Chapter 82: The End of Lies
Meanwhile, back at home…
Riku drives up the hill and parks in the garage. Despite feeling a little tired from a long day's work he immediately catches the scent of tire tracks on the ground and discontent in the air.
"Hrrrmmm…" He narrows his gaze and makes haste to the front door, the hinges slightly ajar.
He thrusts his way inside and catches Lunis sitting on the stairs as though waiting for his return.
Zelene and Xander were upstairs, Xander clearly upset, and Zelene holding him close to keep him in check.
His eyes slowly widened as he sensed someone, no, many people dragged their shoes to the second floor and directed their path to Lunalei's room.
"...What is the meaning of this?" He said in a mortified tone.
Lunis rose and first graced him with a hug, showing him her shaking nerves holding back a great rage.
"It's Lunalei…" She whispered.
His pupils shrank and he felt his body stiffening in fright.
"She was…arrested just a little while ago."
Riku immediately scoffed, "On WHAT charges?"
Lunis pulled back and answered, sharing his unsureness, "Possession of illegal drugs."
"Never." He immediately punctuated his refusal of the 'truth' and then stopped himself from acting out to think it through.
Many little inconsistencies he had caught on to ever since she came back into their lives started to pile together into reality…
With his eyes slowly widening in shock he gave his wife another hug to calm her down and then assured her, "Let me lead the way."
"Ok." She said, and together this wise and careful duo made their way to their daughter's bedroom with Zelene sneaking up behind them with Xander in tow.
While surveying the room, practically untouched by their aggressors, Riku narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Which precinct were they from?"
"Seattle's. They even brought a SWAT Team." Lunis swiftly answered, reminding him as to why he respected her perfect memory.
Riku turned with an unsteady expression of confusion, "The SWAT team? For merely possessing drugs?"
Lunis murmured, "It makes no sense. What are we missing?"
Riku had difficulty confessing his ignorance as he pinched the space between his eyes and sighed, "Plenty that our daughter has kept hidden from us, I'm afraid…"
Where his five senses failed him, Riku opted to use his mastery of the elements to hunt for secrets.
"I knew it." Zelene's whispered disrupted his concentration and the parents turned to address her woes.
She held Xander under her arms and glanced to the side, bitterly biting her lip, "She was disappearing in the middle of the night…"
"How did you know what we were saying?" Riku muttered curiously.
But that provided a valuable hint, and he turned to the room, "Disappearing…"
He felt a circular piece of metal that shouldn't belong underneath the bed rug and walked over, bending down and flipping it to see a teleporter pad glued to it.
He furrowed his brow and muttered, "So simple, and yet…"
A little over a month ago…when he had come to Lunalei for aid with the chip.
"She knew then…" He snapped his fingers in frustration and then tried to step on the pad.
"Incorrect DNA detected." Spoke a suave and polite male voice.
"What the…?" Riku stepped off and picked the rug up to look directly at the pad. Staring at the aesthetics some more, he realized it was distinctly like that of a certain purple-haired superheroine…
"Haaa, we're going to have a long talk about this, Catherine…!" Riku bemoaned.
He then glared at the pad and remarked, "Does this system recognize voice commands?"
"It does, but not yours, intruder. I would kindly suggest backing away before I am forced to teleport you away to a more…disastrous location."
"I am your master's father." Riku said bluntly.
"Y-You are…? Oh heavens no…I-I wasn't expecting our first meeting to be under threat, Sir Riku."
"Well, technically…this isn't a meeting, per se, but-"
Riku closed his eyes and didn't know whether to be proud or frustrated, "She had developed her own AI program…"
He then politely spoke to the voice, "Listen, I don't have time to waste on conversations. I'm not sure you're aware, but your master, MY daughter, has been arrested."
"Yes, yes. I am…quite aware. If you wouldn't mind, Sir Riku, I'd like to introduce myself."
"...Proceed." Riku muttered.
"My name is S.A.N.C.T.U.M., and normally I serve as my master's means of fighting criminals at night."
Xander gasped in shock, "Big sis is a superhero?!"
Lunis gestured back softly, "Zelene, take Xander to his room please and keep him there until I come get you."
Zelene clicked her tongue in anger, "She was keeping this from all of us, I can't believe HER…!"
But she left, and the adults continued addressing the machine.
Lunis asked, "S.A.N.C.T.U.M., could you give a brief summary on why my daughter has been arrested for a crime she didn't commit?"
"Ah, you must be her lovely mother, Lunis. It is an honor to meet you too. Ahem…! But yes, ummm…"
"Over the course of the last year, master has been tracking down the movements of the organization 'Dregs'. We had discovered that they employed the means to create superpowers in humans. Right now one of those individuals, codenamed 'Devil', has been hiding among the police in their civilian identity."
"Thus, my master has formulated a plan to trap him, expose him, and hopefully put an end to 'Dregs' plans."
Riku and Lunis stared at each other in disbelief, while S.A.N.C.T.U.M. awkwardly spoke, "I…don't think she wanted me to mention any of this, but…my 'gut' tells me this was the right call."
Riku nodded, "No. Thank you."
He then put the rug down and both of them left the room, with Lunis nudging him with a mere look from her eyes, "Riku…"
Riku looked at her and she smiled, "Be careful out there."
"Say no more," Riku nodded, and then held her by the shoulders and smiled back, "I entrust the homefront to you. But it may be wise to alert my brother of these proceedings."
As he let go and started his determined march of fury, he narrowed his eyes and whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this…"
Once he took one step out the door he looked towards the sky and said, "Now…time to get my foolish, but brilliant daughter back…"
And so, for the first time in many, many years, the man whose name meant land, left it behind and took flight, becoming a blur in the sky.
Seattle Precinct…
Sirens blaring, red lights flashing…
The announcement was heard by every officer in the vicinity, who picked up their guns and ammunition and started the lockdown procedures.
Loyalty didn't mean shit at this point. Every one of these officers could've been Dregs plants and Mark would still be under this intense pressure of oppression.
He had managed to sneak around without raising a fuss, but his courage to keep fighting was slipping fast…
"Why…?!"
What started as two friends passing each other by in that moment in the interrogation room, quickly turned to Mark seeing the Devil in the mirror.
Every dinner, every joke, every ounce of comfort Vida had produced for him was now perverted and warped.
He centered his attention on his daughter in particular, and how close Vida had gotten to her. Was…was this all an act?
Did he ever truly KNOW a man named 'Vida'?
He lost his balance and slammed his hand against the wall, ready to throw up as his whole world twisted and turned.
"I-I never should've taken up her aid…! Damn it…DAMN IT!"
He pulled himself up and two officers stopped running rampant to look at him, "Hey, isn't he acting funny?"
Mark grit his teeth as the two officers gestured at each other in increasingly carefree ways.
"We can drop the act, dude. He's been a thorn in our side along with that robot's owner for months now."
"Oh…" The second officer took on a grimmer tone as both of them raised their guns, "Right."
"Ghhh…!" Mark felt time froze around him as adrenaline pumped into his heart and brain and made him feel blind.
Instead of churning in the chaos, this humble police officer swam alongside the tide and made it his power.
With a feral roar that shook the officers into a paralyzed state, he sprinted forward and quickly disarmed one of them using Julius' technique.
Then he took the blunt end of the rifle and smashed the other officer across the face with it. The visor fortunately took most of the impact.
He then clocked the other officer in the chest with his elbow followed by jumping and putting all his weight into a single punch that broke through the glass and knocked him out cold.
But this left Mark to tumble on the ground and hurt his arm.
The adrenaline pulled out, leaving him panting and sweating as she pulled himself onto his rear and leaned against the wall.
"D-Damn it…!"
Ultimately, he dug into the source of his anger and realized…he would never stop thinking of Vida as his brother.
"Ha…haa…haa…"
"Mark?"
"AH!" He screamed, which was fortunately blanketed by the sirens, "S-S.A.N.C.T.U.M.?"
He looked around wildly only to remember he still had the towel in his pocket.
He had already snuck the hologram projector into Lunalei's possession which could only mean there was another device in play…
He reached into his pockets and unraveled the towel to see a bot, maybe the size of his thumb, crawling around inside.
"Ah, thank you!" The bot then hopped onto his hand and looked up at him, "There's little time to explain. So hang on!"
The bot deconstructed into a million smaller bots that crawled around his hand and formed a metallic gauntlet, kind of in the vein of Iron Man's repulsor.
"H-Huh?" Mark really should've known better than to show surprise by now.
"Master armed this with a paralyzing projectile to defend yourself with. Alas, I can only fire ten shots."
"...A-And how many officers are in the building right now?" Mark said, choosing to roll with the hand he's been dealt.
"By my count…? Forty. And that's not including the Devil, whose presence I cannot detect."
"V-Vida, his name is…" Mark leaned back and groaned.
With his inability to escape his feelings weighing him down, he slowly realized there was only one way this whole confrontation was going to end…
"I-I have to ask him directly…"
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. then remarked, "Mark, are you going to be alright? Your vitals are high…"
Mark pulled himself up despite the pain in his arm and muttered, "I-I'm going to be ok. I've stuck it out this long, haven't I?"
He then turned to the right and saw two officers turning and chasing after him with their stun batons out.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. forced his hand up and he shouted, "Allow me!"
The hands then condensed energy into the palm and fired off a sound rending pulse that pushed through both officers and zapped them long enough to knock them out on the floor.
"Huh…" Mark stated plainly, "H-Hey, if you don't mind me asking…where did all this even come from?"
"Ah, the master called in a favor from her 'senpai' for a small supply of nanotech."
"...Her teacher must be even more impressive…" But there was no time to focus on that, Mark looked his metal glove in the 'face' and asked, "Can you guide me to your mast-I mean, Lunalei?"
"She's cloaking her presence too, but I should be able to…"
"Ok good…let's get moving."
Mark ran down the halls as the windows finally finished getting sealed off and the only way to see was via the dim red lights in the ceiling.
"Tsk…!" He grit his teeth and kept his wits about him. He had run these halls too many times to get ambushed by these invaders.
Quick thinking was of the essence, especially on limited ammo.
He ran into a fellow officer patrolling by himself and steadied his hand to knock him out, but then pulled away to another hall and waited to see if more would show up.
Unfortunately, patience proved his undoing, as three more officers started to come in from the way he just came down, forcing him to retreat down this detour path.
But once he got near the end of it he saw the shadows of two more officers closing in, weapons drawn.
"Shit…!" He muttered.
"Sir Mark, I would suggest knocking out the two in front of you."
"If I do that it'll alert the others behind us…!" He insisted.
"Do you trust me?"
"...Of course I do." Mark then sighed and raised his glove, firing a shot off that paralyzed the officers the moment they became visible.
And their stunned scream prompted the movement of the four officers behind him.
He turned around and prepared to fire another shot, only to recognize that the officers were already pulling the triggers…
"He has arrived." S.A.N.C.T.U.M. remarked calmly.
The wall next to the officers was breached and in a panic they turned to fire upon the figure in the dust cloud.
Faster than Mark could catch, he watched as the figure blurred between the officers and disarmed them, and then once they stopped moving the officers were flung like the air had just punched them across the face.
Mark cautiously raised his glove and the figure turned, projecting an immense presence not even the likes of which 'Dregs' best could produce.
Mark was paralyzed as the figure appeared before him in the blink of an eye.
He was tall, bearded, and carried a looming, but patient presence…which made the rage in his eyes all the more deadly.
But the moment the two made eye contact, there was something…familiar about his gaze.
Mark recalled the fire that he was saved from, a figure that had pulled him out of it becoming a little clearer. But his mind distorted reality, refusing to make it perfectly clear.
And regardless of that…this man's gaze reminded him of the girl who had been working alongside him all this time.
"Are you…Lunalei's father?" He murmured on a hunch.
The man immediately raised his brows and surrendered his rage to Mark's curiosity, "You're familiar with her?"
Mark nodded, "Y-Yeah, we…we've been partners on the 'Dregs' case."
The man then turned his gaze to Mark's glove and smiled, "Hello again, S.A.N.C.T.U.M."
"I…didn't think you'd arrive so quickly, Sir Riku." The robot said in reverence.
Four officers approach the two, two on each end of the hall. While Mark took them out with one projectile, Riku instead closed his hand and tore out part of the wall next to them to knock them out under a pile of debris.
Mark spun back and went, "HUH?!"
Riku opened his fist and focused on more important matters, "Where is my daughter now?"
Mark shook his head, "I don't know. She's masking her presence from S.A.N.C.T.U.M."
Riku faced forward and remarked, "That girl of mine…she gets this from her teacher."
Mark then said, still wondering how he's able to keep standing alongside these incredible figures, "I-I don't know how much you know, but there's a powerful individual inside this building. He's able to manipulate his bones in a plethora of dangerous ways."
"Bone manipulation, eh? Then his skeleton is likely denser than most…" After making this observation Riku closed his eyes for a brief moment and then turned around, marching down the hall, "He's this way. And if we find him, we'll likely find my daughter."
Mark swallowed his worries and followed after him.
Needless to say there wasn't a single officer that could stand in their path. Without so much as lifting a finger, Riku tore apart the environment to take out anyone standing in his way.
And should anyone try and come from behind, Mark was there to knock them out.
Thus, Riku started a simple conversation, "So, what is your relation to my daughter otherwise? Merely a friend, or…?"
Mark was stunned to hear this, "B-Barely…I didn't even know her identity until today. But she's been a great teacher to my daughter, Violet."
Riku cracked a small smile, "Is that so? I'm happy to hear that."
Mark had to ask, "Y-You gotta be honest with me, is this your first time hearing all this too?"
Riku sighed, "Unfortunately, yes."
"No kidding. If you had been involved, we would've dealt with Dregs right from the start…" But there was no time to think about what-ifs, and frankly, would he have expedited the process if it meant losing the lessons he learned along the way?
"How curious…" S.A.N.C.T.U.M. spoke up, "I'm detecting another presence in the building, not weighed down by the same gear as the officers…"
"Is it Lunalei?" Riku remarked.
"I doubt it."
"How did another person slip in during lockdown…? Or…maybe it was before?" Mark wondered.
Riku remarked, "We should keep an eye out for them. Which direction are they headed?"
"It appears…a couple halls down, making their way towards the lobby."
Riku flinched while Mark commented, "TOWARDS the lobby…?"
"...That matches with the movements of the enemy," Riku muttered, "This worries me. Let's get moving."
They followed their lead and along the way, noticed that more officers had been knocked out, and suspected Lunalei's part in all this.
As they edged closer to the entrance, they caught one of the officers barely conscious, muttering in disbelief, "W-Why…Vida…"
Mark felt a heavy weight in the pit of his gut and pushed ahead of Riku with his glove at the ready for what comes next…
The lights started to get a little brighter but still represented danger and caution.
And upon breaching the barred doors to the lobby, Mark was mortified to see Vida casually walking to the front doors…walking hand and hand with his daughter.
The doors being swung open alerted Vida and caused him to turn around. He was still smiling like a friend, but he was in a bad sweat.
Violet was acting a little worried, but for the most part didn't seem to be in danger…In fact, she was surprised to see him here.
"D-Dad? Uncle Vida's not telling me what's going on…Why is the alert blaring?"
Mark looked Vida dead in the eyes, as the man swallowed hard and smiled a little wider, "Yeah amigo, what's going on?"
His eyes narrowed, "Tell the truth."
Riku barged into the room a little after, standing shoulder-to-shoulder and immediately locking eyes with Vida, "...Is this the man you're talking about?"
Mark gave a weak nod, and Vida's expression began to tense up, "H-Hey, what's this guy doing here?"
Riku paid attention to Mark's hesitation and looked at the young girl by the enemy's side. He held back his power for now.
Violet again asked, "Dad, what's going on?"
A decision had to be made, and Mark took it, raising his hand towards his friend, his brother, and telling him in a shaky, professional tone, "...Vida…why…?"
Vida grinned and let out a forced bit of laughter, "Ha ha ha! Why are you aiming that strange glove at me, amigo? I'm…I'm not the criminal here. It's that girl. Y'know…"
His tone then got more serious and forceful, "Dunno why you keep letting her get into your head. It worries me, bro."
Mark had one other question, not aimed at him, "Violet…what are you doing here?"
Violet answered, "I-I was just coming to visit uncle Vida, thought maybe we could have lunch…? S-Stop distracting me, dad! Will someone tell me what's going on?!"
Vida answered, "And I caught wind of our little chica and tried to escort her out, but our fellow officers got a little heated and almost started firing upon me so I had to…knock 'em out."
Mark pointed his glove at Vida again and told him, "How am I supposed to believe you now?"
Vida clicked his tongue, "Mark, Mark, Mark…I've never once lied to you, amigo. Like…are you really going to believe that criminal…over ME?"
"I-I…I don't know you'd believe that there's someone responsible for your wife's death. It was an accident. Not because of some…make believe monster made of bone! Ha ha ha!"
"..." Mark's eyes widened. Vida's did too.
That clinched it for Mark, he put his glove up full force and prepared to charge the last shot, his voice grieving and betrayed, "I never called it a bone monster…"
Vida started sweating profusely and then upon biting his lower lip, he grabbed Violet by the waist and pulled her up in front of him, using his free hand to create a spear tip of bone pointed at her face.
"A-Ah…!" Violet screamed.
"VIOLET!" Mark screamed louder.
Riku budged an inch and Vida shouted, "M-Make one wrong move and I'll do it!"
He started inching towards the front door, whispering in a panic, "I-It shouldn't have been like this, amigo. You should've just been content having the family we had…but you just couldn't let it go…"
Mark shouted, "Vida, put my daughter down now, and we can talk this out calmly!"
"Talk this out?!" Vida tanked the punches and kicks Violet was trying to do while clearly gravely distressed.
"You're working with her! A-And him…!" Vida nudged his face towards Riku, "Y-You shouldn't even be factoring into our operations! Our boss assured us…that there was only ONE clone of Alex Whiter to keep our guard up against!"
"W-What…?" Riku muttered.
Vida grit his teeth and held on to Violet tightly, "I'm not going to surrender now…not when we're so close to completing our operation!"
He forced his gaze upon Mark and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Everything I've done…I've done for our family! For the world! P-Please…let me go, and I can promise you that every single scumbag on this damn planet will never threaten our future again!"
He shed tears and pleaded for dear life, "I've NEVER once betrayed you, hermano…I-I have always been on the side of justi-"
"U-Uncle Vida…please stop…"
Violet's bravery left her, leaving nothing but bittersweet sorrow in her pleas, "I-It hurts…"
Vida's heart started pumping fast. His vision began to blur.
He saw his little sister, dying in his arms on that fateful day, echoing the voice of the present, "I-It hurts…"
His body became paralyzed. He forced himself to look at Violet, then Mark, and then at his reflection in the glass…
He was hunched over, disheveled, unsure how to make sense of these past few minutes…
And then he saw that fire of five years past, burning away a perfectly pure soul…Which he watched through the eyes of a monster, a monster of his own making…
With a tight swallow, he hung his head and lowered his hand, "W-What am I doing…?"
He let Violet go and then dropped to his knees, craning his head back and letting out a single, unhinged laugh, "...I-I guess…I really did lose sight of my justice…somewhere along the way."
He then looked forward and smiled, "I give up…I-I can't bear the weight of this lie any longer. Not when it means…hurting my family like this."
Through the sirens, a few faint footsteps could be heard, and Riku and Mark watched as Lunalei took the lead past them and stopped within a few feet of Vida.
Violet's muddled mess of emotions came more into conflict upon seeing her, "T-Teacher…?! L-Lunalei…?!"
Lunalei pushed her glasses up on one finger and sighed, "I'll admit…if you had talked to me about your ideals for saving the world a few months back…I might've taken you up on your offer."
"But…" Lunalei frowned with disappointment, "I…don't think I can tolerate a form of justice that leaves broken hearts in its wake. Not anymore. Not ever again."
Vida laughed, "If only I had realized that sooner…"
"Yeah…" Lunalei then raised her pistol from her other hand, "If only."
She shot him in the head and he recoiled onto his back.
Everyone else jumped, with Violet screaming and falling to her knees, while Riku immediately ran over and shouted, "Why?!"
Lunalei turned and was stunned by his presence, but composed herself to say, "It's ok, I only broke through the skull. He's just unconscious. But I need you to stand by and make sure his brain doesn't go into shock while I'm operating, dad."
She then kneeled down and converted the gun back into a tablet, focusing on the camera of a small bot inside Vida's skull.
Riku swallowed hard and then got down beside her, using his powers and medical experience to keep Vida's brain in check.
Lunalei quickly and expertly guided the bot around the brain until she happened upon a familiar chip wedged inside.
"Bingo…" She then used precise laser splicing to take the chip out, and carry it through the hole in Vida's skull.
After taking the chip into her hand, Lunalei stood up and remarked, "I'll leave the rest to you, dad."
With his control over the elements, Riku was able to stimulate Vida's cells to heal quickly, and then used an appropriate shock to get him conscious again.
Meanwhile, Lunalei looked over at Violet and closed her eyes, approaching her with caution, "I'm sorry you got wrapped up in all this."
Violet was unresponsive beyond a few tics from her face.
Lunalei gestured at Mark and he ran over to comfort his daughter. Violet leaned against him and let the tears flow.
"Mmrrr…" Lunalei hung her head slightly and let them be for now.
S.A.N.C.T.U.M. removed himself from Mark's hand and returned to his master, "Shall I disarm the security now?"
"Yeah. It's over." Lunalei said with only a slight feeling of relief.
It didn't take long for the alarms to stop, the lights to return to normal, and the locks to be undone.
Lunalei felt her dad's shadow hanging overhead and turned around to face him, but awkwardly averted her gaze towards the ground, "Hey, dad."
"You had planned for me to be here…" He murmured, surprising her.
He looked him in the eyes and now he was the one struggling to make eye contact, "He wouldn't have healed otherwise."
Lunalei nudged her glasses up with the other arm crossed before her chest, "I…wanted to confirm my stupid theory."
"Oh?" Riku raised a brow.
"...About…how much you actually love me…" Her heart began to race as she felt him get on his knees.
He took a deep breath through his nostrils and exhaled, before raising his hands to her shoulders.
She shivered but looked him straight in the eyes, and let him pull her in closer to hug her warmly.
"Forgive me for being such a fool…" He whispered, "When I first hugged you as a baby all those years ago, I was inexperienced, and I reflected upon your cries as yet another of my failures."
"I-I should've kept trying. But instead I left you starved for the attention you rightfully deserved."
"You've made your mistakes. So have I. But you are my beautiful, genius daughter. And I will always, always love you…"
She trembled not out of trauma, but from the sheer joy of this release of all her doubts.
She hugged him back, gasping from the depths of her heart, "T-Thank you, dad…"
And cried, letting this moment last as long as she could…
Once they parted, Riku smiled and nodded, "However…we are going to have a LONG talk about what you've been up to once this all passes."
Lunalei nodded, "I agree. B-But first…"
Still smiling and blushing, she turned to see Vida sitting up with a mighty groan, rubbing the spot where he was shot.
"What…what in the…"
"Hey." Lunalei said bluntly.
Vida winced, then gritted his teeth into a forceful smile, "You…you shot me."
Lunalei flicked the chip over to him and said, "I think you'll want to see this. It was attached to your brain."
Once Vida caught it, Lunalei crossed her arms sternly and admittedly, had to be a little smug while bringing up, "It was coded with a disintegration command. I guess your boss needed leverage against you and the others betraying him."
"T-That…" Vida shook, "No…no…he saved my life. He couldn't…he couldn't have been…"
Lunalei glared at him, "You didn't stick around long enough to see what happened to Hamazaki, did you?"
Vida looked up, "How did you even find out about this?"
Lunalei gestured to her right, "My dad brought it in."
Vida and Riku met gazes and Vida laughed, "Ah…now it all lines up. You're the doctor who was operating on Alice…"
He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank god, she's alive then…"
Lunalei raised a brow, "Alice?"
Riku sighed, "I have my own story to tell later, it seems."
Lunalei logged that away for now and approached Vida, who was clearly taking this betrayal seriously.
"Vida…" Once he looked up at her, she said, "If your boss couldn't even trust you, how can you even say he was telling the truth about his operation?"
"Letting those supply crates remain out there is a bad idea. So tell us where they're all located. There's still time to truly stand on the right side of justice."
Vida hung his hands between his legs and sighed, "...Alright, I'll cooperate. I guess you did technically save my life, chica."
A moment later, Mark stood next to them.
Vida hung his head and looked away, "Sorry, amigo."
"Sorry? Vida, look at me." Mark gestured at himself and once Vida turned, he coiled his fist and punched him really hard across the face, laying him out onto the floor.
Mark then stumbled, his knuckles blistering, "I-I refuse to believe that everything you said and did with us over the last few years have all been a lie, so tell me…! What actually happened to my wife?!"
Vida pulled himself back up but refused to look him in the face.
"...Your wife was too good of a sleuth. She found the supply crate we were hiding in the museum by following a trail of clues."
"I slipped away from Anthony and the kids as we were on the way back to the museum after your wife had triggered the alarm."
"I hung to the rafters…all I wanted to do was scare her off."
"But my eagerness got the better of me, and on top of being surprised by her presence…the shot I fired ricocheted off the metal bars and hit the furnace. And well…the rest is history."
Mark shook, "I-It was all just an accident…? So…so why…?"
Vida shook his head, "The only way I could've protected you from being targeted by 'Dregs' was to hold onto the truth, and try to keep you from figuring it out."
"A-And I mean…would you have believed I was the Devil if I had told you?"
"...I…I would've at least listened." Mark admitted.
"Yeah?" Vida frowned, then turned aside and whispered, "...Guess I got no one to blame but myself…Sorry for everything I did, Mark."
"Maybe…it would've been better off if I had been shot."
Lunalei then took his turn to punch him across the face, growling in frustration, "Shut the hell up! When you die, you don't get to do anything in this world anymore!"
"S-So if you feel so guilty about your crimes, then live to repent for them! And I won't accept anything less than your utmost best, got it?!"
Vida rubbed his cheek and groaned, "Shit, alright…! Fine…!"
Lunalei then shook her sore hand and crossed her arms, "Starting off with those coordinates."
Vida closed his eyes and sighed, "Alright. Some of these are gonna be rough estimates cause we had to move crates often lately."
Riku commented, "I'll help memorize them."
Lunalei raised her hand, "No. I got this. You need to contact Uncle Mew and everyone else you can and tell them to meet us outside the city pronto."
"We're going to dismantle 'Dregs' entire operation, and then…Take down the final boss once and for all!"
Next Time: The Man Who Burned the World