It's been 31 days since the last installment. I'm on spring break so enjoy this new chapter!

EllaWaterfall2: Yes, Esther's in a better place for now.

TrimusicalDrag00n90: Léon having innocence is an interesting concept, but I've decided for him to keep his civilian status. As for the next part of your comment, Marinette isn't going to swallow or "obtain" innocence that reflects the new power-ups from the show. I have something different for that planned. As for the bringing others from DGM over, I might not do that. Considering the plans I have in the future, it's going to feel overcrowded with more people. I don't want to write a scene and realize after I post it that I forgot one character. If I do decide to add more characters from DGM. It'll likely be only one person.

jy24: it's not that far away.

alexc1209: Didn't you hear? Tragedy is my middle name.

Thank you all for your kind words and reviews! I appreciate all the support this story is getting. Even though, I upload at least once a month (YIKES). Though, this flimsy schedule that I have now is far better than what I tried to push myself to do when I first starting writing fanfiction.

Anyway, enjoy this more Lavi Centric chapter!

Chapter 20: Grief

When they emerged from the apartment, Lavi noticed that there was a strange team of people around the crime scene. His only relief was that they were wearing gloves. The inspector (Link 2.0) was using one of those weird devices again. They used large strange cameras to take photos of each marked area. Many of them took samples of the dust, which he hoped they would handle responsibly. It would be foolish to let civilians handle Akuma dust, but these people looked far more…equipped than the usual police force. He knew the Order had far more advanced technology than the rest of the world. Given the fact that they had the most brilliant minds in one organization, of course. Yet this city was like years ahead of even them. He eyed the strange sandwich like device that one of the people opened. The way they typed on the keys made it look like a typewriter but the glowing screen reminded him of the science sections machines. What did they call them? Computers?

The amateur accommodator next to him strolled up to Link 2.0 and the two engaged in private conversation. He observed the tiny girl with a hum. Lavi wondered how she would take it if her precious identity had been revealed to him. The one she obviously disdained (Though, he couldn't fathom the reason why. He was the best one out of their pack!). Allen may not have remembered to see the recordings, but Lavi didn't pass up the opportunity to see if Timcanpy had learned something new. It wasn't lost on him how new this world was when he first saw it. Color him surprised when he learned that a tiny baker girl was the secret behind the red heroine. I guess it really is like those ironic books then.

Her identity really didn't mean a thing to him, but he guessed someone working so openly in public meant that having an identity would become handy. And it was not like he didn't completely understand considering he had to change his name for years. But, why hadn't the Order caught on to this? Why hadn't they noticed how advanced Paris had become? Lavi had no idea how big the city was, but he wondered if the city had a similar bubble around it that he read about in the reports of Miranda's village. He expected to run into a finder or two. It sucked that he didn't have his golem on him. He could've tested to see if he could call and let them know what happened.

Link 2.0 (Her name was Victoria, right?) glanced over at him and glared. That was also a minor annoyance. The inspector took it upon herself to snatch his weapon away from him. And considering the situation at hand, he was the only exorcist in the area to deal with this kind of problem. I guess little Marinette counts, but…she was completely shocked by the sight of the carnage left behind by Akuma bullets and the poison. How she openly touched the ash was unnerving. That strange suit of hers may protect her, but a knowledgeable exorcist—hell, just someone who knew the nature of Akuma—would still be hesitant on touching it. And they would know not to touch anyone else with it on their hands. And yet…she did so without thinking! It really shocked him when that woman didn't turn into a pile of ashes.

Speaking of that suit…

If he'd had to classify her innocence (if that's what it was). He'd say it was a parasitic type. It was in the form of a separate being that she seemed to have control over. Like General Klaud Nine. Yet it became one with her via access through those earrings of hers. So in a sense, it was like an Equipment type as well. Unless the earrings were a part of her, which he doubted. Maybe the earrings are the true form and the entity is just a projection? He remembered how the girl spoke with it. Tikki was its name. Though, he chose not to comment about how ironic it was that it and the Noah had the same name. Maybe it—Tikki—created that form to better communicate with its accommodator? If that was the case, then it was either a very powerful piece of innocence or it was a completely different parasitic type. Or different type in general.

Lavi let out a sigh before putting on a large fake smile. He could speculate in the dark forever or focus on the issue at hand first. The Bookman Jr. strutted over before placing an elbow on the tiny girl's head. "So Inspector, what's your next move?" he allowed himself to smirk when the heroine pushed him off with a tiny glare.

Victoria didn't seem pleased by his interruption but answered him, "Well, Ladybug tells me that this is definitely the work of Hawkmoth, so I leave catching the perp to the heroes." her eyes quickly glanced to the side for a second. He frowned at the action. I guess she isn't going to leave this be. Her expression turned somber, "However, I need to inform the family about what we found."

His frown deepened. That would not be pleasant. That would just make them into another akuma for the Earl to control. I guess I'll have to run interference. As long as he said some sappy "They're in your heart" stuff, he may be able to deter the family from becoming Akuma.

The exorcist spoke up, "I'll help." Lavi's eye went wide as he looked down at the child. Her expression mirrored him. It seemed they had the same idea. The exorcist looked back to the Inspector, "We'll help." they synced again.

"Well, hearing from the heroes might be better." she turned and gestured for them to follow. They left the crime scene and arrived at a black sleek vehicle. On it was a tiny dim light on the driver's side. Finally an up-close look at these strange machines! His eye narrowed as the bookman examined the exterior.

This advanced carriage was definitely something to marvel at. It seemed to have lights in the front and back. Perfect for riding at night. Though, he wondered how they managed to put light bulbs in it at all. Though, he was lost as to what powered it. He witnessed the majority of them release black smoke so that crossed out steam power. Coal maybe? But where would they even put that? The carriage was so small there was no way they could've found a way to burn the coal so compact. Even trains (Although steam-powered) had their own separate cart for the engine.

Link 2.0 opened the door and slipped inside. Ladybug followed after her and sat next to her. They looked at him expectantly. Suddenly the sheer window shielding the bug hero automatically slid down. His eye widened at the sight. How!? The inspector leaned forward and glared at him. "You either get in or I speed off without you."

"Right!" he nodded and glanced at the door next to the one LB used. Lavi rubbed his hands together and muttered, "okay…let's see here…" Remembering how the girls did it, he reached out and cupped the handle before pulling. Only for it to refuse him entre. What..? He tried again and got the same results. He let go and cupped his chin. The Bookman Apprentice was sure he did it right. He gazed past the tinted window. Nothing seemed to be amiss. Then he noticed a little movement. A tall, thin shape on the door(?) slipped up into view and he heard a clicking noise. Maybe this is it! He lunged forward and tried to open it. Only to hear a loud click and see the thin piece popped down. He was denied access yet again!

"What!? How!?" he grumbled in frustrated.

Suddenly there was a loud bout of laughter. He looked over to see the inspector laughing herself to tears. LB was frowning but he could tell she was amused. He looked on with a deadpanned expression. Of course, they were behind this…

"Inspector…that was not very nice to do." he saw her mouth tilt up a bit at the ends.

The woman quieted down and caught her breath. "I need some kind of fun on this job." she seemed to press something before he saw the piece pop up again. He was hesitant in his approach towards the handle. But thankfully, this time it opened. He slid inside on the leather seats and closed the door behind him. Lavi scooted into the middle and leaned back. He scanned around in wonder before noticing the expression on the Inspector.

"What?"

"Seatbelt." was all she said before pointing at him.

He quirked his eyebrow before looking around at the seats. It seemed they all had this black belts dangled next to them with this kind of large block on them. And in the seams, there were bundles of more blocks with red buttons on them. He noticed his spot had one too. He pointed towards it and looked at them for confirmation. The girls nodded slowly. Lavi pulled it and watched out it came out fairly easily. The boy pulled it across him before hesitating. Now what?

He looked up and noticed how impatient the inspector looked. He glanced at LB who pointed to the identical box next to her. She showed how it was connected to it. A look of enlightenment crossed his face. He pulled it further and turned to look at the strange box. Glancing at the one in his hand, he noticed the flat metal loop. The box had a thin hole that looked perfect for it. Lavi grabbed the box and slowly joined them together. When he thought it was secure, the apprentice let go. The thing flew back with almost lightning speed and nearly hit him in the face.

The inspector slapped her hand to her face and moaned, "Oh my god."

LB chuckled before pointing at the box next to him. "You have to make sure it clicks."

"Clicks?"

She reached next to her and pressed her thumb on the button. A click was heard as she pulled the "belt" away. Before she pushed it forward and pressed it down into the box. A click was heard again. He nodded in understanding. Lavi followed her example and was proud to have it stay put.

The inspector gazed at him with tired eyes. "Are you 5 or something?"

"No…"

"You act like a kid that's been in a car for the very first time."

"Car?" the two girls froze and glanced at him with odd expressions.

"Lavi…" LB started slow, "You do know what a car is right?" the way she sounded, it was like she was asking him if he knew what air was.

Car..car…He hummed. Maybe it was short for Carriage? It was possible if one were to look at the spelling. He scoffed and nodded his head. "Of course I've seen cars! Just not the kind that this one and those—" he gestured to the vehicles zooming pass them, "—before."

"My car isn't that different from any other car though." Inspector countered.

He looked at her like she just insulted his hair. "Uh…yes, it is! I mean…the design is strange! Like…it's metal?" he knocked on the door. "And it has windows! And they go down! On their own no less! Plus the doors…lock? Somehow? And then there are these weird…what did you call them? Seatbelts?" he scoffed and added, "And don't get me started on how this will actually move! Like…no horse at all! At first, I thought it could be steam powered, but the smoke is too black for that. Then I figured maybe it's burning coal! But there is no way you could fit that kind of machine in this little thing." he ranted on.

When he looked back at them, they looked shocked. Their mouth hung wide open as they gawked at him. Ladybug slowly lifted her hand and pointed out the front window. "It runs on oil…and the engine is right there."

He rose an eyebrow. "No way."

"Lavi." the inspector bluntly said his name and he turned to look at her. "That's your name, right? Listen…what kind of cars…do you normally see?"

"Well, it's a wooden box with large wooden wheels. There's a guy sitting in the front, but he has a whip. Not that weird circle there. And the whole thing is pulled by a horse."

Ladybug was quiet for a moment, "That's a carriage, Lavi. Not a car."

"Uh, what do you mean? Car, Carriage. Same thing right?"

"No!" They answered in sync.

Inspector Victoria gasped, "My God. Are you from…er, I don't know, the 1870s or something?"

"1880s." he offhandedly corrected her.

"Same difference. Anyway, seriously! Where are you from where you grew up to know nothing about cars!?"

"That's classified information." he dropped the line as if it was routine with a smile.

The older woman deadpanned before saying, "This is a joke, isn't it? Well..haha! Very funny." Victoria rolled her eyes before facing the front. He watched her turn a long metal chain(?). It had keys attached to it. Suddenly the car roared to life. The whole contraptions shook for a moment before it moved. He stared in awe as everything around him passed him by. Then music suddenly filled the air. He looked around and couldn't tell where the source even came from.

"Lavi," He heard LB say in a low voice. "You do know what year it is right? You were just joking right?"

What an odd question to ask? Did they really think he would joke like that? If he saw a "car" he would definitely have remembered it before. Lavi decided to play ball with what was presented to him. "Of course I know! I was just joking! Why? What year do you think it is?"

She let out a sigh of relief. "Wow, that was a really elaborate joke. You almost got me fooled."

"Haha yeah!...but no, seriously what year do you think it is?"

She deadpanned, "The joke's over Lavi. You can quit it now."

He nodded, "Yeah, but humor me! One last time!"

The bug hero rolled her eyes and spoke seriously. "It's the year 2019."

What.

Ladybug was surprised to see how quickly Lavi clammed up after she told him the year. His face was pale before he nervously laughed and spent his time looking down. This time his emotions showed through clearly. He looked worried and shocked. Could it be…that he wasn't joking? That was impossible. If that was the case, then why would the exorcist lie? She thought back to how he looked at the car. It was like a caveman that discovered fire for the first time.

She decided to play with the idea. If the exorcist were from the different time (which she doubted) then how did they even get here in the first place? Time travel was impossible. The only time it was a reality was when Timebreaker happened. But that was because of Hawkmoth (or the Earl, she doesn't know which to call him anymore). And the akuma they fought recently had no time powers what so ever.

The heroine spent the rest of her time contemplating this information. Tikki had said that the power they had (Innocence) was familiar. Like that of a miraculous, but not at the same time. Maybe they were from the past. Maybe what they had was an alternate form of the Miraculous. But if that was the case, then what of the spirits? The entities? The kwami? Tikki had told her that the miraculous were made so that the kwamis could help the humans.

Could it be that they're trapped in there?

Ladybug glanced over her shoulder at Lavi. Maybe they were fighting a time akuma and were blasted here to the future? She'd have to ask Tikki about the concept of kwamis being trapped in objects. For now, everything was speculation. For something concrete, she'd had to get them to confess or gather more clues. I need a way to spy on them and figure out the truth. She saw Lavi furrow his brows as he snapped his head to the window. He looked on with such an intense stare. She felt that familiar prickle down her spine again. Ladybug turned and looked out her own window. On the sidewalk, she saw Chloé and Sabrina walking along. Thankfully Chloé hadn't noticed her. But it seemed Sabrina had. The girl was looking over at them. Marinette locked her eyes with her and felt her skin grow cold.

That car zoomed on by them and the girl was quickly out of sight. But it didn't stop the unsettling feeling in her stomach.

They arrived at the police station quickly after that. Victoria parked in the special parking lot next to the building before turning off the car. One by one each of them all got out. Lavi had some difficulty with the seatbelt but managed to get it this time. Her and Lavi followed after the Inspector into a white back door. When they entered, it was still the same busyness as last time. Yet she found that many people stared at them. She assumed it had something to do with the new arrival next to her.

Looking at Lavi's expression, it didn't seem like he noticed or was phased by the attention. Instead, he was looking at everything with a calculating gaze that was full of wonder. She saw his eye linger on the computers one too many times. The suspicion that he was from a different time was getting stronger with each awe-filled glance he gave.

They walked through the department and through the area of all the desks. Many families and officers stared at Lavi. Some looked hopeful while others looked on with distrust. They went back to the large room. The daughter was gone, but her mother and father were still there. They kept their eyes on the man questioning them until the mother noticed their approach. She instantly got up and raced out of the room. Her husband followed her. The officer looked startled before he noticed them too.

The woman ran up to the Inspector and grabbed her hands. "Please, please tell me you found him!"

Victoria held her tongue before she sighed, "We found a pile of his belongings along with a large stain of blood. We're having forensics check to see if it could be his, but from the scene…we're sure it is."

The poor mother gasped and ripped her hands away. "No!" she covered her eyes and started to weep. The husband held her and Ladybug saw his eyes turn red as the couple cried.

"But!" Ladybug spoke loudly. She refused to believe that Jean was dead. Dust didn't mean anything. "We didn't find his body, so there's a chance—"

"Ladybug." Inspector interrupted her hopeful sentence with a mournful stare. She looked up at the woman with a small frown. Surely the Inspector didn't think. But…but

The mother sniffled before speaking up, "Is that true?"

Victoria sighed, "Yes…but from the large bloodstains and the state we found his discarded clothes in…I'm afraid if he was alive, he isn't now. I'm sorry."

The couple sobbed and held each other close. The reality slapped her in the face once again and this time it stayed. She had been so obsessed with the idea that nobody = possibility of life. She overlooked the large blood stains. It would be impossible for anyone to survive that much blood loss for long.

She let out a defeated sigh, "I'm so sorry that this happened. Trust me, we'll make sure the one responsible will pay." this was all she could offer them. She already broke her promise to them.

The mother turned sharply on her. She directed a watery glare at her. "Trust!? TRUST!?" she should've expected it yet it still surprised her. No had ever yelled so angrily at Ladybug before. No one, not akumatized that was. Even Lila was passive-aggressive in her approach to her. The woman ripped away from her partner and pointed an accusatory finger at her. "How can I trust a word you say?! You promised! You promised me you were going to find my son! But now, because of your incompetence, he's probably dead somewhere! And it's all your fault!"

Ladybug looked down in shame. She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

That just infuriated her even more. The woman stomped towards her. Her voice rose. "Sorry!?" Marinette flinched at the tone. "Sorry will not bring him back! What use are you heroes if you can't save my son!?" People were staring now. She felt her face start to burn as her eyes started to glaze over. The young school girl kept her eyes down. She bit her trembling bottom lip.

While her eyes were downcast, she noticed a pair of boots slide in front of her. Bravely, she flickered her eyes up and saw the ginger exorcist standing in front of her. "Madame, please. I understand you're coming from a place of pain but Ladybug tried her best. We all did. Blaming her will not bring him back either."

She heard the woman gasp. "You…it was you wasn't it? You new superheroes are the ones who took him!" the woman slid forward and seized Lavi by his jacket. "These missing cases startled only after you lot got here! Give him back to me right now!" she saw Lavi's form be shaken slightly.

Lavi was silent for a moment before he sighed, "You have my condolences."

"I don't want your condolences! I want my son!" She saw the husband approach his wife and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Honey. Please." He sounded pained. "This won't solve anything."

"But Marc—!" she stopped herself upon seeing his pained expression before releasing Lavi. The woman crumbled and collapsed into tears in the father's arms.

"You're going through the unimaginable. But the best thing that you can do now is support each other." Lavi started up again. "It's what your son would've wanted."

The woman didn't say any more while the father just nodded. The man looked to the inspector, "When can we have his belongings? We need something, anything to bury."

Victoria looked mournful, "All his stuff will be treated as Evidence. Once the forensic investigation is complete we will give them back to you."

He nodded. "Thank you," the father then lead his weeping wife away from them. They exited the room and were gone. The trio was silent until Lavi turned to the inspector.

"It would've been better to have them believe that their son was missing forever."

"Everyone deserves closure." Victoria countered.

Lavi said nothing back to this, but the look on his face told her that he disagreed. Meanwhile, the woman's words were tearing into Marinette's soul. She was right. Everything she had said was the truth. Marinette clenched her fists and shook slightly. She looked back down and let her bangs hide her eyes from the people around her. Her chest felt tight and heavy. Like something was sitting on it and weighing her down. Her throat was clamping up in that particular way it always did before she would cry. Don't cry. Don't Cry. Not here. She repeated to herself. The girl bit in the inside of her lip to prevent it.

Suddenly she felt a weigh on her shoulder. The action caused her to jump a bit and she looked at the source. Victoria smiled sorrowfully down at her. "Don't take what she said at heart, Ladybug. She's in a lot of pain right now."

The girl nodded her head. "I know." her voice cracked and she cursed herself silently for it.

Victoria frowned. "We should call it a day. You should head home."

"But—!" she stopped when she saw Victoria shake her head lightly. "You're right."

The Inspector patted her back, "Take it easy, hero."

The word felt bitter to hear. Hero…yeah. The one thing she was supposed to be. Ladybug flashed the woman an uneasy smile before walking away. She could feel the eyes of everyone on her. They tried to hide it by pretending to be occupied but she knew. She swallowed hard and pushed forward. As soon as she left to room, her pace quickened dramatically. People (those who hadn't seen the mess) smiled and greeted her. She waved back with a fake smile to each one.

"Hey look! It's the hero Ladybug!" one of them would say.

Each time, she would bite her tongue. Hero…Don't call me that. I'm not a hero. The girl would just smile as if she hadn't been an ultimate failure yet again. It made her stomach ache.

With controlled breaths, she finally reached the main entrance. As soon as she pushed through the doors, Ladybug swung herself away from the building. Soaring through the air, her mind caught up with her and reminded her of the incident that just took place. The mother's tearstained face and her snarling words stuck to the forefront of her mind. She could still hear her yell down at her. The words, "You Promised!" rang clear between her ears. There was that lump in her throat again. Her eyes started to sting as she landed on a roof and behind a large chimney.

She went to throw her yo-yo again but stopped. "What use are you heroes if you can't save my son!?"

The girl stared at the object before letting her hand fall. The girl closed her eyes and backed up. Her back lightly bumped into the chimney before she allowed herself to slide down. She brought her legs to her chest and allowed herself to break in peace. As if a dam had been opened, tears streamed down her face in waves. She pressed her face into her legs and sobbed loudly. All pretenses of being quiet were forgotten.

Marinette didn't know how long she cried. One doesn't really keep track of the time during these kinds of things. So, when she felt her tears slow down, she started to wipe her face. Her face was still scrunched up from the act of crying. While rubbing her eyes and sniffling, she didn't notice a tissue be offered to her at her side.

"Tissue?" a voice offered quietly.

With a sniffle, she nodded her head and peeked out. She saw a hand holding a thin white sheet of tissue. The girl plucked it out of the mystery hand. "Thanks." she proceeded to clean herself before her mind caught up with her. Wait…She became stiff and turned her had to the side. Sitting there with a box of tissues was none other than Lavi.

"L-Lavi!?" the girl dropped her tissue and stared at him with a slack jaw. "How did you get here!?" He set the box down between them and grabbed his hammer from his waist. He held up the tiny thing and shook it. "But! The inspector had that!"

He shrugged, "Well when the inspector was rather preoccupied I may or may not have swiped it from her back pocket. Truly not a good place to put anything if you ask me."

"She's going to kill you when she finds out."

"If! IF she finds out. And besides, an eye for an eye. Those are hers." he gestured to the tissues.

The girl buried her face into her hands. "Oh my god."

"But it looks like you needed them more," he added on.

The designer took a deep breath and sighed, "I can't believe you of all people had to see me like this."

"I'm going to pretend to not be offended by that."

She shifted her position and crossed her arms. Her elbows rested on top her knees and she buried her face in them. With her cheeks pressed against her arm, she glanced away. "Sorry," she muttered.

Lavi sighed, "What that woman said really got to you huh?" she nodded. "You know you're not responsible for her son's death."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes I am, if only I had gotten involved with the missing cases earlier then…" she trailed off and bit her lip. "then, none of this would've happened."

She had the fortune of missing the grimace on Lavi's face. "I wouldn't say that…"

Marinette groaned and grabbed her pigtails. She tugged on them as she ranted, "You don't understand! I promised her that I'd find him but all I found was a pile of dust! And evidence that pointed to him being dead! I failed horribly. Again!"

"Technically, you did find him. Just not…er in one piece." she glared at him and he looked sheepish.

"You don't get it." she sighed, "I'm supposed to be a …a hero." she spoke bitterly, "and yet I keep coming up short. I couldn't help S-..the last akuma and now this boy."

I haven't failed this badly since Stoneheart. After she cleaned up the mess with Stoneheart, Marinette grew as a hero. It got to point where she was pretty confident in her abilities to perform the job. Then the exorcists show up, Hawkmoth gets more violent, and now 14 people are gone. That is if what got Jean got them too. Her last spark of hope was that when she found the monster, a miraculous cure would fix it all. She frowned as she remembered how the cure had only fixed a civilian partially. That never happened before. Then there's Sabrina's mother…

"If only I had been there to save him…if only I had prevented that woman's Akumatization…if.." she sighed and stopped herself. "Sorry, I'm ranting again."

"It's fine. I understand where you're coming from." She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Lavi was looking up at the sky with a sort of melancholy expression. He looked back at her, "However, there's something you've got to understand from this."

"What?"

He smiled sadly, "Death will always linger around. In the end, we can't always blame ourselves over every "what if". It'll drive us mad and even if you do find a way where you really did go wrong, it won't change the past. All it will do is eat you up inside." she looked at him with wide eyes as he continued on, "what you can do now since you have to power to, is find the thing that did this and bring them to justice. Only then will the soul of that boy rest in peace."

Ladybug stared with her mouth slightly opened. He was right. He was completely right. Yet knowing this did not stop the feelings inside her. However, they instead gave them a new purpose. This would be the very last time that something like this happened. She would find that akuma, purify it, and go after Hawkmoth. She didn't care if she didn't have good lead anymore (something was still off about Gabriel but since he became akumatized it couldn't be him). She would comb through Paris until she unearthed the scum. She wasn't going to rest until she found them. At that moment, the pain of grief transformed into a wave of burning anger. The embers fueled her determination. If this was Hawkmoth, she swore that he was going to pay. I swear to it.

Lavi grew nervous at her stare. "Sorry. Allen is better at these things."

"I don't know…" she smiled and wiped her eyes with the provided tissue. "I think you're doing just fine."

Far in the corners of the main capital, sat a lovely house red-roofed house. It sat in between two industrial buildings. Inside the lovely house sat a joyous family around a table. They had a variety of colorful hair and clothes but it was easy to tell that they were related. One of the members looked the opposite. It was a boy with dyed, fluffy, blue hair. His gold eyes were dull with boredom. It was obvious that he was not enjoying his family's happy mood. He spent his time gazing out the window, only speaking when he was mentioned or talked to. While he star-gazed, his eyes landed on the shop across the street. That's when he noticed something odd with the doors. They looked like they were open. It was odd, considering his father closed it hours ago.

"What in the world?" he muttered underneath his breath.

The kid stood up. An action that drew the family's attention. The eldest female tilted her head in question before addressing the kid. "Ellis? Are you alright sweetie?"

"Huh? Yeah! I just…realized I forgot to take out the trash…?" He explained.

The youngest pair of kids there, obviously twins, rolled their eyes before speaking in sync. "Again? That's the third time this week!"

The eldest male gave a hearty laugh before waving his hand to dismiss Ellis. "Nevertheless, take it out soon and come back."

With that, the boy quickly ran out of the house. He didn't forget to snatch up a flashlight on the way. Once he was outside, he was quickly engulfed in the dim light from the moon and distant stars. The kid ran out towards the store. As he approached, the kid tripped and fell into the ground. He got himself up and dusted his clothes off before looking at what he tripped over. It was a field of trash. He recognized it as merchandise. Now even more curious and afraid, Ellis slowly walked up to the doors. Only to find that they were not open—no, they were broken apart so badly that it made it look like someone had left them open. Chunks of metal and glass were littered on the ground. He shakenly took one step inside before holding up his flashlight. When it didn't turn on, he shook it and hit the bulb and it flickered on. It glowed brightly. With his flashlight, Ellis walked further inside and slowly scanned the area.

As he went along, he noticed something odd about the selves inside. Everything object was torn up or just gone. Some of them were even broken like the doors but others were spotless. Shaking in his boots, he whispered to himself.

"This is not good." he reached for his phone. He needed to call the police immediately.

Crash!

With a startled gasped, he whirled around and flashed his light. It took only a second for him to see it. There had been a figure running away from his light view. The sight made him break into a cold sweat and his heart started to pump loudly between his ears. Not taking any more chances, Ellis turned on his heel and raced towards the door. However, as he ran, a sound of something cutting the air was heard behind him. Not long after, he felt something sharp impale his back. The pain made him cry out loud in agony. His running instantly slowed into a shaky walk.

Every movement sent waves of throbbing pain through his chest and back. Ellis hands and chest felt stiff as stone. With the passing of each moment, the pain only seemed to get worse and worse. He feared it would never stop. His head felt eerily light, everything seemed to spin around him in a blur of motion. His legs could barely carry him. His eyes settled on his glowing home in the distance. He stopped moving and stood still. The pain was becoming increasingly difficult to bare. A part of him cried out for him to give up. A memory—a saying that he heard from his beloved mother rang in his ears.

"Always listen to your body!" She had always sung when she would catch him fighting sleep.

His legs gave out under him and he dropped to the floor.

Perhaps she was right.