Tension rose as Genesis and I locked glares. Not a word was said, but the second Genesis tried to take a step forward I vanished from sight. I appeared behind him in an instant, my fist coursing with light matter. I sent my light filled grasp hurling into his back, launching him forward. Genesis hit the ground hard and tumbled for a few feet while I stood my ground. Goose immediately dashed into the fray with Terra still unsure of what to do.

"This isn't good!" Goose shouted as he readied himself for combat.

A high pitched whirring sound emitted from Goose's armor. It almost sounded like a turbine starting up. He dashed right towards me and attempted to strike with a kick. I deflected the attack with little effort and blasted Goose back with a light beam. Genesis ran at me with his sword which I caught with my bare hand. My eyes stared him down as I could see him start to sweat. I pulled Genesis' blade from him and threw it behind me. In seconds I struck out my palm and a massive beam of light energy unleashed itself from my hand. Genesis did his best to withstand the blast, but even he had trouble. Goose ran back at me once more with speed unlike him. His suit was enhancing his physical abilities somehow. I summoned my light blade to my hand and swung at Goose. Goose was thrown off course by my swipe as he was forced to dodge. Somehow my blade had a much longer length than ever before. My anger was somehow making my powers behave differently. I could hardly hear Hell's pleas as I moved to strike the downed Genesis. Genesis raised his head and glared at me with eyes of an icy blue. In that instant, he unleashed his trump card, Child of Eden. I was strong enough to force that form out of him. Terra was starting to get noticeably more nervous as the fight went on.

"There has to be something I can do!" Terra thought in her anxiety.

Genesis and I locked glances once again, before Goose darted forwards to attempt another strike at me. I blocked his attack once again and returned on the offensive. My hand collided into his skull and sent him hurtling past Genesis.

"Goose!" Genesis cried out as he clenched his teeth in anger.

"You're acting like a child, Heaven! Come to your senses!"

Genesis ran at me with immense speed. Our strikes met and unleashed a thunderclap from our fists. We went blow for blow as Genesis attempted to subdue me. I was able to keep up with Child of Eden, and I felt like I could even surpass it. I was strong. Too strong even.

"Goose! Ready the tranquilizer!"

"Right!"

In that moment of hesitation I let my fist fly at Genesis. He was knocked to the side from an unexpected punch. As he staggered, I sent another fist gliding into his gut before launching him into the air with a swipe from my blade. As his body hurtled above me, numb with pain, I unleashed another blast of light that engulfed him in moments. But Genesis wasn't having it that time. With a scream of rage, he forced the blast to dissipate and he rocketed down towards me. I managed to hold my defense as his fist connected with my block. Genesis tried to grapple me, which forced me to do the same. Before I could counter, my body was flung back towards the wall of the room, where Goose was lying in wait. Goose had a fist wound up and ready to knock me down. I tried to regain movement, but nothing happened. In a split second, Goose knocked me to the ground with a devastating punch.

"Sorry Hev, but it's for your own good!"

Goose quickly injected me in the neck with a syringe. Tranquilizer. It would knock me out the second it entered my system. My vision faded against my will. Soon, I was out cold and I reverted back to my usual self.

Terra slowly approached my unconscious body, a whole wave of emotion hitting her with the force of a deadly storm. She glared at Genesis who stood over my body, still in his Child of Eden form.

"You should have just told him… What his father did, why Nina even killed him in the first place."

Genesis said nothing as he reverted to his normal self and Goose lifted me up off the ground. As I was escorted to the infirmary, the air around the Ark grew tense. The bonds between us were always rocky at best, but now they were on the verge of breaking apart.

*****

Chief Detective Damien Lane stood over the body of a cloaked corpse bathing in a stain of dried blood and rotted tissue. Syrah stood behind the Chief Detective as his gloved hand removed the cartoonish rabbit mask that hid the corpse’s identity. A fair feminine face greeted Damien’s gaze as he stared in dismay.

"Another one. Her eyes are completely blank as well."

"What does this mean?" Syrah asked as she stepped close to Damien whilst he rose from the corpse.

"I don’t know. We’ve managed to identify every corpse in the alleyway and so far we have uncovered that everyone in this group is practically unrelated. Each victim is a complete stranger to one another. That’s not even the strangest part, their wounds are unnatural. Some of the body parts that were removed couldn’t even be traced. It's like they were just erased."

"Do you think it could be one of them?" Syrah asked as poignant as ever.

"I’d hope not… But it is more than likely."

Damien looked back at the medical crew on standby and waved his hand in the air in circular motions. He issued his command to the doctors as he left the scene.

"Bag em’ and tag em’."

Syrah followed Damien as he exited the quiet graveyard. Those lifeless corpses still haunting his mind as he worked to figure out why this was happening all of the sudden. The victims themselves were completely unrelated to one another and yet they all wore that bizarre costume. Not one detail in their background could connect them to one another. They were as far apart as strangers moving along the sidewalk. The words of an old fairy tale echoed within Damien’s memory as he struggled to comprehend the mystery before him.

"Follow the White Rabbit…," Damien muttered as he lost himself in thought.

"Let’s head back Damien… We can figure this out once the autopsies are complete." Syrah said, hoping to distract Damien from grim hypotheticals.

"Yeah… You’re right. Let’s get out of here."

*****

When I awoke, I was laid down in a bed. They brought me to the infirmary. Oddly enough, Flora was there waiting for me to come to. She seemed more than ecstatic that I was conscious.

"Heaven! You're awake!"

"Yeah… Why are you here?" I asked in a rather groggy and strained voice.

Flora looked off to the side a little bit, unsure of her answer. It took her a few seconds to come up with something truly convincing it seemed.

"I just wanted to see that you were okay…" Flora muttered, her voice shrinking back into the confines of cowardice's cage.

I sat up in my bed trying to think about what had happened. I seemed to just look at my hands with a strange fear eating at my insides. Hell was completely silent, as if drowned out. I tried reaching out to him with my thoughts, but he wouldn't take hold of them.

"Do you know what happened to me out there?"

Flora seemed a bit more hesitant to answer that question than any other.

"Heaven… You lost your temper, your powers starting flaring up and you lashed out at Genesis and Goose."

I started to clench my fists tight as it came back to me. The anger I felt. I did my best to suppress it, but I still wanted answers to the things I saw. I was going to get them one way or another. I tried to get up out of bed, but Flora stopped me. She insisted I stay in bed and wait for Genesis to come to me. I simply nodded and laid there in waiting. Flora's grim expression did little to lighten the mood.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Heaven… Are you okay?"

"If you saw the news report you would know the answer to that question."

I lowered my gaze to my hands clutching the sheets of my infirmary bed. I didn't understand why she cared. I wished she would stop badgering me at the time. I didn’t need people to worry about me. I didn’t want them to worry about me. It was strange and selfish of me to think that way, but I knew even then that I wasn’t all there. The confusion surrounding the city and the new life it gave me had put me in quite the predicament. I wasn’t sure what to think, or what to do. I sighed to myself with a lingering dissatisfaction and spoke up to Flora.

"What is it to you whether I'm okay or not?"

"You helped me out before, it's only natural I'd want to care about you."

I said nothing as my eyes fell back to the white cloth landscape placed over my legs. Flora said nothing, but still sat next to me to give me some form of company. Though in all honesty, I felt like I didn't deserve it.

It wasn't long before Terra entered the room. I immediately looked up to see her enter and as our eyes met, there was a mutual understanding. We both realized we were in the same exact position. With a heavy heart she spoke up to me.

"Genesis wants to meet with you in the training room. You should get cleaned up and head over. I'll meet you there."

I simply nodded and Terra left the room. Flora took it upon herself to help me out of bed, even though I didn't really need it.

"Follow me, I’ll show you where the showers are," Flora said without missing a beat.

Flora led me down a few hallways and brought me to the shower room. The Ark already seemed to be a step up from the Cocoon. Flora turned her back as I removed my white gown and stepped into the shower. The water was warm to the touch and helped to relax my tensed body as steam rose up from my skin. Flora stood next to the shower door as the room grew foggy with dense water vapors. I could feel her presence closer to the door as she placed her hand on the glass. Her voice dropped to a soft and dulcet tone as I listened to her concerns. A single sentence escaped her lips, a sentence that hit a little too close to home.

"I know how you’re feeling, Heaven."

"Do you really though?"

That was the first time I made a conscious effort to push someone away. Meanwhile, in reality, I needed someone to listen to me. I was overcome by a spiral of anger and frustration that would inevitably lead to apathy. It’s ironic that apathy is such a powerful emotion, yet it makes sense. It must take an overwhelming feeling to completely numb a person. That was how I felt at the time. Numb. Empty. The city I called home was starting falling apart from the inside out and I couldn’t be bothered enough to care. I had fond memories of that place, yet it didn’t pain me to see it fall into a state of decay. Was there something wrong with me, or the world? No matter how many questions resurfaced, I had no drive to see them through. I knew one thing was certain at that time. If the man I knew to be my father was a lie, his memory could burn with the city.

Life always seems to turn out in ways you least expect it to. I had gotten my answers so abruptly that I felt like I had reached the end of whatever journey I was on. I now knew why Nina killed my father. With Nina’s files leaked to the world I felt like my mission had no point. Three years of my life were seemingly wasted, thrown to the wayside and cast into dust. Was there any point in me continuing to search for answers? I wish I had understood the nature of the unknown at that time, but would it even have helped me. Would the knowledge that questions beget more questions aid me in defending against apathy’s wretched onslaught? Who knows? Regardless, Flora refused to leave that shower door and continued to press on with her own antithesis. The twisted cousin of apathy, empathy.

"I'm here if you need to talk," Flora said in a somber tone, not seen since three years before.

I responded with silence. Not a word pierced through my lips. With nothing but the quiet returning to her, Flora took her leave. She walked hopelessly down the alabaster hall for only a few short and pained steps. As her emotions reached a peak, her fist slammed into the wall of the corridor and she let loose a loud, frustrated growl. Flora clenched her teeth tight in anger as she did all she could to fight back the tears. She had wished that I would let her in, the same way she had let me in. I helped her understand her grief three years ago, so why was she forbidden to help me in my time of need? All she wanted was to return the favor and be there for me. What I fool I must have been.

*****

Night had finally descended upon the once quiet Evo City. The streets were ripe with fear now that mystery and mayhem joined in a dark matrimony. Their bond consuming the whole of the city in a fog of war. As the pressing danger grew ever more apparent, Nina found herself simply watching the calm sea waters as they washed up against the walls of the docks. Katelyn and Reaver were nowhere to be seen, more than likely inside the warehouse sound asleep. Nina couldn’t be bothered with sleep. She never could. Falling asleep was like falling into a nightmare she could never escape from. She would be trapped in the land of bad dreams, never to wake up again. As her weary and sleepless eyes gazed upon the black water of the sea, Regis made his presence known to the pyromancer.

"Lovely night, don’t you think?"

"What difference does it make?" Nina retorted, her uptake as sharp as her gaze.

"Just thought I’d attempt to make conversation," responded Regis.

Nina didn’t make eye contact with Regis, she just kept her sight fixed on the water and watched the reflecting lights dance and ripple within the waves.

"You are only here because you want something. Spit it out, Regis."

Regis sighed and approached the tense pyromaniac. He took his hands from the front pouch of his hoodie and threw them behind his back. A few moments of silence passed before he allowed himself to speak.

"I can’t give you your memory back yet," Regis said without a hint of nervousness.

In a split second, Nina had blinked into a cloud of embers before appearing right in front of Regis. Her sapphire gaze pierced into Regis’ own dull stare, but he did not waver. Not a single thread of fear trailed off of Regis’ body. He was stone cold.

"However, if you’ll suspend your rage for a moment, I can offer an even greater power."

Nina took a moment to contemplate before relinquishing her aggression and stepping back.

"Talk," she ordered.

"What do you know about these so called Seals?" Regis asked.

Nina said nothing.

"According to your creator, every Demon has three Seals on their powers. The first seal is what allows you to control your powers at all. The Second Seal however, is quite interesting. Apparently if you let yourself become consumed by your own power and let your emotions drive you completely, you can break the Second Seal. There is a chance you haven’t broken yours yet, and I’m sure it will be more than useful for what happens next."

"And what exactly is happening next?" Nina asked with an unamused expression.

"Another attack. This time on the Arcturus Estate, the home of one Emmanuel Arcturus. The so called 'Mayor of Evo City.' All of the surviving bigwigs of this place are holed up there. We’re going to finish them off. Though the ECPD has some heavy hitters on their side, that’s why I need you to break the Second Seal and learn to control it. You'll burn the place to the ground and those other Demons will be called further into the spotlight. Then with some media manipulation, they will be exposed to the world. Once that happens, it's open season."

Nina stood in silence. Her head bowed in a brooding manner. A faint heat began to resonate around her as Regis’ words reached her ears. After a moment, her fists clenched tight, her teeth began to show in a menacing grimace. Her sapphire eyes glowed with fury and fervor as her head slowly lifted up. Regis could feel the bloodlust dripping off of Nina’s presence. She was excited. All she wanted was more power. She desired the power to prove her superiority, and she was about to get it. Nina couldn’t be happier with Regis’ offer.

"This world makes me sick, you know."

Regis seemed to perk up upon hearing this as Nina began to utter a rant long thought buried within her heart.

"Did you know the Egyptians worshipped their Pharaohs as gods? I wish I could have been born into a time like that. I would rule a vast kingdom with a burning grip. My people would learn to fear me and would worship me as the God of all Gods. They would respect and adore me and I would reward them for their faith. They would be scorched and burned for crossing me, but I would be merciful. My enemies would be scattered in ashes across countless battlefields. Foreign kings would bow to me and call me their goddess. You see, I hate this world and everyone in it. I despise how humanity exploits nature and science just so they can do less with their lives. I hate how nothing is sacred to humanity anymore, even gods serve no other purpose than to justify cruel acts, and in the modern era, science has become a lot like those gods. Science demands sacrifices, just like the gods the ancient Mayans worshipped. Even children aren’t safe from exploitation. My sister and I were used and broken, Regis. My father and mother were murdered for resisting. My family is broken, in fact it’s nonexistent. That is why I want to prove my power to this world, so that my sister and I can live in peace and never fear being used and discarded again. No one can toss you aside if you control them."

Regis thought for a moment and looked at the wild expression in Nina’s eyes. Her madness was all the more apparent to the pale young man.

"If I were you… I’d look for perspective. Things may not always be the way they seem. Food for thought," said Regis as he took his leave.

Nina simply glared at Regis as he walked away. Her hands had already sparked flames of frustration with the pale man. She knew she couldn’t kill him, but if she broke her Second Seal, if she opened her Mind Gate, then she could stand more of a chance. Soon, even Regis would bow down to her overwhelming strength. A terrifying smile took hold over Nina’s face. She relished the thought of strangling Regis and watching his cocky pale skin flush with blue. She would get even with everyone someday. All she had to do was play the servant a little longer.

*****

Once I finished showering, I began the walk to the training room. As I drew closer to it, I was stopped in the middle of the corridor by none other than Terra. She looked somber and distant. There was a lingering feeling of fear, anxiety, and dread. The future had scarred her. She had seen something that I saw as well. It was the extent of our powers, or what we believed to be that extent.

"Hey…" Terra called out.

"Hey."

"So I guess this means we're in the same boat."

"What do you mean?"

Terra sighed as she began to look at her palms. She felt afraid of her own body.

"We both broke the Second Seal. I am going to do everything I can to learn how to control it, but I don't know about you. So I guess what I want to ask is, are you with me?"

Terra's inquiry seemed fixated within my mind. Was I with her or against her? The real question was, what reason did I have to even make that choice? Why did I have to live a life I didn't ask for? Why was I forced into a life that had been dictated by nothing more than lies? These were the questions that influenced my response as I uttered a string of words I would hope to never repeat.

"Terra… What are we even fighting for?"