6 hours later…
In a dark corner of a small room of the Vocational Block, Cyrus Peterson sat in a fetal position, rocking back and forth with tears in his eyes.
"What do I do….what do I do…." Cyrus repeated to himself as he shut his eyes as if to block out the horrors. "I have to save him… but I can't. I'm not a hero...I'm not even a good policeman...what do I do…"
His ramblings were cut off by the sound of footsteps, coming closer and closer to him. The informant's breath hitched as he prepared for the worst… until he realized the footsteps were too light.
"(No, it's not Gluskin…)" Cyrus thought as he slowly got up and crept to where the sound was coming from. "(Who is-)"
The thought was answered as he stumbled into none other than Kotoko. The young woman fell down from the impact, landing in a sitting position.
"Oh no! I'm sorry, are you okay?" Cyrus asked as he offered a hand to the prone girl.
"I'm fine, thank -" Kotoko started before she looked up, her eyes widening at the face before her. "...Kuro-san?"
"Eh? Who's...no, I'm Cyrus Peterson, informant for the Universal Police." the young man said.
"Oh, my apologies, you look like my boyfriend." Kotoko said.
"O-Oh. I see." Cyrus said. "Hey, you were the girl that Dennis was keeping prisoner!"
"So, that was the main one's name." Kotoko mused. "That is correct. My name is Kotoko Iwanaga, Goddess of Wisdom to the Specters. It seems I fell through a portal of sorts and wound up here. That family of four in one caught me off guard and captured me."
"Well, at least you're okay now." Cyrus said. "I just hope my friend Waylon is the same. Last I saw him, he was being chased by the Groom...er, the guy Dennis was going to-"
"I'm afraid I already met him." Kotoko said, shuddering at the memories. "He called me 'darling', wanted to have a baby. He said I couldn't provide one, so… he's trying to perform surgery on the prisoners so they can. The man has clearly lost his mind. If your friend was being chased, there's a good chance he was caught."
"N-No…" Cyrus paled, shaking in place. "Oh no… h-he has a family…"
"Well then, we'll have to save him, won't we?" Kotoko asked. "It won't be easy to circumvent the Groom, but-"
"I-I-I…" Cyrus stammered, looking like a deer in headlights.
"You plan to say that you can't, is that it?" Kotoko asked. "So you're planning to leave him to his fate?"
"No!" Cyrus yelled. "I can't leave him to die! But… what can I do about it? All I can do is heal. I'm… I'm pathetic…" he said, tears in his eyes.
"Did you say heal?" Kotoko asked.
"Yeah, I don't know why, but my body repairs any damage it gets." Cyrus said. "But what's the point if I'm not strong enough to save Waylon?"
"That's curious… My boyfriend, Kuro-san, has the same ability." the young woman said.
"...He does?" Cyrus asked.
"Yes, and you look exactly like him." Kotoko said. "Hmm… I think I may have an idea."
"R-Really?" the informant said in faint hope.
"Yes. Kuro-san, in addition to his immortality, can also determine what future he can take." Kotoko explained. "If you share his face and immortality… you may also have that power as well."
"I can… choose what the future will be?" Cyrus asked in confusion. "How?"
"Well, the price for this ability is death." the goddess of wisdom answered. "But that shouldn't be a problem for you."
"D-Death?" Cyrus said in dread. For a moment, he was shaking… before he took a deep breath, let it out, and adopted a face of fragil determination. "If… if it means helping Waylon, I'll… I'll do it!"
The informant looked around the room, his eyes coming to rest on a broken shard of glass lying on the floor. He walked up to it and picked up the shard, turning it so the point was aimed at his neck.
Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Cyrus plunged the shard into his neck…
Cyrus opened his eyes to see a star-filled void. Monetarily taken by the sight, he then looked down to see numerous white branches at his feet, stretching into many different directions.
"Are these… the futures I can take?" Cyrus asked himself as he scanned his field of view, seeing the different paths I can take. "There's so many… which one will help me save Waylon?"
The immortal informant then saw a future that was much further off than the rest, just out of the reach.
"...That's it, but… I can't reach it. I… I can't save him… w-what do I do…?"
"What do I do?!"
"Do you know what Cyrus means? It means "one who bestows care". That's what I'll hope you do, son: help others out, no matter how hard it is. I believe in you."
"...I'll help Waylon. No matter how hard it is… I'll help him get out of here!"
Cyrus took a deep breath and leaped towards the future, landing on it...
Cyrus woke up with a gasp, his hand instinctively going for his neck; no blood. Kotoko stood over him, grabbing his hand when he bolted up.
"Breath, Cyrus, you're okay." Kotoko said. "Well, did it work?"
"Y-Yeah, it worked." Cyrus said, shaking his head before he got up. "I...I think I have a plan on how I can save Waylon. I… can't do it alone, though."
"Never fear, I'll help." The goddess of wisdom assured. "It wouldn't be right to leave that madman running around."
"Thank you." Cyrus said in gratitude. "C'mon, there's things we have to do before we can execute the plan… and some people we have to talk to."
"You gave us a run 'r' round, that's fer sure." Dennis said, facing a Variant tied to a chair. "But we gotcha. Now yer gonna be our goat."
"But Pa, Ah thought those two were gonna-"
"This is a test, Timmy. We send 'im down, n' if he lives, then we get ourselves out."
"Yeah, Timmy, y'all think we can rely on those two varmints? The Groom probabl' got 'em already."
"Naw, I saw the fire in that boy's eyes. They'll make it."
"Yer mind's goin', old coot. They're as good as done for… 'n' so's this poor bastard."
"Hey." a familiar voice called out as Dennis and the tied up Variant turned their heads to see Cyrus and Kotoko standing in the hallway outside.
"Well lookie here, the brat made it out, and he got himself a girl! Can't say the same about the old man, though."
"Oh no… does that mean the Groom is still alive?"
"'Fraid so, Timmy. And he got himself a new victim, by the looks of it."
"Not for long." Cyrus said. "We need to talk…"