"Tell me everything you know about the Gifted killer known as Z." Nate ordered as he glared into the stranger's eyes. Danny bent down to pick up his katana and held it in his hand, just in case. The man shook for a moment before he responded.
"He is only known as Z, and he has no loyalty. He will take jobs from anyone, but he won't kill unless he is given a proper contract. The only time he is seen here is around or inside the pub around the corner." The man spoke as he looked forward with a blank stare. For a fleeting moment, Nate swore he heard a voice. It was a voice he immediately recognized, Nyx's voice. Kill him. Nate narrowed his eyes slightly as he pulled out his knife and held it at the man's throat. He stared for a moment before his eyes looked to his side.
"You're not going to stop me?" Nate uttered quietly as he turned his head to look at his friends.
"Why would I? This garbage can doesn't mean shit to me. Do whatever you want." Kyle responded in a slightly cold tone. He was standing next to Nate with a loose posture.
Orion spoke up, "I've killed 19 people, so this won't really bother me that much. This guy seems like he has done some pretty bad things."
Nate looked at Danny and Rhys, they both looked back with a hard stare. Nate knew that they wouldn't say anything to stop him, not because of their own feelings, but because they knew that Nate needed this. Nate turned his attention back to the stranger and thought for a moment. He thought about how angry he was, how hurt he was, how empty. His eyes narrowed as he thought about what Nyx's voice had told him to do. Blindly killing a stranger here and now, that's exactly what Nyx did. It pained him to admit, but he knew that those actions are exactly what got her killed. But it was your fault. Nate shook his head slightly to clear his mind of her voice. He focused back to the situation at hand and how he wanted to make just Z suffer for what he had taken from him. He was surprised to find that he was asking himself if he really wanted to kill this man. He didn't work for Z, he didn't really associate with him at all, or else he would've said so while under the influence of Nate's Gift. He was just some lowlife that tried to mug him and his friends. Nate sighed, he didn't want this to turn into that night all over again.
"Go to sleep." Nate ordered in an empty tone as he slid his knife back into its holster. The man's eyes fluttered shut and he fell to the ground. "Let's go." He said as he turned and continued down the alley to look for the pub he mentioned. Kyle continued staring at the now sleeping man with a disgusted look before he finally caught up to the group. The saw the entrance to the pub and Nate began stepping forward. He stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Danny looking at him from under his hood.
"Let me go first, in case he's expecting us." Danny whispered before he walked in front of him. As Danny reached for the door, he and his friends were jolted from behind as someone pushed through them.
"Excuse me." A quiet voice piped up as a small figure pushed through them. The group parted to allow them to pass, it was a skinny man who was short as well. He had black hair that hung over his face slightly. He was wrapped in black tight clothing and his pants were ripped near the ankles, he was also barefoot. When the boy passed Nate, they locked eyes for a split second and Nate tensed slightly. His eyes were yellow and shimmering faintly with a piercing gaze that caused Nate to stiffen. When he walked inside the pub, the group immediately noticed footprints that had formed in the random boys stride. They were black prints that seemed to radiate faint wisps of darkness.
"Gifted..." Orion uttered softly as he watched the pub door close. Things had just changed, there was a new Gifted in the mix and they had no idea what he was capable of.
"Now hang on." Danny started, catching everyone's attention. "There is a chance that he is here for the right reasons, like we are." Danny tried to be the voice of reason like always.
"I'm not so sure. The look he gave me just now...it wasn't the look of someone who wants to do good. He looked...empty." Nate responded quietly, although...if Z was here, maybe this Gifted person was trying to take him out too. If that was the case, Nate didn't want to miss out on the satisfaction. Nate stepped forward and pushed the door open before everyone halted and stared inside.
There was blood everywhere, and bodies. The pub wasn't too populated but the unlucky people who were there that night were now dead. Black footprints could be seen everywhere in the pub along with something that caught Danny's eye. He walked further inside, stepping over the bodies but not bothering to avoid the blood. His friends watched him approach the bar and pick something up from a puddle of blood. It was a playing card, the ace of hearts. Danny turned around and showed it to his friends, blood dripped from the card as they all looked at it.
"Calling card, huh?" Kyle said before a sly smirk tugged at his lips, clearly pleased with his little joke. Danny rolled his eyes before he wiped the card on his pants and slid it into his pocket.
"What do you think it means?" Orion asked Danny, ignoring Kyle's joke. Danny walked back over to his friends before he spoke.
"One of two options. One: that boy who pushed past us and into the bar is also looking for the sniper, and he is a lot more ruthless. Two: he is working for someone else and that person is equally ruthless, if not more. I think we need to be even more careful, we definitely don't want to attract the attention of everyone in the Gifted underground." Danny spoke concisely, and Orion looked a little afraid as he looked around. This reminded him of a scene that he had caused, back when he was an assassin for the Mafia. He had slaughtered a small faction of Gifted that had robbed a small Mafia shipment. Orion narrowed his eyes for a moment, the mission took longer than expected because one had ended up escaping and Orion had to find him.
Orion's eyes drifted to a barstool that was empty. The foam cushion was flattened slightly, someone had just been sitting there but there was no body on the ground near the stool. Orion wordlessly walked over to the stool, his eyes widened when he looked down onto the seat. "Guys?" He said softly as he reached down, his friends watched as Orion lifted his hand. A few strands of dark green hair were pinched in between Orion's thumb and forefinger. "He was here."
Nate's brow bent downwards, "You're fucking kidding me. So that Gifted brat slaughtered this entire bar and kidnapped the Gifted killer that brutally killed Nyx?!" Nate raised his voice slightly.
"Nate, breathe. At least we know that he wasn't just slaughtered like all these other people. He's still alive, which means we can still kill him." Danny spoke to his friend, trying to be the voice of reason.
"He's right, dude." Kyle piped up next. "This doesn't change anything, it just means it'll take a little longer. That also means it might take a few more bodies." He said passively, not even considering the potential consequences. Nate looked over at him with a blank stare.
"Do you ever think? Every action we take has the potential to stir a hornets nest. We need to get more information before we just charge in blindly. That guy killed everyone here in less than two minutes, which makes him extremely dangerous." Nate said in an empty tone. He was upset that he had to think this way, his own instinct was to rush headfirst towards the sniper and put him down. He hoped that the faster he killed Z, the faster he would stop hating himself.
Kyle sneered for a moment. "Please, they'd have to get close to actually hurt us."
Nate gritted his teeth in anger, "Will you stop acting so idiotically cocky? We won't be able to get close to Z if we don't think about what we're going to do." He yelled in anger at Kyle, who looked back at him with a slightly curled lip.
He scoffed, "I didn't think that I would be the angriest one here. This guy killed your girlfriend in front of your face and you want to take things slow? I thought you loved her-" Kyle was cut off abruptly when Nate punched him in the jaw, sending him backwards until Rhys caught him and prevented him from falling over. Danny stepped towards Nate and held his arm up in front of him so Nate wouldn't approach again.
"Shut your mouth." Nate growled out in quiet anger. "Stop thinking you're God for two seconds and look at the bigger picture. I'm taking this slow on purpose, Z has proved that he is prepared for anything. He knew how to get around Danny's super prediction, which means he did his research about all of us." Nate clenched his fists and they shook slightly, Danny looked over at Nate with his arm still blocking him. "I love her...more than anything in this world, and I want nothing more than to make that puto bleed for taking her away from me. But I'm also not stupid, and I was hoping you weren't stupid either. Seems I was wrong." Nate said before he moved around Danny's arm and left the bar. Danny looked over at Kyle with a disappointed look in his eyes. Kyle rubbed his jaw and looked down. Rhys crossed his arms and eyed Kyle with another disappointed gaze.
"That was fucked up dude." Rhys said, causing Kyle to turn around to face him. "That was...superbly fucked up."
Kyle exhaled loudly, "Okay, fine! That might've been too far."
"Might have?" Danny asked rhetorically as he stepped forward and Kyle turned around to face him. "Nate isn't the only one mourning her, but there's a way to do this right. So get your shit together and use your head." Danny snapped before he walked out of the pub as well. Kyle watched him go before Rhys turned around and followed Danny, then Orion followed him. Kyle stood by himself in the blood soaked pub for a moment before he took a deep breath. He talked through frustration again and said something stupid. Maybe I do have to think about some shit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nate and his friends entered Elizabeth's office after they returned from their failed mission. At least, it failed in Nate's eyes, but they did manage to get a clue. "An ace of hearts, huh?" Elizabeth said quietly as she inspected the card. "And you said this was left in the middle of a bloody crime scene?"
"Yes ma'am." Danny spoke to Elizabeth with a professional tone. "Before we entered the pub, we saw a Gifted enter. However, he wasn't there when we entered not two minutes later."
Elizabeth hummed evenly before she responded, "Tell me more about this Gifted you saw."
"He was small and skinny. He had black hair and yellow eyes. His Gift appeared to have something to do with his footprints, he was barefoot and his steps left behind black prints that radiated dark energy." Danny recalled the boy he saw and reported him thoroughly.
Elizabeth picked up the ace of hearts again and inspected it closely. "I can take this down to the lab and dust this card for any prints to identify either the boy or whoever sent him. Thank you for the report Danny. You're dismissed." She said evenly before Danny bowed his head slightly and left the room. Elizabeth continued staring at the card with a stern look. This card was stirring a memory in her but she couldn't quite place it. She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled in exhaustion. She placed the playing card in her desk drawer and locked it up tight before she decided to call it a night. She knew she wouldn't be able to remember anything with a brain as drained as hers currently was.
She would have to try again tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hellooo?" A slightly childish voice sounded through the receiver of the cell phone that Zachariah had held against his ear.
"As requested, I have sent the agreed upon payment. You should be clear to proceed." Zachariah said into the phone with an even tone. "All you have to do is continue seeding fear of the Gifted into society. I trust that won't be a problem for you?"
There was a soft giggle through the receiver, "Of course it won't be a problem, and I already told you that you don't have to pay me. This is purely for my own entertainment, I'm so excited I've already started planning!" Zachariah could tell that the voice was kicking his feet excitedly. "Oh, and thank you again for the other package you sent. It wasn't necessary, but greatly helpful." The voice started giggling manically again.
"Good, it really took a lot for me to get those samples for you. Don't let them go to waste." Zachariah spoke slightly sternly before the giggling on the other end stopped.
"You should know me better by now, Zachariah. After all, that annoying Gifted killer already took out the biggest threat for us, and I had one of my friends scoop him up for safe keeping." The voice sounded suddenly serious, but still had a hint of eerie insanity.
Zachariah hesitated, thinking about his response carefully. "Right, my apologies."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nerissa dashed down the hall to Nate's room after hearing that they had gotten back from, wherever they went. She knocked on his door before opening it and peeking inside. Everyone was there, Nate was sitting on his bed in between Danny and Rhys. Orion was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. Worry flooded her tone as she spoke, "I was worried sick about you guys, I can't believe you left without me! You guys need a healer for missions, what if something happened?!"
Nate couldn't keep it in anymore, snapping up from his bed and turning to Nerissa, his glare filled with fury that was so intense Nerissa felt...scared. "Something did happen! Nyx is dead! You just said you're our healer and you let her die! You think I trust you anymore after what you did?! She trusted you and look at where it got her!" he yelled at her. Danny tensed, but knew Nate was speaking out of anger so he simply put a hand on Nate's wrist to calm him slightly. Orion was shell shocked as Nate spoke about Nyx again, wondering if things would have been different if he had gone with them, his eyes narrowed on the floor as he was lost in thought. Rhys's leg was shaking nervously, aware that the wrong word or sentence might set Nate off again, which would only make the situation more volatile.
Neri flinched, her face showing her hurt. Looking at her brother then at Rhys and Orion, her voice was meek, "D-Danny?" she asked. Danny kept his hands around Nate's wrist, not responding to his little sister. "Orion?...Rhys?" her voice cracked. The two of them avoided looking her in the eyes, the death of Nyx stuck in the front of Orion's mind, while Rhys's mind was spiraling. He didn't know how to handle this. Rhys murmured, "I think you should leave Nerissa". Danny nodded slowly, his voice numb as he spoke, "It's for the best Nerissa."
Neri felt pain pool in her heart, stumbling back before sprinting away from the group. They didn't want her. Maybe they were right not to. She could hear the voices in her head again as she ran, becoming louder and louder.
Nate's voice hit her first.
Useless
She panted while running, now in the forest without realizing it.
Soul's voice hit her next.
Hopeless
A whimper escaped her as she halted in her run, holding her hands against her head, fingers buried in her hair.
Rhys's voice was the next one.
Killer
Tears streamed down her face, "No no no, please!" she shouted into the night.
Orion's voice was next.
Why can't you just do anything right?
"I'm trying! Please!" Nerissa begged into the night air.
Danny's voice flooded her mind next.
Dante would be so disappointed in you.
Another whimper left her as she clutched her head tighter, "You're lying!"
She froze at the next words she heard because they weren't from one person. It was the voices of Dante, Drake, Jack, Oliver and Nyx.
"You let us die."
Nerissa shook her head, crying as she shrieked out, "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"
The next voices that filled her mind was her breaking point. Her parents.
Useless until the end. You will always be a burden.
And she broke. Falling to her knees, an ear-shattering scream left Nerissa, her powers imploding, surging outward from the mental break.
Every living plant and animal in a 5-foot radius around Nerissa was drained of water from their bodies, the animal bodies falling limp to the ground, the trees' color changing, and the plants around her becoming dry and brittle. The water zoomed towards Nerissa, forming large rings around her body. As her powers slowly calmed, the water collapsed onto the ground around her. Sitting on the forest floor, she pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed. Ezekiel had been right. Everything was her fault. Everything was her fault.
Crying into her hands, she paused and sniffled when she heard a branch snap. Looking up, her eyes widened as she saw pink hair. Pink hair she recognized from the Erebus Estate, the boy that Nate had made fall asleep. "W-what do you want? Because if it's to kill me, just get it over with," she said, the will to live seemingly sapped from her body. It was clear she didn't plan to fight for her life. Azriel paused as he looked down at her, not showing his surprise. He had been watching through his own means, watching as Nyx was shot. Watching Nate and the rest of the Scooby gang try to chase after Z. Watching Nerissa's own friends and brother turn on her. He was...resourceful in how he got his information. He had figured he could knock her out now that she was alone so he could grab information beyond his reach from her before killing her, but seeing her power scale made him rethink his idea.
Kneeling down in front of her, he tilted his head to the side, almost like a confused puppy would, "Now why would I kill you? You're smart, sweetheart. Powerful. Capable of whatever you want," he said, his voice seemingly innocent. Neri couldn't help but blink in surprise, her voice stuttering out, "Y-you don't think I'm useless?"
"Quite the opposite actually. You know I've done my research on you. Abusive parents. Murdered brother. Lived in the 'jail' to escape your own parents who vowed to kill you one day. And after meeting your friends, how have you been treated? Always healing people, but when was the last time you got a thank you? Almost ignored whenever you aren't healing them. They took you for granted. You did your absolute best darling. You can't heal the dead. Your friends should've known that. But they turned on you. Even sweet brother Danny. You deserve better. People don't abandon people they love. They abandon people they were using," he states, his voice making it clear that this was a fact to him. Nerissa looked up at him, her eyes almost looking doe like. His words were like slithering vines through her mind as she thought about everything he said. Was he right?
Azriel took this moment to continue, "They even treated you different for killing those men so you could save Danny. Danny... who got Dante's abilities when we both know it should've been you. Danny didn't know Dante, it's not right he got your twins gift. But on top of all this, I ran into your parents recently, they're terrible at being quiet by the way. They were murmuring to each other, your father, which by the way how is he your father, he looks disgusting, said he was still trying to track you down and your mother, which I suppose you have her nose, said she wished she had killed you with your twin. How is it that those unpowered mongrels have you on the run. You could stop them. You could get revenge for Dante's death."
Nerissa sniffled, "But then I'd be a murderer just like them," her voice croaked out.
Azriel let out a small chuckle, "You've seen your friends kill, you have to have put the pieces together by now. I mean look at the massacre your friend Nyx left behind before she passed, my condolences by the way. But you know I'm right, don't you? No enemies are going to go non-lethal on you honey. Killing the people trying to kill you doesn't make you a murderer, it makes you a survivor. Like Nyx and Dante always wanted you to be". She looked down at her hands, thinking of the blood on them as she contemplated his words.
For a moment she remembered Orion's words before her mind shut the thought out, piling Orion with her friends that had seemingly abandoned her. Maybe Azriel was right about everything. The small shuffle of clothes could be heard in front of her as Azriel stood up. As she looked up, Azriel was holding a hand out to her, his eyes filled with what Nerissa registered as sympathy as he looked down at her. She knew if she took his hand, she'd be a part of his group. The idea scared her. But then she remembered Nate's words. How everyone silently agreed. How Orion didn't say anything. How Rhys as well as Danny simply told her to leave. How Azriel, a complete stranger seemed to care about her more than they ever did. How he saw her more in these few minutes than her friends and brother ever cared to. With that her mind was made up as she unclipped the bracelet Rhys had given her all those nights ago when they had gotten drunk together. Letting the bracelet fall to the soil, she took his hand. Azriel pulled her up, taking his jacket off and putting it around her shoulders as they both exited the forest.
If only Nerissa had stayed for 3 more minutes, she would've seen her friends. After Nerissa had left Nate's room, Rhys had calmly told Nate to take time to calm down, but that what he said to Nerissa was unfair. At that moment, Danny's posture tensed as he got a premonition. His little sister all alone in the woods, crying and unaware of her surroundings. And the boy with pink hair from the Erebus Estate approached her with a grin he knew was anything but good. As the premonition faded, realization almost slapped him in the face as he looked at them all, "She misunderstood us. She left Sanctuary, she thinks we're abandoning her and now she's in danger!" He practically rushed out of Nates' room, Rhys and Orion on his heels. But Nate...he stayed behind. Nyx's voice seemed to engulf him in that moment. All your fault. Again.
When the trio had sprinted towards the woods, they had heard a scream in the distance, but Rhys knew. Rhys knew it was Nerissa's scream and without thinking he bolted past Danny and Orion in the screams direction. Unfortunately, she was farther in the woods than they had hoped and by the time Rhys found the spot, there was no one there. As Rhys ran up to the soaked soil, he froze, seeing a bracelet in the ground. Her bracelet. "Neri!" he shouted, the veins in his neck showing. As he picked up the bracelet, something resembling a card a few feet from the bracelet caught his eyes. Rhys felt fear flood into his chest, an overwhelming amount that he hadn't felt since the night he killed his girlfriend. It was an ace of hearts card. "NERISSA!" he tried again, pain and panic filling his voice. Danny and Orion who had followed Rhys finally caught up and seemed to freeze hearing Rhys call out for her. Looking at Rhys's hands with her bracelet and then down at the ground, they saw a replica of the exact same card they had just reported to Chairman Valentino in the wet soil and it clicked. They all had made her leave and now she was gone. Their sunshine was gone. They were too late.
The Ace had another card.