Jason eyed the smiling Jackie with perturbation, the quiet discomfort he was feeling from the latter increasing by the second as the silence between them increased.

Something's off, he thought with narrowed eyes. There's something off about the way Jackie's smiling, the way he's standing. But his words . . .

The more Jason thought about it, the more suspicious he became. It was only when he saw a flash of violet pass through Jackie's eyes, did he realize what was happening.

These sons of bitches …

With one step, Jason approached Jackie and punched him as hard as he could. The blow sent the latter staggering as Jason, for a moment, looked down at his fist with a frown.

"That's for pretending to be Jackie, you shit," Jason finally snarled as "Jackie" turned to look at him while massaging his jaw.

The face slowly morphed till it took on a similar appearance to Jason; sculpted with a strong jawline, only more pale and thin. Seeing this transformation, and the lack of pain his fist felt, confirmed to Jason that he was lucid dreaming. Only, Lust, the violet eyed incarnation was in control as this subconscious mind.

"It's not like you gave me much of a choice," Lust answered. "You blocked all of us 'cept that geezer."

"Yeah? And wait till he finds out what you did," Jason growled. "I'll make sure to tell him so he locks you away forever."

Lust burst into a chuckle, his charming purple eyes full of mirth as he asked, "What makes you think he doesn't know? But you're right, he did try to stop me when he saw what I was doing."

Lust looked around knowingly, his eyes looking past the room they were in and into the deep abyss. "Regrettably, he's too preoccupied with the others to actually do anything. Though, even if he wasn't, he'd agree with me in the end. We all feel the same way about you."

Ignoring Lust, Jason closed his eyes and willed himself to gain control over the dream. The world shook and creaked and groaned as the struggle between him and Lust began unfurling the dream world. However, at the apex of their clash of will, Lust smiled and shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk. That won't work, it'll only wake you up," he said to Jason as he raised a hand. "And we can't have that happening just yet."

The thumb and middle finger of Lust's raised hand clicked and, with a snap of his finger, the trembling world of the dream calmed down and Jason was forced to open his eyes in surprise. He found himself wearing clothes and in a different location than before. This time, he was in a void, an empty space darker than darkness with no end in sight.

"You're strong, pup, but only as a pup," Lust continued talking as though nothing around them has changed.

"Where are we?" Jason asked warily.

"Oh, this? This is . . . our collective consciousness," Lust answered offhandedly. "It's where we all end up when it ends. You will join us here too you know, very soon."

"I'm not going down that easily," Jason replied coldly.

"Oh, no, of course not," Lust mockingly agreed. "But even if you live for a few centuries, maybe even an eon . . . it'll feel like a blink of the eye once you're here. And you'll have an endless amount of time to think on your actions, choices, your life, before another incarnation takes your place."

"And that gives you the right to manipulate me?" Jason asked in a deathly dangerous voice. "To force me to make decisions that I don't want?"

"To guide you," Lust corrected with a sneer, the anger at Jason's stubbornness beginning to shimmer. "I - We are many. A legion of incarnations that have lived and experienced so many lifetimes, we know what will happen should you continue walking down that path. And I'm going to show it to you."

"You don't know shit -"

"I KNOW! WE KNOW!" Lust bellowed and Jason narrowed his eyes but remained silent. A part of him knew that what Lust, an incarnation who had long forgotten his own name, claimed was right; they truly knew as they were, in essence, him. "Oh, yes, we all know, as we all made the same decisions, the same choices, when it came to the ones we love.

"And if you had a modicum of intelligence in that thick skull of yours, then you would heed our advice," Lust said as he thrust a finger to Jason's head and jabbed him continuously with it.

Suddenly, the rage in Lust faded and he smiled genuinely as his aura turned back to his normal lavish disposition.

"But why take my words for it?" Lust took a step back and shrugged. "Why not see it for yourself? The future, the path, you're taking."

Jason's vision grew blurry as the dark abyss around him spun and shifted. He closed his eyes unintentionally for a moment before opening them again only to see a completely different scene in front of him. He was standing amongst the ruins of Sanctuary. Corpses filled the street as flames licked away what remained of the shattered buildings.

Around him, ESPers struggled to stand up and fight while those beloved to him, Alina, her friends, and Emily lay unconscious on the ground. Jason kneeled down and quickly checked Alina's pulse before sighing in relief once he knew that she was still alive. A shadow began looming over him and he stood up, his eyes narrowed as he realized he couldn't see through the mist shrouding the enemy. Regardless, he prepared to fight the unknown but a small figure, frail and determined, walked past him.

". . . Alice?" Jason murmured hoarsely as the figure stopped a few steps in front of him before turning to face him.

Her sky blue dress, and the pure white shirt underneath, was torn and dirtied. Her face smudged with smoke and dirt, was wet as two lines of tears fell from her shockingly bright blue eyes, eyes that shone like sapphires due to tears.

"Daddy . . . " Alice barely whispered, her face wracked with guilt and sadness. "This is all my fault."

Jason wanted to take a step forward, to comfort Alice and tell her it wasn't, that nothing was her fault. But he collapsed face forward as immeasurable pain tormented his body. Looking back at his legs, he noticed that one was completely crushed. He spat out blood as the internal hemorrhaging of his damaged organs doubled. Despite all that, Jason bit his teeth and began crawling his way to Alice who smiled widely as her teary eyes turned into half crescents.

"But I'll fix it," she said, her smile breaking Jason's heart as he sensed the powerless sorrow beneath it.

"W-what are you - ?" Jason asked hoarsely as his vision began to blur from tears. He paused as he felt a terrible foreboding emanating from Alice's smile.

"This time, I'll be the hero and save you," Alice whispered as she turned away from Jason and began walking towards the black shadow.

"No, wait - don't -" Jason begged as he tried to will his body to move once more. Before he could scream for Alice, a wire wrapped itself around Alice and pulled her back in the direction of Jason. A slim figure safely caught Alice and placed her on the ground.

"Mom?"

". . . Katie?"

Both Alice and Jason asked simultaneously. Katelyn, wounded and bruised, lowered herself to gently place Alice to the ground. She gave Alice a smile full of joy, pride, sadness, as she placed a hand on the latters cheek.

Katelyn's eyes then moved to Jason's and the two exchanged glances, the various complicated emotions both were feeling weighed down their chests.

'Look after her for me,' Katelyn mouthed silently before standing up, her eyes full of conviction and determination as she hurled herself to the darkness.

"No . . . don't. Katie . . ." Jason called out after Katelyn, but the latter rushed into the shadows, her lithe figure swallowed by the darkness. "KATELYN!"

Jason bellowed as his eyes opened wide. His hand was stretched out, reaching for the roof of his room as cold sweat covered his body. Tears obscured his vision as the hand he held out slowly tightened into a fist.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath before covering his eyes with a hand. With a sniff, he turned to face the kids, Alice and Maple, worried that he woke them up with his roar.

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He swore under his breath again when he realized that their eyes were merely closed. From their breathing, he could tell they were frightened by his shout but were pretending to sleep while attempting to silence their beating hearts. Alice had it worse as tears leaked out from her closed eyes; clearly, she was remembering her mother.

"Sorry," Jason whispered in anguish as he placed a hand on their foreheads. Both Alice and Maple, calmed down, their breathing slowing down as they fell into a deep slumber.

Withdrawing his hand, Jason deactivated his ESPer power and got up. He sat up on the edge of the bed and sighed while rubbing his tired eyes. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of yellow eyes, with pupils like that of a snake, watched him from behind. Her figure was melded with the darkness, with only her glowing eyes visible, and she watched Jason with rapture.

"My little monster . . ." she murmured in a voiceless whisper.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows and scowled as he turned his upper body sideways to check the other side of his bed . . . but found nothing except Alice and Maple sleeping; the glowing pair of eyes had disappeared before he noticed it. Though nothing was out of the ordinary, a strange sense of dread filled him and he found the room darker than it usually was.

Strange, he thought. I thought I heard a voice . . . one of the kids talking in their sleep?

He connected his holo-lenses to the security feed in his room but found nothing from the cameras. Still feeling uncomfortable, Jason withdrew a glowing, flat stone from his pendent and placed it upon the night stand next to the bed. The carved archaic symbol in the center of the stone shone for a moment, glowing a bright blue color, before oscillating back to normalcy.

A Warding Rune should be effective in keeping them safe, Jason thought as he stood up and left his room, his worry over Alice and Maple immensely reduced due to his failsafe; his concern in the dread he felt wasn't for himself, he could handle anything thrown at him. Rather, it was for the children next to him. Anyways, I need a drink.

Walking down the stairs, Jason made his way to the fully stocked bar in the corner of the reception room. He opened the mirrored cabinets and pulled a glass bottle of spiced whiskey before making his way to the living room. Crashing onto one of the single-seated sofas, Jason opened the bottle and chugged a mouthful of the whiskey. He suspired as he felt the liquid scald his throat as it went down to his stomach, appreciating the feeling as it reminded him that he was alive and no longer dreaming. [1]

"Damn, that feels good," he muttered as he took another sip.

Watching him from the corner of the room was Ava, her blue optics glowing ever so slightly in the dark. She didn't require sleep and had heard Jason the moment he yelled. She wanted to take a step forward, to hug and comfort Jason when someone else came down from the second floor with the exact same intention.

"Bad night?" a voice asked and Jason turned to the newcomer who entered the living room. Alina, wearing her flannel sleepwear, walked up to him. She sat down on the armrest and looked down at Jason next to her

"Nope. It's a good night - a great night - for a drink," Jason replied with a small smile.

"Hmm," Alina processed Jason's answer with a smile of her own before looking at him with a bit of concern. "You ok?"

Jason was silent for a moment, mulling over Alina's question with another sip of whiskey.

"Peachy," he finally replied. He noticed her concern and his simile faded as he patted her thigh. "Don't worry about me, I'm doing fine, kid."

"No, you're not," Alina stated bluntly and Jason looked away. Alina's eyes softened as she watched him evade her before asking, "You still dream of her?"

Both were very aware of who Alina was referring to.

". . . I didn't mean to wake you," Jason said, refusing to answer her question.

"You didn't," Alina pointed out. She realized that Jason was not going to open up and sighed.

"The kids?" she asked in distraction.

"Still asleep."

"I'm sorry," she finally said and Jason turned to look at her with astoundment. "For being a selfish bitch."

"Wha - ?" Jason scoffed with incredulity, a short laugh coming out of his mouth from what Alina said.

"These two years, you were so busy trying to pick me up and piece me together that you didn't even have time to mourn," Alina explained, her eyes glistening with tears. ". . . You were always there for me. But no one was there for you. I wasn't."

Alina admitted the last bit with her head lowered to avoid Jason's gaze, but the latter merely smiled widely. He was proud and happy that Alina was growing up to be a fine lady.

Fascinating, Ava thought as she remained quiet and watched the two interact. This was one of the moments when Jason wasn't acting: everything he was doing, saying, right now was genuine. Furthermore, Ava noticed how close and emotional the two were despite not being lovers. To her, this was new and uncorrelated data that needed to be researched.

Is this also love? Familial love? Ava asked herself, visibly confused before sending a wistful glance at Alina. How envious.

"Hey, hey," Jason called out and grasped Alina's hand and the latter looked up to him, meeting his onyx eyes. "You were never selfish. Never."

Alina smiled, beaming with relief as she waited for Jason to finish denying her claims, particularly, her claim of being a bitch. But the latter avoided her gaze and went back to drinking as an excuse, causing her smile to falter.

"Jerk," she muttered as she playfully smacked the back of his head lightly.

"What?"

"You could at least deny that part too!"

". . . Hey, your words, not mine."

The two laughed for a short while before silence descended again. The mischievous grin on Jason's face faded as his thoughts turned serious: he recalled his dream and remembered seeing a wounded Alina.

Katelyn . . . Jason thought sullenly. Is that bastard implying that my decisions will lead to her death? Then what am I supposed to do?

"Hey," Alina noticed Jason's gloomy expression and reminded him. She hugged Jason, comforting him. "I'm here for you, y'know."

"Hm," Jason hesitated, the warm hug that Alina gave him didn't fill him with relief. He couldn't help but wonder what her reaction would be if she knew the truth.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alina asked as she pulled away and Jason smiled ruefully. There was only one way Jason was taught to cope with his struggles: to push it down and drown it with some whiskey.

Alina knew this very well, that Jason wouldn't tell her what was really going on. But she still wanted to ask in the hopes that he would rely on her. Or, at the very least, open up to her.

"Not sure I know how to. Besides, what good will that do?" Jason asked. "Talking about all my problems . . . it's a waste of time. It won't change what happened. What I did."

"No, no it won't," Alina agreed. "But talking bout it, letting it out, it'll make you feel better. Lessen the burden."

"But it's my burden to carry," Jason declared quietly.

"No, it's not," Alina replied. "You only choose to carry it alone."

"Because every single choice I've made, for the past four years, has only given you more pain!" Jason exclaimed. He could barely look at Alina as he added, "And I-I've hurt you enough."

Alina opened her mouth but abruptly closed it once more. She knew that anything she said to him wouldn't help, not when she couldn't convince herself of her own words. Even though he meant well, his choices . . . they did hurt her.

"I need to do this - fix this - on my own, Alle," Jason said quietly before turning to look at her pleadingly. "I have to try."

Seeing Jason's haunted eyes, pleading and full of desperation, Alina relented. "Yeah, ok. Alright.

"Just know that you're not alone. I'm here, next to you. Always," Alina said as she placed a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Thanks, kid," Jason closed his eyes and took the hand lying on his shoulder. He pulled it closer to his face before resting his head on it.

"Jason," Ava finally interrupted and Alina pulled her hand away before standing up abruptly with a small cough; she was beyond embarrassed that Ava witnessed their little bonding moment.

"Yeah, what is it, Ava?" Jason asked as he stood up while closing the cap of the whiskey bottle.

". . . It's Michelle. She's in danger," Ava hesitated, her eyes falling on Alina before finally responding. Both Jason and Alina's faces changed, the former turned serious while the latter was filled with worry.

"What?" Alina said. She prepared to rush out the living room but Jason grabbed her arm to stop her.

"No, you can't go," Jason stated firmly and Alina scowled but her full lips instead turned into a pout. "You won't be able to do anything even if you go and, more importantly, I need you to keep an eye on Alice and Maple. They could still be in danger."

"But -"

"Alle, I'm a Phantom. I can help her. You can't," Jason said inflexibly and Alina acquiesced with a small nod.

"Fine, but make sure she's safe?" Alina asked softly and Jason nodded.

"Course. She's my student after all," Jason quipped as he walked away. "And it's a teach's duty to keep his students safe."

As Jason made his way to a hidden sublevel of the basement, Alina walked back up to the third floor and into Jason's room. She laid down, next to Alice and Maple, and brushed a lock of hair from their foreheads.

Maple's an orphan, Alina thought before smiling in mirth. Huh, the way things are going . . . looks like I'm getting a niece. Another niece.

Below the basement, in a secret bunker that also served as a panic room, Jason stood naked, slowly equipping his under-armor. The black membranous under-armor tightened till it was like a second skin as Jason spoke.

"Ava, give me the details," Jason commanded while mulling over to which armor to wear, his Phantom or Fenrir armor.

"Earlier tonight, I intercepted an encrypted transmission only to discover it is a coded SOS signal from AEM honorary member C-09a," Ava, who had followed Jason, replied.

"That's Michelle's ID alright," Jason muttered. "What was the message on her encrypted SOS?"

"Code Black."

Jason froze when he heard Ava's answer before hurriedly slipping into his Fenrir armor. Code Black was an AEM emergency code signifying that there was a threat of the highest level to Sanctuary's safety. It was usually used to signify a WSD, such as a powerful Practitioner or a mutated animal, a Monster.

"Send me her location asap, Ava," Jason instructed as he jumped onto his hovering motorcycle.

"I've marked it on your HUD, already," A.V.A replied in Jason's ear via comms. "I've also navigated the fastest route to her location, via ground and air."

"Thanks, A.V.A," Fenrir growled as he flew away.

[1] Listened to Mike Waters, I'm Doing Fine while writing this scene: https://youtu.be/-6Oji3uaStQ

(P.S send him a like or subscribe to support the artist, he's really good)