Four weeks later
It didn't take very long for Damien and Nyx to recover from their injuries after the little... incident that happened. However, things were much more tense than usual because of the other incident that happened. Every time that Nyx saw Damien, she could feel her lip involuntarily curling in disgust for what he did. Damien noticed too and had ignored it for the most part, until one morning, as Damien walked into Faust's kitchen to get some coffee. He saw Nyx already sitting at the table with her own cup, the look of disgust in her eyes stabbed into him again, this time he couldn't hold back.
"If you have something to say, just say it." Damien said in a tired tone as he poured his coffee with his back to her. He turned around and leaned against the counter before taking a sip.
Nyx exhaled deeply through her nose before she responded. "Fine." She said quietly before she paused. "Why the fuck did you kiss me?" She said with irritation in her voice. She saw Damien look down at the floor before the hint of a smirk creeped onto his lips.
"It broke you out of that crazy state, didn't it?" Damien said casually as he brought the cup to his mouth for another sip.
"Stop avoiding the question." Nyx said in an irritated tone as she locked eyes with him. "Why...did you kiss me?" She repeated her question with her voice slightly louder. Damien leaned his head back and let out a sigh of frustration, he was learning in the moment just how stubborn Nyx can be.
Damien lowered his head as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Look, I did it because...when I was younger, something very similar happened to me." Damien said quietly as he walked towards the table and sat down across from Nyx. "It was during a training session with my father. I was fifteen and-"
"Wait." Nyx interrupted him. "You were fifteen? I thought Gifts don't manifest until you're at least eighteen?" She looked confused.
"Normally yes, but it is possible for a Gift to manifest early if the Gifted individual goes through an intense mental break." Damien responded as he interlocked his hands on the table in front of him. "That's what happened, I was in combat training with my father and things were getting a bit... intense." Damien's eyes stared off into space as he was stuck in the memory for a moment. "He had beaten me down so badly, both physically and mentally, I just...snapped. My powers manifested in full force and exploded in a violent display of rage and madness. I remember...spikes stabbing, tendrils lashing, cutting me open...but my father, he was so calm." Nyx saw Damien's hands tighten slightly before he continued. "I couldn't stop myself and I could feel the raw power erupting out of me while I begged for my fathers help....and I guess he did help me." It was then that Damien finally looked up and into Nyx's eyes. Damien separated his hands and brought one of them down under the table. Nyx's eyes widened when Damien lifted his shirt up, revealing a long and deep scar that stretched across his chest. "He helped by giving me this. He broke me out of the state I was in by slashing me so deep and painfully that it shocked me right out of it." Damien let his shirt fall back down into place and interlocked his fingers on the table again. "So...I knew that in order to get you out of the state you were in, I had to do something shocking enough to break you out of it." Damien looked uncomfortable for a fleeting moment. "I didn't think that a physical shock would even do anything considering that your Gift makes you bulletproof...so yes, I opted for the mental shock, and kissed you." Damien averted his gaze and ran his hand through his hair. "I thought it would shock your mind enough to break you out of it, and I was right. So let's just be glad that it worked, alright?"
Nyx shuffled uncomfortably in her chair before she scoffed softly. "Look, I'm grateful that it worked... I just can't believe I have to live my life knowing Damien Erebus kissed me."
Damien snickered once, "Oh it wasn't that bad... considering you liked it." Damien said coyly as he leaned back and took another sip of his coffee. Nyx looked at him with violent confusion.
"I'm sorry, I what?" Nyx said with an accusatory inflection as she leaned over the table.
"Don't play dumb, Nyx." Damien said through a smirk before he leaned forward as well, leaning his elbows on the table. "I was part of that kiss as well, and I know what I felt. If you recall where my hands were...I could feel your pulse." Damien's voice suddenly got quieter as he glanced at Nyx's lips. "I felt your pulse was erratic...then it calmed...and then started racing again." Damien then leaned closer and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Now, why do you think that would happen?" He whispered.
Nyx's brow furrowed before realization flashed in her eyes. "Are you trying to say I have feelings for you?" Nyx whispered through a small laugh, "The only feelings I have for you is complete and utter loathing." Nyx growled out as her eyes burned into him. Damien snickered as his eyes flicked to her lips again.
"Oh please-" Damien kept his voice low and it sent an involuntary shiver down her spine. "-if you knew anything about psychology, you'd know that the chemical reaction of hate is a very similar feeling to the reaction...of lust." By the time Damien finished talking, he had leaned close enough for their lips to almost touch a second time before Nyx finally noticed. She inhaled sharply and quickly leaned backwards before landing a hard slap across his face. Damien's head moved to the side from the force as Nyx stood up fast. Damien slowly leaned back in his chair as he brought a hand up to massage his burning cheek. A smile crept onto his lips when he saw Nyx's flushed cheeks.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Nyx said angrily as she glared at him. "What kind of sick games are you playing?" She said slightly louder. Damien dropped his hand from his face and placed that hand on the table.
"I'm not playing any games, princess." Damien said in a casual tone, a red bruise starting to appear on his cheek. "I'm simply saying that I see the way you look at me, and I gotta say-" Damien flicked his eyebrows up slightly and he subtly bit his bottom lip. "-it's surprisingly enticing." Damien spoke with a dangerous tone that sent shivers down her spine before her face morphed into a look that almost resembled offence at his gall. Nyx then stepped towards the table and leaned onto her hands, she glared at Damien with a stabbing gaze.
"Let me make something clear to you. I would sooner die again than to ever lay in bed with you....and if you value your life, you won't show your face around me for the rest of the day." Nyx growled out in a stern and serious tone before she stood up and began walking out of the room.
The smile on Damien's face faded. "That might be difficult, considering we'll be heading out tonight." He said casually, causing Nyx to turn around and look at him over her shoulder.
"I'm sorry?" She asked with more anger bleeding into her words. Damien looked at her and smirked again.
"Faust found a lead on Z." He purred with a slightly manic grin and Nyx's eyes widened.
"He did? What's the lead?" Nyx asked him urgently as she stood up straight. Damien tilted his head slightly, almost like he was entertained by Nyx's sudden interest.
"Well, lead is a strong word. More like he found a place where we can find a lead." Damien stood up and slid his hand into his pockets. "It's the headquarters of a small Gifted organization called Iris. They're a bit of a small vigilante collective that think they're hot shit since...The Erebus Mafia fell..." Damien's voice got lower as he mentioned his family. "Anyway, Faust says there's a good chance that Iris has files all about Z. Considering he's a Gifted killer, I'm inclined to believe they'd want to keep tabs on him. So, how about we go there, get those files...and slaughter all of them." Damien said casually and Nyx tensed. She was with him until he said slaughter all of them.
"There it is, why is it that your default setting is always slaughter?" She asked him angrily, Damien averted his gaze as faint irritation showed on his face.
"Well for starters, they hate my family. The moment they see me, they're going to react violently. Secondly, these people are Gifted yes, but they hate any outsiders, Gifted or not. So, they will not give away their information willingly, we will have to take it by force. Luckily, with our combined power they will have little they can do to stop us." Damien's eyes burned into her as she stared in shock. The shock faded after a moment when she realized...he was right, and she couldn't deny it. Damien watched as Nyx's eyes seemed to lose focus as she stared off into space, deep in thought. His eyes narrowed when he saw Nyx's eyes come back into focus. Damien smiled again when he saw a look in her eyes that resembled a wolf that had it's prey by the neck, and couldn't wait to taste blood.
"Alright, I'm in." Nyx said quietly as she straightened her posture and looked Damien in the eyes. Damien raised his chin and looked at her with a devilish grin.
"Good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Damien and Nyx dashed through the woods, wrapped in black, hoods up and masks over the bottom half of their faces. They quickly and silently approached the backside of the Iris headquarters before Damien manifested a platform of shadow to lift them up to the roof. He slowed the platform to a halt so they could peek over the edge of the roof. They spotted two Iris members on the roof, patrolling back and forth near the front, watching for intruders. However, they weren't watching their back, a fatal mistake.
Damien and Nyx looked at each other before they both nodded swiftly. They both stepped onto the roof and stood calmly. Damien flicked his first two fingers upward and a shadow spike shot from the shadow of one of the guards. It stabbed through his back and out the front of his chest, a well placed shot through the heart. The second guard saw what happened and immediately whipped his head towards them in frightened shock as the spike retracted back into the shadow, and the body fell off the roof. The guard recognized the Gift immediately, the Gift of the Erebus clan. His eyes widened when he saw the two standing there in front of him before he quickly reached for his walkie.
"Ah ah." Nyx uttered softly as she flicked her hand towards the man and the walkie flew from his grip and soared into the trees. The guard looked back at her with fear when he recognized the bright violet glow in her eyes.
"Infinity...but...you're supposed to be dead." He uttered softly with a shaking voice.
Nyx hummed softly with a small smile under her mask. "And yet...here I am." She said quietly before she shifted to the guard in an instant and suddenly clutched his throat, lifting him off the ground. The man gripped her arm to try and lift the pressure, but it wasn't working. Damien watched with a sickeningly pleased grin that was hidden under his mask. There was a visceral crunch alongside a soft choking sound as Nyx crushed the guards windpipe with her hand. She then threw the guard behind her and sent him flying over Damien's head and into the trees behind the building. Nyx locked eyes with Damien and jerked her head back slightly, signalling that he follow her. She then stepped off the ledge and fell out of sight, Damien rushed forward to follow her as he heard a loud crunch. He leaped over the ledge without even looking, as he fell down he saw that Nyx had created a large crater where she landed.
Damien landed safely with the help of his tendrils and approached Nyx. "Let's head inside, I hope you're ready."
Nyx let out a soft breathy laugh. "Oh I'm ready, I just hope you can keep up." She taunted him before she dashed inside. Damien smiled under his mask again before he dashed inside after her. When he entered the building, he saw a different person already dropping in front of her with a broken neck. Not unlike the body he saw outside the gate of his estate. The two then raced through the building, many of the Gifted in this place were slaughtered before they even noticed Damien and Nyx's presence. The two of them acted with terrifying efficiency, a well oiled machine built for bloodshed. Until someone in their path caused them to take pause.
It was a large muscular man, they both quickly assumed this behemoth was the leader. "Why have you come here?" He asked, oddly calmly.
Damien and Nyx exchanged a look before Damien spoke up. "We want your files on the Gifted killer known as Z."
"Fine." The man said calmly. "We will give you the files, but there need not be any more bloodshed." He was trying to bargain with them, cowardly. Damien and Nyx exchanged a look before they laughed softly.
"We're not doing this because we think we need to." Nyx said as she turned her head back to the Iris leader. "We're doing this because the world would be a better place without you in it." Nyx purred out menacingly as Damien lifted his hand, pointing his first two fingers straight at the man's chest. The Iris leader lifted his chin slightly with a calm look on his face before Damien shot the pin straight, light speed spike of shadow out of his fingers. The leader didn't flinch as the spike stabbed into his chest.
At least, it tried to.
The moment the spike touched the Iris leaders skin, the spike shattered. Damien stepped back and let out a short exclamation of pain. Both him and Nyx had a look of shock appear on their faces when they saw it didn't leave so much as a scratch. "What the hell?" Damien said quietly as he stared.
"Surprised?" The man said as he stepped forward once. "My Gift is called Steel Skin, and once it's active, nothing will pierce my skin. Not even bullets." The Iris leader said confidently before he lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. More agents quickly entered the room and surrounded Damien and Nyx. They both looked around at the new hostiles, noticing that a few of them had guns, before Damien looked at Nyx.
"You deal with the big guy, I'll handle the ants." Damien said quietly as he cracked his knuckles in front of him. He then dashed to the left while Nyx dashed forward towards the leader. Nyx could quickly hear screaming, visceral slashing and gunfire as she leaped up and spun her body to kick the leader in his head. The leader quickly lifted his hand and caught Nyx's ankle before it made contact, causing Nyx to tense and her eyes widened slightly.
"I'm the leader of Iris...for a reason." He said quietly before he pulled Nyx's leg and slammed her into the wall next to him. Nyx choked out a grunt of pain but managed to land on her feet. She growled and glared at him with rage in her eyes before the gaze shifted to amusement.
"And I'm so feared...for a reason." Nyx responded coldly before she lifted her hand with her fingers loosely pointing outward. The Iris leader tensed and his eyes went wide as it felt like every cell in his body was gripped tightly. Nyx's eyes radiated madness before she gently twisted her hand, the large man didn't even have time to scream in pain before his body twisted like a towel being wrung out. Blood sprayed out in all directions before the body dropped alongside Nyx's hand. She stared at the body for a moment before she looked up and noticed it was now quiet in the room. Nyx looked to her left and saw Damien approaching her slowly, also looking at the man she had just violently contorted. He was coated in splashes of blood.
"You okay?" He asked casually as Nyx looked around the room, seeing the bodies with violent slash and stab wounds peppered around the room.
Nyx scoffed softly, "Yeah, I'm fine. He wasn't that-" Nyx looked over at him before she stopped and her eyes widened slightly. "Damien, you've been shot!" She yelled as she finally noticed the bullet wound in his shoulder. Damien looked over at his wound before he shrugged weakly with the other shoulder.
"I'll be fine once we get back." Damien said casually with only a hint of pain in his voice. "Didn't know you would worry about me." Damien smiled slyly under his mask and Nyx's extremely fragile concern for him immediately faded.
"Ugh, let's just get this stupid file." She grumbled in annoyance before she walked away from him and down the hall. Damien watched her go for a moment before he looked around the room and admired their work of art. He then followed her down the hall a bit before they entered a room that looked to be the former leader's office. Damien walked over to the wooden file cabinet in the corner of the room and opened it while Nyx searched the desk. She pulled open the top left drawer and found a handgun, some pens and other useless papers.
"Hey, I found it." Nyx heard Damien's voice as she was opening a second drawer. She looked up and saw Damien leaning against the wall next to the file cabinet, looking into a folder.
"Well? Does it say where we can find him?" Nyx asked impatiently as she walked around the desk, but didn't approach any further. Damien made a long humming noise as he skimmed the documents inside.
"Well, it seems these fools couldn't even find his hideout. They only got a map saying it's somewhere in this half mile radius." Damien said as he walked over to Nyx and showed her a map. It appeared like Z's hideout was somewhere in the slums of the city.
Nyx thought for a moment, "Probably the sewers, right?" Nyx asked quietly and Damien eyed her out of the corner of his eye.
"Well look at you, that was my guess too." Damien responded with a coy smile that was hidden under his mask.
"Well, let's go back to Faust's place then, your wound is bleeding a lot." Nyx said casually before she walked past him and out of the room. Damien folded the map twice and slid it into his pocket as he followed her.
The two left through the roof entrance, but as they walked towards the edge they noticed something that made them halt. Headlights, moving down the dirt road through the trees. "Shit..." Nyx uttered before she felt Damien grip her wrist and pull her backwards. The two of them ran to the far edge and leaped over it, Nyx was able to land on a thick branch of a tree with the help of her Gift. Damien did the same by using his tendrils to carry him further. The two of them ran from tree to tree a bit before they stopped.
"Do you think that was backup for Iris? Did one of them manage to get a call out?" Nyx asked quietly as she looked over at Damien, who was perched on the branch next to her.
"Fuck if I know, you wanna wait and find out?" Damien asked casually as he gently massaged his wound. Nyx lifted her eyebrow as she looked at him, she shrugged. Before Nyx could actually respond to him, the two heard a gunshot. Their heads snapped to its source, it was back towards the Iris headquarters. The two of them got closer to the building before they would see the roof top of the second building. Nyx halted and her breath hitched in her throat, she saw Z and Kyle.
"...Kyle?" She uttered softly as she watched Z roll across the ground to dodge Kyle's stomp.
"Well, this is unexpected..." Damien whispered as he watched Kyle and Z fight. Suddenly, Nyx felt her whole body tense when she saw the rest of her friends leap over the edge of the roof. Soul, Danny, Orion, Rhys, and Nate...she didn't see Nerissa though. Nyx shrugged it off, thinking Neri was just at Sanctuary in the Infirmary. "Don't even think about it." Damien whispered, like he could sense exactly what she was thinking.
"Why not? I can help them." Nyx protested as she looked at him, her heart rate increased as she watched Danny try to stab into Z's chest with a charge in his sword. Z avoided it with the help of his grapple gun.
"Because if you go over there right now, you are in grave danger again, and so are they." Damien's words caused Nyx to look over at him, where she was met by a hard gaze. "The safest thing for you and them is to stay away. You know I'm right." Nyx's eyes widened slightly as she realized he was right, again. She looked back over to see a slightly shocking sight. Nate's Gift was active, she could see the red glow in his eyes, but Z wasn't under his control. She watched as Nate stood there in blind shock before Z lunged forward and sliced the side of his waist. She watched Danny pull Nate backwards and tried to slice Z back with a katana. Nyx smiled under her mask slightly, silently happy to see how much Danny had grown as a fighter, how brave he'd become. She watched Z leap back and over the edge of the roof and she saw him use a second grapple gun to swing into the woods under Damien and Nyx.
"Follow him." Damien said before he leaped off the branch to follow Z. Nyx turned around and watched Damien go before she heard a loud slapping sound back towards her friends. Nyx looked back and saw Nate with his head turned to the side as Soul was lowering her arm. Nyx's eyes widened when she realized Soul had just slapped him. She couldn't make out what they were saying to each other but her heart started gunning when she saw Nate fall backwards when he passed out from the blood loss. Her mind focused back on the task at hand suddenly, she knew that her friends would make sure Nate would be okay. Nyx whipped around and raced through the trees to catch up with Damien. She cursed under her breath when she realized that she had lost track of them, they must've been moving fast. Nyx stopped at a branch and scanned the area, listening closely. Nyx's brow furrowed slightly when she could barely hear breathing, breathing that seemed labored.
She looked down towards the ground before an easily recognisable flash of red caught her eye. Nyx dropped out of the tree and landed on the ground in a crouched position to cushion the landing. She finally noticed that Damien was holding his abdomen, his hand was almost black with blood. He was hurt badly. "Holy shit, what the hell happened?!" She yelled as she got closer and kneeled down in front of him.
Damien groaned in irritation and pain as he leaned back onto the tree behind him. "I tried tackling him...to slow him down or stop him...and he shot me...point blank...he had a...silencer." Damien groaned through his labored breathing, two bullet wounds deep.
"Fuck...okay, do you have the phone Faust gave you?" Nyx asked him urgently, Damien didn't answer and his head hung slightly. "Hey!" Nyx called out as she gently slapped his face, jolting him back into clarity. "Don't fall asleep, do you have the phone Faust gave you?!"
"Front...left...pocket." Damien whispered and Nyx quickly reached down and got the phone out of his pocket. She quickly flipped it open and called the only contact in the phone.
"Yes, Damien?" Faust's voice answered casually.
"It's Nyx, run a trace on this phones location, we need you to pick us up fast, Damien's kind of bleeding to death." She responded casually as well, Faust agreed and quickly hung up the phone. When Nyx looked back at Damien, he was looking at her with eyes that were barely open, his skin was even paler than usual from the blood loss.
"What?" She asked him, wondering what he was looking at.
"I'm... surprised that you're...actually trying to help me. I assumed you'd...let me die." Damien whispered through his pain but still allowed a small smile to pull at his lips. Nyx looked down and fidgeted with the phone in her hands.
"Yeah well, whether I like it or not, it's better for you to be alive. You're the only backup I have right now. I know that I can't go back to Sanctuary until Z is dead, and I know that if I go after Z alone...there's a strong chance he'll just kill me again. So...yeah, I can't let you die just yet." Nyx explained herself to him before she felt a restrained smile creep onto her face, thankfully hidden by her mask.
Damien breathed out a short laugh. "Thanks..." He whispered with another small smile, this one seemed different though. It seemed genuine and grateful. Damien's eyes fluttered shut as he leaned his head back against the tree. Nyx lifted her hand and gently slapped his face again, he only weakly groaned in response.
"Fuck, okay come on, we need to get closer to a road." Nyx whispered as she got onto her feet and lifted Damien to his feet. He groaned loudly as the movement aggravated his wounds. "Oh shut it, you big baby." Nyx mocked him as she slung one of his arm over her shoulders, Damien had to lean down slightly considering how much taller he was compared to her. Damien let out a weak chuckle.
"You try getting shot twice then tell me I'm a baby." Damien shot back as the two slowly made their way through the woods towards the main road. Nyx knew that they would have to wait for Damien to recover a bit before actually going after Z, but they officially had a real lead. Which meant that Nyx could finally put that monster in the ground.
She could finally go home.