“You leave me no choice.” Ken stormed back to his seat and pulled out a hammer and a bell. This man wasn’t getting away with this, not by a long shot. It was time to exact revenge. “Time for a little payback!”

He hit the bell, prompting the floorboards to open. Chains and cuffs reached out to cling to Richard’s arms, pulling him down, with his face on the cold hard floor.

“Lightning, Cyborg, take care of him,” Ken ordered.

The two saluted as they walked over to the man in chains. Richard tried to move as he struggled to no end, trying to break free. His muscles tightened, using every ounce of his strength to budge, even a little. Red marks appeared around his wrists as his skin grew hot from the burning.

“Wait, please, let me go!” Richard pleaded.

“No, please don’t!” Fawn cried.

“Sorry Fawn, we can’t disobey orders.” Lightning told her.

“Hold up.” Ken interrupted. “Who’s Fawn?”

“It’s, uh, hard to explain.” Cyborg hesitated.

Wait, does he not know about Fawn? Richard thought.

Fawn looked over at his skin. Amidst the red spots, were small forms of a shade of blue as well. “Richard, we need to leave! We’re running out of time!”

Wait, we are? Richard could barely see parts of his body from the position they placed him in. Sure enough, he looked down to find his neck and chest area turning blue. How long had he been out for? The last thing he remembered was it being early in the day. How long did it take to get to this destination? Nevertheless, Richard sparked up an idea, but he needed to buy more time and stall.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

He turned to face Ken. “Hey, when Ashley gets here, how is she going to react when she finds out about what you’re doing?”

Ken’s mouth gaped open. Did he hear that right? He got up from his seat again, marched over to Richard, and grabbed him by the shirt collar.

“How do you know about my daughter?”

“So, wait, she is your daughter?”

Ken let him go and turned to the others. “Which one of you told him about her?”

“I figured it out on my own!” Richard answered for him. Ken glanced back at the red-head. “I met her today, and she’ll be coming here any minute now.”

Ken shook his head in disbelief. “That’s...” He started, taking a step back. “Impossible. How were you able to interact with her?”

“W—What are you talking about?”

“Our poor baby girl, she’s been dead for years now.” Ken cried. He choked on his words and fell on his knees.

Richard’s eyes widened as he watched the man change his tune right before his eyes, processing the information he heard. He couldn’t believe it. He regretted suspecting Ken for his cold behavior without looking into why or taking time to understand him. Ken had lost someone too and had been fighting the internal battle alone.

Richard didn’t think it was an excuse for the kidnapping and false accusations. He didn’t know why he was in this compromising situation, either. Richard at least empathized with the guy, as he hadn’t made the best decisions when acting based on emotion either.

Fawn couldn’t believe it either. All this time, Ashley was no different from her. The cause of death might’ve been different, but she hadn’t found peace or moved on.

Fawn felt guilty for being wary around her, thinking she was up to something. At least her parents were still alive, but if they’re still grieving and blaming themselves for her demise... Fawn didn’t want to think about it. Their approaches to finding peace were different. Ashley’s was less hostile, but more of a slow burner. But Fawn believed both of their hearts were in the right place.

“Hey, look, I’m really sorry about—”

“Don’t pity me,” Ken muttered. He wiped his eyes and straightened himself. “I don’t need pity from you. Someone like you is the last person I want to hear that from!” He snapped his fingers and ordered his men to surround him. “Go on and do your worst.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Richard taunted with a grimace. “You’re going to regret it.”

“Please, it’s not like you can do much in your state, anyway.”

“I warned you, but if I can’t get through to you with words, then so be it.”