When the sky was black with the cover of midnight, the N109 Zone came alive. It was a breeding ground for criminals and their unsavory dealings and any ordinary citizen would tell you to avoid entering it at all costs. Of course, there were one or two things about the N109 Zone that kept you crossing the line from regular civilization to lawless land again and again.
The leader of Onychinus was almost more myth than real man. Somehow everywhere and nowhere all at once, nothing in the N109 Zone happened that Sylus wasn't privy to. The most successful deviants in the N109 Zone were the ones that accepted their place below Sylus and dared not challenge him. It was inevitable though, that some would seek to rise above him. Greed was powerful and often stripped people of their senses. It wouldn't take long for some to be consumed by it and forget the failure of those who tried before them.
This evening Sylus found himself dealing with one such forgetful crime syndicate. These ambitious groups were little more than a nuisance to him. Most of the time he would avoid dealing with them directly. He trusted Luke and Kieran to do much of the dirty work and often these groups would take care of themselves, fighting each other to the point of no return. This group, however, had amassed too much wealth and too many followers. This one required Sylus' personal touch.
Intel indicated an ambush planned for an auction taking place on this night. Sylus had originally planned to send Luke and Kieran to buy out the inventory. It was meant to be a show of wealth more than anything but when he learned of the ambush it became a show of power. He couldn't allow anyone to steal from him even what he intended to be his.
That is how Sylus found himself on the roof of an auction house, lazily dodging bullets and fists as man after man desperately tried to land a blow on him. Perhaps one day the people he fought would present a challenge for him but today was not that day. At this point Sylus was simply delaying the inevitable, prolonging the fight to make coming out here worth his time. As he found himself particularly amused by one individual that continued to charge at him no matter how many times he was knocked to the ground, Sylus' phone rang in his pocket. The ringtone was distinct and indicated the person calling was the one person Sylus would drop everything for: you.
As Sylus sidestepped a punch he pulled his phone out of his pocket, "Kitten, this is a surprise. What's got you calling me so late?"
The men surrounding him paused a moment and glanced at each other. Their faces seemed to say, 'Kitten?'. Surely they heard him wrong. The softness in his voice was something none of them had heard before and directly contradicted the violent and corrupt man they knew him to be.
On the other side of the phone you laid in your bed, head pounding and face burning up. After a long day at work you had come home and fallen asleep immediately. As soon as you woke up you knew sickness had overtaken you. You weren't entirely surprised. This week had been particularly strenuous and each night was more sleepless than the last. Unfortunately, because the week had been so busy, you hadn't had time to restock your refrigerator. Your stomach ached from hunger and it was too late to get a delivery driver to pick something up for you. It was an easy decision to make, calling Sylus, as he had been pressing you more and more to rely on him. It didn't come naturally to you but you knew how you felt when he relied on you. Certainly you could allow him that same warm feeling by expressing that you needed him every now and then.
You heard distant grunting through the speaker on your phone, "Sylus, what was that? Is everything okay?"
Your voice came out weaker than intended and Sylus noticed immediately, "I'm fine, but forget about me. What's wrong? You don't sound very good, sweetie." Suddenly any entertainment he was getting from humoring the ambitious criminals surrounding him ran dry. You were the only thing on his mind. His evol stretched out to wrap around each individual on the roof, holding them all in place. Despite their struggling, none could break free.
"Are you sick?"
A short cough escaped your lips, "It would seem so. I didn't have time to get groceries this week and I fell asleep before I could order dinner tonight. I was calling to see if you could get me some soup but if you're in the middle of something don't worry about it."
Sylus couldn't help but chuckle at your attempt to ask for help. Even when you were sick and hungry you didn't want to be a bother. "Kitten," he moved towards one of the men trapped in his evol, "there's nothing I could be doing that's more important than taking care of you." The men exchanged looks of disbelief around Sylus once again. What woman would be demented enough to put their care in this monster's hands?
What they didn't know is that your heart squeezed at his words. To them he was a monster but to you he was a dark angel. His hands were certainly dirty but he was mostly misunderstood. You saw a side of him unknown to others. It was a side that was gentle and adoring, a side that you treasured above all else. Though you felt bad asking him to drop what he was doing to come to you, you knew Sylus wouldn't have offered if he didn't really mean it. This was a chance to let yourself be loved, something you didn't do too often.
"Okay," you squeezed your eyes, attempting to push out the unnecessary guilt you felt for being a burden, "if you mean that, I could really use some soup. Maybe a hug too."
Sylus grinned, another move that unnerved the men waiting for him to decide their fates. It wasn't the grin of a villain reveling in the fear on his prey's faces. It was a soft grin that made him seem in love. Onichynus' legendary leader was known to be many things but in love was not one of them.
"I think I can get you both of those things. You must be feeling really ill if you're asking me for help and affection."
This made you blush, "Well, I'm trying to rely on you more. You know, like you asked me to?"
"That's good, kitten. It makes me feel good when you lean on me." Sylus' focus shifted on the man in front of him, his expression going from soft and loving to intense and determined, "I just need to wrap up what I'm in the middle of and I'll come to you. It shouldn't take me too long so try not to fall back asleep before I get there, okay?"
"Okay, and thank you, Sylus."
"Anything for you, sweetheart."
With that Sylus ended the call and placed his phone back in his pocket. In front of him the man choked out a laugh, his throat constricted by the tendrils of Sylus' evol. Sylus raised an eyebrow, "And what could you possibly be laughing at in your position?"
Despite his fear the man managed to form a reply, "I just can't believe the fearsome leader of Onychinus is the type of man who would be at the beck and call of some bitch." Around him the other men groaned, aware that he could not have chosen a worse string of words than that.
"I'm not surprised," Sylus' evol pulled tighter around the man, slowly closing his airway, "that a rat such as yourself would find it emasculating to take care of a woman." Now his evol pulled every man in its grasp towards him, "One minute of her company is worth more than all of your lives combined. Luckily for any woman unfortunate enough to encounter you, I'm planning on eradicating you from the living world. Any last words?"
Simultaneously the men began shouting pleas for their lives, apologizing for their botched ambush attempt and their colleague's ignorant words. Sylus pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly annoyed by the noise, "How pathetic and uninspired." He turned and began to walk away from the men towards the edge of the roof, "Thank you for the temporary distraction. I'm off to much better company." With that his evol burst with power, destroying the men in its grasp. It only took a moment for Sylus to return to his home, his encounter with the sorry excuses for criminals already forgotten. The only thing on his mind now was what soup would make you feel better and how he couldn't wait to hold you in his arms.