A door slides open, letting a dim light pierce through the darkness of the room. This room has never been occupied by anyone but Alistair, as it does now. Alistair Knight, Monarch of the Hierarchy, enters the room, his hands behind his back. He snaps and lights activate, allowing the room's contents to be seen. There's only two notable things in this room. The first is a vinyl player sitting right beside the door to the room. The other comes in a large quantity. There's pictures all over the room of various people, from adults, elders, and children. Alistair approaches the vinyl player and starts it up. Smooth jazz fills the room, giving Alistair a very calm feeling. He turns around and walks to the very center of the wall opposite to the door.
There holds pictures of Alistair, with a small glowing line connecting him to Juno, then breaking off into you and Hunter. Other than Juno, Alistair is connected to two elders, along with a woman. This woman has blonde hair, an average nose, and features that somewhat mimic Alistair and the elderly woman she's connected to. That woman is also connected with the two others, along with another man, as he and the woman are connected to a little girl. Every person is connected in some way, and it all leads back to Alistair and this mysterious woman. Alistair stares at the woman, smiling at how happy she looks. His eyes glaze down to the little girl. So many fond memories flood his mind, but one ruins it all.
Alistair pulls a small rectangle out of his pocket and holds it close to his face.
"My name is Alistair Knight, and before I bring revolution to this world… I want some sort of record of why I've done all this. Why I've spent the majority of my life working to make this moment come true. Perhaps once I'm gone, someone will find this and realize the truth of my words. I know the world won't accept it at first, but they will learn to accept it."
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"I had an older sister named Allison. She was… well," he snickers. "An older sister, but I loved her. She is one of the reasons I am the person I am now. She was more of a tomboy than anything, so martial arts interested her. As her younger brother of two years, I wanted to follow her everywhere, so I joined her in the endeavor. She took Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, you name it. We went through all forms of fighting during our young lives. She gave up on it before I did… in fact, I never truly gave up on it.
"We were inseparable, however. We rarely fought, we played together, and there were no secrets between us. She was the one who taught me about… adulthood, and, when I was old enough to understand, I helped her with boys. It's not unfair to say we were fairly popular siblings in our schools. Well, that's before we separated to pursue what we were passionate about. I wanted to enter sciences – more specifically the human body. I studied hard and made it to a special program with a famous scientist… Pabbie."
A young Alistair throws on his lab coat, puts on the glasses and the gloves, and exits the room. He finds Pabbie, the very small man standing on a stool so he can see his work. Alistair rushes to his side and immediately starts talking.
"Thank you very much, sir. I'm so lucky to be able to work with a man like you. I ne-"
"Calm down, son," Pabbie chuckles, waving him off. "I chose you because you were the most suited for the job. Now, please, take a seat. I'd like your opinion on my findings."
Alistair nods eagerly and quickly finds a chair to pull up beside Pabbie.
"Pabbie was researching the human body for ways to enhance us farther than we currently are. I never really knew if that was his choice, or asked of him, but he was very passionate about it nonetheless. Of course I told my sister about it that night when I returned home."
Alistair opens the door, locking his car once more before closing the front door behind him. Little pitter patters of feet rush from the living room to the hallway leading to the door. A young girl with Allison's blonde hair rushes towards Alistair.
"Uncle Alistair!" She cheers, leaping at him for a hug.
"Ah, Allie. You're getting big, huh?" He says, hugging her back.
She backs off and nods.
"Yeah! Mommy says for every inch I grow I get a dollar!"
"Well hey," Alistair starts whispering to her. "I'll give you two for each inch you grow."
Allie smiles, bouncing in excitement.
"Really? You mean it?"
Alistair winks, lifting his fist.
"You know it, kid" he winks.
Allie bumps his fist with her small one, bubbling the whole time. The moment their fists connect a man steps around the corner, drying his hands off with a towel. Alistair looks up at the man.
Clark… somehow he captured my sister's heart. I don't know why, but she found a charm in his weakness. He was skinny, shallow face, not a terrible looking man, in truth. Though he wasn't very… forward. He was quite timid, which was the complete opposite of my sister. He was a good man though, and a great father to my niece. He didn't like me. He wanted to be a scientist too, but… well, he wasn't that smart. Not as smart as I was, or am now.
"Alistair… how was work?" He asks, kneeling down so Allie can be held by him.
"Oh, you know" Alistair shrugs, standing up. "It was just the first day. We talked theories. He has an idea to make… well, I can't tell you, but it's something I've always wanted to do!"
"Change the world, right?" A separate voice chimes in, whipping off some white powder from her pants.
Alistair's eyes meet Allison's which results in them both smiling.
"You could say that. What were you two doing? Getting a little dirty with the kid around, sis?"
She rolls her eyes at his joke, then looks at her daughter.
"Well, this little rascal," Allison starts, ruffling Allie's hair, making the little girl giggle. "Wanted to make cookies, but when she heard you coming home she dropped the flour and… well the kitchen's a bit of a mess now."
Alistair chuckles.
"Well, that sounds like fun. I'll be in my room if you need me."
Allison graciously allowed me to stay with her family during my studies. I didn't have a steady job, or someone to really rely on, so getting my own place was out of the question. At this time Allison was working her way through the political ladder. She wanted to try and change the world through policies and hope, while I wanted to do it through science. Different methods, but we respected each other for it.
"For weeks, Pabbie and I worked on this new project. I think he realized both my passion and smarts early on, as he'd ask for my help or my opinion whenever something came up. However there was always one problem… we didn't have someone to test on. We didn't want to do human trials until we knew the science was sound, but every brain is different, every person is different. It was hard to find something that could blanket everything. Pabbie once had a saying for it… ah, 'It's like trying to use the same sized bag for everything. Sometimes it's more than enough room, sometimes there's not enough room, but one thing's for sure… you can't fit everything in it." It's an odd saying, but Pabbie was not an ordinary man.
"We were in a rut for over a year. We just didn't have that breakthrough, until a certain someone came along. Thinking back on it, I'm unsure whether I'm happy that he did… or would have rathered things turn out differently."
Alistair writes down some notes, attempting to get the formula to work. His thought process is interrupted when Pabbie pats him on the back. Alistair turns around and sees Pabbie ontop of the stool.
"Yes?"
"I have someone I'd like you to meet. Please, come."
Alistair leaves his notes and follows Pabbie, making sure not to accidently kick the small man. They don't go far, only to the outside of their lab where a man proudly stands. Alistair can tell this man holds himself in the highest regard. He has brown hair, neatly kept, and a suit on. Pabbie stops between them.
"Alistair, I introduce you to Balthier Westergaard, a new investor in our project."
Balthier smiles, extending his hand for Alistair to shake, which he does.
"Pleased to meet you," Alistair greets.
"Yes, the same goes for me. I hear you two are doing groundbreaking research that I'm honoured to aid with."
Pabbie nods.
"Yes, though you must know it's been slow going as of late. We-"
"That will be no problem," Balthier quickly dismisses. "In fact, I have a volunteer for your research."
Alistair gets excited, but Pabbie hides his expression.
"Really? This is what we needed Pabbie! We might actually do this!"
"Yes… possibly. Thank you, Balthier. We appreciate the support."
"Of course. He'll be here within a week. I hope your work comes to fruition. It would be very fortuitous for… the world."
"I was blinded by excitement at the time, but Pabbie wasn't. He knew something was off, but the funds and support Balthier was giving us was incomparable. We needed resources, and he could provide. So, we got to work on the volunteer."
Alistair triple checks his notes, hoping that the procedure will go well. Not only do they have to meddle with the brain, there's also therapy, meditation, and plenty of other steps to achieve the power they've been looking into for so long.
"Yes, you're in good hands," Pabbie assures, walking into the room with the volunteer. "My partner and I have been working on this for a long time."
Alistair spins in his chair and gets to his feet, approaching the volunteer.
"Speaking of his partner, hi! I'm Alistair Knight," he greets, shaking the other man's hand.
"Erik… Westergaard" he introduces.
Alistair raises his brow at Erik's tone. He… isn't very enthusiastic. In fact Alistair swears there might be a hint of distain, but he isn't sure. He's a scientist, not a therapist. Well, he's not a professional therapist. Either way, Alistair has a job to do and he aims to complete it.
"Well, I'll make the preparations for the surgery. Pabbie, you wanna prep him?"
Pabbie nods.
"I should have known that Erik wasn't a true volunteer. Even Pabbie didn't think of anything. Thus, we continued to test and test on Erik Westergaard. In truth, we would have stopped, but we didn't know the therapist hired to keep Erik's mentality afloat was really corrupted by Balthier, thus he never really was taken care of. So, as we tested on his brain, his mentality and personality slowly eroded as the power we granted him grew."
"Whether it was good or bad, we did it. After seven months of testing we gave Erik the powers. However, quickly after he went insane. Balthier took him away, promising to take care of him. With the success of our project, we did the procedure on ourselves. Pabbie and I were the first true empowered people. We could move things with our mind, read other's minds, and protect our own. Pabbie mastered it far faster than I, but I would say at this very moment...I'm the most powerful user alive."
"It grew after that, though. Balthier wanted more and more, but at least he provided us with more resources. Other than giving him the way to make people like us, he wanted us to create new powers. Fire, water, earth, lightning, air… all these things were demanded by Balthier. Pabbie didn't accept it, however."
"Pabbie… are you sure?" Alistair asks, standing straight and tall.
Pabbie nods, setting the rest of his belongings in his briefcase.
"I can no longer pursue this line of work, Alistair. You are just as competent as I am. I'm sure you can handle any research you pursue."
Alistair snickers, crossing his arms.
"You're quitting because of Balthier, aren't you?"
Pabbie closes his briefcase slowly, emphasizing the click. He sighs.
"Alistair, you can feel it too, can you not? Balthier Westergaard is not a man that can be trusted." Alistair mentally agrees with Pabbie. "Besides, I'm getting old. I don't need to work anymore. Just… stay safe, Alistair. You have a family, remember?"
"Not my own, like yours. Trust me, I can handle myself, Pabbie. We have the same powers, after all."
"For now," Pabbie whispers to himself.
"And thus, my true work began. I started researching more things I could unlock in the human body. If I could give us telepathy, telekinesis… surely there's more. I wasn't the only one thinking this, but I was the only one who didn't have sinister intentions."
Allison approaches Alistair's door with a tray of food – chicken and mashed potatoes. Dinner was three hours ago, but he never came down for it. Allie pestered her mother over and over to bring her "Uncle Alistair" down, but Allison knows it was a bad idea at the time. Alistair has been working overtime for over a month on some project that he won't tell her about. She can understand the secrecy, but she can't grasp the obsession.
But she isn't one to beat around the bush. She has food for him. She has questions for him. An exchange between siblings. Answers for nourishment. Allison lightly knocks on the door before opening it. To no surprise, Alistair is working at his desk, papers littered all over the room. Alistair's looking back and forth between papers, frantically writing on different sheets. Normally he could sense Allison's presence, but since his mind is working overdrive on his work, he's not calm enough to truly use his mental powers.
"Alistair," Allison softly says.
Alistair stops and spins his chair around to see his sister. Allison's face drops when she sees him. There are marks around his eyes from lack of sleep. He hasn't shaved, so his stubble has grown more than he usually allows it.
"Oh, Allison. Good to see you. Should I start dinner? I promised I'd ma-"
"You promised that last week, Alistair," Allison caringly says, hoping to snap her brother back into reality.
Alistair pauses for a moment, resting in his chair as he takes in what she said.
"It's the seventeenth, right?"
"It's the twenty-second."
"Oh…"
"For a time, I was so focused on this project, and how to hide it from Balthier. I needed to give him updates, but all of them were false. At the same time, if I didn't produce any significant results he would cut my funding. It was a tight spot… one that I'm not proud of now; though that's because I detest the thought of being ordered around by that bastard."
Alistair gets out of his chair and approaches his sister, who's offering the food she saved for him.
"Allie's watching her show. I'm sure she'd love it if you sat with her. She missed you."
Alistair grabs the food, nodding.
"Yeah… I'll do that."
"This revelation of time really hit me. I was slaving for this man, not helping anyone but him. So, I made a decision."
"Alistair?" Balthier announces, walking into Alistair's laboratory. Nobody else is there, which is odd. There are over thirty people working under Alistair, so… where are they? The only visible person is Alistair, who is doing something out of view.
"Balthier," Alistair coldly answers as he puts the last paper in the briefcase. "Unfortunately, I have to resign from your project."
Balthier stops dead in his tracks, his persona flipping instantly.
"What?" He aggressively states. "What do you mean?"
Alistair shrugs.
"I quit. It's true, I'm extremely close to completing our goal, but… I don't want to. It's not for me."
"But you have an obligati-"
"I don't have anything, Balthier," Alistair retorts, standing his ground with no hesitation or fear. "My research, everything… its over. I no longer work for you."
Alistair grabs his briefcase and starts to walk past Balthier. Balthier slams his hand on Alistair's chest, stopping the man in his tracks. Alistair looks down at the hand, then to Balthier.
"You… are making a mistake, Alistair. If you walk out that door… you will regret it."
Alistair smirks, doubting Balthier's words. He walks forward, forcing Balthier's hand to slide off Alistair's chest and slap his own leg. He watches the scientist leave, feeling bad for him.
"You have no idea what you've just done, Alistair."
"I had no idea what I was doing, in all honesty. What I mean by that is I had no idea how desperate Balthier would be, how sinister the man was, how desperate he was for the power I was researching. Of course I continued to do research at my home, but without any equipment it was all theory. The subject was still interesting to me, but my brain has always been used for the good of mankind. Even now I'm using it for the benefit of everyone. Though… even with all my powers and smarts… there are things even I couldn't do."
"Uncle Alistaaaaaaair!" Allie shouts, running through her house to the kitchen where Alistair is.
He turns to his niece, kneeling to her level.
"What's that, Allie?" He softly asks.
She hands the medium sized box to Alistair.
"It's for you!"
Alistair grabs the box and stands up, Allie watching him the entire time with a smile on her face. Alistair rips off the tape and opens the box. His eyes widen when he sees its contents, which forced him to quickly shut the flaps to the box.
"Uh, A-Allie, g-go watch some TV or something," Alistair requests.
Allie tilts her head.
"But… we were baking."
"Allie, do something else! I have to go to my room. Just…" He sighs, trying to calm himself down. "Wait for me to get back."
He quickly rushes upstairs to his room, frantically slamming the door behind him then resting against it. He can't believe what he saw, but he HAS to look again. Alistair holds the box in front of him, staring at it like it's the key to his entire life. But it's not. In fact, he doesn't know what to make of its contents. Alistair opens the box once more and really looks inside. There's two hands intertwines, but they're clearly two different hands. The skin isn't the same between the two. The only similarity is that there's rings on both ring fingers.
Besides the hands, there's a piece of paper and a DVD inside. Alistair grabs these two things, closes the box, and sets it on the bed. He approaches his TV and enters the disc into his DVD player as he reads the note.
This is the start," Alistair reads. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The DVD starts playing, showing two elders tied up to chairs. Alistair isn't watching it at first until he hears a scream. His eyes dart to the TV… and his heart sinks. On the TV are two elders, beaten, bloodied… his parents. Alistair watches in awe as his loving parents sit almost lifeless on those chairs. But he catches something… something he wishes he hadn't. Each of them had a hand missing.
Alistair slowly looks back to the box.
"T-T-Those… I… No…"
All of a sudden gunshots erupt from the TV. Alistair looks back and sees his parents with small holes in their heads, blood pooling out of them. And just like that, the video cuts off, restarting to them alive, whimpering, and pleading.
Alistair's fists clench tighter than they ever have before. Rage swells, taking over every cell, every bone, and every inch of his body. He just wants to explode in anger, but he can't.
"I didn't know what to do when I saw that video. I took it to the authorities, but it was mailed back to me the next day. I visited their house, and it was clean… too clean. My parents had disappeared entirely. This… wasn't the first, either. As I struggled to find out who had done this, I kept getting more and more boxes with body parts, notes, and videos. The one odd part at the time was that I didn't know all the people that were killed. For a month, I only recognized my parents.
"Either way, I sent my sister's family on a cruise to get them out of the way. But I soon realized that was a mistake. You see, all those people I didn't know… they were related to me, in some way. Distant cousins, family related by marriage. They even killed people from Clark's family"
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Alistair lowers the recorder as he approaches his own picture. There's a button right under it which he clicks. The moment he does, every picture in the room spins around, showing a new picture, the only exceptions being Alistair, Juno, Hunter, and you. Every single picture was now one of mutilated bodies.
"They killed every. single. person." Alistair's eyes trail to his sister, and her picture.
He lightly grazes his hands over it front top to bottom, and then moves them down to Allie's picture. "And I couldn't do anything about it."
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"In less than two weeks I had received more boxes than I could count, and had seen more severed limbs than I ever thought I would. I had no idea what to do, or who to blame for this massacre. I could barely control my powers under the mere stress of the situation. It wasn't until I got one certain message… that message brought hell."
Alistair sits in his living room of his apartment. He rented it not long after his second box to try and distance himself from his sister's home. But still, the messages came to him, meaning whoever was doing this was watching him. One curious thing about his apartment was that it was constantly being… redecorated. With all the stress Alistair is feeling his powers are going haywire, moving all his furniture around his house. And then the knock.
Alistair looks to the door, his eyes sharp.
"Hello?"
No answer. Sweat falls down Alistair's forehead. He scrambles from the floor and approaches the door, throwing the door open and looking for a box. Indeed, there is a box there. Alistair grabs it and uses his powers to close the door, though it results in the door slamming shut. Alistair rips open the box, hoping it's not his sister's family. Luckily it's not. In fact, it's only a disc, this time. Alistair grabs the disc with no regard for its condition and places it into his DVD player.
The TV lights up and a man stands prominent in the shot. Instantly, Alistair's mind identifies the man. It's Balthier.
"Alistair, I see you haven't done anything to stop me, have you? Though I don't blame you. Why would anyone help you? It was clever going to the police, but I'm afraid I have prevented them from aiding you in anyway," he smiles, rubbing his hands together as he speaks. "But, I think we're about done. You remember what I said, Alistair? This is your fault. You walked out the door, and I'm sure you're regretting it now." Alistair's teeth grind as his furniture lifts off the ground. "But I won't torture you any longer. As you can see," Balthier steps out of the way, showing Allison, Allie, and Clark. They're all unconscious. "They're at their home, the one you left them at. Well, you did try to save them… but you should have known that wouldn't help them. So now they're mine. Here like animals."
Though the tape still plays, Alistair is no longer watching. He has left, ran away.
"I thought I could help. I wasn't thinking straight. That bastard had killed everyone even remotely related to me. He killed my parents. I wasn't going to let him kill my sister, or my niece. It's what I thought at the time."
Alistair breaks through the door to Allison's house and bolts to the living room where the video was taken. He makes it there and stops dead in his tracks. His jaw drops, his eyes form tears, and his spirit drops. In front of him is his sister and brother-in-law, hung from the ceiling with a bullet in their heads. Under them are pictures of their deaths. Alistair drops to the floor, losing all hope and spirit. Tears flow down his cheeks as he's finally lost… no…
"Allie… ALLIE!" He shouts, but there's no answer.
"I had hope that she was still alive. Driven to protect the last family I had left, I decided to fight back against my enemy. I knew that Balthier owned W.A Industries, but I had no idea how far his influence truly went at the time."
Dozens of scientists work in Alistair's old lab, working on a way to bond elements with humans. None are as skilled or knowledgeable as Alistair or Pabbie, but they're making progress on their own. Everyone stops, however, when they hear some sort of disturbance outside their lab. Within seconds of recognizing it, a guard bursts through the door, sliding along the ground until he stops. Alistair walks in, menacingly looking at all the scientists.
"The three best of you, stay. The rest, leave."
Nobody moves, irritating Alistair. He scans everyone's mind to find the three heads of the project. Once he does, anyone who's not the heads he telekinetically grabs and tosses out of the room. Once they all funnel out, he throws unnecessary equipment at the door to seal it. The remaining scientists stand in awe of his powers. Alistair walks to the largest table and slams papers down, then drags the three scientists beside him.
"I want you to give me these powers. I don't care how dangerous it is, and I won't answer how I did this. Just give me the powers."
"But… all our research… you-"
"No. Questions," Alistair repeats.
"They did it. Every element was put within me… and I promptly killed them all. Funny… I think they did something to me. To this day, I can't remember how I originally got the powers. If I knew, my plans would have succeeded. Huh…" Alistair looks at his feet as he taps the ground. "Maybe my mind has deteriorated over time. Or maybe it's supposed to be this way.
"But there was something even I didn't predict. All of the powers together manifested something new. In hindsight, it makes sense. All those elemental energies coming together created something stronger than I ever imagined. With that power, I took to fighting Balthier and his insanity. He still had Allie, and I wasn't going to let anything happen to her. But Balthier was more conniving than I had originally anticipated. He sent people after me. To be more specific, he sent nearly the entire Hierarchy after me. Using my powers and fighting prowess I demolished through his pathetic forces. He even sent Dukes after me, like Hook. Unfortunately, he wasn't as good with his sword as I was, and I took his hand as a reminder.
"As I fought his forces and interrogated his men, I found out how much he really controlled. The bases, the men, the entire foundation of the Hierarchy was revealed to me. How they controlled Governments, how they manipulated world events. I always chuckled when people brought up some sort of Illuminati organization, but this is the closest thing to it. Even still, they couldn't hide from me. I destroyed everything I could to get back at Balthier… and then I finally visited him in person, at a Hierarchy warehouse."
Alistair opens the doors without touching them. With all the control and sanity he's regained over time, he rarely touches anything anymore. Lazy of him, he knows, but he's in no mood right now. He immediately eyes Balthier in the middle of the room, holding a machete. Allie is beside him sitting on a chair. Alistair's eyes widen at the sight of his niece, the very thing he's been fighting for this entire time. Balthier grabs her by the hair and lifts her up, making her yelp in pain.
"You… Alistair… you are someone I should have had killed long ago. I suppose I'm regretting something now too, huh?"
"You'll regret a lot more if you don't let her go!" Alistair shouts.
Allie opens her eyes to see her uncle. He looks different from what she remembers. His once tidy attire is replaced with a black leather jacket, white dress shirt, and jeans. His hair has grown out longer, as well as his beard. His eyes are different too. They used to be kind, caring, and innocent in a way. Now they're rough, experienced, and… hurt.
"Uncle… Alistair," she weakly says, though hope is in every syllable.
"Hold on, Allie. I'm coming!" Alistair calls out, his voice soft for her.
Balthier smiles. "I may die… it's possible. But… I will win."
"N-No! Nobody beats… Uncle Alistair! He's the best! He won't lose to-
"Shut it!"
Balthier swings the machete into Allie's neck, cleanly cutting through so her body falls to the ground, and her lifeless head swings in his hand. Alistair's eyes widen beyond belief. He can't believe what he just saw. It… was different seeing pictures and video of his relatives dying. Now to see Allie, the one person he loved more than anyone, be beheaded in front of his eyes… he can't believe it. What's worse, he could have stopped him; used his powers to hit Balthier or… something. Instead he just watched as Balthier Westergaard kill his niece.
Alistair clenches his teeth to the verge of shattering them. The very warehouse shakes from his innate power. Balthier looks to Alistair, knowing his end is here… but he still won. Alistair throws his hand forward, pushing Balthier into the far wall, then lifts him into the air, and finally slams him a foot in front of Alistair. Alistair menacingly marches to Balthier, grabs his collar, then begins hammering his face with a flurry of punches as he screams at the top of his lungs. Once he's fatigued, he stares into Balthier's eyes, seeing the bloody, broken man before him. Alistair lets him go and stands up.
"You… the world will not miss you."
Alistair opens his hand and points it at Balthier.
"This… is for my family."
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Alistair stares at Allie's picture, a few tears rolling down his face.
"And with that, I ended him. Once I proved my dominance over the Hierarchy, I took control. I needed to change things for the better, and with the Hierarchy's resources… I could do that. Then I heard about Juno and Erik. Poor girl, she was so broken…"
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"I had heard of the woman who incapsulated insanity. She had killed, maimed, and eaten people alive. I was intrigued at that strength and decided to find her. She was captured, locked away in the highest security prison money could buy.
Alistair walks into the building, hands in his pockets with a casual bounce in his step. There are few people around the waiting area of this prison, and the ones that are here are employees, which makes sense. Only the worst of the worst are put here, and nobody wants to see them. Alistair is likely the first to visit in years, perhaps an entire decade. But there are still staff who are more than willing to help him. Of course this must be an annoying intrusion on what's undoubtably a very easy job on their part. He can tell just by looking that the people here aren't here for the right reasons.
Luckily for Alistair he already booked his appointment with Ms. Bishop, and thus he can waltz in without any hindrance. By protocol there has to be at least one employee watching him at all times, but what are they going to do compared to him? He's the strongest man on the planet.
Alistair bypasses the security and heads right for his intended room. He ignores the screams, insane laughs, and gibberish of other patients who try to gain his attention. Nobody is interesting to Alistair in this building except Juno. Soon enough, Alistair reaches his goal. Juno's room is in between various others, but she's the most unique one in this building. Alistair approaches the door and inputs the code he was given. The door unlocks and Alistair enters the room. It's completely white, absolutely bland and mundane. Instantly a woman jumps at Alistair. Her arms are tied in a straightjacket, but her mouth is wide open. She attempts to bite into Alistair's neck, but Alistair easily stopped her in her tracks with one finger against her chin. He can feel her hot breath on his neck.
Alistair flicks Juno across the room, hitting the soft wall. She recovers and attempts to rush him again, but she stops instantly. Their eyes meet, Juno's curious ones stare into Alistair's powerful ones. She runs towards him, but this time she's not aiming to attack.
"It's you," she whispers, rushing beside him and getting extremely close. "You're the one, aren't you? Alistair Knight, Monarch, bastard, murderer," she lists off.
Alistair remains, still watching the deranged woman fawn over him. As she does this, he investigates her mind to find how she knows about him.
"Oh, how silly," she giggles, stopping in front of him. "Looking through my mind, huh?" She bursts out into laughter. "You know most ask me question after question after question that makes me just wanna," her arms flex as she slowly rips open the straightjacket. "Kill someone," she finishes with a deranged smile. "But you just dive right in, just like him, but so different! Oh, how are the cattle outside? Fresh for killing? Ripe for eating?" She laughs again, falling against the wall. "Oh how pitiful their lives are, aren't they. You have to know too, right? I can feel it. You know!"
Alistair gathers all the information he needs from her memory. Erik, the killing, her insanity, and even her life before Erik. She was quite a remarkable woman with a loving boyfriend. He'll have to look into him later on.
"I see," he calmly says. "I suppose I need to spend some time here, with you. You've been expecting me for a long time."
"Oh, of course I have. Erik knew you, Erik knew me, I know you. It's how it goes, no?" She laughs, slowly approaching Alistair. "And you're just as I imagined. It's all worth it now, though. You're my key, my future," she whispers.
Alistair watches her pace around him. Whether she's attempting to be seductive or intimidating is up in the air. She could be doing both, which is a very dangerous and very useful thing to have.
"I like you. You're coming with me."
Juno claps her hands like a little girl.
"Of course, of course, together we can kill them all," she ends in a deeper voice.
Alistair shakes his head.
"Not yet. I'll explain it to you in the car… or maybe after we get you some new clothes."
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"I managed to control my insane wife with my powers. She… willingly allowed this, which made me think she wanted to be sane again. It wasn't her fault, of course. But we were normal for a time. We bought a house, had two… well… four children. It was amazing seeing a son fulfilling something I couldn't. (Y/N), damn him. He was born with something I wanted, but assumed I would never see. He… well… I suppose that won't matter. If I get things my way, he'll be ruling over whoever is listening to this. Funny coincidence how (Y/N)'s adoptive family lived in our old house. Made spying on him even easier."
Alistair's holowatch lights up, alerting him to an incoming helicopter. He smiles, knowing the end is coming. He needs to wrap this up.
"I grew from nothing, destroyed an empire, controlled it, and will destroy it once more. This world, this structure… it's wrong. Everything is compromised, controlled. There's no true law in this world. I will change that. I will be the arbiter of this new world. I won't allow anything like this to happen to anyone else. No corruption, no bias. I hope that (Y/N) and Hunter will see reason. I want to leave this role to those fitting for it, like them. I want my family back… but I suppose sacrifice is necessary. I will make this world a better place. I will fulfill the old Alistair's wish… and the Alistair I am now.
"Whoever hears this… I hope you understand that everything I'm about to do is necessary for this world. No matter what, it is my responsibility to take this burden. You will all prosper… and the world will be cleansed." Alistair stares at your picture and… smiles. "Allison would have liked you, (Y/N). Allie, too, I bet. I wish… they could have met you."
Yeah, the chapter is done. One more chapter until Act 2 is done. This chapter is… different, but it's necessary. Alistair's backstory needed to be told, and I thought doing it similar to how I did Hunter's was fitting. Plus, I think it works in context too, with Alistair recording his story vocally. Well, I like it. I hope there is some hype for the next chapter. It's going to be eventful, and I think you'll all like it.
I say it a lot, but thank you for keeping with me all this time. It's been a long ride, but we're closing in on the finish line. I think you'll all like what's going to happen in the end. So thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!
Once again I'd like to thank my new Beta Reader PossessedNightz for her support in editing this chapter, and future chapters, for me.
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