Love Struck Eternal
Chapter 70 - Seeing ghosts.
Raptor's POV, Later that night, Iraq.
"Knock! Knock!" Looking up from my desk I rested my eyes on a tired looking Zandro. He was undressed from his normal attire and for once just seemed casual.
"Can we talk for a minute?" He asked me as I turned off the tv before answering.
"Of course we can talk. So long as it's not about work."
Zandro smiled as he shut the door behind him. Once a step closer to my desk he chuckled back to me.
"It's not. Though I do have a few complaints I could do with voicing."
As he sat down, I begged him next.
"Please just leave those with Yoga. I ain't got time for bullshit Zandro. Now what's up?" My question surprised him for a moment, but I soon noticed how different he was acting. He looked nervous for some reason so I started to take this seriously and leaned up to face him with my full attention. After a moment he almost whispered to me.
"I need you to know that I fully appreciate all that you've done for me and my people. It's by your grace that none of us have gotten ourselves locked up. We aren't good people. Despite the facade the M.E.A.F gives us to operate. So I'm gonna cut through all the details and just say it. You know I'm not your enemy right? You know I only act the way I do because I care about what we have as partners. You might not see me as a partner, but regardless I know you care about me and that goes both ways. I'm only looking out for us. For your reputation."
I gently began to chew on the side of my cheek as he went on some more.
"I never considered where my people and I would have ended up two decades prior. I never saw this outcome, but I'm grateful for it. I didn't give a shit about you or the M.E.A.F when I first met you and you know that, but I've been through life and I've seen the good we've done. It was never my intention, but fate drove me here and I want to take this opportunity to clear any bad air between us that we may have gathered over the years. You're important to me and I would like to know where you stand on us."
Zandro was being real for once and with a small chuckle coming from me I replied.
"Bad blood? We don't have any from what I know of. Yes I'm prone to always being an asshole and yes I'm stubborn and very much don't give a fuck about the rules. I know that's a big issue for you to handle and I should be more careful with what I do in my spare time, but I can't just stand by and watch my world slip away. I already lost enough. I'm not about to lose anyone else."
Zandro nodded to himself as I decided to add with confidence.
"I have no issues. I'd hope it to be the same with you, but you wouldn't come here otherwise. So just say whatever you gotta say to me and we'll pretend like this never happened."
"I feel that you're going to get yourself killed very soon. You can be whatever you want to be Raptor, but at the end of the day you're still a mortal man like me. You have gifts that only gods are granted but you still bleed and you can still die. The people coming after us aren't normal terrorists. They're organized beyond anything we've had to face before and they've only gotten closer with Hecan who we all thought was invincible." Zandro stated to me sadly as I had looked away from him for a moment to consider his words. Noticing that, Zandro leaned in an inch closer to whisper.
"We have the best in terms of security, but no one can be trusted. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't doubt they already have eyes within the M.E.A.F. Someone we know could be working against us. They could be looking to get you and the ones you love killed. It could be someone within my own circle. It could be even someone close to you like Yoga. For fuck sakes Raptor, it could even be Maggie or Samantha. We don't know….?"
"Zandro?" I cut him off with his name and from my tone he knew to stop talking. Doing my best to contain my emotions, I gently whispered back.
"I'm aware of how dangerous this group is, but our people? You think Yoga? You think after everything he's done he could still somehow be working for this group? You think one of my girls could even be influenced by them? Maggie is broken. She's broken and has given up on life. She has nothing left. And Sam? You think Sam would be out to kill me? Can you sit there and honestly tell me that she's even capable of causing anyone harm? Sam hasn't ever been that kind of person. I raised her to be better. Yes she is big now and clearly a different woman then she was when she first left our life, but that is still my god damn daughter and I won't have anyone tell me otherwise!" My voice had broken into a loud and forceful shout that even managed to intimidate the normally well composed man before me. With our eyes deeply locked, Zandro said back to me as respectfully as he could.
"We have to consider….every possibility."
Zandro was right in his thinking, but it still made me angry. As I went to say my next thought I shut myself up by the sudden sound of the door to my office opening. Zandro turned around to look at the door as it gently swung open. Before another thought could enter my mind I came to a shocking halt of who stood beyond my doorframe. Zandro on the other hand was quick to stand up as he had no clue who this man was. I couldn't fucking move.
"Who are you?" Zandro asked forth as a man I knew to be dead stood innocently before him. Shadow's eyes ignored him and went right to me as I was absolutely drained of any breath. Zandro took notice of his eyes and once he turned to look back at me, Shadow replied.
"You could say I'm a close friend. Right Raptor?" This wasn't a trick and I knew that off instinct, but the moment he addressed me; I tried to get up. I struggled for a moment and nearly tripped over my own feet, but that gave me back my courage to speak and with it I questioned this like the idiot I was.
"Is this real?"
Shadow smiled and without a thought to it I felt tears come to burst from my eyes. I approached the man in a tangent and with open arms I embraced him with every fiber of my being. He was real and I began to feel my soul soaring as our bodies made contact. Grabbing him by the back of his head, I leaned into his temple to ask him in confusion.
"Why are you here? You can't be here. Not like this."
Zandro stood at our side for a loss as suddenly the door to my office slammed shut. Instantly the three of us jumped and turned to see what was going on and in disbelief I stood here holding my dead friend as Lia stood there with a wide smile on her face.
"Sorry to barge in on you like this Raptor, but as you can see I have a pretty good excuse. But….?" Her eyes locked on to Zandro and with a snap of her fingers he went completely still. She enjoyed the reaction and in confusion I asked her.
"What did you do?"
Doing a small circle around the man, she replied back happily.
"Nothing harmful. Just do me a favor and look at the clock over there Raptor."
Looking to my left at the wall, I saw that the clock wasn't ticking. Shadow and her remained where they stood as I walked over to the exit to look outside and into the hallway. Everyone I looked at was also motionless. Did she stop time? I had to ask myself as I turned back around to see her same smile. Before anything could be said Lia snapped her fingers again but this time it was only to get our attention. Once we were both looking at her did she tell us the terms to this meeting.
"First thing first, I didn't want to do this. This was all his idea, Raptor. He cashed in his one wish with me and this will be the last time you see each other in the mortal world. Now the next thing to mention is that this has a time limit. I can't keep the realm still forever. So whatever it is you need to say Shadow, you better get to it. Time starts now. After five minutes have passed time will resume, but your friend here Raptor will be reset. Am I clear?"
I couldn't form words. All I could do was nod my head as she then refocused her attention onto Shadow who slowly took an approach. Chuckling a little bit because he was nervous with how to start this encounter, he settled with just stating to me happily.
"You look good. Can hardly tell you're in your fifties. You also found yourself a new woman and a kid? I almost didn't believe it when she told me you had a daughter. Congratulations."
"Lia told him my situation?" I had to wonder as I knew I had to answer in a way that would match his energy.
"Thank you. And you don't look a day out of your twenties." I blankly stated back which got him to again smile widely.
"Death does that." Shadow took his time to form the words after that and god knows I was content with just waiting despite our time limit. He didn't want to waste his time sitting down; so without much movement between us, he finally looked at me and contently said.
"You weren't responsible for what happened. You were the only one who actually tried to prevent it. You're not at fault for anything that led to my death Raptor. Only person that is would be myself and I want to make sure if anything was to be said right now; it would be that."
Lia's POV.
Casually walking around his office, I stopped to look at the nearby wall to admire all the pictures he had lined up for himself. He even had one of Shadow and when I turned to look back at them I saw the resemblance of this photo.
"You came back from the dead just to tell me it was your fault?" Raptor questioned which seemed serious as Shadow stuttered for a moment.
"I've had decades to think about everything. I'm not as crazy as everyone likes to think I am. I know it wasn't my fault. I knew it was yours. You did that to yourself. I suffered not because I wish I had saved you. I suffered because it made me feel like I didn't do enough to help you. I wish I could have opened your eyes, but I was just as stupid as you back then."
Shadow was locked down by this conversation as my attention redirected to the wall. Maybe two pictures down my eyes caught a glimpse of a family photo. In it was Raptor of course and his wife Zeta and Sam. However Samantha looked a lot different in terms of her size. I was curious when this was taken, so I asked nicely despite the seriousness of the situation going on around me.
"How long ago was this taken?" Raptor and Shadow both turned to look at me and the moment Raptor saw what photo I was inquiring about, he questioned in concern.
"Two years ago. Why?"
Ignoring his question, I went on with my own line of thoughts.
"Your daughter really takes after her mother in terms of looks. Yet here she's quite small. I'm impressed with how she looks now."
Raptor was growing more and more emotional as I went on to ask him.
"Tell me Raptor, how does she handle pressure? Does she…lose control like Zeta? Or does she take after you? Can she handle herself?"
"You've seen my girl?" He questioned in fear which made me chuckle back.
"I don't need to see her. Do you? I can go get her if you want?"
"Don't go anywhere near my daughter. I already told you she's not to be a part of this." Raptor informed me which is when I questioned.
"Was that before or after you decided to not do what I've asked?" Raptor knew right then and there that I already knew his secret. He was never going to do the right thing. The correct thing. Taking the picture off the wall, I looked over it in silence just to build tension. I knew I had him scared.
"I should have known when we first met that you aren't the type to do what you're told. Even when your actions alone will determine the ending of this realm. I should just skip the foreplay and hit the reset button. Shadow? What do you think sweetie?"
Raptor looked to him now for the answer and with a calm voice told him the truth.
"You should do what she says. Your pride isn't worth ending a species."
In disbelief, Raptor replied back a second later.
"My pride isn't the reason I'm refusing. I'm refusing because it goes against everything we've fought and bled for. I came to my end and only want peace. I'm not going to start a needless and senseless war in the name of genocide. And I'm definitely not going to be threatened."
"Oh no, you will." I laughed back which angered him more.
"You refuse again and it's all over. Everything. Everything you fought and bled for. Your home, your people, your legacy…Sam? I told you once already that I'll butcher her if you don't listen. I'll make you watch as her blood washes my hands. Then I'll take even longer to kill you. Are you just that selfish?" I now asked him as he began to growl.
Looking him over closely as his thoughts stood on rage, I flicked my fingers and in a split second he lost his gifts and I enjoyed every moment I got to see that face change to reflect the pain he now felt.
"Raptor?" Shadow called to him curiously but he didn't know to what extent I went to prove my point. Unable to stand up for much longer; the hedgehog dropped to his knees then onto his face to grab his chest in agony.
"Raptor?!" Shadow now shouted as he got down to comfort him.
"What did you do Lia!?" He then shouted at me which is when I decided to end this favor. Flicking my fingers again, Shadow disappeared and now left me alone with his best friend who struggled with all the feelings rushing to his mind.
Taking a step closer, I got on my knees and leaned over his head. Raptor did his best to not scream and I respected that choice. However I had to make this clear to him.
"You know what's happening to you now that you're no longer a demi?" I asked as his eyes stared into mine from the floor.
"Your body and all its parts are experiencing over two decades of wear and tear. All that energy you used is now going to get repaid. You won't live much longer in this condition. All those years you spent without any changes to your body will now rush you all at once. Your organs won't survive much. You can feel it happening right? It's a terrible way to meet your end. Don't you agree?"
He was suffering. I could see it in his eyes.
"Want me to stop?" I asked him as he clutched his stomach.
Gently flicking my fingers, I did just that. It was instantaneous for me, but it took him a few seconds to stop feeling the level of pain he was just enduring.
"Better?" I asked him as he remained where he was on the floor. Giving me the most real look he could to display his fear of me doing that again, I went on to say to him calmly.
"You probably think I'm a bitch. Probably wish you could hurt or even kill me, but the truth is you can't and that angers you more because you get made to feel useless. Well you're not useless Raptor. You're a good man and you have good intentions, but at the end of the day the attrition does not care for good or bad. We only care for progress and yours has come to a stop. Do what I ask and you have my word nothing will happen to your innocent daughter. Don't and….well do I really need to say that at this point?"
Raptor was fully driven to listen to me now closely and after a few moments of thought he said to me as respectfully as he could.
"But I can't."
"Why not?" I asked him back as he took a moment to gather his balls.
"It goes against everything I lived to change in this world. Yes I was a killer and yes I was a terrible person who killed without remorse, but that is no longer who I am. It's not what I want and it's not what I want my world to be!" His voice broke into tears as I allowed him to continue.
"People can live together just fine if given a chance at peace. Lots can be accomplished if the world and everyone in it comes together. I suffered my entire life to change the harsh reality of this realm and its people. I suffered to raise a family and I suffer now just trying to see where I went wrong along the way. But please understand that I am no longer what I used to be. Marcus ruined my life and made me that old me. I don't deserve any of these gifts or any special treatment. I just want to live and make things better."
"The attrition does not care. You can't fathom the weight of that reality. You don't get to have a choice while being a demi. The moment you are branded your life is ours. You do what we say or you cease to exist at all. Ask yourself this. Would you rather keep living and ensure everyone else does as well? Or do you want me to take it all away?" His eyes shot open and without much consideration he asked me.
"Just take away my powers. I don't want to be a demi. I never wanted to be a demi! Take them away and just let me live my life. Tell Marcus that this was my decision and it's better that way. He can find someone else. There are plenty of sick people in this world and surely I'm not the worst. Can you do that?"
"I could, but let's say I do. This world is still gonna fall back into some form of chaos. With or without you. I myself will make sure that it happens. I need to because it's my job. You not being a demi won't change that." I informed him as he confidently growled back to me.
" don't care. I just want you both out of my life. Out of my family's lives. My daughter is off limits and if you're gonna stand there and use her against me to force my hand, I'd rather suffer through all that pain I just felt again. Take it all away. Wipe my memory of every single moment I spent this way. Wipe everyone's. Clean slate and just let me go on with my life. I've earned that much. I can't become that killer again. I have to be better. Please." He now begged as I considered his request. The hedgehog stared up at me with hope in his eyes that I would see it his way, but I never give anyone anything for free. Looking back into his eyes once I had a plan, I replied back to him calmly.
"You're right. I could just reset you and everyone who knows about our dealings, but I'm not sure you've convinced me that you've earned it yet."
"What do you want then? I can't help you. Not in the way you want me to." He claimed as I shook my head and stood back up.
"Yes you can and you will if this is what you really want. You want me to set you free?"
"Just tell me what it is you want Lia." He urged me as I smiled back and replied.
"I want you to think back to when you lost your late wife Julie to G.U.N assassins. Before that took place you wanted to forget what you had done to your dad and to the rest of your family. Marcus may have guided your hand, but you paid the price by choice. Pay that again and I'll set you free."
I knew what I was asking of him, but he didn't. He was behind on his processing as I just watched to see the moment it clicked. Instantly his eyes widened and he looked back up at me in silent shock. Now of course this was all a lie on my end. I had no intentions of setting him free, but he needed to believe he really had a choice in this matter of his life. Would the good father be willing to part with the most important thing in his life? Or would he again decline?
Unsure of what to say or do, Raptor remained on the ground. He was lost for how to react or even feel, but a second later he looked back at my eyes to question in complete disbelief.
"You want me to…..kill…..Sam?"
I nodded once and the moment I did he again fell into a trance of discombobulation. I knew there wasn't much more to say or do, so I took a step backwards to state.
"That's my price. I won't say a thing to Marcus about this because I do plan to kill him regardless of your decision. He's outlived his usefulness and has become too attached to mortals. Hopefully before then you make your choice though. You can die with him once I have his soul or you can save yourself by making an even bigger sacrifice. The choice is yours Raptor Voltz. Think it over well. I'll be watching to see what you do. But know this…..you decide to turn my offer down and this will end one of two ways." I told him as I looked over at his frozen friend to say.
"You can either embrace the attrition's plan or you can still stay idle and await your death along with your master's. If you choose the former and do a good enough job to get things back on track; I'll give the realm to you to lead. You can then assume Marcus's role and do what you see fit. But of course that conflicts with who you are now so I'm not going to force you. Make this choice yourself with the time I'm allotting you. I'll be back in time though so please keep that in mind while you wait to pick. As for your friend Shadow? I'm sorry I had to cut you off short, but one way or the other you'll eventually see him again. It's just a matter of how."
Raptor slowly rose to his feet with the clear look of loss taking over his mind. His only thought was on the price he had to pay for his freedom. Would killing Sam for his freedom be worth it? Or would killing others be the route? Or would he just accept his fate and die? My job however was complete with this visit. Flicking my fingers, I gave him back his powers and wiped the memory of his friend. One more flick and the world around us came back on and before I knew it I was already long gone.
Raptor's POV.
Zandro was confused when time came back to our reality and looking back at me he questioned.
"What was that?"
"What was what?" I asked him back which only led to more confusion as I tried my absolute best to hide my true voice. Inside I was swirling around my head trying to get a grasp on what was just put before me. Zandro soon looked me over and saw the change in my face. Somewhat concerned, he asked me.
"What's wrong?" Looking back on our previous conversation, I replied to him softly.
"Nothing. I'm just…..thinking about what you said. You're right. We need to consider every possibility. Even…..Sam." Reaching out to put a hand over my shoulder, Zandro leaned in to whisper.
"It was extreme of me to bring her into this. I'm sorry. I know she would never want to hurt you. But thank you for understanding." I nodded as he went on.
"I'll investigate personally to avoid any problems. My people can be discreet."
"Just avoid my daughter Zandro. Please." I begged him and thankfully he was willing. Nodding his head, we hugged and parted ways. To him we just had our conversation. Lia clearly wiped his mind and without any issue he left me to myself at long last. I couldn't stand. I needed to sit down. I told myself as I didn't even want to move. I just fell backfirst into my desk and stared off between my legs. I couldn't even think. All I could see was Sam. Her face haunted my vision and soon the entire weight of it came crashing down on my ears. I zoned out every other sound in the room and shut my eyes.
"What do I do?" I asked myself as my thoughts were soon taken over by the other choices I had.
"Do nothing and die with Marcus. Start a war and hope she's impressed or kill Samantha and forget. Not a single choice ended with me being truly free of this nightmare and killing Sam…I can't bring myself to do that. Not after Abbey. But I'd forget…..I'd forget and….and….?"
"I'd still have Maggie." I mumbled to myself as my brain instantly understood how wrong that was to say. I was disgusted by it, but that only made me angrier as I struggled to calm down.
"What the hell do I do?"
Yoga's POV, An hour later.
"When you're able to leave this bed, where do you wanna go first? We should go get some real food." Zeta chuckled to Maggie.
We've been here everyday since this happened and it was still heartbreaking. Maggie wasn't any better and personally she was mentally destroyed. She had no intentions of leaving this room and I fear even less towards life. Zeta was doing her best to try and bring her spirits up but for some reason Maggie would only really interact with me. I didn't need to be a genius to see that I became her protector of sorts. Or at least it seemed that way and I was fine with that. She needed someone to help her and if it had to be me then I'll do my best.
Reaching out to grab Zeta's hand, I leaned over into her ears to whisper.
"She doesn't want to even think about getting out of here. She doesn't want to talk about anything. Just let her have her peace and quiet. You can't push for anything when she's in this state of mind."
Zeta was gonna try and say something but she knew I was right after a moment and caught herself from doing so. Instead she sighed and refocused on just staring at her daughter's side eye. I then reached out to scratch at her forearm and a second later we heard the door behind us open. Maggie didn't move an inch to see who it was but when I turned to find her father walking in I took notice of his appearance. His face looked exhausted and that wasn't like him. His walk as well seemed a little off. He looked troubled and Zeta was so distracted she didn't even seem to notice. She was just happy to see him.
"How are you hun?" He asked Maggie who remained motionless in her bed.
Raptor took the hint and let out the same disappointed sigh Zeta had. Unsure of what to do, the hedgehog stood just behind his wife to stare into the void. He was definitely lost in his own situation, but before I could ask him what was wrong he instead put his hand on Zeta's shoulder and gently asked her.
"Can we talk?"
"Yeah. What's up?" She replied which is when I realized this had to be serious. Raptor's face said it all as he glanced over to me to whisper back in sadness.
"In private." His tone switched and in confusion the wolf reached over to put a hand over my knee.
"Can you stay with her?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am." I replied as she smiled and stood up to face her husband.
Raptor took her hand and in an instant they both vanished before my eyes. What was going on that he had to do that? I tried to ask myself as I refocused on Maggie.
Zeta's POV.
In a split second I was at my daughter's bedside and transported to the middle of nowhere. Raptor released my hand the second we arrived and with my head spinning from the trip, he softly sighed.
"I'm sorry. I should have warned you."
I took a second to comprehend my surroundings. We were definitely still in the middle east. I could see the city from here, but it was miles away. Right now we stood together in the middle of the desert. Nothing around but miles and miles of dunes. Raptor waited for me to respond and with my concern now high, I questioned.
"Where are we?"
"I have to make sure this conversation stays between us."
"What's going on Raptor?" I asked him in confusion as he was quick to state.
"I need…help."
"Help? Oh that's funny. You? Coming to me for help? Must be something serious." I joked with him as he was no better at showing any sign of happiness. It turned the other way completely when he instantly ordered me back.
"Take this seriously. Please."
I switched up my act and proceeded to get concerned. Raptor remained calm despite that as I then asked him.
"Fine. I'm sorry. What's wrong?"
Raptor took a moment to walk around the dune we found ourselves on and for a moment he stared up at the sun. After said moment, he looked back down at his feet and said to me deeply.
"For this to work I need to be completely transparent with you Zeta. You know I'm not a normal person anymore thanks to Marcus and what he's done and you know I fucking hate it."
"Of course I know that. You didn't ask for any of this to happen. I'm well aware of your struggles." I stated back which is when he said.
"Well what you don't know is that he has a boss. Someone even more powerful than him. Someone who makes what I do look like a sad joke. She can end everything in the blink of an eye. Zeta? She's beyond our understanding and she came to me."
"What's her name?" I asked him as he seemed genuinely scared to speak of her.
"Lia." He then answered as I proceeded to wonder.
"And what does she want from you?"
Raptor struggled to give me an answer and I saw him holding it back.
"What does she want?" I asked him again but more sternly.
"It's not what she wants. It's what I want." He replied which only made things more confusing to understand. Approaching him, I now whispered to him cautiously.
"Which is what?"
"I want to be free. I don't want to be a demi anymore."
"Can she do that?" I asked him which earned me a nod of his head before answering in more detail.
"It's extremely painful that much I'm sure of, but I'm willing to go through that if it means I can be free."
"There has to be a catch."I confidently assumed, which is when he nodded once more to claim.
"She'll wipe all our memories. Every single moment we coexisted with Marcus in our lives will be forgotten. It'll fuck a lot of things up and leave us with a ton of holes to fill, but I'll be free to just live my life and focus on what really matters." Reaching out to take my hands, he stared right into my eyes to whisper.
"You and our family."
He again was genuine with that and it made me happy to know as he gently released my hands to turn back towards the sun. With his back towards me, he muttered.
"That's all that ever mattered. But you should know I was given two other options. Two other routes to take. Neither of which I want to follow."
"And what are those?" I asked him as I remained where I stood.
"I can't save Marcus. Even if I wanted to, she plans to kill him sooner or later. My second option is actually to do what Marcus can't. Start another fucking war and get good people killed for no reason other then selection. It would ruin my legacy. I'm fighting for peace Zeta. Not for another senseless war, but if I do this I'll take over after Marcus is dead and the realm will be mine."
"You'd be a god. A real god." I informed him as he calmly dismissed that thought by looking back at me in disgust.
"I want to be a father. I want my life back. I want people to live without fear. I refuse to throw everything away to be a god."
"Then what's your third choice?" I asked him back now blankly as he turned back around to face me.
"I can do nothing and when she's ready to kill Marcus; she'll come kill me and probably everyone else who knows of their existence. The realm will reset and that will be that." He admitted to me as I stared into his eyes.
"I can't do nothing, but I can't get thousands killed for no reason other than sport. I…..I just want to forget and take my chances. At least you'd be safe. Everyone would be safe that way. Everyone apart from Sam."
Widening my eyes instantly at her name being dropped, I questioned the look on my husband's face and asked him back in confusion.
"What do you mean Sam? What does she have to do about any of this Raptor?"
Keeping his eyes glued to me he replied back in a near mute voice from the shame conquering his heart.
"Lia wants me to kill her. To do the exact same thing I did to forget about my past once before. That cost me my first daughter and now it's gonna cost me my second."
Without the fear of someone stopping me from raising my voice, I growled at him in a fit of rage.
"You're not going to lay a hand on Samantha. I don't care how bad you feel about being what you are. You will not sacrifice my baby to some unknown god just because she says she'll let you go if you do it." Raptor looked unconvinced and actually tried to look away from me. In an instant I smacked him across the left side of his face to make sure I got back his attention.
"You will not touch my daughter!"
"Zeta….just think about it. I don't want to do anything, but this makes the most sense." I was in shock he was actually convinced about this. Now red in the face from anger, I screamed back.
"Nothing makes sense! Nothing that comes out of your mouth ever makes sense! I'd rather you do nothing! Killing our daughter won't save you! And why does that seem like the best move for you?! Because you'll forget you even did it?" Raptor knew I was right, but he was still too far gone.
"Who even are you? The man I married wouldn't even consider this an option; let alone the right one to take." I admitted which only made him feel even shitter.
"You only have two options. Sam is off the table and that's the end of it. Do you hear me?"
"Yes." He replied as I then decided to urge him.
"You can do nothing and just fucking die with Marcus or you can risk your reputation and still have your family. You lay a finger on our daughter and there is no god or gift that will save you from my wraith. I'll tear your fucking throat out."
"You'd rather I get people killed? How? How would you go about starting a war? And it's not just a war we need. We need a genocide Zeta. Not a single person among my cabinet will let me go through with anything that could potentially cause that to happen. And who would we fight!? G.U.N?! Our allies!?" He screamed back at me as I was very focused on not backing down from this. He wasn't going to make this mistake again and not at the cost of my child.
Backing away from me in his own form of anger, he again screamed at me.
"What do you want me to do!?"
"I want you to be a fucking man!" I yelled back which made him stop his rant in its tracks. We stared at each other for a moment like we were enemies. With his anger ceased, I shouted at him from where I stood.
"Stick to your fucking guns and don't stand there acting like your hands have been forced! You are your own ruler Raptor! Don't let anyone tell you what to do! Especially when you're left with those options! Killing our daughter isn't something you should be considering! How low are you!?"
"We'd still have Maggie." He stated back, which paused even time itself from moving as my head tried to take that in. Raptor widened his eyes because he knew he shouldn't have said that to me of all people. With him unable to form anymore stupid sentences, I asked him in disbelief.
"What did you just say?"
Raptor took a step back to reply.
"I didn't mean….?" With my anger at a boiling point I pulled into my venom and felt my eyes turn red as I burned a hole through his head. Before he could finish, I cut him off.
"You didn't mean it?! You didn't mean to say it?! Whichever one it is doesn't matter!"
"Zeta I didn't mean to…?!" For the first time I was in control of all this power. With my venom completely under control, I approached the man and waited as his guard lowered. Raptor assumed I wasn't going to do anything despite my rage, but he was wrong. Before he could say another fucking word I swung with everything and it felt wonderful when my knuckles made contact with the left side of his face. I hit him square in the eye with all I had and watched as he physically fell unconscious upon hitting the ground. With my anger unleashed, I screamed at him as he slowly began to slide down the dune like a heavy bag of bricks.
"You fucking piece of shit! What do you have to say now!? Huh!?"
Raptor was out cold. He couldn't hear a word, but it felt good to yell as loudly as I could at him. Knocked out and defenseless, I took a moment to calm down. Raptor wasn't moving and for a few minutes I sat where I was and contemplated on leaving him here. I also contemplated on taking off this fucking ring, but I knew he was just being a fucking idiot. Hopefully knocking him out would also knock a few bolts back into place as well.
"You're not going to hurt Sam. You'll figure something else out." I growled down at him as I took a moment to fix my hair.
As much as I hope he'll probably be better off doing nothing. It goes against his beliefs, but the alternatives aren't better. Oh he fucking pissed me off with that one! I said to myself as I looked back down at him.
Sam's POV, Two weeks later, Iran.
Sticking to the lab for most of my days here, I kept producing better and better results with my formula. I only knew because I've been testing them on myself. Thanks to my superhuman body I was perfectly able to handle the doses and it was easy to tell what I had to fix. I did however produce a few more vials of my feral cure because once Zeak got word to Riley, it was brought to our attention that she has two ferals on her team who suffer. One of which was almost completely feral entirely. I was curious how a person that deep in the water would react to being free from their shackles. With any luck they'd be willing to take a chance once they get back here.
As a side note my natural heat cycle has gone away and that has also helped me focus. It was hard to hold myself back. Hopefully next time will be easier. I thought to myself as I wondered what Roslin was up to. It's been a few weeks since we last spoke. I hope he's not in any trouble with Lia.
With my airpods in and my music blasting, I gave into my more mortal pleasures and zoned myself out from reality. With my guard down, I was unaware that I was being approached from behind. The moment my eyes saw someone lean down over me, I yelped and was greeted by Riley of all people. She giggled at my reaction and as I got my buds out she asked me.
"Did I startle you? My bad."
"You're good. I just wasn't ready for that. When did you get in? I thought you weren't gonna be back for the rest of the day." I stated which again made her chuckle as her eyes soon looked at what I was doing.
"We were supposed to, but once I brought up your work to Fin and Scott they demanded we come right here instead. I know I'm not a user like them, but I've seen them go feral. Scott is damn near feral at all times; he's grown so controlled by it over the years. If you can help them like Zeak claims this will have been well worth the detour. Is that your cure?" She asked as I shook my head to reply.
"Oh no. This is an experiment of mine. I can tell you another time if you want, but for now I'd like to see about helping them. Are they ready and able?"
Nodding the black hedgehog replied.
"As ready as they'll ever be."
Reaching for the case that held the cure for them, I widened my eyes when Riley reached in to grab me by the wrist. We locked eyes and with her intent to be non-violent, she asked me in a whisper.
"Can they die from this?" With my confidence already at my disposal, I replied back in an equal tone.
"Not a chance."
"Even Scott?" She then wondered as I decided to be blunt and honest with her.
"It's going to work, but I've never given it to someone this deep in the hole. I have faith he'll be cured, but he's most likely going to need time to rest. Days even. He's going to have to adjust."
Riley could tell by my voice that I wasn't lying. She seemed understanding of that much and very softly she released me. As I now stood a few inches above the woman she let out a small sigh to then urge me.
"Let's get this over with then. I'm sorry Anpu for my…defensiveness."
"You're fine. They're my family as well. I'd be the same way." I smiled back as she led the walk towards the lab's exit and then towards the barracks where I found both our teams mingling together in a lot of laughter and antics. The moment Riley let out a firm whistle, everyone went quiet and looked at us. Riley was firm when she pointed to both Fin and Scott who stood more towards the back of the room. With a commanding voice she asked them.
"Fin? Scott? You two ready to give this a go?"
Most of our family knew nothing of my cure research so as the ferals came forward Riley was asked by Tika who sat on a bunk with Mace at her side.
"Can I come with you guys?"
"By all means. Follow along." Riley urged her as I got myself targeted by the two test subjects. Fin turned out to surprise me. I figured Fin was a man, but when you got within three feet you could see through the disguise. A tomboy among this group of killers? Interesting. Fin was a mutt of some kind, but resembled a black lab. What gave their gender away the most to me however was her eyes. They were soft unlike most men.
Now Scott was human, but he had some fucking crazy looking eyes and I don't mean that as a complement. He just looked like a psycho, but if I looked hard enough at his condition I could tell this wasn't always him. Looking me up and down like he was on crack, he asked me as nicely as he could.
"Are there any dangers we should know about?"
"None that I'm aware of. It'll burn much like any shot of venom you take; so expect that much, but I promise you'll both be safe." I informed them with confidence as we followed Tika now to the medical wing where Dexter and Zeak waited with open arms.
"Let's do this one at a time." Dexter instructed us as I looked at the candidates to ask.
"Who wants to go first?"
"Go first Fin. Please. I'm scared." Scott admitted which seemed to completely catch Riley off guard to hear.
"Don't be Scott. This is gonna work." Riley urged him with the same confidence I did, but it was expected to see a man in his condition nervous. I'd be too in his shoes.
Fin got herself down on one of the beds and with myself and Dexter coming to her sides, I asked her in a simple and soft voice.
"Which arm babe?"
She was surprised at the question, but nervously questioned back.
"Does it matter? It's gonna suck one way or the other." Patting her leg, I smiled back and reached in to take her left arm. Fin began to take breaths as I pressed the needle to her skin.
"Ready?" I whispered to her as she shut her eyes and quickly nodded her head. Taking my chance and hers, I shot her up and watched closely as her instant reaction was to bear her fangs to the burn.
"You can get through this Finny!" Riley shouted at her as I held her hand through this. What they didn't know was that I held it because I was able to ease her pain thanks to my powers. I was suppressing most of her nerves and after a few seconds she began to open her eyes and look at me.
"Relax Fin." I now whispered as this was important. Having her show little to no reaction to the cure would help ease Scott's fear. At least I hoped it would help.
Fin was red in the face after about another thirty seconds, but pretty much the same thing happened to her that happened to my mom. She ate the punch and was soon just left confused.
"Did it work?" Dexter asked around as I now squeezed her hand.
"Try and use your venom Fin. It'll feel completely different. You don't have to fear anything." Fin squeezed my hand back and once she had a breath loaded she did as instructed and everyone this time saw it when the truth set in. She was fixed and with two perfect red eyes, questioned in shock.
"This is me?" Chuckling, I replied.
"One hundred percent you. You're welcome."
Scott was in shock himself as were my other siblings. Dexter was adamant on having them both remain seated for this and despite everything she was feeling Fin managed to contain her energy. Her heart however was racing as soon silent tears began to leave her eyes. I was now caught off guard and was forced to listen as she cried to me.
"This is amazing! It doesn't even feel the same! It doesn't feel real!"
"Are you okay Fin?" Scott now asked her curiously as he was seeing her reaction first hand to my cure. Reaching out to grab his hands she smiled back into his eyes and replied.
"I'm….it's amazing. It feels like a weight left my shoulders. You need to do this."
Scott looked over at me to see my face and in a small moment I saw the trust Fin put forward get taken in by the feral. Nodding his head, Scott offered me his right arm.
"Give it to me now. While I still have the courage." Reaching out to grab the next injection, I looked over the human carefully and gently took his hand. Instantly he started to squeeze me and with no intent to stop, I gave him the cure.
Instantly Scott jolted in what seemed to be pain, but I quickly deducted that it wasn't and he was just locking all his jolts. He held my hand the whole time and judging from his grip I figured this was the hardest he's ever had to try and stay in control.
"You got this Scott. Hang in there." Riley begged him as he opened his eyes to look right at her in agony. Scott was indeed struggling and with his grip getting tighter, he asked me through gritted teeth.
"Am I going to die?!"
"No. You're gonna be fine. You're almost through this. Just push on and you'll be your own self again." I urged him and that seemed to be enough to motivate. Scott was going through all the stages of grief right now and to be honest he looked like he could lose himself at any moment, but just as things reached their peak; he stopped moving and just began to calmly breathe. Everyone was concerned and with my interests peaking, I asked him softly.
"Are you still with us?"
His eyes reopened to match mine and they were indeed blood red, but I saw the complete change in his body movement cease. He was relaxed and probably for the first time in a long time. Riley came over to his other side to ask him.
"Talk to us man. How are you?"
"Sleepy." He replied as he shut his eyes once more, but this time he actually did just that. Falling into a peaceful slumber, I smiled both for myself and just so Riley could see my happiness for this to have worked for someone as deep as he was. Before another word could be said, Dexter looked at us to suggest.
"We should get him in bed. Riley, can you leave Scott and Fin in our care for the time being? Just until they are both ready to go again?"
Riley nodded and looked over at Zeak to suggest.
"Help Dexter get him to a bed Zeak. Once you're done come back here so I can talk to you and Anpu about your plans. Tika? Take Fin to a cot as well and stay with her. Get some rest Fin. That's an order." She informed the other canine who was quick to nod her head and reply.
"Yes ma'am. Anpu I….?" Showing her my hands, I begged.
"Don't say a word about it. Trust me I know you're grateful, but please just use this time to enjoy your life again. Don't spend it thanking me. I'll say the same thing to him when he wakes up. You wanna say thanks? Buy me a round sometime or smoke me out. Your choice babe, but go rest first." Fin smiled widely and with two flushed cheeks as I proceeded to take a seat on the nearby bed she was just using. Upon sitting down everyone began to clear out. Left with just Riley, I remained silent just to observe her reaction. She was thrilled this worked out and so was I.
"You're actually a miracle worker, you know that?" She asked me as I chuckled and listened to her next question.
"That formula you made is custom right? Are you the only person who can make that?"
"Anyone can make it if they know the recipe, but to answer your question more accurately; I'm the only person who knows how to do that. I figured it out on my own and for right now I have no plans on bringing this to anyone's attention other than ours." I stated which is when she calmly said back to me.
"If that formula is perfect you could sell it for millions, maybe even more. It sucks we can't go public….?" I saw the moment an idea entered her head. Her smile went wicked and curiously I decided to ask her.
"What is it?"
"An idea. Give me time to think about it, but I think I might know a way to use that to our advantage." Riley was indeed brewing a plan and I wasn't about to go against her wishes by asking any more further questions.
Giving her another small smile, I proceeded to tidy up my things as she went more into her own mind. I could eavesdrop on her thoughts, but I respected Riley enough not to invade her privacy. With about a minute passing by as I cleaned up the station, we were soon reintroduced to Zeak who came back to shut the door behind him. Riley sat down on one of the nearby beds and I just remained quiet as Zeak came to my side to say.
"Scott is resting soundly according to Dexter. He's gonna stay with the boy for the night Riley."
The hedgehog nodded her head and proceeded to look back at me to wonder.
"So what is this idea you wanna run by me?"
Going into my pocket to take out the experimental venom I've been making, I tossed the needle her way and waited till she had caught. Looking the syringe over closely, I said to her bluntly what I had in mind.
"I've been working for a while on an experimental dose of viper venom that I believe can make anyone a perfect user. No risks of injury or death. Just a perfect formula that can turn anyone into a super soldier. That's a prototype you have there and I would like to ask for support when it comes to testing it."
Riley looked at me in a way that showed me that her first thought had to be about the advantages such a goal could achieve. Unlike everyone else before her who has heard me say it, she was the first not to question it, but instead ask.
"How can I help with that?" I wanted to ask her why she had no objections, but instead I replied to her calmly.
"I need someone to test it on and I don't want that to be anyone here. Until I know it's perfect I'd like to figure out a way to maybe test it on someone more unfortunate. Innocent or not. Iran is massive and I'm sure there are plenty of ways to lure someone."
"You mean you want to kidnap people and use them as test subjects towards this, yes?" Riley now asked, but in the same calm tone I had. Again not a single objection, but she was once more thinking of a way to make it happen. She either really wanted to take a chance at this or she already had faith. Nodding my head once at her, she took a second to look back at Zeak to ask him curiously.
"I'm assuming you're in favor of this?" He nodded and that's when she looked back at me to wonder.
"What do you need?"
"A place to operate for starters. We can't risk bringing anyone back here. Gonna also need a means of disposing of any failures. Lastly, I'm gonna need the ingredients to make more venom. I'm nearing the end of my supply now." Riley took this all in silently and as she seemed to be thinking this all over I decided to say to her confidently.
"I know what I'm doing may seem impossible Riley, but….?" With a chuckle to cut me off, the hedgehog approached to put a hand over my left shoulder. Leaning in close she replied.
"Nothing is impossible, Anpu. Most considered a cure for ferals impossible, but look what you did all by yourself. I believe you could do it again if given the chance, but you do understand that you're asking for a lot right? Kidnapping god knows how many people for your experiments could end up being costly if done wrong. An operation like that would require more than just you and Zeak to run. You'd need a team and everyone would have to be okay with this."
I didn't consider that and now that it was said I realized just how much assistance I was asking for from her. Seeing my mind beginning to focus on that issue, I was gently shook by her hand on my shoulder. With my focus going back to her eyes, she smiled and said to me calmly.
"Give me time to think of a solution. We'll figure something out."
Releasing my shoulder and making her way to the door, I felt the urge to take a chance. With my voice gaining confidence back, I shouted.
"Riley!"
Both her and Zeak widened their eyes to look back at me and in confusion she stared at me as I turned around to face her. Swallowing hard, I asked her carefully.
"Would it be possible to speak to you and the other uppers in private sometime?"
Riley now looked back at me curiously and was quick to question.
"What about?"
Normally I never had an issue with speaking the truth, but this situation was beyond tricky and I was nervous as all hell to expose my real identity to them. I had no idea how they would react and with Riley staring at me like she was; I found myself backing down from giving up the answer. Biting my tongue, I lowered my tone to a crawl and replied back nervously.
"About….I…..it's nothing actually. I'm sorry to have shouted. Forget I said anything. I'll be sure to check on Fin and Scott a little later."
Riley and Zeak both knew I was holding something back. I could sense Riley in particular. She was more concerned with the fact that I didn't manage to answer her question. Yet she didn't pressure me into trying again. She just turned back around and walked out; leaving me with Zeak who came to my side to ask.
"What was that about?"
"Nothing." I quietly sighed back.
mT Shadow.