Chapter Eleven: The Fourth Curse
"You wanna actually try explaining what the hell it is that you're talking about?" Kyle asked as he entered the room. He sat between Stan and Butters on the bed, his legs crossed so he could rest the large bowl of popcorn in his lap. "Wow, this is a really comfortable bed."
"Thanks," Butters turned his head to say with a wide smile. He was sitting close to the edge to make sure the other two had enough room. Considerate, as always.
"Ooh, popcorn," Stan said excitedly as he reached over to dig his hand into the large bowl in Kyle's lap. Some of the kernels spilled over the side when Kyle smacked Stan's hand away.
"Are you done yet?" I stopped pacing to snap. All three of them straightened. "You're like a bunch of children sometimes. Can you guys grow up long enough for me to talk?"
Stan shoved the handful of popcorn in his mouth so he could salute. "Sir, yes, sir!" Kyle yelled loudly and then jammed as much popcorn into his mouth that he could fit. Butters stifled the laugh that almost forced itself from him as Kyle and Stan stuck their tongues out at each other.
It was a complete turn around from how we were a few minutes before. I woke from my temporary coma disoriented but excited. It took Stan and Butters to bring me through the cloud in my mind to calm me down enough so I could think properly. Kyle was too busy making popcorn. "Alright, so, here's what we know so far," I started as I continued to move back and forth across the room. There were so many thoughts in my head I had to get them all out before I exploded. Dorothy and Life gave me enough information to fill a whole warehouse if I wanted to. Regardless of the fact that my head should have felt a hundred pound, I felt light, like I had been walking around with a haze across my mind that finally lifted. "Butters and I are the current vessels for Life and Death. A man named Philip Marco, who I have no connection to other than he has come into my work a few times, is the current vessel for Fate. Fate is bad. Fate wants to do bad things like start World Wars and genocides. Life and Death are symbols of balance so they want to stop Fate from doing bad things. Life is a carefree, stubborn, loud-mouth dickhead—."
"Asshole," Life muttered quietly.
"Sounds familiar," Kyle spoke up through a half mouthful of popcorn.
"—shut up—and Death is actually a cool and collected smarty pants who is also kind of a stick in the mud," I finished.
"Also sounds familiar, minus the stick in the mud part," Kyle explained. He leaned over towards Butters to press against him with his head on the blonde's shoulder. "You're not a stick in the mud," he whispered loudly.
"Thanks buddy," Butters replied cheerfully as he gently patted Kyle's head.
"Focus!" I shouted. Kyle and Butters both straightened.
"Oh, you got in trouble," Stan said in a singsongy voice to the two sitting on the bed next to him.
I was still revved up with energy and anytime I had to stop only made it worst. It was like I was one of those windup toys and someone was holding on to the winder. "Anyways!" I shouted to get the attention back on me. "Life and Death have done a good job at trying to hold Fate back but each time they manage to get rid of Fate, it's only temporary. The curse somehow continuously resets every approximately one hundred years. Now, Life doesn't know why that is the case."
Butters shook his head when I turned my attention to him. "Neither does Death," he answered.
"Alright, so the origin story is a no go, but what I can tell you all is that there is more to the overall story, especially the ending," I explained and crossed my arms over my chest. My lips were stretched up into the widest grin my face could handle.
"Are you following this?" Kyle leaned towards Stan to ask in a quieted voice.
Stan shrugged his shoulders. "I'm listening but I think I've actually been asleep since the start," he answered.
"Of Kenny's speech?" Kyle turned his head to ask before he tossed a few kernels into his mouth.
"Oh no, since the start of our friendship," Stan joked. Kyle hummed understandingly.
"I'm gonna kick you two out soon," I growled seriously.
"Too bad this is Butters' house and Butters loves us," Kyle explained as he wrapped an arm around Butters tightly. The blonde chuckled quietly.
"Kenny, just tell us," Butters said while leaning against Kyle. His face was so bright. His smile was light but there was so much care in it. His eyes were big and bright again. I could stare at them forever. Why did I stop touching him? Oh yeah, I fucking remember.
"Kenny!" Kyle shouted. His arm wasn't around Butters anymore so he could clap his hands together loudly. The noise snapped me from my thoughts.
I cleared my throat loudly. "Right! So, when I was unconscious I met Life's previous vessel. Her name was Dorothy. She's lovely, kind of like Kyle if he were a bitter old lady," I explained with a smug grin. Kyle flipped me off, his face dropped with a 'fuck you' expression. I tried to hold back my chuckling. "Anyways, Dorothy told me about how all the previous vessels had been trying to find a way to permanently get rid of Fate. Each time they'd stopped Fate, it always comes back along with Life and Death. Dorothy believed it was because there was something missing. Or rather, someone was missing."
Butters' eyebrows narrowed together in interest and confusion. There was a shift in the energy in the room. It threw me off. Stan and Kyle looked at each other to shrug their shoulders. "What?" Butters asked curiously.
"Dorothy and Life believe there is a fourth vessel," I answered bluntly.
The room went strangely quiet. Butters seemed to be processing my words as Kyle and Stan both tilted their heads in the same confused way. "There's another one of you?" Kyle asked.
"Let's hope not," Stan muttered with a terrified expression.
I rolled my eyes dramatically. "Yeah, sort of. A fourth vessel with a fourth curse who Dorothy believes can stop Fate," I explained.
"Death was never made aware of the possibility of a fourth," Butters piped up. He sounded offended.
I chuckled nervously as I lifted my hand to rub the back of my neck. "Yeah, he wouldn't have. Life and the previous vessels all vowed to keep the secret to themselves, at least until they had some evidence other than just blind faith. None of them told a single soul," I explained and paused to exhale softly. I lowered my voice as I added, "They weren't sure they could trust Death or Death's vessels. They weren't sure they could trust anyone."
Butters looked surprisingly nervous suddenly. "Did—Did they explain why?" he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Not really and I didn't really think to ask," I answered with a small shake of my head.
"Alright, so, there's a fourth curse or whatever," Stan leaned forward slightly to say. "What is the curse? And how the hell do you plan on finding one person out of this entire world?"
"Well, there's obviously nothing concrete or else there'd be a lot more progress. Dorothy and Life have no idea what the curse is, but when it comes to us there's one advantage," I explained. "They are here, in Colorado, at least."
"How can you be sure?" Kyle asked with a hand raised in the air.
I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just the way it's always been. The vessels have always been born and lived incredibly close to each other. China, Germany, Italy, France, it's been the same no matter which lifetime the vessels have lived in. Over time they get pulled together. It's got to be the same with the new vessel."
"Alright, say the vessel is here in Denver. Do you plan on introducing yourself to every single person across the city until you find them?" Stan asked. "I'm just—I don't see this being the easiest solution to the problem when you have no idea who to look for or even where to start looking for them."
I sighed heavily. My fingers found their way through my hair. "That's the problem. The vessel has stayed hidden for centuries. It's obvious they're taking care to hide and make sure not to draw attention to themselves. It's going to be a challenge," I explained and turned my attention to smile at Butters. He blinked before he smiled back at me, "but we're going to figure it out, right Buttercup?"
He nodded frantically. I could feel the judging eyes of Kyle and Stan on me. I couldn't hide it from them, not even if I tried. "A good old game of hide and seek with a faceless opponent. What could go wrong?" Kyle asked sarcastically.
Stan suddenly slapped his hand against his leg before groaning to stand up. "Well, I don't know about you three but all of this has made me hungry and we all know how useless I am on an empty stomach."
"Not just on an empty stomach," Kyle replied in a low voice.
Stan chose to ignore the smartass comment from his friend. "I'm officially starving. Let's get some dinner."
"Yes!" Kyle shouted excitedly as he launched himself off the bed, almost dropping popcorn on the floor. "I am so ready for some actual food."
Kyle quickly rushed out of the room with Stan trailing behind him. He slowed down as he passed me to smile and wink. I gave him a slightly confused look back in response. He and Kyle were out of the room and out of view even though I could still hear them bickering from the kitchen. I turned my head back around and our eyes locked. Blue against blue. Butters held my gaze for a moment before he shifted nervously. He was playing with his fingers. I noticed the small tint of red form on his cheeks before he turned his attention away from me. I took the opportunity to quickly cross the space as Butters stood. He flinched like he wasn't expecting me to be so close so quickly but relaxed almost instantly with his bottom lip pinched between his teeth as his bright, blue eyes met mine again. I would have killed to know what thought was in his mind at that moment.
"Butters," I said with my hand raised. I wasn't sure why I hesitated before my palm gently touched his chest. Nervous was the only word I could think of. I let my hand slowly glide down to touch his side. He shuddered gently and swallowed noticeably. "We should talk, I guess, about what happened earlier," I said in a low voice to keep Kyle and Stan from hearing me.
"Now?" Butters asked, leaning over slightly to look around me. There was nervousness on his expression. It was adorable as fuck.
I shook my head. "No, not now necessarily. I just mean, we should talk about it when we're alone and together," I said. My throat was so dry suddenly. "We should talk about what we're going to do now that we know about each other and how we're going to find the new vessel and—."
"How you kissed me?" Butters asked with a small smile. It was completely out of left field but I wouldn't lie that seeing the darker side of Butters was a huge turn on.
I was frozen in my rambling tracks. I scoffed as I pulled my arms up to cross them over my chest. "Excuse you, you were the one who kissed me," I replied with the fakest serious tone I could form.
Butter shook his head. "I was just trying to help you concentrate. You were the one who took it too far," he explained.
I grinned wide as I leaned forward. Butters moved his hands behind his back as he stood perfectly still. He didn't move. He didn't flinch. We were so close, I could feel the heat coming off his body. "Well, you can help me concentrate anytime you want," I said in a low growl. The shade of rose that returned on Butters' cheeks made something twist in my insides. "I'm all out of focus," I whispered.
We were so close. I could practically taste him. He pinched his lips between his teeth and our locked eyes was finally broken when he suddenly looked down past my nose. My hand twitched at my side. I was about to move.
"Are you two coming or what?" Kyle shouted from the other room, breaking the tension between Butters and me. I leaned back as I took a step away. It took everything I absolutely had not to pick up where we left off with Stan and Kyle so dangerously close.
We piled into my car with Stan next to me in the passenger's seat. It wasn't that anyone felt bad enough to let him have the front seat, he was just really good at yelling shotgun before everyone else. The engine revved to life and then we were driving towards the diner we took Karen to when she visited. It was beginning to become a regular spot for us because Stan and I fell in love with the fries from there. The waitress was even starting to pick up on our regular orders seamlessly which I wasn't sure was a good thing, but I also didn't really care.
"I'll be right back with those orders, boys," she said with a wide smile as she took our menus.
Butters was busy looking at his phone but I noticed Stan clear his throat quietly to catch Kyle's attention before he tilted his head in the direction of the blonde sitting next to him. Kyle cleared his throat louder than his Super Best Friend. "Do you think those actually work?" Kyle asked as he pointed across the room. There were a few old arcade games shoved into the corner I had noticed a few times. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were two that I could see from the booth we were sitting in. Stan and Butters turned in their seats to see where Kyle was pointing. "Butters, let's go take a look."
Kyle pushed against my shoulder to force me out of the booth. I swatted his hand away but stood to let him leave. He grabbed Butters' wrist as he passed by to pull him from his seat next to Stan. "Uh, o—okay!" he stammered.
I slid back across the bench. "What the hell was that about?" I snapped as my eyes stayed stuck to Butters. The way his hips swayed as he walked and he looked back to flash me a smile as Kyle continued to pull him along behind him made my heart flutter.
"Oh, okay, that's it," Stan said. He shifted back around in his seat to reach across the table to smack the side of my head. My attention immediately snapped from Butters to the raven-haired boy across the table from me.
"Ouch! The hell, Stan?" I snapped angrily as I rubbed at the sore spot on the side of my head.
"What the hell happened?" Stan leaned forward to ask. His face was beaming with interest.
I narrowed my eyebrows together. "What do you mean?" I asked in a small voice. Stan reached across the table to smack me again but on the opposite side of my head. "Ouch! Stop that. I mean it. Just because your arm is broken doesn't mean I'm not afraid to beat you up still."
"Kenny, do you think we're idiots?" he asked.
"Well, yeah," I answered bluntly with a small smirk from the corner of my mouth. Stan started to swing but I quickly caught his wrist. "Hah! Ow!" The foot that connected with my shin under the table was not gentle. I leaned forward to press my forehead against the table as I reached down to rub the sore spot.
"You told him how you feel about him," Stan said more matter-of-factly than in a question.
"Not exactly," I muttered with my cheek pressed against the cool table.
"Kenny, what the fuck?" Stan snapped loudly.
I quickly lifted my head. "I told him about how I felt when he left. I told him how I felt the connection between us," I explained.
Stan's eyebrow cocked up. "But did you actually tell him you like him?" he asked.
I slumped back against the back of the seat as I tapped my fingers against the table. "I mean, not the actual words themselves, but I said it in like a different way," I explained in a small voice.
"I swear, I am going to beat you with the pepper shaker," Stan said in a low, flat voice.
"Don't you dare," I snapped back at him. "At least use the salt shaker so I can make a pun about being salty."
"You're fucking hopeless," he replied with a heavy sigh. His hand lifted so he could pinch the bridge of his nose.
"You have to give me some credit. What I said worked. We kissed and would have done more if it weren't for some annoying dickhead with bad timing," I growled.
"You're welcome," Life quickly chimed in sounding way too damn proud.
I rolled my eyes. "So, you two kissed and possibly did some other fairly nasty things I don't want to know about, but you didn't actually tell him that you have feelings for him?" Stan asked. I nodded as I shrugged my shoulders. "Alright, I need something sharper than a butter knife," he muttered and turned in his seat. "Excuse me! Can I get a meat cleaver over here?" he shouted to the waitress standing behind the counter. Heads turned from all around the room, including Kyle and Butters.
"Stan," I snapped sharply, "stop being so damn dramatic. He's kidding!"
Stan spun back around in his seat to lean over the table towards me. "You spent over a year as a miserable sap unable to express any sort of feeling to anyone other than Kyle and I and Karen. You slept around, never got involved in a serious relationship, and it was all because of him. Now he's here and obviously feels the same way and you're acting like a complete and utter idiot," he explained in a slightly raised voice.
"He does?" I asked with a small tilt of my head.
"How fucking dense are you?" Stan snapped angrily.
"Like on a scale of one to ten, or—?" I asked as I dragged out the last word.
Stan slapped his hand down against the table. I flinched as the loud bang echoed throughout the restaurant to earn judging stares again. "I am getting the meat cleaver," he growled.
"Stan, come on, it's not that bad," I whispered in a low voice.
"It is bad. You can't fuck with feelings, Kenny. You need to say the words or else you both are going to get the wrong impression and someone's going to get hurt," he growled. He exhaled heavily as if he was attempting to release some of the strain in him. "You have the emotional capacity of a fucking toddler."
"Good or bad thing?" I asked teasingly.
"Bad. Very, very bad," he answered sternly. His hand ran down his face as he let out an exacerbated sigh. "I just don't know what it is that you're so scared of."
The frown that formed on my face was deep and natural. My eyes shifted from Stan to look over the tops of the benches to the yellow hair that glowed from the setting sunlight bouncing off the windows of the surrounding buildings. I couldn't explain it. When I looked at him, I admired absolutely everything about his features. He was flawless, perfect. Gentle when he touched me and yet strong enough to throw his body around during a fight. There wasn't a single thing I didn't like about him, and yet, there was a voice. I couldn't be sure if it was Life or my own, I wasn't even sure there was a difference anymore, but it was telling me to be cautious. It was there the first time I met Butters as Professor Chaos and it was still there stuck to my brain like a bright neon sign. Since I found out Butters was Professor Chaos, I think the voice only got louder.
"I don't know," I answered in a small voice. I could see Stan's expression twist into confusion in the blurred edges of my vision. "I can't explain it."
Stan sighed. My attention slipped back to him. "There's still so much I don't understand about all this. So much I don't understand about you and Butters. It's like finding out you two are completely different people and you've been living lies the entire time I've known you."
I scoffed. "You're telling me," I replied with a small shake of my head. "You know, I haven't really stopped to think about all this. It's more like…instinct. Every time something comes up, I just let my body go. I don't think. I've never once thought it through before I've done something and I think that's the reason why so many bad things have happened," I explained. I frowned but it quickly disappeared from my face when Stan reached across the table to flick the space between my eyebrows. "Ow, what was that for?"
"You need to stop looking so damn depressed all the time, dude. Everyone's fine, and we're gonna figure this all out together. We're going to find whoever this fourth cursed vessel is and stop Wrath. It's not just you, Kenny. It's us too," Stan explained. He turned in his seat to look over the back of his bench. I could see the corner of his mouth turn up slightly into a small grin. "In order to make this all work though, you and Butters need to start being truthful with each other. You need each other against Wrath."
"I've got to give Staney-boy some credit," Life piped up from the deep recesses of my mind, "he's a lot smarter than he acts."
I chuckled. Stan shifted his gaze back to me but kept his arm draped along the back of the bench. His eyebrows narrowed curiously. "What?" he asked curiously.
I quickly shook my head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it," I replied with a grin.
"Awe, come on, tell him. He'll love it," Life added.
~/~~~~~~~~~~~~\~
The young woman panted heavily as she ran through the trees. The soft breeze made the leaves move with the quiet rustling sound. The heavy footsteps following quickly behind her were getting closer until she was suddenly grabbed. She yelped loudly as she was pinned against the ground. The man on top of her pressed his weight against her to the point she couldn't move. She tried to scream for help but the heavy pressure against her chest trapped her voice. Her face was pushed roughly into the soft ground. She thrashed her arm, trying to get herself free from the heavy weight on her back, but the man had the advantage over her.
"It's alright," he whispered in a low voice. "You'll enjoy this soon enough."
"Please," the woman whimpered through heavy sobs. Her face was pushed harder into the ground. She couldn't get her breath.
"Shh, just try to—," the man began to whisper but stopped when his weight was suddenly pulled off the woman's body. She was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath that had been constricted.
"It's okay." The woman flinched away when a hand touched her. She quickly flipped over and scrambling away from the touch. Chaos lifted both hands in surrender. "We're not here to hurt you. We're just here to help," he assured her in a gentle voice.
The woman's breath continued heavily in panic. She turned her head to look up as I held on to the attacker's arm pinned behind his back. He groaned in pain the tighter I pulled his arm in the direction it resisted. "You—You're Mysterion," the woman explained breathlessly.
"That I am," I replied with a crooked grin.
The woman turned her attention back to Chaos. "Who are you?" she asked.
Chaos chuckled softly. "No one important. Are you okay if I help you up?" he asked kindly. The woman was hesitant but took Chaos' hand to let him help her to her feet. She stumbled a bit but Chaos made sure to keep her steady until she found her strength. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"
The woman shook her head slowly. "I'm fine. Thank you so much for your help," she said as she smiled at Chaos and he smiled back.
He made sure she made it home safe after she refused to go to the hospital. She insisted all she needed was a warm shower and some sleep. I dropped the pervert off at the police station with an attached note to make sure there was no confusion about what happened. It felt strange prowling the streets with Chaos at my side. There was nothing different about what we were doing or how we were doing it, except that I was fully aware of the person underneath the mask. It was the one person in the world I never would have expected and yet the one person I wanted it to be more than anyone else in the world. It was as if I had been split in two my entire life, but when the secrets finally came out, the two pieces came slamming together to weld into one again.
I found him again on our building. The one wrapped in scaffolding that never actually seemed to be worked on. Whether there wasn't enough funding to get the job done or they just gave up on the building, I had no idea. I didn't hate it though. It made scaling the tall building easier with the metal bars running up its sides like the playgrounds I used to climb in middle school. He stood in the middle of the rooftop with his back turned to me as he stared up at the sky.
"What are you doing?" Life suddenly piped up to ask.
I quietly shushed him. I took a deep breath in and started to move. I was beginning to understand what he meant when he told me my energy was connected to my emotions. What was still hard, was actually controlling it.
I quietly stepped across the rooftop towards the still figure illuminated by the moonlight. I managed to get as close as I ever got to him when I snuck up on him. My hand was reaching out to grab his shoulder but the moment I touched him, I was suddenly grabbed and was thrown over his shoulder to slam against the rooftop with a loud grunt. The sky spun above me for a moment and then the familiar sun-bright smile appeared in front of the canvas of twinkling stars.
"You're getting better, but still not good enough," Chaos explained smugly as he pressed his fingertip to the end of my nose. "I can still feel your energy leaking through the block you're trying to create."
"I don't know how you always manage to get me on that," I replied with a small frown. "Every single time."
"What do you mean?" he asked curiously as his finger ran along my skin to press his hand against my cheek. The tips of his fingers pushed underneath the bottom of my mask. Something electrified inside me. The idea of him removing that mask, even though he knew it was me underneath, it was…a turn on. "I'd find you anywhere."
My heart threw itself against my ribcage. The bright glowing violet eyes dimmed back to the ocean blue I was familiar to for a moment. "Why do they do that?" I asked as I slowly lifted myself to sit up. Chaos shifted back but kept close enough that I could run my finger under his exposed eye. "I've always wondered why your eyes glow."
"It's Death and the energy he gives me. It's his way of helping me keep my identify safe and it's something that happens when you learn to control your energy. It becomes easier to control the more you open up to Life," Chaos explained.
"Are you two done being gross?" Life asked with a flat tone.
I snickered lightly with a roll of my eyes. "That might be more difficult than you'd think," I replied jokingly.
"Death isn't sure why, but he feels a pretty strong bond between you two. He thinks you're probably the best vessel Life has ever had," Chaos explained with a small smile.
Life scoffed loudly in my mind. "Seriously, what does that old fogey know?"
My eyebrows shifted together. "Aren't you two the same age?" I asked with my eyes shifted to the side slightly.
"You two talk to each other a lot," Chaos explained and turned his head.
"He's just jealous he got stuck with the fuddy duddy," Life said with a proud tone.
I rolled my eyes. "You're fucking strange."
"Mysterion, I hear something," Chaos spoke up as he quickly stood and approached the edge of the rooftop.
"What?" I asked curiously. I turned my head to follow him across the rooftop where a bright glow leaked up over the edge. Chaos' shoulder suddenly tensed as he stood looking out over the rooftops. "Chaos, what's going on?" I was pushing myself up to my feet when he suddenly jumped from the edge of the roof. "Hey! Wait, what's—!" I called out as I scrambled forward. My feet reached the roof's edge and stopped suddenly. Heavy rocks in my stomach weighed me down as I looked out to the large flames that stretched out from the windows of the tall apartment building a few blocks away.
"Mysterion! We have to help!" Chaos yelled from around the corner as he raced down the scaffolding.
I didn't have to think about following him, I just did. We raced across the rooftops towards the inferno. Even when we were out of breath or struggling to push our tired legs to carry us, we continued on. We reached the rooftop two buildings away and stopped at the edge of the heat radiating off the flames in the building. It was intense.
"We have to—," Chaos said as he stepped forward.
"Hang on," I stopped him with a hand wrapped tightly around his arm. He flinched, let out a pained hiss, and I quickly released the arm I became aware was the one injured from the shootout between the cops and the Arachne gang. "I—I'm sorry, it's just—you can't go in there."
His eyebrows narrowed together. "What?" he snapped.
"You'll get hurt going in there. You can't go in," I answered sternly. "Just stay here, please."
"There's still people inside!" someone screamed from below. I leaned over slightly to look down at the residents standing in the street with the first responders. "On the top levels! They couldn't get out."
"Oh shit," I snapped with a sigh. I quickly spun my head back around and Chaos' cape was pooled on the rooftop where he was standing only seconds before. "Dammit, Chaos!" He was almost at the edge of the rooftop to jump off. The glass had been blown out of the window across the short alleyway so he jumped through with ease to land inside the burning building. "Please, tell me he's secretly immortal."
"He is not," Life answered dryly with a soft sigh.
"Son of a bitch," I snapped loudly.
The jump into the building was less than ideal. The heat was heavy in my throat and lungs. I struggled to breathe through the dense smoke that filled the air and I had to make sure to keep my cape under control or else it was find its way to catch the flames around me. I crouched down with the end of my cape pressed to my face to block out as much of the smoke as I could.
"Kenny, this is a bad idea," Life mentioned worriedly.
"You're fucking telling me," I thought back to him as I started to move. "I can't leave him in here by himself. He's going to get himself hurt."
I was in the bedroom of an apartment unit. I searched through the other rooms for anyone trapped but they were each empty. I continued to make my way through the floor trying to find anyone but couldn't find anyone until the floor above where the heat was denser and the smoke was thicker. Heavy coughing came from the bedroom of one of the units. I followed the noise to the closet where a young girl barely in her teens was huddled under some clothing sobbing loud enough for me to hear her.
"Hey," I said as I removed the clothes to reveal the young girl underneath. "You alright?" Her cheeks were stained with tears. "Is there anyone else here? Parents? Siblings?"
The girl shook her head frantically. "N—No, it's just me. Mom and dad went out," she explained through heavy crying hiccups.
"Okay, can you get up? I'm gonna get you out of here," I explained as I reached a hand out for her to take. She was hesitant but took my hand. I pulled her to her feet to wrap my cape around her as I started to lead her out of the room. The fire was spreading quickly. We were almost at the door when a large flame suddenly reached out to block the doorway out of the bedroom.
"I told you this was a bad idea," Life said in a singsongy voice that immediately made my shoulders tense.
"I'm aware," I growled between clenched teeth. I lifted my foot to slam the door shut before I spun around to look for anything to spark an idea. There wasn't much except the heavy smoke and the window. "Well, time for another bad idea." The glass in the window shattered as I tossed some solid knick-knack from the dresser into it. The claws of the grappling hook swung out so I could attach it to the windowsill. "Let's hope you're good at gym, kid."
"I—I don't—," the girl stammered nervously.
"Hey, look at me," I snapped as I placed my hands on her shoulders. "We really don't have much of a choice here, but you're gonna be fine. Just take your time and don't look down. Alright?"
The girl was shaking under my grip. She looked over at the window with a nervous expression before she nodded rapidly at me. I nodded back. I helped her through the window to start her slow descent down the rope. My heart raced watching her nervously make it down the side of the building.
I was suddenly hacking uncontrollably. The heavy breaths and sore coughs had me collapse to my knees. My hand clutched to the windowsill as I heaved to catch a breath.
"Kenny, you need to get out. You're inhaling too much smoke," Life snapped loudly.
"Mysterion!" Chaos' voice carried through the building to me. I quickly spun around but was met with the thick cloud of smoke pouring out from under the door. The amount I was breathing in was starting to take its toll on my breathing. I coughed heavily again as I pressed my back against the wall. My lungs were on fire. "Mysterion, where are you?"
"What are you doing down there?" a kind voice asked. I slowly lifted my bobbing head to look up but my vision was blurring. I couldn't focus in on whoever it was standing in front of me with their hands placed on their hips. They wore a large hood pulled over their head that made it harder with my impairment. "You may be immortal, but this can't be comfortable."
"Wha—What?" I asked hoarsely through a voice that was barely my own. I could tell it was a woman standing in front of me, that was the only detail I could make out by the sound of her voice, which made it all the more confusing. No one knew about the immortality except Butters, Stan, and Kyle. "Who are you?"
"I've got a few different names, just like you do," the voice continued to say. The figure shifted slightly. "Will, desire, passion, decision, to name a few."
"What?" I snapped.
"I know you've been looking for me, Life. You were close a few times, but you couldn't quite figure it out before the end," the woman explained.
"Holy shit," Life swore. His voice wasn't in my head. I turned my head and he was standing at the end of the twin bed in the corner. "It's you. The fourth curse."
"Yes, I am," the woman responded as she turned to face him. She could see him which meant she had to have been in my head. I was fucking hallucinating. I started to cough loudly again. "Your vessel is running out of time, so I'll make this quick. This is my warning to you, Life. Stop looking for me."
"What? Why?" Life asked with genuine confusion.
"Because you don't understand this. You couldn't possibly understand what's happening," the woman explained bitterly.
"You make it sound like we haven't just spent the last hundreds of years dealing with this nonsense," Life snapped back at her angrily.
"You will continue to deal with it long from now," the woman replied as she shifted her weight.
Life made a low growl in his throat. "Not unless you help us," I spoke up through my raspy voice.
The woman shook her head slowly. "No. You don't understand. I can't help. So, stop looking for me," she explained bitterly. The edges of my vision were darkening. My head spun and my lungs were burning. She slowly turned to face me again. "You're out of time."
The flames roared through the door of the bedroom, engulfing the woman in its heavy heat. I lifted my hands to shield my head even though I knew it was a waste of fucking effort. My eyes snapped open to look up at the ceiling of my bedroom. I itched all over. The sunlight streaked in over the ceiling with an orange tint. I sat up with a loud groan as I rubbed my head. "What the hell was that?" I muttered to myself. My throat was dry. "Have you ever met her before?" I asked but there was no response. "Hey, Life," I added as I tapped my finger against the side of my head. "Hello? Bad reception? Come on, don't actually make me talk to myself. It's been weird up until now but this is just weirder." Still no response. I groaned loudly as I turned to throw my legs over the edge of the bed. "Fine, just pout then."
The television was playing quietly as I stepped past the kitchen. Stan sat on the couch with his bowl of cereal balanced between his knees as he ate. I stopped behind the couch ready to greet him but stopped myself when I noticed what he was watching. The morning news, as per usual, but they were showing the burnt apartment building still being watered down by the firemen out front.
"—was put out around two in the morning. One young lady was saved by a masked hero who helped her out the third-story window to safety. The masked hero was later identified as Denver's very own vigilante, Mysterion," the voiceover of the reporter explained.
"Damn dude," Stan said with a mouthful of cereal as he tilted his head back to look up at me. "You alright? You don't look so good."
"I'm—," I started to say but stopped myself again when the camera shifted back to the news reporter. "I'm fine."
"Despite the best efforts of the first responders and the masked vigilante, there were three recorded deaths from the fire. Investigators have determined the fire was started intentionally, but no further details have been released at this time," the reporter explained.
"They…died?" I said quietly. Pain formed in my chest. I flinched when I heard the loud vibrating of my phone against the end table from my bedroom. "The hell?"
"Kenny?" Stan called out to me as I quickly raced past the kitchen back to my bedroom again.
The unknown caller ID on my screen made me hesitate but there was something nagging at me to pick up. I never received phone calls unless it was from Kyle, Stan, Karen, or Butters. I had never had an unknown caller before. "Hello?" I answered as I pressed the phone to my ear.
"Did you appreciate my gift?" a bone-chillingly familiar voice asked through the phone.
"Wrath? How did you get my phone number?" I growled in response.
He chuckled. The sound of it made my back tingle. Ice slid through my veins. "I have my connections," he explained suspiciously. "You didn't answer my question. Did you enjoy my gift? It's a shame those people died, but collateral damage is expected wherever we go. It's especially not the first time, and it won't be the last."
My hands started to shake. "You started that apartment fire?" I asked.
There was noise from out in the living room, followed by soft voices. "Well, yes. You didn't think I would stay quiet, did you? After all, I am the villain here," he explained with amusement in his tone.
"You son of a bitch," I hissed into the phone.
"Kenny?" Butters' voice carried into the room.
"I'm going to kill you, do you hear me?" I threatened the man who laughed from the other end of the phone.
"Kenny." Butters was suddenly standing in the doorway. "Oh hamburgers! Kenny! Stop!"
"Do you hear me, Wrath? You're dead!" I shouted into the phone. A nimble hand quickly snatched it out of my hand to hang up. "Hey!"
"Stop," Butters snapped back. He tossed my phone onto my bed before he lifted his hands to place them on my cheeks. "Kenny, please, calm down."
"He—He killed them, Butters," I growled.
"You have to calm down," Butters practically begged. "Look at your hands."
"What?" I asked confusingly. Butters' eyebrows knitted together. I slowly lowered my eyes as I lifted my hands slightly between us. The tiny flickering ribbons of gold energy danced around my fingers before they retreated back into my skin. "Oh," I replied understandingly. "I'm—."
"Glowing," Butters said as he pressed his thumbs against the tops of my cheeks. "Your eyes are glowing."
"Really?" I asked curiously. Butters hummed approvingly as he nodded. He was smiling gently but there was something unsettling hidden beneath it. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Something's bothering you. I can tell." Butters hummed again but it was low and full of worry. He avoided looking at me to lower his gaze along with his hands. They were about to leave my chest when I quickly reached up to grab them. "Leopold, you can tell me."
Butters rubbed his knuckles together nervously. "I—I ran into that building," he started to reply in a small voice.
"You did," I said sternly. I had to let go of his hands or he may have felt me twitch. I was mad he ran into the building. The moment I looked back and he was gone, I felt anger and worry.
"You ran in after me," Butter continued.
I rolled my eyes. "Of course I did."
"And you were trapped upstairs. You—You died," he explained. His voice shook at the end. He stopped rubbing his knuckles together so he could thread his fingers to press his palms against each other.
"Butters, did you forget that I'm immortal?" I asked feeling kind of bad about making him so nervously uncomfortable.
He shook his head. "No, but it doesn't make it any easier to think about," he explained in a small voice.
I let out a soft sigh as I reached my hand up to brush my fingertips against his soft hair. "So, you came all the way over here to make sure I was alright?" I asked with a small smirk.
"Maybe," Butters replied quietly.
"Because you were worried about me?" I asked teasingly. My smirk was growing. Butters lifted his gaze finally to look up at me through his eyelashes. "Because you care about me?"
"Of course I care about you, Ken," Butters said as he lifted his head slightly with a small smile. Damn, not the reaction I was really looking for. "Are you alright though?" he asked and his hand was suddenly pushing aside some of my hair to press against my forehead. Something was tender in the spot he touched. "You have a mark on your forehead, here."
"Ah, that happens sometimes after I come back. There's a wound sometimes. When I fell off the scaffolding, I had a broken rib. That was painful as hell," I explained. The soft fingers were dancing across my skin. "It'll heal quickly. Just like every other wound. It'll probably leave a mark though."
"Like this mark?" Butters asked as his fingertips trailed across my face to stop on a scar that had formed on my chin.
"Well, I didn't die that time, but it was made by an idiot trying to rob a corner store with a switchblade," I explained. The soft fingertips moved underneath my chin, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. "I got a little too close to the—." I stopped when his finger moved over a sensitive spot that made a lump instantly form in my throat. I couldn't help the small moan that left me.
"You alright?" Butters asked. He moved his hand away but there was a soft, slightly vindictive smile on his face.
"You've always been so quiet and innocent, but you've got a bit of an evil streak in you, don't you?" I asked, my arms crossed over my chest.
He shrugged his shoulders as his smile grew a bit. I suddenly became painfully aware of how little space there was between us. I wanted to reach out to grab him but there was that nagging voice in the back of my mind. Stan's voice. Stupid Stan.
"Look, we should—um—we should have that talk," I said. I hated the words as soon as they left my mouth, but Stan's stupid little voice wouldn't shut up. Butters' head tilted curiously. His eyes were wide and bright staring at me with quiet wonder. I suddenly felt nervous standing in front of him. I cleared my throat loudly. The words were sitting at the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't seem to say them.
"Kenny," the familiar voice of Life echoed in my head. "Kenny, I think I've thought of an idea on how to locate Will."
"Will?" I asked confusingly.
"Butters," he said as he pointed to himself.
I shook my head and lifted my hand to tap my finger against my forehead. "Sorry, it's Life. He thinks he's found a way to locate Will. Who's Will?" I asked.
"The fourth curse. Will. It makes sense. Will is the opposite of Fate, just like Life and Death are opposites," Life explained.
"Who is Will?" Butters pressed, his eyebrows narrowed together.
"Oh, right, you weren't there," I said in realization. "Last night, in the apartment building, just before I passed out we were confronted by the fourth curse who is apparently the opposite of Fate: Will."
Butters' eyes widened. I didn't think it was possible, but they did. "What?" he snapped. "Why didn't you tell me?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Honestly? I kind of forgot. My head's always a little fuzzy after I come back. But, I also was kind of expecting it to be a hallucination. I inhaled a lot of smoke last night," I explained.
"It was not a hallucination," Life assured me.
"Even if it wasn't a hallucination, I didn't get a good look at who it was. It was a woman, but other than that, I'm at a loss," I explained. "She doesn't want us to find her. She made that pretty clear."
"Why would she show herself at all? That makes no sense," Butters said with a small shake of his head.
"I like him. He's smart," Life spoke up.
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, calm down," I muttered quietly.
"Jealous?" Life joked.
"Shut up."
"Kenny?" Butters asked worriedly.
"Sorry, he's being a pain again," I replied.
"I may be a pain but I have a great idea," Life explained with pride in his tone. "Do you want to hear my great idea or do you want to keep being an ass?"
"Is Death half as annoying as what I have to put up with?" I asked Butters who chuckled softly.
"No, he's pretty quiet most of the time. But he does think you two are complete idiots," Butters explained teasingly.
"Screw you too, Death," Life muttered.
I snickered. "Alright, we're off track. What is your idea?" I asked.
"Fate," Life answered bluntly. "Fate is the way we get Will."
"I feel like that's really just a catch twenty-two," I replied. Butters' eyebrow lifted quizzically. "Ah, he said we need Fate to get Will."
"That—That actually makes sense," Butters said.
"I—uh—I'm lost now," I admitted.
Butters chuckled softly. "Think about it. Life and Death, you and I, we're connected. We're also connected to Wrath, but it's different. It's hard to explain, but it's different. If we use the logic that the connection is because we're the opposite to each other, then it makes sense that Fate and Will have the same sort of connection that we have."
"You're sexy when you're smart," I teased.
The tops of Butters' cheeks pinked up. He rubbed his knuckles together nervously. "Ken, focus," he said and I heard the waiver in his voice.
"I'm focused," I said, my hands on my hips as I smiled like an idiot. I enjoyed making him nervous. "Keep talking."
"Maybe if we can get close enough to Wrath, we can use him as a bridge to focus in on Will's vessel," Butters explained as he tried to keep his voice levelled.
"He's definitely my favourite of Death's vessels. I might be in love with him. Better watch out, Kenny," Life teased from the depths of my mind.
I rolled my eyes again. "What's he saying now?" Butters asked as he lifted his hand to tap his fingertip against my forehead.
"You can't tell him, because if you tell him then you'll have to admit how much you like him," Life explained in a singsongy voice. "You can deny it, but remember, I'm in your head. I live here."
"I'm painfully aware," I snapped in response. Butters looked worried by my sudden outburst. "Sorry, nothing, he's just being an idiot."
"Maybe I'll just take over and tell him for you," Life threatened. "It's not difficult. It'll only take a second."
"Don't you dare," I hissed back as I lifted my hands to press the heels of my hands against my temples. "Ugh, go away."
"Kenny, remember to focus," Butters said as he placed his hands on the sides of my head. "You and Life have to be in constant balance with each other. You can't just let him completely take over."
"It's not exactly easy. He's making it very hard to focus," I answered bitterly.
"If you two have any hope of fighting against Wrath with the upper hand, you have to focus," Butters explained and flinched as if he felt a sharp pain in his head or something.
"That's what I have you for," I replied with as I grinned.
"I'm being serious, Kenny," Butters said flatly. The corner of his lips was lifted slightly like he was slightly amused but holding it back.
"So am I," I answered. My hand lifted to grab him by the chin.
"You can thank me later," Life said smugly.
Life's voice was mixed with the small, nagging voice of Stan into an incomprehensible jumble that I shoved to the back of my head. There wasn't much space between us, so closing what was left was easy. Butters exhaled sharply. His warm breath moved over my skin as lips almost touched. I felt all of my nerves bundle up to sit in my stomach.
"Kenny!" Stan suddenly shouted from the living room. "Don't you have work this morning?"
Everything froze. The bundle of nerves shot up into my throat to get lodged there. "Shit," I swore with a low groan. "I've got to go."
"O—Okay," Butters replied nervously. I tilted my head slightly.
"You upset?" I asked. Butters cleared his throat loudly as he shook his head. "You sure? I can always call in sick, if you want."
"No," Butters answered as he turned his back to me. I quickly reached out to grab his wrist to stop him. His head quickly whipped back around. His bright blue eyes stared up at me.
"Hang on, look, I still want to talk. Not right now, because I really can't be late for work again, but I want to talk," I explained.
"We will," he replied with a small smile. "We have lots of time."
~/~~~~~~~~~~~~\~
"How the hell do you manage to do this every single time?" Kyle snapped as he tossed the stapled pieces of paper back at Stan. It was an assignment Stan started the night before it was due and received an eighty-three percent. Nothing he hadn't done before and it annoyed Kyle to no fucking end.
"Because I'm a wizard," Stan replied with a low chuckle.
The library was quiet. Most of the students had either gone home for the day or were in evening classes. I stopped by after work to find Stan struggling to pack his books into his bag at the end of his final class. We found Kyle in the library with Alex. They were both working in silence but Stan and I pretended not to see their legs tangled up under the table before we sat down.
"I hate you," Kyle growled as he sat back in his seat, his arms crossed stiffly over his chest.
"Ah, you love me, you're just really shitty with expressing your feelings," Stan joked with a wide smile.
Alex snickered without looking up from his textbook. "That's an understatement," he muttered quietly, but we all heard it. "Ow," he snapped when Kyle jabbed his elbow against the taller boy's side. "What? I'm kidding," he said with a smile as he reached over to brush his thumb against Kyle's cheek. "What I meant to say is—no, that's what I meant to say."
Stan and I chuckled. Kyle rolled his eyes as he smacked Alex's hand away. The brunet laughed. "If Kyle doesn't marry him, I will," I leaned over to whisper quietly to Stan who stifled his laughter.
Kyle glared across the table at us. I cleared my throat loudly as I sat back in my seat. "Alright, I'm starving let's get food," Stan said as he stood up.
"When are you ever not hungry?" I looked up at him to ask.
He seemed to consider my question for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders. "Never, I guess," he answered with a grin. "Alex, you pick a place this time."
"Sorry Stan, I can't. I have to do my monthly father/son bonding dinner or else I can say goodbye to my college fund," Alex explained. Sometimes his jokes could be hard to tell if they were jokes because he was good at pretending, but I was pretty sure there was nothing fake about the bitter tone he had when he said that.
"Dude, what? Would he really do that?" Stan asked worriedly.
Alex chuckled as he nodded. "Yeah, my dad is…complicated," he answered as he gathered his books into his bag. "And trust me, that's putting it mildly."
"At least he's not an alcoholic," Stan said flatly.
"I second that," I added.
Alex snickered softly as he nodded in agreement. I picked up Stan's bag as I stood. Kyle and Alex walked extremely close to each other. It took everything Stan and I had not to say anything. They were getting noticeably closer and Kyle was becoming more open with them, but he still couldn't say what it was that all of us already knew. "Are we bad friends?" Stan leaned over to ask me in a lowered voice. I finally turned my attention away from Alex's hand that reached over to gently brush his knuckles against the back of Kyle's hand.
"Oh, we're the absolute worst," I answered quietly. "Like, if there's an award for the worst friends known to man, we'd definitely be in the running at least." Stan hummed as he nodded. Alex pushed through the doors first to leave the building. He held it open for all of us to pass through. "Why thank you. Such a gentleman," I added a Southern accent to say. Alex chuckled.
I started to turn back in the direction Stan and Kyle were headed but I stopped. My body froze. The familiar flashy BMW caught my attention first before I noticed the license plate I had written down multiple times before. My legs suddenly went numb. "You alright, Kenny?" Alex asked as he stepped up beside me. The driver's side door of the car swung open, blinding me when the setting sun reflected off the clean window. Alex turned his attention towards the parking lot I was staring at. "Oh, shit. I told him not to worry about coming to get me. Any reason to flash his quarter million-dollar car off in front of the world, he'll take it."
My head quickly spun around. My eyes were wide. "Alex, is your—?" I started to ask but stopped when I heard the bone chilling voice yell across the quad.
"Alexander!"
I turned my head back. The suited man made his way across the quad to stop. He removed his sunglasses to tuck them into the pocket of his jacket. I couldn't breathe. "Hello, dad," Alex greeted the man with a dry tone. "Kenny, this is my dad, Phillip Marco."
My throat was dry. The man's lips slowly curled up into an unsettling grin. "Kenny, I think you looked after my car, correct?" the man asked.
"What the hell?" Life snapped. "What is going on? That's Wrath!"
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I thought.
"Guys?" Kyle called out worriedly.
He and Stan stood a few feet down the path with equal looks of confusion on their faces. "More friends of yours, Alexander?" Phillip asked his son.
"Yeah, Stan and—um—Kyle," Alex seemed nervous to say Kyle's name but he managed to get through it.
"Really?" Phillip asked quizzically. He lingered his gaze on me. I had to fight back the urge to slam my fist into his smug looking face. "Well, it's nice to meet both of you," he said as he continued to turn so he could walk over to hold his hand out towards Kyle. "I'm Alexander's father, Phillip."
"Phillip," Kyle repeated slowly like he was trying to understand what was being said to him. "Phillip Marco." The realization hit hard as he slowly shook the man's hand.
"You sound like you've heard of me. Good, that will make this less awkward, especially since I know so much about you," the man said to Kyle and I noticed my friend's face flinch in pain slightly. He tried to pull his hand out of the grip from Phillip with no success.
I took a step but Kyle noticed to lift his hand slightly with a small, dismissive wave. I wanted to ignore it, but the clench in Kyle's jaw along with the way his shoulders went rigid made me stop. This wasn't just Wrath, this was Alexander's father. This was a man Kyle had probably been terrified to meet for months, and now it was a hundred times more terrifying.
"Dad, enough. Let's just go," Alex snapped sternly.
Tension lingered in the air created by the stiff connection between the older man and our red-headed friend. Phillip finally let go of Kyle to take a step back and I think everyone took a simultaneous sigh of relief. "It's nice to finally meet you boys. I'm sorry to run like this, I'd love to get to know you all more, but Alexander and I rarely have time together with how busy I can get. But we'll be seeing each other again soon," the man explained and turned to step up to me. "I can promise that."
"Dad let's go," Alex snapped again. Phillip flashed me a grin before he stepped around me to start back towards his car. "I'll call you later," Alex said to Kyle who nodded slowly before he followed his father across the quad.
"Kyle?" Stan finally spoke up when Alex and his father were gone.
"Alex is—," Kyle started to say with disbelief. He was watching the BMW pull away with wide eyes before he slowly lowered his gaze to the ground.
"He's Dr. Wrath's son," I finished for him sternly.
"Kenny," Stan suddenly said with his voice lowered as if he was warning me to keep my cool. I slowly shifted my eyes to look over at Stan. He was glowering at me. His eyebrows furrowed together and eyes narrowed slightly. I moved my eyes again to land on Kyle. The expression he gave was not what I was expecting. Pain and worry formed in his emerald eyes. He couldn't look up from the ground. I had never seen him so devastated before.
I let out a heavy sigh as I lifted my hand to run my fingers through my hair. "It wouldn't surprise me if Alex has no idea what his father actually is," I explained and could see the expressions on both of my friends' faces shift. "But we should still be careful. We can't come right out and ask, but we should make sure to pay attention. Okay?" I asked to get a small nod from Kyle. "I refuse to believe that Alex is working with his father, at least until there's proof."
"So, what do we do now?" Stan asked in a low but steady voice. He wasn't hostile anymore, but there was worry there. Worry for his friend. Worry for the unknown. The same worry I had. I wanted to believe that Alex wasn't involved. He was a good guy from the moment we met him, and if it turned out he had been lying to us and was evil, right along with his father, it would destroy Kyle. Hell, it would probably destroy all of us.
"We hurry up and end this. No more screwing around. No more delay. We put an end to Wrath," I answered.
It was time to end it all, one way or another.