We're in the home stretch now! YAY! Should only be one or two chapters left and this fic will be done! Probably won't have anything until after the new year since I'll be going home for Christmas later in the week.
Just wanna say thank you for the love and support you all have given me as it means the world to me. I hope to wrap this fic up nicely for you all.
Enjoy and Happy Holidays!
All eyes were locked on Ray's person as he stood at the front of the room, the projectors light casting a shadow on the back wall behind him where images of maps and other intel were blown up on it for all to see.
Unlike the last meeting this was all on him, his decisions and his choices about what he felt was best for them all in order to stop Anette and Black from overtaking the Village and taking more lives than they already had.
In the end, they didn't have much to go off of, knew little about Anette and what she was even fully capable of much less her new army of Savages. Their plans had to run based on strategy, power, prayer, and luck it seemed at this point; they were almost going in blind when it came to the actual fighting. The terrain, years of living in the Village were their only real saving grace if they could come in with a surprise attack before Anette could do her damage.
"When we know that all of the Savages, along with Black and Anette, are within the Village Brooklyn will place up a barrier to keep them all contained so the fighting doesn't spread out. Our main objective is to keep them all contained in this particular area, leaving the hospital, homes, and shops out of the cross-hairs." Ray informed, stepping back to show off the images of where he was hoping to contain the fighting to the others in the room as Emily clicked through the slides for him.
On the map that was brought up he circled around with his index the area he was talking about. It was farther away from the main Village square and most of the facilities in the area, though not everything could be saved as they needed some buildings and homes for cover while in the battle as well as a high point for Brooklyn to be on in order to put the barrier up like they needed so it would cover a wider area.
Everyone took note of their battle field, keeping quiet on their cushions as Ray continued and Emily brought up another image that popped up on the wall behind him.
The new image was that of Anette's Savages, some small video clips of the ones they were surely fixing to stand off against that wouldn't go down with a simple bullet between the eyes as they just got back up after being shot at. The same ones that had corned him on the streets some months ago back in Russia.
"According to our intel, these Savages are now immortal and cannot be killed like they had been before, which means our weapons and powers are useless against them.
"With Kenny having finished the Reversal serum, everyone is going to be fitted with hollow bullets filled with the serum inside them. These will be your main weapons for this fight." Ray continued on, letting Emily click through the slides to show off the mass produced guns and bullets he was talking about.
While it was a good plan it was only in theory and they all knew that. It worked on Oliver and Johnny but they hadn't gone Savage- nobody really could explain what it was that Anette had done to them to make them look half man and half beast, but they as well as everyone else were more than glad to see that the Reversal serum had worked in the end for them. For the Savages though, that was yet to be determined.
"When the Savages revert, it will be Spencer, Lee, and Mariah's job to get them to safety and out of the barrier where the medical unit will be waiting to take them further away from the fighting.
"The medical unit will be posted 8 kilometers outside the barrier, and there is only one exit point inside the barrier once it's closed up which is in this area here between these two buildings." He stopped again to circle around the area he was talking about on the new slide Emily brought up for him, turning his attention away from it to look at Spencer sitting against the wall on his right.
"Spencer, with your limited time-frame of being able to hold your barrier Mariah and Lee are going to be there to help escort you and the reverted Savages out through this exit point. You three will be fitted with the Reversal serum as well as having other escorts around you to make sure you can get in and out of the barrier safely."
"Got it."
"This goes for everyone as well." Ray's gaze went across the room, "If for whatever reason you need to get out, if you can't keep going or get injured in anyway this is your only exit point." He informed more sternly than what he had been doing, making sure they all knew and understood.
He got a collective nod of heads from around the room, all eyes on the singular point he had pointed out earlier to them between the tallest building Brooklyn would be posted on as well as the one beside it for their exit. It was a small window to keep the Savages, Anette, and Black from getting through it and with Brooklyn overseeing it from on high it was the perfect escape-in theory.
Looking to Emily for the next slide she quickly brought it up on the wall behind him where it showed different charts with names written around them.
"There will be a total of four main units." Ray began, showcasing the charts behind him briefly before continuing.
"Kenny, Emily, Judy, and Max. You four are our medical unit, you will be stationed outside the barrier and away from the fighting. Max, although you are Fused your powers may be better served helping hauling bodies of the Reverted once they're brought to you and as a second line of defense if any Savages are to break through the exit point."
"Okay."
"The medical units objective is to take the Reverted to the hospital for holding, we will have more escorts and trucks at the ready for easy transport as well as a standby unit for our own who may need medical attention during the fighting. Judy will be overseeing the operations within the unit." Ray said, looking to the woman sat around the table with Lee and the other Elders who had returned from the earlier meeting.
"Understood."
"Gary, Bryan, Steve, and Crusher you four are unit 2. You are our first line of ground defense." Ray went on, looking at each man briefly.
"Bryan will be overseeing communications within the unit, and you will also have others with you from the Village who are not Fused to help contain the Savages on the ground."
Ray moved to the side a little to show off the map, once more pointing out to it. "Unit 2, you will be posted at these four points within the barrier." He said as small dots appeared around the map for them to see where their locations would be.
"We're not sure just how many Savages Anette will have with her, what they're capable of doing or if they can fly or are solely grounded. It is your job to keep as many Savages on the ground as possible and keep them away from the perimeter of the barrier."
The four members of unit 2 nodded to him, Bryan getting more comfortable on his cushion against the wall and let his eyes close now that he had been addressed and got his orders.
"Tala, Tyson, Eddy, and myself will make up unit 3. We are our air defense and will be posted at these four points." He informed as the map changed to show off four new red dots atop of the surrounding buildings they were having to sacrifice inside the barrier.
"We will have other snipers with us at these points, it is our job to protect as well as aid them in taking down any Savages that are in the air. If at all possible it is also our job to take down Anette and Black first chance we get."
Tyson rose his hand up in the air, Ray looking to him and giving him the floor to speak.
Tyson had to clear his throat a little when the others all looked to him. "She said once before, when she took Kai, that she can't die. If that is somehow true, and she's immortal like she says she is, then we'll need to take away Dranzer's powers and hit her with the Reversal serum just like the rest, right?"
"Yes. None of your weapons will be filled with bullets but instead have the Reversal serum inside them. If you manage to hit her she should go down. Our objective isn't to kill anyone, even if they deserve it, but to turn everyone back." Ray answered.
"We know she isn't going to go down that easy. Not with Black beside her." Max interjected.
"We don't know how exactly she'll come into the fray, she may surround herself within her army, she might fly in, so when she's spotted she'll need to be the first to be taken out and then Black." He continued.
"Agreed. I don't want anyone to jump in to try and fight either of them one-on-one if by some chance the serum doesn't work on either of them." Ray took the floor again.
"Tyson, you especially given how we saw her produce fire from the ground back at the BBA in Russia. If you were to get caught up in something like that you would burn alive due to your armored skin." Ray said, looking directly at Tyson who gave him an almost dumb nod like he hadn't really thought of that.
"As for Kai-" "Kai is mine." Tala cut over from his spot around the table, looking past all the other heads towards Ray stood at the end of it.
"When he appears nobody else is to interfere, I'll make sure to take him down on my own." He said with all the conviction he could, eyes narrowing almost in warning to keep Ray from protesting yet one came anyways.
"Tala… That's not-" "I know it wasn't in your plan, but I have to do this, Ray. Please don't fight me on it." He almost sighed back to him.
Ray looked to him quietly for a minute before giving him a silent nod. He knew Tala needed this more than any of them did, it was only fair he allowed him to go against Kai how he saw fit.
"So then Anette is just up for grabs then?" Tyson asked.
Ray let out a sigh for what Tala had requested of him, looking to Tyson and trying to cover up the worry he felt for his mate.
"…Whoever can get to her first. But like you were saying, she says she can't die so whoever it is, be cautious. We don't know the full extent of her powers, you're going in blind if it were to come down to a one-on-one brawl."
"What about us then?" Nikita questioned from her spot beside her brother and Brooklyn on the left wall.
"You and your brother will be posted with Brooklyn, but you won't be in the fight unless absolutely necessary." Ray informed.
Kain bristled where he sat, eyes snapping towards his father.
"Then what was the point of training us if we're not going to be in it from the start?!" He all but yelled at him.
Ray held in the sigh, knowing that this was coming when they got to the topic of the kids sitting out with Brooklyn where they were safe.
"In case you are needed, and to defend yourselves. But it was never the plan to put the two of you on the front lines with everyone else." He answered as calmly as he could.
"That's some bullshit!" Kain spat, rising to his feet in challenge.
"Out of everyone sitting right here, Niki and I have a higher chance of surviving this attack. You all were given your powers, but we were born with ours." He shot back, motioning to Nikita still sat on her cushion.
Tala turned to look at him, hoping to keep him calmed down before he burnt the whole place down as he could start to feel the heat coming from Kain's body in his frustration.
"We're not saying you're being benched, but if Anette is still after you like she was when you were a baby, then it's for your own safety to keep you out of the fight for as long as possible."
"Well I'm not a baby anymore, I'm not defenseless. But you all will be if we're not out there with you." Kain argued, his pupils quivering as they tried to slit.
"I am not compromising you and your sisters safety!" Ray snapped at him, pulling Kain's attention away from Tala.
"Do you understand me?! You will sit on the sidelines until if and when we need you, and that's final! You're lucky to be allowed inside the barrier at all, don't have me send you with the rest of the Village when they leave later tonight."
"And then what, we're just supposed to do nothing? Are we not even getting a weapon to defend ourselves, defend you?!" Kain bit back, gesturing out at Ray at the other end of the room.
"Brooklyn will be in charge of keeping the two of you safe." Ray answered, his own pupils on the verge of slitting back.
"How can he when he's too busy holding the barrier?"
"I can do it." Brooklyn cut over. "It will be safer for the two of you to be with me. I've fought her before and we shouldn't underestimate what she's capable of. Or Black for that matter.
"While you may have indeed been born with your powers, you are still no match for either of them let alone her Savages. If you can't accept that then it may be best to send you away." He said, glancing up to Kain who was still stood in front of him.
"You too then?" Kain growled back, his jaw clenched tight.
"It's what I was asked to do." Brooklyn answered with a small shrug of his shoulders.
"What does that mean?"
Glancing over at Ray, Brooklyn waited before he answered Kain's question though from the look Ray decided to step forward to give more bad news to his already upset son.
"If things don't go as planned. If the Reversal serum doesn't work and this does become a blood bath, Brooklyn has been instructed to take you and Nikita far away from here."
"WHAT?!" Both his children yelled back at him, Nikita finally rising from her feet.
"You can't be serious, Baba!" She fussed at him, eyes darting between Ray and Tala who had pulled himself to stand now that Ray had become outnumbered by the two of them, gripping the top of his cane so tight his knuckles were turning colors.
"We are serious." He said in a hardened tone, one that he rarely used on his daughter.
"Neither of you are ready for this kind of fight. Nor are we ready to allow you to potentially sacrifice yourselves for our mistakes and failures."
"But if you lose, like you say you might, then she'll just come after us again!" Kain jumped in, his heat becoming uncontrollable to the point the others on the opposite wall could feel it in the air around them now.
"And then what? Be another sitting duck waiting for her to show up-again!?"
"I have a place we'll be safe to go to." Brooklyn interjected.
"I didn't ask you!" Kain bellowed down at him.
"Kain!" Ray barked out, stepping from around the front of the desk towards him as thunder could be heard rumbling outside.
"You need to leave. Now." He ordered, his pupils having finally slit with his fangs beginning to bare just like Kain's had done.
Kain's shoulders shook on him, nails digging into the palms of his hands and leaving marks with how tight his fists were closed at his side. He didn't want to leave them all in the battle without him there, he was supposed to be the failsafe they needed and could use as well as being the one born with his powers instead of them being given.
Though deep down, like he knew but hadn't wanted to admit so openly or even to himself alone, he knew this was probably for the better. He really wasn't ready, he knew that. He couldn't even get his wings to come out let alone control his powers, and by the looks of the others in the room with him, who had sweat running down their faces now, he was only in turn hurting them all which he feared more when out on the battle field.
"Fine…" He growled, turning on his heel and stomping out of the room, his heat leaving with him as Nikita rushed after to follow.
As the doors swung close behind them, Ray wiped at the sweat that was trickling down his brow with a sigh. He hadn't wanted to inform the kids of his plan to send them away with Brooklyn like that but of course he had expected some kind of backlash from it.
"Should I go and talk to them?" Brooklyn offered.
"If you could." Ray nodded to him, watching Brooklyn get up and leave the room after them.
With Brooklyn gone, Tala sat back down while Ray went back to the front of the room to finish with the meeting. The air in the room with Kain no longer present dropping back it's normal temperature.
"Let's get back to it then." Ray said, gaining the rooms full attention once more.
"Kain, you need to calm down." Nikita tried to soothe as she followed her irate brother down the steps of the town hall, his heat only expanding further out now that they weren't in an enclosed room.
"How could they do this to us?!" He yelled over his shoulder at her, ignoring her earlier words.
"They forced us to grow up, forced us to train every day and suddenly that's not good enough for them?!"
"You know they did it with the best intentions." Nikita tried to defend.
She too couldn't deny she was upset over their fathers' decisions to keep them out of the fight, and while their intentions seemed to be good all-around it also felt wrong to hold them back just in case. Or worse, send them away.
While she knew her brother wanted to play a bigger role, had the weight of being the failsafe Kenny talked about on his shoulders, she'd done her best to share his burdens with him through everything they'd been put through together yet he was persistent in keeping it all for himself.
She had tried to sympathize with him, understand that this was a bigger fight than just making sure Anette didn't burn the entire world to the ground as Kain had been her prime target alongside Kai all this time but she didn't want to just be tossed aside either. This was their fight just as much as it was their parents'. Kai was still both their father just like Tala and Ray were and they deserved to play a part in bringing him home and back to them.
"Good intentions my ass…." Kain grumbled as he continued back towards their home, the air quivering around him and the heat so immense Nikita had to keep back from getting too close to him.
"Kain, please." She tried to plead with him only to get cut short when her ears perked at the sound of someone approaching them from behind.
Also hearing Brooklyn coming down the steps towards them, Kain whipped around with a glare settling over his features and his pupils thinner than before and the color of his eyes flickered to black rapidly.
"I see…" Brooklyn mused quietly to himself when he saw it, continuing his approach to where Kain had stopped just a few feet away from the last step.
"What do you want?" Kain seethed at him.
"I offered to speak to the two of you. I understand that you're not happy with these arrangements but getting so worked up like this to the point you'll be doing Anette's job for her isn't how to go about it." Brooklyn answered as he came to stop in front of him.
"Then they should have that about that before trying to send us away!" Kain argued, the color of his eyes flickering again.
Without their knowing, Brooklyn pulled up a barrier around the two of them that when Nikita tried to come closer, after not being able to feel Kain's heat in the air around her anymore, she bumped into it.
With all of Kain's heat trapped within the barrier now, sweat began to run down Brooklyn's fair skin, the back of his shirt beginning to stick to his back from the wet spots where the sweat had seeped into his clothes.
It felt like he had walked right into an open furnace, even the smell in the air had gone stale and almost burned the inside of his nose as he breathed it in.
"Why don't you realize that this is for your own good instead of being a spoiled brat about it?" Brooklyn shot back.
"The sacrifices your parents are willing to make are for you! Yet you want to throw a tantrum like a child and throw it back in their faces. If this is what your father wants then I will do my part, even if that means I have to drag you away from the fight kicking and screaming. Do you understand me?"
Kain's muscles relaxed some at the harsh scolding, taking in Brooklyn's words and the ones from the night before.
"But they need me!" He argued with less fire in his voice.
"They need you alive!" Brooklyn roared back, Kain flinching as Brooklyn's voice shook him to his core and took a step back from him.
"You, everyone, knows of my failures where it concerns what's fixing to happen. You think you have a weight on your shoulders because of who your parents are, what power lies inside your very veins? You know nothing about what it means to carry a heavy burden! The only burden you have is the one you placed on yourself when you have everyone else around you trying to alleviate it, yet you want to hold onto it because you think you're something special."
"That's not-" "Don't you dare try and lie to my face!" Brooklyn cut over aggressively.
Kain shut his mouth after that, the heat that had been filling the barrier that kept them locked out from the rest of Village dissipating as it shrunk back into his skin. With his head lowering, bangs falling in his face, his pupils dilated as he just stood there with no way but to accept everything that had been said and dictated at the meeting.
At seeing Kain shrink into himself, knowing he had come in hard, Brooklyn let out a heavy sigh through his nose. It was never his intention to break the boy down but he needed Kain to understand that he was not about to disobey Ray's orders let alone let something happen to his flesh and blood.
"Now enough of this." He started more calmly, letting the barrier down and turning on his heel to head back into the meeting.
"You have been given your orders, and I intend to follow through with mine." He finished, taking his leave where all Kain and Nikita could do was let him go off.
"Kain…" Nikita called, stepping up to her brother and reaching out hesitantly as she watched his arms shake and tears running down his pale cheeks only for him to turn and disappear in a bright red flash of light from her before she could touch his shoulder.
"We'll have guards posted at these spots to alert us when Anette arrives just outside the Village, they too will have the Reversal serum with them but it's not their job or objective to try and take any of them out.
"Once Anette is spotted they are to be moved back to the Village with the rest of us, using Brooklyn's portal to get out of there safely and quickly." Ray said as the map behind him showed images and pictures of the outskirts of the Village and where they normally trained in the open fields.
Just as he was about to speak again the door to the room opened, cutting him off as Brooklyn made his way back into the room but walked past the cushion he had taken earlier and headed straight for Ray at the end of the table.
"I need to speak with you and Tala."
"O-okay… Are the kids alright?" Ray asked as he blinked at him.
Brooklyn nodded, heading back the way he had come with Tala rushing to stand up from the table as he looked to Ray with a worried and questioning look that Ray threw right back at him.
"Excuse us." Ray sent to the room, rushing to follow Brooklyn and stopped beside Tala to help him the rest of the way and to make sure the other was stable enough to walk.
All heads turned as they made their departure, the door closing behind them once more and the room fell to silence as they waited for them to return.
Taking the two further down the hall, away from all the pointed ears even with the thick walls and doors, Brooklyn stopped at the back end of the long hallway where he put his back to the wall he stood in front of.
He wasn't exactly sure how to voice his concerns or explain what he thought was happening, but when Ray and Tala could only just stand there with the anticipation they both felt written all over their faces he sucked in a breath and geared up to do his best.
"I think I know why Kain has been having a hard time recently with him controlling his powers, and why he's been more prone to snap at everyone." He started, taking another breath as he could see the two fathers were fixing to burst at the seams.
"It would make sense, when you think about it given he was born with both Dranzer and Driger's powers thanks to the Fusion process you and Kai went through some years ago." He chuckled almost nervously, wondering why he hadn't thought about it himself till now and how Emily and Max had missed it when they ran blood samples from the kids later on when the two had come into their powers.
"Just out with it will ya?!" Tala barked at him.
Teal eyes shifted, locking on Tala and then moving to Ray who looked like he had been holding his breath since he walked up to him.
"He has Black's powers in him as well." He finally informed, watching as both Tala and Ray's faces fell, their jaws nearly hitting the floor.
"How are you sure?" Ray questioned once he swallowed the bile that had risen into his throat.
"I saw it, in his eyes, they began to lose their color like how Kai has lost his."
"But why now would they just be manifesting?" Tala questioned like Brooklyn had all the answers.
"I can only assume it's because Black is heading here, getting closer each day which is now stirring those parts of Him inside of Kain."
"Like they're connected…" Ray mused more to himself than the other two.
"In a sense, yes. Just like how your powers fully manifested when you were pregnant with Nikita." Brooklyn supplied, giving Ray a worrying look as he knew the other was taking a minute to have the information really trickle in on top of everything else he was already having to deal with.
Trying to be supportive, take any and all burden he could from Ray, he reached out to put a hand on his shoulder only for Tala to knock it away before he even touched him with the back of his arm.
"Watch it." Tala growled, eyes hardening at Brooklyn in warning.
While he knew they had bigger issues to deal with than Brooklyn's feelings towards his partner and father of his children, he wasn't one to so easily forgive for all Brooklyn had done and kept from them. He was useful, like a tool, and in Tala's mind that's all he would be good for. There was no need for Brooklyn to try and console Ray when he was stood right there for him to do it.
With what Tala had done, Ray came out of his funk as it had taken some time to process what Brooklyn had just revealed to them, going over his options on what to do about it at lightning speed inside his head and took a step back even though he and Brooklyn already had a good distance between them.
"What do we do then?" He asked, looking between Brooklyn and Tala equally.
"Let him fight and he could lose control, worse than what he's already had to deal with. Keep him on the sidelines and that risks him wanting to jump in and it won't matter then. Send him away now… If Black is part of his DNA and He's still too close then we endanger everyone we're sending with Kain." Brooklyn informed in a heavy breath, the hand he'd used to reach out back at his side where it belonged even though it pained him to see Ray looking the way he did.
Ray nodded to every word Brooklyn was saying, knowing there were risks to each option and neither easier to make than the last.
"Let him stay." Tala spoke up, looking to Ray who had a look of shock upon his face at Tala's words.
"It'd be better for him, and for us, to make sure he's safe. He knows to stay with Brooklyn, and I know just as well as you do that he's not going to listen and just sit back and watch if things go wrong. We've done what we could to help him control his powers but if Black is somehow influencing them then there's nothing we can do about that." He said, putting a hand on Ray's shoulder.
"Kenny says he's the failsafe to get Kai back, and we both know that since learning that Kain has been pushing himself harder every day to train. I know we agreed it was for the better to have them stand down, and I still stand by that, but we may need them more than they need us in this."
"But what if we can't protect them…" Ray breathed back with all the worry in his tone as it wobbled out of him.
"I can still get them out if things go wrong, you have my word on that." Brooklyn cut over.
Tala held in the growl he could feel wanting to rise out of his chest, though knew that Brooklyn was their last and only hope of making sure their children got out of the fighting alive.
"On my signal then." Ray agreed, nodding his head almost frantically as things just kept piling up onto his shoulders where it felt like he was fixing to buckle under the weight of it all again.
"No one else is to know about what you saw and what we think may be happening." He said, straightening himself back up and giving himself a good, hard, mental smack. Becoming the picture perfect Director they all needed and the one he had so desperately tried to become over the years.
Brooklyn gave a quick nod in understanding to him, knowing that if the other's knew they would fear Kain would become more of a loose canon being so close to Black. It was only in theory, of course, but they couldn't take that risk of alerting the others.
"Should head back." Ray said, looking between the other two before pulling away from Tala's supportive hand on his shoulder and started the trek back down the long hallway to the room.
Brooklyn went to pull himself away from the wall in order to follow only to have Tala put out his cane in front of him, eyeing him quietly and letting Ray get further away before speaking in a low and whispered tone.
"You know I don't care for you, but I care for my family enough that I'm letting you protect my children. If I feel that your loyalties are swayed during the battle, that you aren't actually doing this to help us and you're still on a quest of revenge against my husband, I'll make you wish Anette had killed you when she had you locked up in the Abbey." He threatened in a low hiss, holding Brooklyn's eyes with his own to let his threat seep in before taking his cane out from Brooklyn's path and turned on his heel in front of him, walking ahead of Brooklyn who smirked at the back of Tala's head before following.
When they returned back to the room, eyes questioning but mouths staying closed, Ray resumed the meeting like nothing had happened, performing and acting out his role as Director while he knew that the lives in and outside of the room were in the palm of his hands.
While the other's let him talk of their plans and making sure everyone knew their roles to a fine point, Kenny passing out copies of their orders to have as the meeting was coming to a close, Bryan's arm rose from where he was sat against the wall still.
Once Ray locked onto him, as well as the other's in the room, he lowered his hand.
"While I have no problems with your plans, if anything they're thought out well enough, but say the serum doesn't work and this does become a different kind of fight, isn't it wise we are fitted with actual bullets?" He questioned.
"I don't think it would matter. We know she's done something the these new Savages where they just get back up, our means of killing them before don't work anymore." Emily spoke up before Ray could.
"So then what do you suggest we do in the event things go south?" Bryan questioned, looking more to Ray than to Emily who was still stood beside him at the end of the table.
"Less than half of our men are Fused, even less with actual powers behind them, if we're not given actual weapons to defend ourselves then it will end badly."
"We get out. All of us." Ray answered without hesitation.
"Those of us with powers will need to protect those who don't, make sure they get out of the barrier and fighting before more lives are taken."
"And then what?" Bryan pried, pulling his back from the wall and looking Ray hard in the eyes with the file Kenny had handed him sat in his lap.
"Brooklyn's barrier will keep them trapped-" "But not forever." Bryan cut over.
"Bryan." Tala warned from across the room though his warning fell on deaf ears as Bryan hadn't even bothered to look at Tala.
"They break out of it, or Brooklyn falls during the battle and it comes down, then what?" Bryan pressed.
Ray went silent for a moment, hating to say it out loud despite knowing everyone around him already knew the answer to Bryan's question.
Why Bryan wanted him to confirm it was beyond him though, maybe it was his payback for Ray having locked him up when they first arrived to the Village. Maybe he just wanted Ray to admit defeat out loud if it came to it. Either way, Ray wasn't appreciating it anymore than Lee or Tala were.
He took in a shaky breath, bracing himself and not backing down from Bryan.
"Then she wins."
Expressing a sigh through his nose, Kain pulled his knees closer to his chest where he was sat on the top of the hill that overlooked the training field he came to with his parents and sister.
He wasn't looking at anything in particular, mind too foggy to really pay attention around him as he sat in solitude and silence that he didn't sense Nikita when she'd sat down beside him.
"Thought I'd find you here." She mused once she got comfortable beside him, looking at his profile with worry.
He didn't look back at her though the corner of his mouth tugged like he was about to smirk though it went back down, making it look more like he had a twitch.
"You know you don't have to do this alone." She continued since he wanted to keep quiet.
"Baba, Papa, me. We're all right here trying to help-" "Save me the lecture Niki, I've had enough of those for one day." He interrupted, tightening his arms around his legs.
"Then tell me what I can do to help." She nearly begged.
"I don't think you can…" He breathed back, resting his chin on his knees.
"I keep hearing a voice in my head… It's not mine or anyone else's I know." He finally explained, "Been hearing it for the past week now. And today, when we were kicked out of the meeting, I heard it louder than it's ever been."
Nikita stared at him quietly, processing what Kain had told her. "What did it say?"
Kain turned his head towards her, chin still on his knee and a look of fear that Nikita had never seen in her brother was there in his eyes.
"That He's coming… Tonight."