Chibiyu: Time for some fun. I'm glad the fights are over. I was getting sick of writing those.

Nick: Yay...mental pain.

If I owned JONAS, I would have been fired from Disney before the first day. I'm just too evil to the boys.

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The words shattered all of Nick's mental barriers, letting in the fire that consumed the black pendant. He thought he screamed as the fire bashed into his conscience and left nothing but ash for him to fall into as the silence of unconsciousness began to ring.

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His eyes cracked open and vision blurred violently as the ache behind them became known. He let out a low groan when he tried to move, only to find that the metal around his wrists dug into his skin and drew a thin line of blood. He slumped against the wall, eyes closed again, and breathed deeply as he took inventory of his injuries and surroundings.

His entire body screamed with exhaustion, a dull nail felt like it had been driven into each of his temples, and his wrists killed from the bite of the handcuffs, but all of that could be easily handled. What made Nick's skin crawl was the silence around him; not even the air moved. His eyelids twitched when he opened them again, only to be faced with the same sight of pure blackness.

"Hello?" he dared whisper into the abyss.

The word echoed around strangely, which told Nick of the enormity of his prison. And when no one answered, he knew that he was alone. His fingers reached back and felt the iron draws that ran vertically, caging him like a bird. They met the open air under him and his movement caused the cage to swing slightly.

"Where am I?" he muttered to himself, unable not to feel the fear which grew in a cold pit of butterflies that was his stomach. He didn't want to recall the last time he was in a situation like this, but his mind betrayed him. He closed his eyes, trying to forget the way she had walked around him, clawed him with her nails and breathed horrible things into his ear.

"Stop," he whispered to himself as he forced his eyes open, "You're not in Lilith's lair," he reminded himself. "You're somewhere in the Hero Council. You're alone."

No, young one, you are not alone.

Nick jumped violently at the voice and his head brushed against the top of the low-ceilinged cage.

Sorry.

Nick clutched his chest as his heart beat a million miles an hour, his fingers outlining the shape. "You're not the Four. What are you?" Nick jumped again when the unfamiliar presence entered his mind without consent. He nervously locked his fingers together as he waited, unsure what to do. This, he recalled, felt nothing like the Four. It didn't pull him in with thoughts of what he could do; it sang to him. Songs that slowly calmed his heart and gained his trust. Something that soothed.

And Nick didn't trust it.

You have no memory of me.

It was not a question, but Nick still shook his head.

You have no reason to be afraid of me, child.

"Other than I have no idea what you are," Nick counter, voice full of uncertain terror. "Wait...I knew you before?" Nick asked as he cottoned on to what was implied. "How? The last thing that happened to me was Florice breaking into my other cell on the main floor of the Council."

The Bane was silent for a moment before it whispered: So that is it's plan...

"What plan!?"

Calm yourself, young on.

"And how do you suggest I do that?!"

The Bane sighed once, but its voice still held a reassuring tone. Let me explain to you what I am. All I ask, child, is that you listen.

Nick, having heard this multiple times, leaned back against the bars and closed his eyes. "Okay," he breathed, his hand still over his heart. "What are you?"

So the Bane began to explain what it was to its master: how it was created to counter the Four and ultimately destroy it. How the two pendants were connected and when together, their power was unmatchable. But it would take a great force and an even greater mind for the two ever to fully cooperate as one unit. It told him of the four spirits that it was created of an the power it harnessed. It told him why he couldn't use it to break out of this prison, but that nothing could stop it from acting on its free will.

"So," Nick shakily broke the moment of silence after this explanation, "Could you make a light?"

As an answer, a dimly glowing dove pulled itself from the pendant and flew to the other side of Nick's small cage. The Normal let out a breath of awe as he watched its graceful descent and as it fluttered its wings. The Bane's light was dim, giving off just more than a candle, but it was enough to keep the boy sane.

"How did I meet you?"

The Bane ruffled its feathers, hesitant to answer. I am not sure how much I should reveal to you. If the Four is planning something, it is best not to interrupt it.

"Please?"

When Nick heard the female's voice sigh, he knew he had won. When Florice took you from the Council's containment, she took you to me. Necrophere forced you to take me.

"What if I couldn't have touched you?"

Then I would have killed you and Necrophere would have been set back.

Nick shook his head, eyes on the top of his cell. "It was the perfect plan."

Yes.

"How did he know that you would let me hold you?"

The Bane was quiet as it thought. I don't know, child. He must have been watching you. He knew you well.

"Wait," Nick turned to the Bane at the use of past tense. "Knew? He's dead?"

Disappeared, but not dead.

Nick pushed himself from the cage wall and leaned on the balls of his feet as he regarded the delicate looking dove. "A part of his plan?" he mused, not needing the answer. "Interesting. And what of it included taking my memory?"

The Bane shook its head once. Do not ask me this for even I do not know. They were both silent for a moment, one lost in his thoughts and the other silently observing what flitted across its master's face. You are very calm about this, it commented.

Nick let out a humorless chuckle. "I'm a Normal," he spat out, not meaning the anger to be directed at the Bane, "I'm used to being used."

But not like this.

And what, Nick furiously thought as he pushed his palms to his eyes, Would being afraid do for me? I'm already damned so there's not much I can do!

The Bane stepped closer to the young man, pity in the crystals it had for eyes. It shows them that you are human, not the monster they think you are.

Nick looked at it oddly as he continued to lock away his emotions. Monster? he questioned without speaking.

You carried the Four, even though for a short while. To them, that is monstrosity.

"But I carry you, too."

They believe me to be corrupted.

"From what I can't remember?"

From what you cannot remember, the Bane agreed softly. Nick watched as it turned its head to look through the bars, tension in its tiny frame. There is darkness here.

Nick blinked, confused; it was pitch black in here.

Not that kind of darkness, young one. The Bane, being just a spirit, easily slipped out of the cage and flew without sound. Nick watched the dot of light recede as it circled around the perimeter of the well-like cavern.

"Turn around," Nick called as the dot of a light flew passed something that hung on the cement wall.

I do not think I should. But the Bane did turn back as it wanted its master to understand just where he was.

"Oh god," Nick breathed out, eyes instantly closing and head turning away. "Oh god!" His hands kneaded his eyes, but the image stayed. The image of a half decayed body, hair limp were it still stood on the sunken face that once belonged to a woman. Her cheeks had no skin, her eyes gone, and jaw hung loosely. Her clothes were torn and stained from sweat. Her wrists and anklets, which were shackled directly to the wall, were nothing but brittle and slightly cracked bones.

"Oh god," Nick whispered again. "Where the hell am I?!"

Calm yourself.

"I won't 'calm myself!'" Nick yelled, eyes still closed as panic raced under his skin. He felt his heart pump it out by the gallons; he felt it drill into every organ and every vein, and fill it with a foggy poison. "This can't be the Hero Council. No no no no!" His hands found his hair and knees met his chest, his breath now sporadic through his nose.

I did once tell you that the ones you know to be 'Heroes' are not the ones whom should be admired.

"This," Nick shook his head frantically as he dared open his eyes and stare at the Bane with sheer panic. "This can't be the Council! The Heroes aren't like this!"

The Bane only looked at him sadly from where it flew.

"Sure, I hate most of them," Nick continued to rant through his shock, "But they wouldn't do this! They couldn't!"

They would. They could. They did.

"No..."

Are you really that surprised?

Nick looked to his knees, hands now gripping them tightly as he tried to settled his breathing down to normal. He looked to the Bane once again, the answer on his face.

No, he thought. They are afraid of what they can't understand; can't control. But kill them? Or, he added silently after he looked back to the pale figure which barely shone in the faint light, Lock them away until they die? It's extreme, even for them.

But these aren't average Villains, child.

Nick stared blankly at the Bane and blinked once.

Think.

Nick's gaze was drawn to the pattern on the inside of his hand.

Think.

He was locked away in a chamber that prevented even the Bane, which as it told him was the most powerful Heroic object on the planet, from escaping. The Elder of the Council wouldn't have wasted his concentration on building something like this unless it housed Villains with extraordinary power. Power, he realized as he closed his fist, That was the only thing that could threat the Heroes way of life. Something they couldn't control.

"The Four," Nick whispered, his voice still unsteady but the anger in his frame made up for the fear. "They locked them here because they were able to hold the Four."

Hold it. Use it. Control it.

"And now I am here as well."

But do not fret. You are not alone.

But even you can't stop me from dying here.

The Bane sighed once, but it did not disagree. Nick watched it fly over to the corpse of the woman - his eyes avoided the sight - before it settled on top of a platform next to his cage.

She was the last one to hold the Four. And the ones here, they are the first.

Nick turned to see skeletons; perfectly preserved as they stared at the ceiling. "Kumi," he named, "Benvolio, Tardis, and Micah; the ones who created the Four. How?"

The Heroes fear what they do not know.

"They found the bodies and put them here?"

The Bane nodded once before it flew back and landed at the Normal's feet. They had hoped that by containing the bodies, the Four would lose its power.

"How did they contain them? The Elder isn't that old."

The Bane laughed, the sound even able to make the corners to Nick's mouth twitch upwards. No, child. He is not that old. As you know, when powers are passed from parent to child, the same basics stays. For instance, your brother Kevin can delve into minds of others and sense things the mind set because your mother works with human minds as well. The same goes for the Elder.

Nick leaned back against the cage, finally in control of his churning stomach. "Did I mention that I really hate powers?"

They are the reason you are not gagging from the stench of the dead.

Nick groaned at this. He ran his hand over his face and shook his head. "Okay, not all of them are bad."

The Bane laughed lightly before its tone grew grave once more. And it is not the powers you hate, rather the people who misuse them.

Did I misuse it? Nick asked without speaking. Is that why I don't remember?

No, child. You used it the way you were supposed to. You don't deserve this punishment. If you had been able to do what you wanted, then you would have been glorified.

And what did I plan to do?

In time, child. I will tell you in time.

Nick was silent for a moment before he dared to ask: what now?

The Bane let its physical form vanish, which left the protesting teen in total darkness.

Now it is best for you to regain your strength.

Nick cautiously peeled away from the iron bars behind him and laid down on the wooden floor.

You won't leave?

I will be here.

You promise?

Yes, young one, I promise.

Nick allowed his eyes to fall closed, hand wrapped around the pendant.

Why did you choose me?

Warmth entered his hand as the Bane let him know of her true feelings towards him. He felt pride, joy, and the indescribable feeling known as acceptance.

Because Nicholas, you are the only one who is a true Hero.

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"Look at him!" Tom Lucas forced the Elder's nose towards one of the multiple camera screens that were mounted on the wall. "He isn't a monster! He doesn't even remember what he did!"

The Elder pushed the father off of him and straightened his jacket. "Thomas, control yourself. Your son could be acting. The Four is a cunning creature and it would easily be able to manipulate your son into doing this."

"But the Four is gone!"

The Elder shook his head as if saddened by Tom's words. "You are naive. It is not gone. It will seek out Nicholas again, if it is not being concealed on his person. Nicholas is a Villain. He held the Four. This is where he deserves to be."

Tom shoved the man against the wall, knowing that he would have no need for his powers to do this. "That is my son in there! He is no monster. And so what if he is a damn Villain? He acted the way he did to protect his family! How is that bad?"

"In the end, he chose his side. As did you, if you have forgotten."

Tom pulled away, as if shocked. "Then I chose wrong. What kind of a Hero locks away an innocent boy and leaves him to die?"

"The kind that wants to prevent the annihilation of our race."

"And you're doing this by turning the Bane against us?"

The Elder just scoffed. "The Bane will fight for us in the end. It has no choice."

"But its master won't!" Tom tried to argue as he gestured to his son, who was currently staring at four skeletons that glowed eerily in the Bane's soft light.

"That won't matter. The Bane answers to the Heroes. It is confused right now, but when the boy dies, its mind will clear. It will answer to us in due time."

Tom shook his head. "No, it won't. You aren't a Hero," he spat out as he pushed his way out of the room. "You're worse than Necrophere."

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Chibiyu: One second Nick is a Villain and the next he is a Hero? Yeah, I have officially lost it. Or have I? Until Next Update!

Written 8/18/12