CHAPTER TEN
What is the price we pay for power? What is the price we pay for protection? Not for ourselves but for the ones we love? Isn't it true that a parent will do terrible things to save the child they love? HORRIBLE things? God forgive me, but it is often true. A parent will do almost anything to save their child. Try as we might to deny it, when bad things happen to us, we can't deny the fact that though we wished it had happened to someone else, ALL of us are "someone else" to someone else. And in the face of horror and fear…we must unite.
Patch placed her paws together as she nervously looked up from the bench that Elvis himself had sat at so many years ago. "…I…don't think I should talk to you about this." She mumbled.
Vassago was calmly standing before her, looking at her. He tilted his head to the side slightly. "Why not?" He asked politely.
"I've learned about demons from reading books." Patch said. "Never trust a demon, they can have 100 reasons for wanting to help you and 99 would be malevolent."
"That's how the saying goes, eh?" Vassago laughed.
"And if the demon LIKES you, that's cause to be even more scared." Patch went on.
Vassago turned around and held up his hands. "So I'm a "demon". Well…you know what I say to that?"
He then smiked. "Trog."
Patch's head shot up. Her eyes narrowed. "What…did…you…"
"Hymie. Nigger. Spic. Haole. Raghead."
Patch blinked, unsure of what was going on.
"Aspie. Dyke. Redneck. Limey. Bible-Thumper, Baby-Killer…"
He turned around and spread his arms out, the hawk insignia on the back of his jacket glowing as the sunset shone brightly behind him. "These are all just terms used by other people to demean those who are DIFFERENT than they are either because of race, species or belief. Ultimately all of us are the same. To a fire, we ALL burn just the same." He remarked softly. "Demon" is another term. But like all terms, you do not have to live up to the stereotype if you chose not to."
He smiled and patted Patch on the head. "I can tell you're not demonically possessed. But I want you to understand that anything you might be hiding…anything you want to keep secret to ensure that you won't get a label…you have the power to cast that label aside, do you understand?" He asked gently.
"…yeah, I do." Patch admitted.
Vassago smiled and rubbed her head. "Good." He told her. "Now then, let me take you home."
…
…
…
…Sari shivered as the man looked down at her.
He was always in her room. Too often. Making her do things for him. Hitting her when she didn't do it fast enough. She heard him yelling and striking the other patients in the other rooms too….
"Sari, pay attention." Director Bartok snapped. He had a metal, lugnut-shaped left eye and a closely trimmed moustache and beard with scraggly hair. He was a horrid being and a terrible doctor because his heart was as black as the small hole in the center of the lugnut eye. "You don't want to dissapont me or tomorrow it'll be no food again."
"I want to go to…to the blue room…"
SLAP!
A slap across the face. "I despise your weakness." He snapped at her. She rocked back and forth, whimpering, body twitching. "Just crack those codes. It's all you're good for."
"Your face is red…" She mumbled.
"Your face is going to be MUCH redder if you don't get this done." He threatened. "I know you are not a fan of the color red, Sari. If you do not do as I instruct, I shall personally incarcerate you in a bright red room for the rest of your days! And the only gumdrops you'll ever get are those red ones you hate so much! So..." he leaned down and forward to make eye-contact with her. "Are you going to do as I instruct you, Miss Sari?"
Sari nodded, twitching slightly.
"Good. Very good." Bartook took out a notepad of paper with number on it and slammed it hard on the table in front of Sari. "Get cracking, kid." He said, walking out of the room.
Sari looked down at the notepad he'd left. It had a pencil attached to it. She picked up the pencil and looked at it, then began to write down the numbers slowly and methodically. She wanted to eat. Maybe pudding. She hadn't had pudding in a long time…
Sari awoke to see Pleakley was there, rubbing her cheek as she lay in her blue-painted room. "Are you alright, princess?" Pleakley asked gently.
Sari didn't anything. She just hugged herself and shivered, the tears dripping down her cheeks. "Don't hit me anymore." She thought, Director Bartok's face still present in her mind.
She had fallen for his lies. His awful lies…
"So you see, Miss Sari; everything then works out. You do my codes; I let you live in the blue room and not the red. Everybody wins."
"Everybody wins…"
…
…
…
… "Hmm-hmm-hmmmmm…"
She was tall and beautiful as far as Irkens went, with the most lovely pair of light blue eyes anybody had ever seen, a soft smile and a light blue dress to go with it that had a flowing cape of silver. There were large eyelashes that made her eyes even more beautiful and she was looking over a training schedule with one long, three-clawed hand whilst the other was cupped and focusing on making something very special.
"Annnnnnd THERE." Lady Miyuki said, finishing her beautiful new piece of art. It was a small art piece made entirely of water…and it was shaped exactly like the two people who had just walked inside of her room.
"Ah, Red, Purple, how ARE my two favorite advisors today?" She asked happily, placing the schedule down on her desk and striding past the large windows of her office. She held up the sculpture of the two tall (though not as tall as her) Irkens and placed it on the desk before them. "I made this for you." She said.
"My lady, we are both concerned." Red spoke. He wore a tight-fitting shirt and pants that were similar to bellbottoms, as well as having wristbands and a long, flowing vest which was the same color as his eyes, a bright crimson. His brother, Purple, had the same outfit, only his matched HIS eye color, a lovely violet. "Should we not be concerned with this?"
"Concerned with what? Whatever do you mean, Red?" She laughed gently.
"As you know, having powers has become a far more common occurrence among Irkens since our interactions with the humans." Purple spoke up. "Having our race "blessed" has allowed us to advance ourselves in ways we never knew…we're not even affected by water anymore!"
"Also, I thoroughly enjoy my "Gravity" powers." Red said, hovering off the ground, surrounded by an orange glow. "And Purple's wind powers are an aid to him as well."
"I can now beat EVERYONE at volleyball!" He laughed. "But the Hierophant has spoken to us that a danger is coming from one who has Irken blood." He added quietly.
"An IMMENSE danger." Red agreed. "You know what happens when an Irken loses control of his thoughts and emotions…"
Miyuki laughed happily, picking up a glass of water and whistling. The water soared around her, forming a beautiful little ocean as dolphins leapt in and out of it. "Do I LOOK like I'm losing control? Oh Reddy, Pur, don't worry…everything is different now. We don't need to be afraid of our powers like we used to be."
She gently patted their cheeks. "What harm could a single Irken with an elemental power be?" She asked.
"It's the one power that no other Irken has demonstrated yet…" Red said sadly as Miyuki stepped back, returning the water to the cup. "…that of fire."
Miyuki gasped, dropping the cup form her hands. It shattered on the floor. "You mean…the Phoenix's "Blessing"?" She asked.
"Yes." Purple said, nodding. "The Hierophant says that one with Irken blood on Earth will soon gain the blessing of the Phoenix. And as the prophecies have foretold in our scripture, she comes to "disinfect" the galaxy by burning away all that it sees unfit…"
Miyuki frowned and looked out the window at the large city rooftops. "…we have left our days of conquering and cruelty behind us. Through collaboration with other races such as the Vortians and the Earthlings, our kind evolved. We're not warmongers any more. But if word got out that a cosmic destroyer with Irken blood flowing through his or her veins was coming onto the scene, then…our relations with other races would be set back centuries. The galaxy is still forgiving us."
She sighed. "I…do not give this order lightly. But it must be done. Contact the Hierophant. You shall go to Earth and find the one the Phoenix plans to give its blessing to. It will not be that hard…" She turned her head. "And…"
She hesitated. Then sighed, turning back to look out the window. "You know what must be done."
"Yes milady." They both said, nodding their heads and turning away to walk out the door.
Meanwhile, far away, Green stiffened up, blinking as she looked up from her latest project: her attempt at building a scale-model of a T-Rex. She had an odd feeling that something had just happened that concerned HER.
…
…
…
…Lilo and Nick were in the middle of the town, talking with Legion and Belle.
"So that's it?" Nick asked quietly.
Legion nodded, tears filling his eyes. "I'm…sorry." He admitted. "You were so kind to me, both of you. You gave me a home and treated me with love and I've…I've repaid you like this." He covered his eyes and sobbed. "I'm no better than I was when I was first created…I'm just scum."
"Hon…" Belle said gently, placing her paw on his back.
Lilo gently lifted Legion's paws away from his eyes. "Calm down." She said gently. "We're not gonna get angry with you. You're ohana, we forgive you. You came forward…this means a lot."
"And it means we have a lot to do." Nick said. "We've got to track Jack down. How has he even been moving so fast?"
"I can answer that."
Lilo, Nick, Legion and Belle turned around to see a human in a black, cloaked jacket. He wore a white shirt underneath the jacket and a bandolier with a sword attached to his back. White wings sprung from the black hilt of the sword, angelic and soft, with black, tip-less gloves on his hands. He had black pants and brown shoes with tightly-bound laces and his eyes had a dark beauty to them…they were beautiful in the same way that a thunderstorm was beautiful. Terrible and frightening, yet…awe-inspiring.
"It's because Jack's been taking drugs. Specifically Hypercortisone X." The human said. He had emerald green hair that shot out in three thick locks at the top of his head, with two long strands that fell down across his face, almost over his eyes. He tossed them a black inhaler and Legion caught. "In the interest of science I tried it. I felt angelic and VERY insane for about five hours, then threw up in an alley."
"…The Chariot." Nick realized. "So it's come to that, then?" He frowned slightly, looking over this member of the Major Arcana.
"Heartwing…" Lilo began sadly.
"DRACO Heartwing, miss." Draco Heartwing spoke softly. His voice was firm and resolute…every word he said was truth and nothing but. "My other half's far gone now. As his "human self", I resent being compared to that animal."
"He was a good, innocent being." Nick growled.
"It got him killed. But he died as he lived, innocent but noble, which I respect." Draco said, crossing his arms. "Now then…" He put sunglasses on from a pocket inside his cloaked jacket. "Trying to track Jack down will be hard because he's now got help. A LOT of help. And access to people's private, confidential psychiatric files because Gizmo's been hacking quite a lot of computers lately, such as Dr. Jookiba's private computer files…"
"Jack's gonna know ALL our secrets?" Lilo asked, eyes wide.
"And act on them." Draco admitted. "Furthermore, I have reason to suspect that the Hypercortisone X is triggering a mutation in him that's granting him a miasma of charisma…allowing him to woo more people over to his side. But that's kind of not as important as what we've got to do now." He held up an open hand. "Prepare for a huge problem in five…four…three…two…one…"
City hall promptly had its front side blown up, doors, windows and all. A black-furred form with white eyes that had a red tint at the bottom was there in front of city hall, claws clenching, grinning eagerly. His grey chest was SUPER hairy and his claws and talons were larger than before…
His tie-dyed pants had become shades of black and grey…this was Ele Hiwa…the darkest form that Grey could become…and quite possibly the most dangerous person on the island.
"Proooooobleeeeem…" White said, crossing his arms and frowning as he, Darth, Myr, Nacht and Alex looked at Ele Hiwa walking through the streets, tossing cars and chunks of ground through the air as if they were paper wads. "Okay, who's got this one?"
"Okay, I might be able to stop him if I go ballistic." Alex said, focusing his power. He clenched his fist and a change overcame him, his body shrinking and altering. Soon he was a grey-furred being with deep human eyes. "Heh-heh…mood swings, extra arms, strength RIPPLING through my body…I feel like a Hindu sex god!" Alex laughed as he took his new form. His fur was dark grey, almost charcoal grey, and similar in basic form to Stitch's. He had five fingers and toes, was taller than Stitch was, and his fur, claws, antennae and spikes were edgier and harder.
"I cannot believe Grey has succumbed." Darth said simply, sadly.
Alex sighed. "Listen…I'm gonna go all out…but I think if I go TOO deep into the power I'll rip the planet apart, I'll kill every last one of you and I don't want that to happen, not again." He said quietly.
He focused and his eyes turned red for a moment…
FWOOOM! A black aura that made those around him feel like bugs were wrapping around them shot up from his body before fading away and clearing the air. Red energy arcs surrounded his skin, tightening more and more, and tentacles rose up from his back, made of plasma energy.
"Don't worry Alex…I don't expect you to last that long against him anyhow!" White sniggered.
"And I'm here to assist you in keeping control of your mind." Darth went on, carving a symbol onto Alex's back. "That seal will be like a tether connecting my mind to yours." He added. "If you start to stray…I'll put you back on track. You will do fine, my boy. We have faith in you…MOST of us." He added, frowning at White.
"You don't understand…" Alex growled out, managing to hold onto his mind. "I ended one of my half's homes without having any powers, reducing an entire planet to dust. And I can't die, Grey will just tire himself out before I kill him, I have almost no control over it!"
"Like I said…you won't last long!" White laughed…then he "GAAAKED" as one plasma tentacle throttled him and held him in the air. "I was JOKING, calm down!" He gasped out.
Alex frowned and tossed White to the ground, then leapt through the air, heading to the streets.
"You can't hide from me forever, Nick…" Ele Hiwa called out. "WHERE ARE YOU…you passed me to your son…stop trying to hide from your own creation…"
Then he turned his head, his nostrils flaring. "I KNOW that scent. Alex."
Alex stood there in his experiment form, the plasma tentacles writhing on his back. "I know why you're here." He spoke quietly. "But there's no reason for us to fight. People have choices, free will…"
"You don't get it." Ele Hiwa spoke up quietly. "I'm not here to fight."
"Oh, good, that's-"
"I'll just play with you until I'm bored." Ele Hiwa remarked, spreading his arms up in a nonchalant shrug. "Then Ele Hiwa will eat you."
"Yeah, that isn't going to happen." Alex remarked, eyes narrowing, glowing slightly. Ele Hiwa smirked a bit.
"Are you trying to CONTROL me? Using Checker's power? Or maybe Precious? I'm a MIXED BREED. That won't work. And since you were kind enough to go first…it's MY turn."
Ele Hiwa rushed forward, large black claws slashing. Alex backflipped away and landed deftly, but then had to spiral backwards again as the black experiment's claws struck deep into the ground, barely missing him once again. He was FAST…and STRONG.
"You can't dodge me forever, little one." Ele Hiwa spoke simply.
"Dodge THESE." Alex snapped, mouth opening up, paw palms spread outward. They glowed bright orange and balls of fire shot forth, slamming into Ele Hiwa and spreading smoke up through the air. Alex smirked…
Then he gasped as Ele Hiwa stood there, dusting himself off. They hadn't done ANYTHING.
"I was hoping for something more…MORE." Ele Hiwa remarked.
"You mean like THIS?" Alex growled, as he began to lose himself in the dark recesses of his mind, diving deeper into the darkness in his heart. Power…give me more POWER, he thought.
Darth growled deeply, his white eyes bulging and turning bloodshot. "It's…getting harder…to keep him under control!" Darth whispered. "He's losing himself in bloodlust!"
"Little one...little halfling..." The tainted being that had once been Grey approached Alex, hearing his words. The others backed off. "You do not understand. Ele Hiwa does not tire...does not stop...I can play with you forever. But sooner or later, the human half within you must sleep. Then you will be ripe...I will never go away. Will you play, little one?" He asked softly, raising up his clawed hand, eyes glittering. "Play...until death?"
Images of the past flash through Alex's mind as Ele Hiwa approached, dark memories of time long gone. From the pit of his skull, Oblivion starts to re-emerge, taking control. Alex clenched his fists tightly. "Grey, I don't know if you can hear me…but if you can, know this!" Alex whispered. "Two creatures of infinite strength fight now. But I hope you regain your mind…BEFORE I LOSE MINE!"
Alex threw his head back, screeching to the now-darkening sky, and charged towards Ele Hiwa, his feet hovering just above the ground.
Alex KICKED Ele Hiwa through the air and into a pole, and Ele Hiwa fell to the ground. Grabbing the pole and snarling, Alex slammed it down over and over and over-
Until Ele Hiwa grabbed ahold of it and smirked right into Alex's eyes.
THWONKA!
It was batting practice and Alex was the ball. He went sailing through the air, over the town's rooftops. Ele Hiwa bounded through the air, laughing madly as he raced after Alex, who re-righted himself in mid-air and kicked off a rooftop.
The two collided in mid-air, punching and kicking each other with blows that would have broken through titanium. The other people of the town stayed FAR away, yet watched with definite interest as they continued to pound at each other, growling and snarling.
The two separated, circling each other. Alex raised his paws up and swirling blasts of ice formed as he imitated Slushy's power. Ele Hiwa smirked as Alex tossed these harsh bombs of ice at him, then slashed them apart into fine crystals that sprinkled to the ground. He rushed forward…
Alex smirked and snapped his fingers, and lightning shot through his claws, surging towards Ele Hiwa and making him quiver madly. "HA!" Alex laughed.
CLOMP!
Ele Hiwa suddenly lunged forward and BIT into Alex's shoulder. A horrid surge of pain shot through Alex and he howled as he reeled back, blue/black blood oozing down as Ele Hiwa gulped down the chunk of skin and muscle he'd just eaten, then spat out a piece of bone, the bits of electricity fading away.
"You taste pretty good." He complimented. "I'll like to eat you whole, but to do that I'd have to knock you out, and you wouldn't let me do that. Ele Hiwa will simply eat you piece by piece." He flexed his claws and rushed forward again. "You're dead!"
"Me Tarzan." Alex remarked, jumping clear over Ele Hiwa and grabbing him by his long ears, tossing him through the air. He then focused power into a hot ball of plasma and shot it through the air, laughing as it struck Ele Hiwa's back.
BOOOOOM!
Ele Hiwa fell to the ground, trembling. He got back up and turned around, eyes narrowed. "That didn't hurt…" He announced.
"THIS MIGHT." Alex remarked. Ele Hiwa blinked as Alex, brow furrowed, held up a large "Dick's Sporting Goods" store above his head and thrust it down on top of Ele Hiwa. He clapped his hands together, rubbed his healed-up shoulder and stepped back…
BOOOM! The door flew open and Ele Hiwa held up a basketball in his clawed hand, popping it with a single claw. "That didn't hurt either…but I admit, I FELT it." He remarked, shrugging as the basketball limped to the ground.
"You'll feel this too!" Alex snarled, his muscles pumping, the plasma tentacles wrapped around his arms now. He SLAMMED his fist into Ele Hiwa's face and the black experiment flew to the side, slicing through a car and colliding hard with a hardware store. Ele Hiwa gasped as he held his head, a gash on the side of it that was QUITE bloodied up. He snarled and dove forward and punched ALEX across the face before Alex could react…
KRA-CRUNCH!
Alex sank to his knees, gasping…and he felt his nose. It was shattered…a mushy MESS.
His eyes narrowed and he rose up, hissing. "I am VERY cross about this. VERY-VERY-VERY…CROSS INDEED!" He snarled. "I LOOK LIKE A BLOODY HEAVYWEIGHT BOXER!"' He howled, grabbing a nearby SUV and throwing it through the air.
WOOSH! It soared over Ele Hiwa's head and decimated an ice cream parlor, making several people moan. A pet store owner nearby ran for his life as the animals within the premises vacated their once-home just in time to avoid having a large fireball roast them all up. Lilo and Nick looked at each other as White shook his head, seeing a bar go up in flames and exploding into little bits. "What a waste." He remarked.
"The property damage is mounting in the millions." Draco remarked calmly as the two fighting experiments made their way towards the jungle, razing and clawing trees and flora down as they fought their way across the island. "And the damage to the island is becoming considerable."
"Do you think either one can actually WIN?" Lilo asked.
"…Grey's "The Strength"." Nick said quietly, folding his arms in front of his chest. "The thing is, when he's actually FOCUSED, there isn't any limit to what he can do with his physical prowess. Right now he's losing himself in animal rage. He might not be as strong as he's supposed to be, but he's freakin' close. And Alex has planet-destroying power and HE'S losing himself in bloodlust too…"
BWWWOOOOOOM!
They watched as Alex began to grow to ENORMOUS size and he let out a shriek of anger and rage as he and Ele Hiwa stood on Kokaua Town beach. He began to pummel Ele Hiwa into the ground over and over, snarling all the while, all sanity stripped away.
THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA!
"I don't like this one bit. White!" Darth yelled out. "Property restoration, PRONTO! Nacht, Myr, come with me." He said, rushing through the streets. "We've got to take down these Goliaths and fast."
Meanwhile, Alex was continuing to punch away at Ele Hiwa, driving him deeper into the ground…
But then Ele Hiwa caught his fist and Alex's consciousness, which was now utterly devoid of reason and control, felt a new emotion go through him.
FEAR.
"Awful, isn't it, when we recognize the madman that lurks inside us all, little one?" Ele Hiwa whispered. "The Destroyer of Worlds within all humanity…that bestial self…a raw animal that seeks to maim and kill…and a SMART one at THAT!"
THWOOOM! Alex fell to the ground, shrinking back down to normal size as Ele Hiwa dusted himself off, blood all over his body, leaking out from his mouth and wounds on his face and chest. Bit by bit they were healing up as he advanced. "Hmm…looks like you're actually close to being knocked out. I might get to enjoy eating you whole after all." He commented.
Then he noticed he was sinking and he looked down, seeing he was now up to his chest in glass. Nacht stood there, paw on the ground, frowning.
"Really, such violence is unbecoming." He admitted. "We're TRYING to ensure that you're calming-down is carried out with some level of dignity." He went on.
"Much obliged." Ele Hiwa whispered, eyes glinting as he shattered the glass prison around him, jumping up.
BOOOOOW! A guitar riff sent him flying back as Myr slung the guitar across his shoulder. "That'll knock him out." Myr said. "A good strike to the head-"
Ele Hiwa calmly got back up, sighing. "Myr, I know you're the "Judgement"…but Major Arcana powers don't work on other members, and I AM "The Strength"…" He remarked. "Ele Hiwa's power cannot be stopped by your own."
Ele Hiwa gasped as a set of claws slashed at his side and he looked around. "Well what do you know? Alex has gone INVISIBLE?"
"Not just HIM…" Darth remarked. "We've almost got you!"
"Almost got me"?" Ele Hiwa laughed. "My hearing is ten times better than any normal experiment's, and my sense of smell makes even STITCH jealous. I assure you that while one sense might be blind to you…the others are all OVER you!" He sneered, backhanding Darth through the air. The Irken's cloaked disguise vanished and he hit a palm tree, groaning in pain, his back almost broken.
"And Alex, invisibility IS a nice trick…but for the record little halfing…next time, you should HOLD YOUR BREATH!" Ele Hiwa hissed, diving through the air and grabbing ahold of Alex, who thrashed around in Ele Hiwa's grip. "Now that's…ENOUGH." Ele Hiwa snapped, slamming one fist into the side of Alex's head. "Consider this to be APPLIED-"
CRACK!
"REASONING-"
CRASK!
"POWER!"
CRA-CRACK!
Alex was barely able to groan…but his consciousness was returning to him as his plasma tentacles tried vainly to sting Ele Hiwa, only to find they couldn't pierce the fur. He staggered up…then flopped to the ground. Ele Hiwa licked his lips, looking very hungry.
"Ele Hiwa's worked up an appetite. You're not fully knocked out, but after all the pain you've just put me through…" He held his chest. "I think you actually shattered two ribs and my legs are on FIRE…"
He grinned. "You DESERVE to be alive and conscious for the remaining ten painful minutes you have left alive."
His mouth opened…impossibly wide, teeth sparking.
"You won't…beat me." Alex growled. "I…will just…repower up and…bust out of your stomach!" He hissed.
"Hmm." Ele Hiwa rubbed his chin. "You're right. I can tell you're already regaining your strength. I suppose I'll just have to strip enough of it away so that what little remains won't be enough to hurt me from within…"
He grabbed ahold of Alex's arms and smiled coldly. "But enough to make you realize how powerless you are compared to Ele Hiwa."
But what happened instead was a large, burning fire that surged through both bodies. When it was finished, they stood there, blinking. Alex regained clarity first and tried to summon forth a fireball to blow Ele Hiwa back...
But nothing came up. His powers had been-
"Hmm...a nullification instead of absorption." Ele Hiwa remarked. "THAT'S new. Since I don't know how long this will last, I'd better get started." He decided, licking his lips, claws tightening their grip on the wrists.
"Only Zeta Energy stops my powers, and that is sealed within my heart!" he looked up at the being that had once been Grey, frowning. "You have thirty minutes before my powers return, but you will not be around that long. What you have done to him is sick, you've turned an honorable member of the trinity into a shell to hold you!"
Alex straightened up his body, drawing his machete from beneath his trench coat. "I only can lift ten times my weight now, and I don't wish to hurt someone so kind, but if I must, I will do all I can to end your threat." He told Ele Hiwa as he entered a battle stance.
But they never got the chance to find out who would win, because a voice shot out through the air…
"That's enough."
Alex felt a warm dampness around his wrists. Looking down at them, he saw blood running down them. His indestructibility was gone, Ele Hiwa had severed his arteries. He looked up at the demon and whispered, unheard to all other ears, "What have you done?" His eyesight began to darken, but he strained to hear Nicks words.
Ele Hiwa looked up to see Nick was standing there, arms crossed. His eyes narrowed. "Why are you interrupting my meal?"
"Do you know WHY I passed you onto my son? Why I couldn't hold onto you and my diabolical self?" He inquired.
"Because you were AFRAID of me…" Ele Hiwa hissed. "DISGUSTED with me and with your diabolical self."
"I needed to be pure so that I could fully understand others better." Nick went on. "Do you want to know if I regret it?"
Ele Hiwa let go of Alex and stomped forward, his hair bristling angrily as he grabbed ahold of Nick's neck. "Why don't you tell me?"
"I'll do you one better." Nick said.
Ele Hiwa blinked, tilting his head to the side. "Eh?"
"I'm gonna SHOW you." Nick said. He grasped Ele Hiwa's head. "Take a look…through my eeeeeyes…"
And in that instant, Ele Hiwa saw every single part of Nick's life. EVERY act he'd ever done from the teen's perspective…growing up and then becoming an adult, and then passing his bestial self onto his son. He saw Nick come back, saw moments with Lilo, saw the pride Nick had in his son, on how WELL Grey had put his new gift to use…and something else.
Pride in his bestial self…pride in the animal within…pride of how it had been used for good reasons, used to save lives and defend ohana.
Ele Hiwa let go of Nick's neck and sank to his knees, beginning to cry. He covered his eyes. "You…were PROUD of me?" He asked. "Not just your son, but…of me too?"
"I can't stay mad at MYSELF, and you're a part of myself. I'm proud of you. Always have been."
"But Dad!"
Grey's voice now came through Ele Hiwa. "I've done awful things." He said. "And I've dreamed about doing bad things as well…I wouldn't actually DO those things I dream of doing to the people I hate…not REALLY, but…but if you've never had those thoughts…if you don't hate people the way I do, and I see you haven't…that means…"
Grey now manifested fully, his fur returning to it's normal grey tone, his claws and talons shrinking slightly, his eyes turning black with that green tint. "That means you've got better morals than I do."
Nick shook his head, sighing. "Of COURSE I'm morally better than you are." He said, gently patting Grey's head, making his son blink. "If you were just as good of heart as I was and as innocent, then I wouldn't have anything to teach you and I wouldn't be a good dad!"
"And if you both had the same moral compass, then you wouldn't be YOU, you'd just be a clone of Nick." Lilo added. "You have the ruthlessness in you to take the life of those that are evil, something neither of us have, and it's something that you NEED to have for the work that you do." She admitted. "We don't want a perfect son."
"We just want you. And we HAVE you and you know…" Nick knelt down on one knee and held his son's cheek, looking into his eyes and giving his son a warm smile. "I love you just the way you are. And the same goes for everyone else in our large ohana. I will love them no matter what they do. Do you understand?" He asked gently.
Grey blinked…then sobbed tearfully and clung to his father tightly. "Daaaaaaddyyyyyyyy…"He wailed as Lilo held him tightly as well. "Moommmyyyyy…"
Alex moaned, struggling to stand upright…but then White gently patted him on the shoulder and handed him a small vial for him to drink. He sipped the green goo, and then spat out a single tooth from his mouth as he looked over at Grey.
"I could have killed him." He said.
"You could have and almost did." White said. "I was watching. If you'd been really focused…"
"He was ready to finish me." Alex realized. "He severed my arteries, he…ugh…" Alex held his head.
"He could have done a lot worse to you than what he did." White remarked. "He's got two shattered ribs that are already working on healing themselves and strained leg. You've lost three pints of blood from those arteries, a tooth, and your nose is busted to hell. You two BOTH got off lucky."
"How much of Grey is the beast and how much of him is human?" Alex wondered.
"Those two are one in the same." White said, shrugging. "Deep down, they're both kids. And they seek one thing…they don't do the things they do because they're monsters, they just want to prove to their old man that they should be proud of them."
Alex gave a small laugh…and then his face dropped "He's a lucky person, I'm split straight 50, 50. He was just lucky my bloodlust stopped when it did, the darkness within wants is to devour every last life form on Earth, coupling that with my immortality, it would have succeeded." He looked up at White "Why didn't you let me die?"
"You're more interesting alive"." White said, walking away with a wave. "That's all the reason I need."
Suddenly, White felt a cold coil around his neck, choking him. Turning around, he saw one of Alex's fingers had become a thin strand of wire.
"For the first time in over a year, I felt mortality. I could have finally died. Immortality, it allows you to see such wonderful things, but it's also a curse!"
White frowned. He snapped his fingers and a pink surge of chaos energy shredded the wire into dust, time aging it away.
"I can't die either." He snapped. "I don't grow old, I don't age, and I've got nobody to love. So get up. Keep walking. Your legs might not be as fast as mine, but you're strong enough to keep moving forward until you find a reason to live." He remarked, turning around, his pink eyes looking deep into Alex's. "Like I did."
A small smirk crept up one side of Alex's face "Good thing I made that tentacle one you could destroy, else your head would be detached, and ALSO-!" his face dropped again and he rushed at White, grabbing him under his chin and lifting him into the air. "I HAD something to care for once, but I destroyed it when I lost control, that's why I long death, not for peace, but to protect!"
He released his grip, dropping White to the ground gasping, before striding out the doorway, his coat shortening into his burlap jacket.
White watched him go, then shook his head, unsure of what to feel...pity? Disgust? Hatred?
Then he knew what he felt. He stood up.
"You're a good person." He called after Alex. "...but even in death...you won't be saved." He spoke quietly, shaking his head. "Neither of us will." He remarked, a single tear going down his cheek as at last he closed his eyes fully. "Not ever..."
A voice crept into his head, it wasn't Alex's, there was too much of a hiss, but it was similar as a chilling cold entered his body.
"You're right, he won't be saved, not once one of the others takes control!"
White blinked at this. Then…
"Hey, Alex." White remarked. "I've got something that might actually cheer you up a little." He said gently, approaching Alex, who turned around and stopping the chill. The albino placed it in Alex's hand as the Briton turned around, patted that hand and gave Alex a small smile before vanishing.
When Alex opened up his hand he saw a diamond that was just the sort of thing you would put on a concert suit...stolen from the year 1977, June 27th. Along with a note.
"This ISN'T a piece a glass. Hugs and kisses...
White."
Alex blinked as he looked it over with Nick and Lilo as Grey headed back into town with the others to help fix the town up some more. "I know I should be flattered, but it does anger me that he stole from Elvis."
"ELVIS? GIMME!" Lilo said, snatching it out of his hand and looking it over. "Oooooooh."
"It could be worse." Nick remarked. "Last year he gave me Angelina Jolie's wedding ring...from moments before her wedding. Yeah, that...messed up time considerably." He sighed. "If I were you, I'd look at it this way: nobody's gonna notice and Elvis isn't gonna need it anymore."
"Well, don't take the other, Echo has it. At least I know what to get you for your birthday" He then ruffled Lilo's hair. "You know, if you want stuff that belonged to Elvis, you should head round my place!" he laughed, watching as Lilo held the crystal in her hands.
…meanwhile, the Wyrd Sisters were tied up, The Chariot looking down at them, frowning deeply. "Alright…I'm going to say this simply so you DON'T misunderstand."
He unsheathed his sword. "You've been in contact with Ace. I know he's been up to something. BUILDING something that has to do with Niihau. The one who spills their guts…doesn't get their guts spilled."
"You actually think…"
"That we'd betray…"
"A confidence?"
"To save your own skin, yes." Draco Heartwing reasoned, the sword tip touching Vera's long nose. "Talk."
"N-No, we…we won't…"
"Then you die first. I DO keep my word." He said quietly, moving the sword forward with a single quick SHOVE.
Well…Skulla ended up telling him what little she actually knew…which really, was only WHERE the weapon was. Draco calmly sheathed his sword and nodded in approval. "Good. Now…" He took out a knife from his belt. "To make sure you don't remember this…and to ensure you won't tell anyone."
"Y-you said you wouldn't kill me…" Skulla whimpered.
"I'm not KILLING you." He informed her as he raised the knife to her crown and began to cut her head open. "I'm lobotomizing you…"
"AAA…AAAAAA!"
"There's QUITE a difference."
"HEARTWING, PLEAAAASE!" She sobbed as the blood oozed down from the top of her head.
Draco's eyes bore into her. "Heartwing is DEAD. He died because of monsters like YOU. Now it's your turn to know the pain you've dealt."
And he cut deeper…
