"This war of mine never ends, Tori," He said.
"Tori Vega, one of the most annoying persons I've ever met in my life, The girl who came into my life and made me drool for an idiot like her, I hate you. I hate that you make me think about you when you are not here, I hate that you make, for making me smile when I think about her, for making me feel so guilty for treating her like I did all this time, for always treating me like I am some treasure she holds, for making my heart melt when I look at those hazel eyes, for making me feel so many emotions, I hate that you made me fall for you so hard. Happy 6 month anniversary my love." Tori finished reading the note for maybe the millionth time, the note Jade gave her along with the "J" necklace. Tears form in her eyes, she is alone, sitting on the bench of the small garden. She can spend some tears here, for her Jade, She cries and cries as she remembers her touch, so many things she would give up now just to touch her Jade again, just to hold her one last time.
She didn't notice that a masked man sat beside her, He didn't say anything, just sat there looking at the sunset. Eventually, Tori looked at him.
"I thought you would give me some alone time for god sake." She said, her voice too tired, perhaps from long nights of constant fighting or maybe the journey or maybe.. the pain in her heart.
"I said that, But I thought Jade would've stabbed me if I didn't come here to give you some solace."
"I don't need you to give me comfort." She snapped.
"Fine then, suit yourself, I thought I might get to know what type of person Jade was," Ghost says knowing exactly what type of person Jade was.
Tori sighs.
"She was and always will be the most perfect girl I've ever known, Everything about her was perfect, her eyes, her lips, her hair. Her raven hair with coloured streaks, just like her mood, mostly dark but at times, brighter than the sun. She wouldn't show that she cared about you in front, but she always did care about you in her heart. She showed me that, she showed me her vulnerable self, and... I... I broke her heart before she died" Tori broke down again "She thought I didn't love her in her last moments. I was supposed to protect her, but I failed, I was supposed to love her till our last moments, and I failed, I just want to hold her again, tell her how sorry I am for making her cry, for not being there for her when she needed me. She was the love of my life, Now, all I am is a blaze of hatred, and even if we avenge her. she won't come back. What would be the purpose of my life after we finish this, Ghost?" She asked the masked vigilante who gave people hope. She knew even he can't answer that, cause he never had a childhood, he never had a family, and the girl he thought was his family was taken away from him, how does he do it still? Where does he get hope? Why is he still fighting this war?
" What happened to you Ghost? Have you ever tried to find your family?" Tori asked.
Now, it was time for the demon to take a deep breath.
" I did," he said.
There was a long pause, seconds passed, minutes passed. Then he broke the silence by saying,
"Family isn't a very known word to me, what I had kinda made me feel like I had a family." He paused again.
He looked at the sunset, the sun slowly fell as the darkness took over the sky.
" All I know, is my father never gave up on finding me after I was taken, He got too close to the truth, So, they.. they disappeared my entire family, I had an older sister.." he chuckled a bit " I even had a dog,"
"I don't remember anything about them which I think is a blessing now that they are dead."
Tori looked at him trying to open up about his past, his eyes looked nervous like Jade's when she opened up to her.
"You don't have anyone to protect Ghost, then why are you fighting this war?" She asked,
"There are always people we care about Tori, we just don't realize it until they are gone." He finished.
" I know there are hundreds of kids in those labs, thinking this is all there is. Not knowing about the outside world, sure the world isn't heaven, sure there are a lot of bad people out here but that doesn't mean there aren't any good people worth fighting for. " He finished.
He still has hope, but how.. everything he ever loved was taken from him.
Tori wonders,
"How do you do it Ghost? After everything you've been through, how do you still believe in humanity?" she asked.
"It's all I know," he replied.
"I am going inside, Do you want some coffee while you are out here? Don't worry I am not making it, Roach is, so it won't be that bad." Even the stone-hearted demon jokes.
Tori nodded.
.
"Here's your medium black coffee my queen," Tori said giving Jade her coffee while taking a sip from her vanilla latte.
"So, where are you taking me today?" Tori asked.
"As I said, it's a surprise, you took me to your safe place, so I am gonna take you to mine."
"Okay, I am gonna hope it's not some cave where you perform your sinister rituals."
"Ah yes, I do need a sacrifice, a pretty sacrifice."
"Awww, I thought you would never say that I am pretty."
"Actually, I was talking about a bunny." Jade saw Tori frowning. "but yeah, from certain angles, you are pretty." she added.
Tori smiled and Jade rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, you are making me soft Vega."
.
Somewhere in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Roach, John and Tori are in a Van, following Rojas's right-hand man's Car. As they watch from a distance, the car stops in front of a building.
"They have stopped," Roach said,
"Do not engage, wait until you have a Visual on Rojas," Ghost ordered.
Two men came out of the building with a duffle bag.
"Negative. Looks like he is making some deal with some other men, whoever these guys are they do not look happy,"
Rojas' assistant catches them off guard and pulls a Desert Eagle out and fires on the two men. Another man came from behind the van and Rojas's assistant shot him.
" Ghost, we have a situation here!" John said.
Rojas notices the Van and starts firing at them,
"Get down Get down!" John yelled as Tori and Roach got their head down to cover,
"He's getting away! Phantom! Wraith! let's go! Let's go!" John yelled calling Roach and Tori their codenames.
They jumped out of the Van and chased Rojas's, right-hand man.
"Ghost! We are on foot! Meet us at the Hotel Rio and cut him off if you can!" Roach yelled.
"Roger, I am on my way," came Ghost's reply.
They turned the corner onto a busy street with civilians and cars. Ghost joined them as they chased after Rojas' assistant.
"He went into that alley. Non-lethal takedowns only! We need him alive" he said.
They chased Rojas' assistant into the alley and turned where they saw him about to get away.
"Wraith, take the shot, go for his leg," Tori didn't miss.
"He's down," she said.
Ghost sparks the car battery cables and turned to Rojas' assistant who was tied to a chair.
"Phantom, this is going to take some time. Go with Wraith and check the favela for any signs of Rojas. That's where this guy's headed." John said as he closes the garage door.
"Let's go. Remember. There are civilians in the favela. Watch your fire out there." Roach said to Tori.
They stopped in front of a fence with a small drop into the favela where the civilians are standing around. He jumped down and yelled
"Este lugar não é seguro! (This place is not safe!)"
The civilians weren't moving so he had to fire a warning shot into the air and they started fleeing.
But what he didn't expect was the stray bullet that was about to strike him.
"Ugh." He groaned as he felt the bullet that pierced his leg, Tori immediately pulled him behind a broken wall for cover.
"Ghost there is enemy militia at the lower village! Roach is shot, I repeat Roach is down," she yelled at her mic.
"Roger that, that means Rojas is nearby." Ghost replied.
"Tori, you have to keep searching for him, we can't let him get away, just go! I can regroup on Ghost from here by myself."
Tori nodded as she cocked up her ACR assault rifle,
She heads towards the favela, shooting everything that moves. She fights dozens of militia as she checks every building.
"No sign of Rojas here Ghost," she informs the others.
She fights her way to an alleyway between the sections of the favela.
"Wraith! We got Rojas' location! He's heading west along the upper levels of the favela. We'll keep him from doubling back on our side. Keep going and cut him off up top! There's no time for backup. You're going to have to do this on your own. Do you copy? Over." Ghost informs.
"Copy, loud and clear." Tori said as she headed west up some stairs and headed toward the upper favela. A militia dog was running towards her barking, she shot it in the head.
"Wraith! This is their territory and they know it well! Keep an eye open for ambush positions and check your corners!" She heard John's warning on her headphones.
"Watch the rooftops! We had a few close calls with RPGs and machine guns positioned up high! , We're taking heavy fire from the militia here, but I am still tracking Rojas! He's gone into a building! Ghost, do you see him?"
"Affirmative! He's climbing onto a roof carrying a black duffel bag! Well, that ought to slow him down! Wraith, we're keeping him from doubling back! Keep moving to intercept! Go! Go!" came Ghost's reply.
Tori continued her fight against hordes of militia but got pinned behind a wall trying to take cover from an LMG.
"Wraith! Don't let the militia pin you down for too long! Use your flashbangs on them!"
She followed Ghost's advise and threw a flashbang blinding the gunner for enough time so she could blow up his head.
"I lost sight of him again! John!, Talk to me!" Ghost yelled
" I'm onto him! He's trying to find a way to get down the alleys!" John informed.
'He might have a extraction vehicle ready.' Tori thinks.
"Roger that! I'll head for the rooftops and try to cut him off on the right! He's going to have no choice but to head west!" Ghost said.
Tori continued heading up the favela, fighting the militia up and down, left and right. She saw Rojas up the rooftops running for his life.
"Be advised, I'm about half a click east of the market. I have clear visual on Rojas running across the rooftops on my right side! Check the map and head towards my position." She informs the team. She gets her ACR up aiming at Rojas.
"Should I go for a leg shot? I can end it right here!" She asks Ghost.
"Negative! We can't risk it! Do not engage!" Ghost commanded.
Tori saw Rojas keeping his eyes on a motorcycle in the alley, he can jump on the balcony and onto the motorcycle to escape. She took her aim from Rojas and onto the vehicle. She put her finger on the trigger of the attached grenade launcher on her ACR rifle and fired.
Boom! The motorcycle was blown to pieces and Rojas was forced to stay on the rooftops.
"What was that noise Wraith!" John asked.
"He was heading for a motorcycle, I had to blow it up," Tori said.
"Good job Wraith." Ghost compliments, it's rare to hear him complimenting someone. "Keep moving uphill! He got nowhere to go, but west over the rooftops" Ghost ordered.
She found a ladder and used it to climb up to the rooftops engaging more militia who were down in the alley. She jumped from one rooftop to another to regroup with the team. She saw more militia trying to get on the rooftops so She had to get down again for cover.
"I've lost sight of him, he got in the red 3 story building!" John yelled.
"Roger that, I am going in that building!" Ghost said.
"Wraith, I can see your location near John on the map! Go to your left, there should be the building Rojas is currently in." She heard Roach's voice in her headphones. She was relieved that her teammate is alive and well. She ran up the stairs to her left and found the 3 story building,
She saw Rojas running on the balcony looking at the other 2 story building rooftop. 'He is going to jump accoss and we are going to loose him again' She thinks.
"He is going to get away Ghost!" She yelled,
"No, he is not." Ghost said as he broke through the window, tackling Rojas all the way down onto a car in front of Tori. She can hear bones breaking and she knows it's not Ghost's. John joined in and held him down at gunpoint.
"Nikolai, We've got the package. I repeat, we have got the package. Send in the chopper now." John radioed.
"Roger that my friend, I am on my way." Nikolai answered.
.
"Why the lighthouse Jade?" Tori asked,
"I saw a picture of me and mother here, I looked happy and so did she, so I came here trying to remember my past, even though nothing came back on me but I felt peace here," Jade replies.
She goes and sits on the bench near the lighthouse located high on a cliff. She motions for Tori to come to sit beside her. Tori does so.
" I learned some information about my mother, who was an excellent doctor. She prevented many deaths, I've looked into her works to find so many people she saved. Trying to reach them to know anything, just any little information about my mother. But I couldn't ask them anything knowing they weren't even aware of my mother's death. I asked father about where we were going the day of the accident but he didn't answer me, he just told me to forget it, Is forgetting someone you're trying so hard to remember really that simple? "
Jade sighs.
"Sometimes I wonder, maybe.. maybe it was me, maybe she was taking me somewhere to get me something my obstinate self wanted, as a result, my father no longer enjoys seeing my face."
"Jade, don't say that. Even though I don't know her, a mother would never want her child to blame themselves in such a way. It isn't your fault, and it never can be. If your father doesn't enjoy being around you, he is avoiding a wonderful daughter" Tori said putting her hands around her girlfriend.
Jade put her head on Tori's neck, After a few seconds, Tori felt some tears falling onto her neck.
"Tori, nothing good in my life has ever stayed for long, We've been dating for only a few months and you have become the most important person in my life, I can't lose you too Tori, I just.. can't. Please don't ever leave me." Jade whimpered.
"I won't Jade, I love you and I promise I won't ever leave you," Tori assured.
Its your friendly demon here, It took me a long time to write this chapter so please do review.