I stood before LaCroix, covered in blood, my gun clutched firmly in my hand. The only thing that would have made this moment sweeter would have been to be able to throw the severed head of his 'gorilla' at his feet.
"Like sire, like childe. I should have killed you that night," he said.
"We both know if it hadn't been for Nines, you would have," I spat. LaCroix glared.
"How could someone as low as you injure me? You think you've taken everything away, but I still have my sarcophagus!" he yelled.
"But you need this to open it," I replied, holding up the key. LaCroix smirked, chuckling as he stared at me.
"Give - me - the key," he ordered and I could feel the force of Domination tickle across my mind. I pushed it back and sneered.
"No," I said clearly. He scowled and snarled out;
"I said, give- me- the- key!"
"You can't control me anymore, Sebastian," I said. "I'm no longer you're puppet, I never really was. I played you better than you thought and you've fallen right into my trap."
I picked up the letter opener from the table and charged LaCroix, slitting his throat. Hot blood spilled over my hand and LaCroix gasped wetly.
"It can't end like this. Don't you see, the Kuei-jin will kill us all! I-I can't lose - I will open the sarcophagus; I'll build an empire; it won't end here!" he rasped, clutching at his throat.
"You want the key? Fetch," I sneered at LaCroix, tossing the key to the floor. It landed with a loud thud and as I turned towards the door, I heard LaCroix pulling himself across the floor towards it. The doors closed behind me, sealing out his wild laughter. As I stepped out onto the ground floor, the building shook. I made my way outside, looking up to see the top of the tower engulfed in flames. Stones and fire rained down onto the street and I bypassed these with ease. I made it to the corner and took one last look back on what could have been my fate had I been so foolish to trust the prince.
Hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to a solid chest. I was alarmed until I caught a familiar scent.
"Nines," I said.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I didn't do too badly, considering you weren't chained to me," I replied with a smile. We both turned to look at the blazing tower where police cars and fire trucks had begun gathering.
"We're free of LaCroix," I said. "And Ming Xiao. LA is an Anarch free-state once more."
"Yes," he said, "All thanks to you."
"What now?" I asked.
"Now?" Nines seemed to ponder the question, scratching his chin and looking skyward. "Hmmm. Now, I do something I've been dying to do for many nights." With that, he bent down and pressed his lips gently to mine. It was a sweet, dry kiss and he pulled back from it quickly, studying my face to see if I was happy about what he had done or ready to punch him.
I grinned and put my hand on the back of his head, pulling him down and parting my lips. Nines gripped me tightly, pressing his lips firmly to mine.
"As sweet as this is," Damsel interrupted. "We need to scram before they start questioning us." Nines pulled back a bit, pressing a few sweet dry kisses to my lips.
"Let's go back to my place," he whispered. "We need to rest."
"Will we get any rest?" I asked. Nines smiled, that rakish grin and took my hand, pulling me down the street.