"What the hell is that supposed to decode into?" Brandon thought aloud, trying to crack the puzzle in his head.
"I-I dunno." Alice replied.
"Maybe we should try to decode it on line at a time?" Samara suggested.
"Ok, let's begin with 'One who thought of you as friend." Brandon suggested. "Who have we met along our journey that was male and we befriended?"
"Nickolai, Alex," Alice began.
"Cam and Fred, too!" Samara put in.
"Um, Soul, Kidd and BlackStar. Anyone else?"
"Alec." Brandon finished, turning his attention towards the unconscious boy.
"Actually, due to the recent events, he probably doesn't consider friends at all. Most likely never really did." Alice replied, following Brandon's gaze to the sleeping, blood-covered ex-kishin.
"We'll, he definitely didn't consider me a friend, but what if it wasn't directed towards me?" Brandon asked, considering another possibility.
"Well, it must've been for one of us, if you consider the second-to-last line." Alice replied.
"Very true." Brandon said, pondering that line.
"Yeah. I'm guessing with the second line, the person dies and it opens some kind of portal into one of our dimensions?" Alice guessed.
"Or maybe the portal closes when that person dies, because then time would be running out."
"Well, shit. Or maybe when it says time is running out, it means one of use finally snaps?" Alice suggested.
"We've both snapped a long time ago." He said, chuckling a little.
"You're half insane." Samara reminded.
"Yeah, and I'm on medication-which I will be needing to take soon." Alice said.
"Crap, that's right." Brandon said, remembering it. "Don't you need human blood too?"
"Yep."
"I'll give you some of mine if you need it." Brandon said, silently dreading being stuck by a needle.
"Hmm, no that's OK. That is, if you don't mind seeing the crazy side of me," Alice said. "I believe that before this whole ordeal is over we should get to know each other to the fullest so that we can we remember each other completely."
"True. So, what's your crazy side?" He asked, now curious.
"Well, um..."
"Don't be shy. Like you said, we have to get to know each other completely." He said, trying to reassure her.
"Well, I don't actually know," Alice said. "Whenever that happens I can't remember everything. Just bits and pieces."
"Well, say what you can remember and we'll piece together the rest." Brandon offered.
"Last time I was like that? There was blood. A lot of blood. And screaming. So loud..." Alice covered her ears for emphasis. "And souls. Human and kishin souls. Mostly human. Gold eyes. Or were they amber...? They looked proud."
"Hm. That quite the puzzle." Brandon said to himself, thinking it over in his head. Alice nodded. "The only thing I could come up with is that you went into a killing frenzy, but that wouldn't explain why you say amber eyes." Brandon proposed.
Samara looked puzzled, as if she, too, were trying to imagine whose eyes they were. Alice frowned bitterly. "Kidd. Gotta' be him."
"Oh yeah, he's a kishin in your world."
"Not anymore. But my soul is practically stuck to his." Alice said in embarrassment.
"Well, that sucks hardcore." Brandon said, realizing the effects of that.
"I know... It was actually my idea, but the spell went wrong." Alice said. "Old Magic, anyone can use it. It just can't be trusted." she sighed, leaning back against the wall.
"What were you originally trying to do, before it went wrong?" Brandon asked, thinking over the statement.
"It was a spell that made it possible for two beings to be 'connected' with always eachother." Alice began. "It would allow us to be able to communicate over long distances just by thinking. The binding of two souls. But our intentions had to be pure. Kidd just wanted to control me and he now has possession of my soul." she paused. "It's probably still in my dimension."
"So, it's sort of like a basic version of the bond between a meister to their weapon?" Brandon asked, trying to come up with a comparison.
"No. A meister and weapon can separate," Alice said. "We'll never be able to."
Samara looked horrified. "That's terrible!" she exclaimed.
"If you can't separate, what would happen if Kidd were to die?" Brandon asked, fearing the worst.
"I'd die." Alice said. "But if I were to die, Kidd would go crazy because he's a god."
"Oh." Brandon said, his voiced lowered by depression. "Well, how about we try to get off the morbid discussions?" Brandon asked, trying to perk up.
"Hell, I don't know." Brandon said with a shrug. "I wonder where Stein is with your medicine..." Brandon said out loud, looking down the corridor.
At that moment Stein came walking down the hall, his face expressionless. He stopped in front of their prison cell. "It's been a day. I'll need to remove Alec to run more tests."
"What kind of experimentation? If you need first-hand accounts of the symptoms he's experiencing, Alice could probably tell you, sparing your test subject some pain." Brandon said, not really knowing why he was trying to help Alec.
"I'm going to see what happens if I remove his claws." Stein replied. A look of sheer horror placed itself on Alice's face.
"Uh, I don't think that's the best idea." Brandon said, noticing the look on Alice's face. Stein didn't respond. Instead, he took a silver key from his pocket and unlocked the cell door. He retrieved Alec fast enough that none of them could try to escape. He relocked the door.
"Oh, Samara. You're shift is up." he said coldly as he walked by, carrying the unconscious kishin over his shoulder.
"Yes, sir." Samara said, getting up to leave.
"Nah, shit." Brandon muttered under his breath. "What will happen if he gets declawed?" Brandon asked, turning to his weapon.
"Well, he won't have anything to defend himself with if he gets attacked." Alice said as Samara quietly left. "It'll also feel like he's getting his fingers chopped off."
"Well, that'll surely hurt." Brandon commented as he thought it over. His eyes then went wide when he realized something. "There's no one guarding us. We could bust through the door right now, and make a run for it." Brandon said, thinking over a plan to escape. Alice grinned, but it faded when she heard footsteps. "Dammit, we need to be quicker about it next time." Brandon said, watching as the next guard walked into the cell. It was Alex. This time he brought his weapon Stephane. 'Damn it. I he didn't bring his weapon, we probably could've made a break for it.' Brandon thought to Alice as the meister and weapon say down.
"I had no idea you two could do such a thing." Stephane said, looking at the two sadly.
"Missed you, too." Alice said sarcastically.
'Do you think we can take them regardless? ' Brandon thought, knowing how weak this meister was. "Stephane, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do." Brandon said, thinking over his answer.
'Perhaps, but Stein locked the door back.' Alice thought in response before speaking. "Well, Pinky, how the hell were we supposed to get home? We needed Magitechnology and we STILL don't have it!" she snarled rudely.
"You could've asked Stein to help you!" She bursted, breaking from her normal style. She then blushed and quickly covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell." She apologized softly.
'We could easily break the door down. I just need to go into insane mode and jack my muscles up. We could do it.' Brandon thought to his Kishin weapon.
'We'll wait for the right moment.' Alice thought back. She turned to face Stephane. "It's OK-" She was cut off by a blood-curdling scream.
Alec's scream.
Brandon grimaced, knowing that it was Alec who screamed. "What the hell was that?!" Alex questioned, standing up an racing out the door, Stephane in hot pursuit. Brandon then realized they left the door wide open.
"Now?" He asked, turning to Alice.
"Yes!" Alice replied, transforming into her weapon form. Brandon quickly grabbed her hilt as she began to fall, and raced out to the door. He made it up the stairs before he encountered his first obstacle.
It was Samara with Cam and Fred in weapon form. "Oh dear," Samara started, getting in a fighting stance. "How did you two get out?"
"Alex left the door open." Brandon said, parrying an attack and racing past them.
Samara gave chase. "Soul resonance!" she yelled as her two weapons transformed into curved blades one might find on a pirate ship. "Crescent moon!" she yelled, crossing the swords. Crescent-shaped shock waves emitted from them. The attack hit Brandon, making him drop his weapon.
"Argh, damnit!" He yelled, falling to the ground. The pain was in large enough quantity to start his transformation into insane mode, and he got up quickly, a sword replacing his left arm. He then quickly moved behind Samara, and fired a soul scramble soul blast into her, making her soul change between different frequencies at random. Samara was sent flying backwards with her weapons. Alice transformed into a human.
She was more.. feral looking, though. Her eyes were the equivalent of a raging, wild dog and she looked hungry. "AlIce. No time. We gotta go." Brandon said, grabbing we collar and sprinting off...
...Right into an elbow thrown by Blackstar.
"Where do you think you're going, defying a God like me!" BlackStar exclaimed. He placed his palm in Alice's stomach. "BLACKSTAR BIG WAVE!" The shock sent Alice hurdling back, completely knocked out.
Brandon watched his weapon his weapon fly back unconscious, and turned to face Blackstar. "You fucker!" He exclaimed, delivering the hardest punch he'd ever thrown into Blackstar's face, practically shattering his jaw bone. Brandon then raced back to Alice's unconscious body, threw her over hi shoulders, and began sprinting for the entrance again. Despite the broken jaw, BlackStar ran after them. There was also someone blocking the exit. It was Kidd. "Goddamnit!" Brandon exclaimed, his rage increasing his power ten fold. He sent up a wall of insanity material in front of him, and did a flying jump kic into it. The incredible force sent the wall flying towards the exit, with Brandon closely trailing behind it.
Of course, he didn't know that Lord Death would be waiting outside.
The wall smashe into Kidd, knocking him through the entrance. Brandon raced outside, only to be reaper chopped by Lord Death himself. He then turned to look at Lord Death, and had the face of Satin himself. 3/4ths of his face was completely covered with the insanity material, and his eyes were glowing deep, crimson red. He had two horns o his head, made of the insanity material, and a second demonic wing was budding from his right shoulder blade. "Oh dear," Lord Death began. "It seems that your partner's madness has gotten to you." he said, raising his scythe. "Cooperate and you won't get hurt."
The insanity hold its grip tightly on Brandon's mind, choosing his decisions for him. He was no longer Brandon. He was only a shell in which insanity lived. "Fuck you." the insanity growled, and threw a slash followed by a back hand at the reaper.
"SHINIGAMI-CHOP!" Lord Death chopped Brandon quite a few times. After the final chop, the body struggled to get onto its feet, but a final chop to the head caused the body to go limp and become harmless. That was all it took to knock Brandon out.
He woke up back in his cell with an apathetic Alec and an Alice that looked as if she wanted to eat the bars. She was giggling. A lot. "What the hell...?" Brandon asked, his head pounding from the abuse. He was obviously confused, and it was evident on his face.
"You've been out for a day," Alec said, gesturing to the carved-up wall. There were two scratches on the wall. There were also some noticeable changes in Alec. The sleeves on his shirt were ripped off. Both of his hands were bandaged up, and there were sewn up patches of different colored skin on his arms. He was wearing the cross-necklace he was praying with a couple days before.
"Jesus, what the hell did Stein do to you?!" Brandon demanded, noticing the changes to Alec. Alec didn't respond. All was silent except for the constant giggling of Alice. "Alice? What's so damn funny?" Brandon demanded, her incessant laughter making his migraine even worse.
Her demented laughter only increased. "She's been giggling like that since she woke up." Alec said coldly.
"God damn it, what if they fucked up her brain?" Brandon asked, sliding off of the bed and slowly moving towards her, his whole body sore from the fights. He switched his soul wavelength so it was healing, and tried that.
"Ahahahaha! That tickles!" Alice cackled, her laughter only increasing as a sick grin formed on her lips.
"God damn it, please don't let it be neurotic. We don't know enough about the brain to fix it if it is." Brandon said, slamming his fist down on the floor. Alec just winced at the high-pitched laughter. "I hope this'll help." Brandon said, ad switched his soul wavelength to electricity. He then gave a medium-sized shock to her head, frying a tiny bit of her hair in the process.
Alice threw her head back, laughing wildly and waking the guards, which were once again Alex and Stephane. "You're making it worse." Alec said in an annoyed tone of voice.
"Well, what the hell do you think we should do, Einstein?!" Brandon snapped, his migraine making him irritable.
"I say we just leave her alone." Alec replied emotionlessly. He turned his head to face the guards, slightly grimacing from the excruciating pain of his recent 'surgeries'. "You two dumbasses got anything to make the bitch shut the fuck up?"
"Hey! Watch your mouth when talking to her!" Alex yelled, getting angry at Alec.
"I'll go get Dr. Stein. He might be able to help." Stephane said, and hurried out the door, being sure to close it behind her.
Alec rolled his eyes. "So I cussed in front of your partner. Big deal."
"And my teacher, you asshole. I should beat the crap outta you!" He threatened, his hood falling down an showing his face contorted ito one of hatred and rage.
Alec raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Excuse me if I'm a little fucking cranky."
"Fucking deal with it!" Alex yelled.
"Hey, brat, you ever got your arm torn off in the painful way humanly possible?" Alec asked Alex with a murderous tone of voice.
"No, but know you know how the people you ate felt all over there body!" Alex snapped back with.
"I'm not dumb enough to eat someone while they're still alive. " Alec hissed back. "I wait for them to die of natural causes."
"Sure, but think of their families never getting to see them again, to properly bury them!" Alex exclaimed.
"Too bad for them." Alec replied, followed by more of Alice's ghoulish laughter.
"Because of fucking wendigos like you, I never got to see my parents properly buried after the accident!" Alex yelled, a bit of sadness welling up with his rage.
"I'd be comforted in knowing if someone close to me wasn't buried." Alec said. "They go six feet under and they're reduced to rotting flesh and maggot food."
"Not if they're embalmed in a casket!" Alex exclaimed, losing his temper and fighting every urge to punch him.
"A body is just that, a body. Instead burying or cremating someone, you're supposed to keep their soul with you." Alec said. "Bodies rot, souls are eternal."
"SO YOU EAT THEM?!" Alex yelled, standing up an hovering over the ex-kishin, his fist about to strike him. Brandon then got up an grabbe the boy's fist and applied pressure, nearly breaking his fingers.
"Drop it." Brandon ordered, applying a little more pressure. Alex easily complied and let his arm hang loose, falling back to his side. He then went over to his chair and say back down. Alec had an expression similar to a 'troll face'. Brandon glared at Alec. "You drop it too, or I'll break both of your arms." He threatened, cracking his knuckles. Alec was about to respond, but was cut off by another one of Alice's mad laughing fits. Brandon grimaced, the cackling piercing his ears like knives. The sensitivity to light and sound was excruciating to the meister, and he had to fight lashing out. "I really hope Stephane comes back soon with Stein." He said, his eye twitching in pain.
Alec simply held his hands over his ears, nodding in agreement. After a few moments, the familiar sound of heels clicking on the floor meant possible salvation for Brandon. Then, Dr. Stein appeared at the door, along with Stephane. 'How ironic is it that my salvation comes from a demented doctor?' Brandon thought to himself with a chuckle. Alec, however, cringed back in fear at the sight of the doctor.
"Stephane told me Alice needed help." Stein said cooly, glancing over towards the girl, who was engaged in another hysterical laughing fit. Stein walked over to her, slightly cringing at the now-high pitch tone of her voice. Her looked at her, concentrating hard. Hed be able to help if he could see her soul clearly, but he couldn't. He tossed something in the cell. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do right now except give you this."
Alec picked it up to look at it. "...What are we going to do with a strip of cloth?"
"Gag her." Stein replied, turning to leave.
Brandon sighed in defeat. "That's Stein for ya." He said, his head throbbing in pain.
"Oh, and by the way," Stein began, looking at Alice. "There may be a few more side effects, such as migraines and the reopening of old wounds." He said, making Alec scowl.
Then he left.
"Wait, could this possibly be symptom from a deficit of Alice's medicine?" Brandon asked, thinking aloud a usual.
"..Um, I don't think he was talking about Alice." Alec said.
"I'm talking about her incessant laughter, dipshit." Brandon explained.
"Or perhaps it is because of the madness that's been almost constantly emanating from your soul since yesterday morning." Alec replied sourly.
"If that's the case, shouldn't you be affected worse, since you're only human?" Brandon replied.
"I don't think so." Alec said. "Alice was a half-blood, so she was most likely isolated for most of her life. I had my Father, who had a wavelength very similar to yours, and my siblings. I'm used to it, Alice isn't."
"Then why wasn't she showing symptoms when we first met?" Brandon asked, beginning to ponder the problem.
"Dunno. Maybe she wasn't affected because she had taken her medicine before she came?" Alec suggested.
"Again proving my point that she needs her medicine!" Brandon said, turning to the door. "Hey, Stein!" He called out, hoping the scientist didnt get too far away.
"What?" They heard an annoyed voice call back.
"Did you manage to get Alice's medicine ready? I think this is a by-product of her not having it." Brandon said, straining his eyes to see the scientist.
"No. She can deal with that herself." Stein called back.
"Have you seen her?!" Brandon demanded.
"Yes."
Brandon took a calming breath, trying to sooth his anger and frustration. "How the hell do you expect her to take care of herself in her current condition?" He asked through gritted teeth, trying to keep his anger out of his voice and failing miserably.
"Think, moron." Alec said. "What do you know about the Kidd from her universe? Do you REALLY think he'd help her?"
"Look, just shut the fuck up, ok?!" Brandon nearly yelled, glaring angrily at the ex-wendigo as he bared his teeth. The constant laughter of Alice and the feeling of feebleness because of not being able to help her were pissing him off to no end and ground away at his emotional strength.
Alec reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a folded up sheet of paper. "Look, I read some of Stein's papers last night night and he wrote something about Alice's so-called medicine." He threw the sheet of paper at Brandon. "The medicine is a mixture of antibiotics, insulin, human blood, and reaper's blood." he explained. "The antibiotics and insulin ARE to help her, but the mixture of blood is addictive for Wendigos in small doses. In large doses, say a... syringe full, the mixture is a very powerful, very effective mind-control serum."
Alec sighed. "Alice doesn't need medicine this badly. Her 'medicine' that Kidd gave her is actually a highly addictive drug hes using to control her." he said plainly. "She's going through a withdrawal, kind of like a heroine addict trying to quit."
Brandon stood there in disbelief, the truth of that statement cutting through his migraine. His teeth began grinding together and his head slumped down as his rage skyrocketed, a translucent aurora of red engulfed him. Small pebbles and dust began rattling due to the immense power building within him. He drew back his fist and buried it into the wall, creating a crater about six inches deep. "I'm going to fucking kill him." Brandon said through gritted teeth, fighting to keep control of his mind and body.
"Only if Alice doesn't kill you first," Alec said. "According to his report, as well as laughing fits and crying, violent outbursts are also a side-effect."
"Just. Fucking. Wonderful." Brandon uttered, slowly removing his fist from the wall.
Alec cocked his head to the side. "How is this wonderful?"
"It was sarcasm, dumbass." Brandon said coldly, struggling to calm down.
"Oh." Alec said dumbly.
"Jesus fuck." Brandon sighed, the realization of Alice possibly attacking him finally hitting him.
"She should be weaker without the drug, though." Alec said.
"I still don't want to fight her!" Brandon exclaimed, dreading the probability, and unfortunately he knew it was a certainty.
"She might not attack you." Alec said. Neither of them noticed that Alex and his weapon had already left and a new, unfamiliar guard had replaced them. She was waiting for them to notice her, carrying two trays of food in her hands and one in her mouth.
She was wearing a red long-sleeved blouse that stretched passed her hands, the collar and the ends of her sleeves were forest green and there was a white stripe through the middle of it. Her pants were white. Her hair seemed to be a soft lavender, the light that hit her hair was pink and the shadows in it were purple, giving her an unhuman quality. Her eyes were purple, but faded to pink. Her pupils were white.
Alec sighed, turning his head before gaping in surprise. "Jackie! What are you doing here?!"
"I've joined the academy to achieve spiritual enlightenment." she said monotonously.
"Who?" Brandon asked dead panned, surprised that he didn't see or hear her come in.
"Brandon Pazzo, meet Jackie Reethersford. Jackie Reethersford, meet Brandon Pazzo." Alec said.
"Hello, Brandon." Jackie replied.
"She's my Patron Elf, every Wendigo has one. They represent the Zodiacs in which each Wendigo was born. I'm a Libra, so my Patron Elf is, well..."
"Strange?" Jackie asked.
"Jackie, please don't..."
"Finish your sentences? Yes, sir."
"Thank..."
"You?"
"...You..."
Brandon couldn't help but chuckle a little bit, watching the two go back and forth. "It's nice to meet you, Jackie." Brandon said, offering his hand while wearing a small grin.
Jackie shook his hand, wearing the same emotionless expression. "It is nice to meet you, as well."
"So, you're an elf?" Brandon asked, a joke already forming in his mind.
"Yes, why?" Jackie replied.
"Have you ever heard of an elf named Legolas?" He ask, chuckling silently to himself.
"He is a character from a book, correct?" Jackie replied. She shook her head, clearing her mind. "Never mind that, do you wish to eat your food now?" She pushed the trays under the bars, before taking the last one out of her mouth-she had been speaking with her mouth full-and sliding it under the tray.
"Yes, he is. And thank you." Brandon said, being sure to take the tray that wasn't in her mouth.
"You are very welcomed." Jackie replied.
"So, how long have you two known each other?" Brandon asked, taking a bite from his food.
Alec looked thoughtful. "Uh, well... forever! We've known eachother since we were five."
"I used to tend to his wounds whenever his father or brothers became angry at him." Jackie added. "He was the eldest son, but he was sort of the runt of the litter." she chuckled, earning a glare from Alec.
"Eh, it's luck of the draw." Brandon said with a chuckle. They both tilted their heads to the side in confusion. After dealing with wendigos for so long, Brandon instantly recognized the look. "It means it was a chance occurance. It originated from the game of drawing sticks, hence luck of the draw." He explained, remembering back.
"Oh," Jackie said before turning to Alec. "How have you been? You've had no more lashings from your father, correct? You've been eating as well?" she asked, making Alec increasingly embarrassed.
"Jackie, you're not my mother, quit acting like it!"
"No. I am not, you're mother is dead."
"I should KILL you for that!" Alec snarled.
"Hey, take it easy." Brandon said, placing his hand in front of Alec. Alec just narrowed his eyes at the Elf, who still seemed emotionless. "Look, you've spent your whole life with her. Why the sudden hostility?" Brandon asked, trying to act like a negotiator.
"It's complicated." The Elf and Wendigo said in unison.
Brandon glanced out of the iron door, looking at it intently for a second. "I'm pretty sure I've got time." he said, turning his gaze back to the two.
"Well, me and Alec are close but he gets pissy about his parents." Jackie explained.
"I would make a joke, but i feel that this cell is too small an area for us to fight." Brandon said, a joke instantly popping into his mind.
"Go ahead, make one." Alec said sourly. "I'm in no condition to be fighting anyone."
"Eh, I don't like it when they can't fight back. There's no sport in it." Brandon said, shrugging.
"Go ahead and say something."
"Why are you egging me on?" Brandon asked, a look of curiosity with a trace of suspicion on his face.
"I'm curious."
"As am I." Brandon said, suspicion dripping into his voice.
"I'm just wondering what possibly could be funny about someone dying." Alec replied.
"I only think death amusing if they deserved it or if it aggravates you. Though, i don't know why I even bother anymore. You can't do shit to me." Brandon explained, making a realization as he was speaking.
Alec hissed. "Well she didn't deserve it and you've moved straight from annoying me to pissing me off!"
"Which is as simple as breathing." Brandon said back, trying to remain calm.
"..."
Jackie chuckled. "He may not be able to physically harm you, but he can give you the biggest tongue-lashing you've ever heard."
"I'm doubtful" Brandon said, leaning against the wall of the cell.
"I only scold my siblings that badly." Alec replied.
"Speaking of your siblings, how is Lucian? Is he all right?"
"..."
"Alec?"
"..."
"Are you OK?"
"About that..." Brandon began, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Do you know why we're here?"
"I assume Alec's father has done this?" Jackie replied.
"No. His father died some time ago." Brandon said. Brandon then realized he had to explain the situation to her as well. "First, before I explain anything, you have to know something about Alice and I." Brandon said, gesturing towards the girl in the corner.
"His father is still alive. I spoke with him a few days ago. He seemed pretty mad." Jackie said, making Alec grow alarmed. "Anyway, what is it I need to know?"
"We're from different dimensions, and we're searching for magi technology. It supposedly allows for portals to be opened between dimensions, so we're trying to get home." Brandon explained, silently taking note of Alec's alarm.
Jackie did not seem surprised. "I thought it would allow two people to switch bodies with another person." she replied. "That's Alec told me a few months ago."
"Alec, how did you know that?" Brandon asked, turning to the ex-wendigo.
"That was just a hypothesis based on Lady Medusa's research." he replied. "It's of no concern to you."
"Was that why Medusa worked with us? So she could test that hypothesis?" Brandon ask, a bit ticked at the witch.
"Yes," Alec replied. "Switching your body with someone else is a very painful process. Medusa thought that Magitechnology would help to ease the pain during the transfer."
"You do know she was only doing that research to better herself."
"I admit I knew she was going to test it on Alice, but in all honesty I was gonna' test it out on you. That's why we needed multiple test subjects, it kept messing up. It worked on Medusa a few times, though. But that's so little out of so many."
"You fuckin' asshole..." Brandon muttered, shaking his head in disgust and hate.
"I'm ashamed of myself." Alec said sincerely, lowering his head timidly.
"Yeah, I'm sure. You'd probably feel ashamed if it did work, too." Brandon said sarcastically.
Jackie smiled. "Well now, THAT'S the Alec I used to live with~! I was beginning to wonder if you were sick or something~."
"Wait, what?" Brandon asked, slightly confused.
Jackie gave him a confused look. "Alec is very timid. He scares very easily."
Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? So this tough guy thing was all a charade?" Brandon asked, turning once again towards the ex-wendigo.
"..."
"I suppose so," Jackie said. "Alec is a healer."
"A what?" Brandon asked, not sure if he heard the elf correctly.
"Err, a Prophet Looker." Jackie replied. "They heal people."
"Alice never told me that Lookers had the ability to heal." Brandon said, straining his mind to remember.
"Not all of them do." Jackie replied. "Prophet Lookers... are very rare. They're Lookers that weren't born as Lookers and they're visions are always accurate."
"Always?" Brandon asked, remembering Alice's vision at the airport a long time ago.
"Always, but it depends if they're Prophet Lookers or Warrior Lookers." Jackie replied. "A Warrior Looker's vision have a 50/50 chance of being accurate and usually happen over a long period of time. Warrior Lookers cannot heal, and are born as Lookers."
"If Alec's a Prophet Looker, that means that Alice is most likely one too." Brandon said, trying to make sense of it. 'But if so, who's going to die?' He thought to himself, beginning to fear for his friends.
Jackie looked confused. " It depends. Did you see any scars on her when met her? Anything that wouldn't heal? And what do you mean 'who's going to die'?"
"No, I didn't." Brandon said, trying to remember back. Something then hit him. "Did you just read my thoughts?!"
"If not, then she's not a prophet." Jackie paused. "Why, yes I did. Elves do that."
"Well, now I guess it's up to a toss of a coin." Brandon realized, knowing that someone he knew had a 50/50 chance of dying.
"Hmm, oh well." Alec decided to join the conversation. "That's too bad for them, then." The comment made Jackie's expression less than satisfied. "And whenever Alice gets over whatever she's going through, tell her she's lucky she's not a Prophet."
"I'm not sure that's ever gonna happen." Brandon said, glancing towards the body that was sleeping in the corner, curled up like a dog.