, clearly still shaken up somewhat.
Tomas' dad gave a little nod. "I'll be leaving now, both of you have a good night."
"Thank you." Brandon said.
"Good night." Crys said quietly.
Tomas' dad walked away. After just a few moments, the front door opened, then shut, and then, it was quiet. Brandon and Crys were left alone.
"It's just us, Crys." Brandon said quietly.
"It's a good thing your parents weren't here..." Crys mumbled.
Brandon nodded. "Let's get some sleep." He said.
Crys took a deep breath.
"Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" Brandon asked.
Crys nodded.
"Alright." Brandon said kindly.
Both Brandon and Crys got ready for bed for the second time that night, if the first time even counted given their plan, and then went to sleep. Both of them had sweet dreams the rest of the night.