Author's Note: My apologies dear readers for the months without an update. I simply lost inspiration for this story for a very long while. I still have a few ideas I want to incorporate, but it might take a while. Thank you for reading and enjoy.
Chapter 14: To Heal a Home or A Father's Love.
"When are you going to wake up and start acting like a father?!" Pizzazz yelled.
"Phyllis! Please! I'm trying to work!" exclaimed Harvey Gabor.
"No! You have to hear this!" Pizzazz took a deep calming breath, but looked very distressed. "Daddy, you can't keep burying yourself in your work like this. Not just for my sake, but for yours as well. Can't you see that this is aging and even dehumanizing you? You constantly forget holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, all kinds of special occasions for both our family and your employees. All you can think about is business and making money, when we have more money than we could spend in a lifetime. Daddy, you've completely lost sight of what matters most in life and sooner or later it's going to come back to haunt you." She sadly left her father's office, gently closing the door behind herself.
Mr. Gabor expected her to slam the door as usual. Well, it would have been usual a few months ago, but now Phyllis had become much more docile and polite, but her naturally quick temper did still flare up from time to time. It pained him see his daughter in so much pain. He wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't know how. He felt inadequate, he felt like a failure as a father. He knew he had failed as a father and he felt like it was too late for him. Suddenly he heard a thump come from Phyllis's room. Harvey Gabor jumped out of his chair and ran to his daughter's room. He found the door locked and when he knocked there was no response.
"Phyllis! Phyllis, are you alright?!" he cried out.
Pizzazz was lying on the floor of her room clutching her chest, trying not to blackout. She had been sitting on her bed trying to pull herself together after the discouraging talk with her father, when she felt a sharp pain in her neck. She reached up and pulled a dart out of her neck. She looked at it curiously, but suddenly her heart started racing and felt like it was about to burst! She tried to get out of her room, but she couldn't stand. Pizzazz fell to the floor and just curled up in a tight ball, trying not to pass out.
Mr. Gabor, with a massive surge of adrenaline, managed to break open the door. He ran to his daughter's side and held her in his arms. Pizzazz smiled weakly at him before her face was twisted back into a grimace of pain. Harvey called for the maid and she came right away.
"Call Doctor Burns at once! Tell him it's an emergency!" Harvey Gabor commanded, barely managing to keep from yelling.
Matilda ran to fulfill her employer's instructions. She had never seen Harvey Gabor so distressed. The doctor soon arrived and examined Pizzazz on a couch in the living room. He felt her pulse and her forehead. He shook his head gravely.
"What is it Doctor?! Is there nothing you can do?!" exclaimed Harvey.
"Your daughter has been poisoned with a Scruga dart. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I nor any other normal doctor can do. Only a Mutant can save your daughter now," said the doctor standing to leave.
"Wait! Where can I find a Mutant?" asked Harvey in a panic.
Dr. Burns shrugged. "I don't know. Mutants usually keep to themselves." He left without another word.
Pizzazz tugged on her father's sleeve. "Roarin will help, Daddy," she said weakly.
"Where is Roarin?" asked Mr. Gabor.
"Next door," Pizzazz replied.
Harvey Gabor rushed out the door, leaving Phillis in the care of Roxy and Jetta (who had heard the commotion and come to investigate), and ran to the mansion next door. He pounded on the door frantically. The door was opened by a young woman with red eyes and black fur.
She smiled warmly. "Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Roarin. Quickly! My daughter Phillis has been poisoned with a Scruga dart!" Harvey exclaimed.
Roarin's eyes went wide and she ran to the Gabor mansion. She ran into the room and quickly knelt down beside Pizzazz.
"Oh, Roarin! Can you help her?" Roxy looked pale with worry.
Roarin didn't say anything, but placed a hand on Pizzazz's neck where the dart had pierced her. She closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating very hard. After a few minutes, she removed her hand and passed out. Pizzazz slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Harvey Gabor ran to his daughter and clasped her in an embrace. Tears were streaming down his face and he held his daughter as though she were the most precious thing in the world; and so she was to him. Pizzazz held onto her father, who was her most precious possession. She glanced down and saw Roarin passed out on the floor.
"Roarin!" she exclaimed, kneeling beside her unconscious friend.
Roarin's eyes shot open and she gasped for air. She gave two or three convulsions, then cried out in pain and sat up clutching her chest. She coughed a sputtered a few times, then sat there taking in deep breaths, trying to catch her breath.
Pizzazz patted her on the back. "Are you ok?"
Roarin, her breath finally under control, nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't ever want to do that again." She rubbed her chest, trying to ease the soreness of her heart as it returned to a normal rate.
"What happened?" asked Mr. Gabor, scratching his head in confusion.
"I simply drew the poison from Phillis into myself. The Scruga poison targets the heart and causes it to rupture. Because of my healing power, my heart regenerated, but it is still a very painful experience. I've only ever done this once before, but still, it's an experience I would like to avoid. You're lucky it takes so long to kill a Normal," replied Roarin by way of explanation.
"Why would someone do this? Who would do this?!" was Harvey's next question.
Roarin shrugged. "I don't know. There are at least three assassin organizations that use the Scruga poison and twenty or so assassins who use it as their poison of choice. However, there are only two who use it as their weapon of choice and one of them I've come up against before. Nightshade."
"I'm calling the police. Roarin, will you tell them everything you know about this Nightshade person?" said Mr. Gabor.
"It won't do any good. Nightshade is a member of the Death Dealers. They have never been caught and are the most highly sought after killers for hire. I will tell Silverstar of this. He is a member of the Heroes' Guild and a friend of mine. He will find Nightshade and bring her in," Roarin assured him.
"How can I repay you? How much do I owe you?" asked Harvey reaching for his wallet.
Roarin looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. She pushed his hand away. "The best way to repay me is to connect with Phyllis again. She wants to have a relationship with you and you both need it."
Harvey's face dropped. "I don't know how," he admitted sadly.
Roarin smiled. "Show her you love her. Do something with her. Spend time with her doing things that are meaningful to both of you. Let her connect with you."
Slowly, Harvey Gabor's face changed. A slow understanding smile spread across his features and he hugged Phyllis. For a long time he just hugged and held her and she hugged and held him back. Roarin smiled as she, Roxy, and Jetta quietly stole out of the room.
"Oh, Phyllis! What can I say, but I'm so, so sorry. All those years I ignored and spoiled you when all you really wanted was a father. I let myself get buried in my grief and I buried myself in work to try and forget the pain, but it was still there. And you, you tried to talk, you tried to get through to me, but I wouldn't listen," said Harvey.
"Shhh. It's ok now, Daddy. We have each other and we need to support each other if we ever hope to heal this family and make this house a home again," said Pizzazz.
Harvey looked into his daughter's emerald green eyes and asked, "When did my little girl get to be such a wise young woman?"
Pizzazz smiled. "About nine months ago, give or take."
Harvey smiled and chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you found something to straighten out the chaos your life had become, no thanks to me, and set you on the true path to happiness eternal. I once knew it, but I have since fallen by the wayside I fear. I doubt there's any hope for me," he said with a sigh.
"Oh, no, Daddy! You can still be saved. Come to church with me and talk to Pastor Lewis. He'll help you understand," said Pizzazz.
"Ok, honey. I'll come."
"Thank you, Daddy."
Father and daughter spent the rest of the day talking and getting to know one another again. Harvey was surprised with how well Phyllis knew and understood scripture and how she was truly applying it in her life. Pizzazz was surprised to hear her father's account of the woe and pain her mother's leaving had caused him. Harvey told Phyllis that he had always loved her, but in his pain and grief he had forgotten that she had also lost her mother and so pushed her away because of the pain of remembering. Harvey Gabor kept his promise and went to church with Phyllis. He met with Pastor Lewis and found the answers to many questions. Later that day, Harvey Gabor truly gave his life to Christ.