Following the attack on the Starveil Hospital, as gangsters of the Big Bad Boys flee the hospital via commandeered car, the hospital receives a call from the head of the Blackbird Syndicate once again. The man leading the gangsters that kidnapped Giichi and shot at Odette, calling shortly after news reaches him.

Quade is on the phone with this man. Odette's "Uncle Talon", who spoke with the receptionist to check in on the hospital and his adult nephew. The shapeshifter used his ability to disguise his voice as Odette's, preparing to talk to the head of the mafia and trick him into believing Odette was on the other end. So, with that one "hello"...

"Joseph! Boy, are you alright?!"

... the man fell for the ability.

Talon was on the other end, his voice showing concern and worry for his nephew. Checking in to see if Odette was safe, if Odette was alive and all. Regardless of if Odette was okay or not, Talon is on the line with someone he believes is Odette.

And amidst his anger and irritation, Quade is happy at this opportunity.

But Quade... stares forward, keeping his cool the best he can. To get back into the emotions of the anxious Odette that was at a recently attacked hospital. Sure, Quade didn't know EVERYTHING about how Odette talks with his uncle, nor does he fully know what the two have or haven't talked about, but Quade could reasonably fill in most of the blanks from Odette's account of this morning's call... and Odette would definitely be anxious beyond all belief.

Getting into the Odette mindset, Quade prepares to speak as believably as possible to Talon. As "Odette" as he could. "U-Uncle...! I- I'm glad to hear from you- t-this is terrible-! T-The hospital got attacked b-by- by gangsters- they s-saw me looking and shot at my floor- the window burst open and- oh god oh god-"

"Hey- hey, hey, you're okay, you're alright..."

Quade's hands shake as he speaks. Apart from assuming how Odette would react, the most important thing that comes to the shifter's mind is how Talon doesn't question Odette when he's irrationally scared. "U-Uncle- Uncle, I- I'm scared, what if they come back?! I- I saw just a glimpse of them and they tried to kill me! What if-"

"It's- it's okay, Joseph. Joseph- Joseph, listen to me-"

Quade continues to rile up Talon as much as possible. To send him over the edge in an irrational concern for family. "T-They could have killed Mom! W-What if they were here for me?! D-Do they know about her?! A-Are they going to come back and kill M-Mom?! W-What do I do?! Uncle, what do I do?! I-!"

"JOSEPH!"

Quade lets out an "e-eep!" as he goes silent, keeping his hand shaking as he turns to the receptionist. Finger held up to his lips, making a shushing gesture...

"... I- I'm sorry- I'm sorry. Just... the important thing is- are... are you and Jocelyn okay?"

Quade grins for a moment, a brief moment, as he sold Odette's panic perfectly. Then, he gets rid of his grin, getting back in character to answer.

Odette would... Odette would want to reassure his uncle of his safety. To say he's okay and- try to keep it inside. "Y-Yes... M... Mom's okay... o-other than, y'know... a-and, uhm... well... I- I'm... I- I just-"

"I know, boy. I know. D... Don't worry. They- they won't hurt you again. No man's foolish enough to attack some place twice. They won't come again."

Being interrupted, Quade remembers that Odette's uncle hides meaning behind his words. How he made sure to conceal his crime boss conversation on this hospital line. Having a firsthand account of this, focused on each of the subtleties behind Talon's words, Quade is keeping an ear out to pick apart every word that Talon says.

And this attempt to comfort "Odette" confirms to Quade that the boss is fundamentally aware of what happened.

"..." Quade just... just takes a deep breath, looking to the phone. That information isn't useful now, after it happened- he needed to keep Talon talking. "B-But Uncle- he- he shot at me, he saw me on the eighth- the eighth floor... what if he sees me again?"

"Again, no issue... once they're finished their business, they'll be done. You'll never have to see them again," Talon responds.

Finished their business, Talon says. Never have to see them again.

A high chance he wasn't seeing Giichi ever again.

"... Joseph? Are you still there?"

"Y... Yes, I am, Uncle, I just..." Quade responds, hand gripping the phone. Tensely staring forward with a violent glare, his fake shaking becoming more genuine as hostility forms in his voice. As his Odette voice bubbles with true Quade panic.

"Yes?"

"... I just- listen, the- they were taking a girl, and-"

Quade, about to spill the beans about Giichi, suddenly has the phone snatched out his hand. He blinks as he looks over his shoulder, staring at the real Odette.

A gravely serious look was on Odette's face as he glares at Quade. But he wasn't upset at Quade. He was simply enduring the scratches and cuts the glass shards inflicted onto him, coming down to the ground floor and seeing Quade on the phone. The moment Quade said the word "Uncle", he knew that Uncle Talon was on the other end.

"..." Odette holds the phone up to his ear and immediately speaks. "T-They attacked this hospital- they almost hurt Mom over this girl. Y-You mentioned her, you told me to be careful about her- who is she?"

A pause on the other end, and Talon responds. "... Joseph-"

"I- lied to you, Uncle... I'm not fine," Odette speaks into the phone, taking a deep sigh. "I- I've been trying to keep it together, but- because of this girl, whatever business is involved with this girl, I- I can't believe that this girl would be dangerous. She was taken out of the hospital, taken by men in suits! Gangsters, Uncle! Gangsters!"

Wait- no, Quade thought. Mentioning- gangsters in that way, it's going to raise some eyebrows. He- needed to stop Odette right there. Quade tensely reaches for the phone, about to take it back.

... only to be stopped as Odette lifts a finger and telekinetically holds Quade's hand back. A look of "please, trust me" present on Odette's face as he deeply stares at Quade, giving Talon some time to process what he just exclaimed.

"... you... you saw the news, Joseph," Talon eventually answers, giving as indirect an answer as possible. "The news said that 200 gangsters were arrested. Some sources put her on the scene and all. She's dangerous because she has too many people going for her..."

Right... Odette nods to this, taking a deep breath. "... Uncle. I need- I need to find the men responsible. I need to have a talk with- with BB."

"Huh? BB-? Who in the hell is-?"

"He-" Odette begins to answer, eyes narrowed as he knows BB's tendency to take credit. "He barged in, shouting his name out while escaping... that's the name of the man who shot at me and exploded glass into my body. Can you- can you help me find him? M-Maybe where he's heading, taking this girl?"

"... Joseph, you don't have to-" Talon speaks.

"I do. I- I can't let him get away for endangering Mom, I can't let a criminal just..." Odette begins to explain, before... faintly sighing. "You said it yourself... 'a man has to grow up and fight his battles', right? I... I need to grow up. I need to protect Mom, to protect this hospital she's at. So- if you or anyone else knows anything about him, about why he and his cohorts were here, why he- why he-!"

Odette chokes up as he speaks, his glass-sliced body trembling and shaking. A mix of anxiety and physical pain mixing together, prompting him to lean against Quade like a frightened animal in need of comfort.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Quade- appropriately lets him lean on him, silently letting Odette speak...

"... just- please. Help me," Odette begs.

A long silence as Quade, Odette, and - secretly listening in - the receptionist await Talon's response. For a moment, Quade- Quade was hopeful, seeing Odette begging for this information from his uncle in such an emotional way. A discreet way to beg for this information.

But all hope crumbles after Quade hears Talon's next response.

"... I don't know, Joseph. I'm not aware of what house he's heading to. I- I can't help you. Just... get some rest, for my sake. Please."

"I see..." Odette responds, seemingly... giving up. "Alright, then... I- I think I've been held up here long enough. The doctors need to stitch my wounds up and all. Talk to you some other time, Uncle."

"O... Okay... okay, Joseph. Get well soon, and- uhm... I'm- I'm sorry that I couldn't help further. See you- tonight? Maybe- maybe some Italian food? Got this place in West Starveil I wanted to try?"

"Maybe some- other time. Thank you..." Odette weakly tells his uncle, sniffling lightly. "I was- thinking of getting Chinese takeout tonight."

"Sure. See you, boy."

Talon then hangs up. The dial tone of the phone sounding out, as Odette returns the phone to the receptionist. The phone call with the head of the Blackbird Syndicate concluding in that moment.

"..." Quade glares at- Odette afterwards, shifting his voice back to normal before speaking. Quietly- quietly having heard all of that, he... he was angry. Trembling and almost seething, the stress in his body reaching another peak.

That was- that was the one chance they had to save Giichi, to know where she was being taken, Quade thought.

Now that the call was over, the one lead they had was gone. It would be suspicious to ask Talon for anything else, to ask for an address or anything like that.

"Odette, I-"

"Outskirts of West Starveil," Odette immediately interrupts to explain to Quade. "They're heading to one of the abandoned warehouses in the forest."

Quade blinks at this. "W... What?"

"That's... that's where they're taking Giichi," Odette responds, arms crossed. An uneasy smile as he- sees Quade's irritation, how annoyed he was to be in the dark. "A-ware. House. For. Rest. Italian in West. He was a bit more direct with this code, but- he told me anyway. I'm not sure which one it is, but... yeah, it's somewhere in that direction."

"..." Quade calms down as he- smiles at Odette. "I... I see. I guess I- misjudged that whole conversation-"

"Quade," Odette asks, stepping away from the hatted man and leaning against the hospital counter. "What else did Uncle Talon say? Give me an exact word-for-word account."

"Oh... uhm," Quade noises, taking a deep breath, starting to repeat what Talon told him as "Odette".

A lot of what Talon said was either nothing, or some hidden meaning that Quade already knew. But the statement that caught Odette's attention...

Again, no issue... once they're finished their business, they'll be done. You'll never have to see them again.

"... oh. Oh god," Odette speaks up, covering his mouth in horror. "He's- he's taking Giichi to the Slaughterhouse."

Quade coughs almost violently at those words, staring at Odette with absolute urgency. "W-What?!"

Odette looks to Quade, shaking. "A lakeside warehouse where they- they mutilate their targets with sawblades! They're going to cut Giichi limb by limb, or they'll fail to do so and just subject her to an aggressive amount of brutally painful torture!"

Quade has a mortified look on his face, staring at Odette.

The receptionist- stares in horror as well, pressing the 9 key on the phone-

"Don't call the police-!" Quade tells the receptionist, tensely glaring at him and reaching out to grab his wrist before he could press another number. "This is business between the caller and us! You'll put a big, red target on this hospital and everyone here! Make sure not a single fella calls the cops in any way for what Odette just said, got it?!"

The- the receptionist nods, very actively nods. "O-Okay! Okay..."

Quade- then tenses up, staring at Odette. "Listen-! I need your keys, whatever you came here in. I need to get to that slaughterhouse as soon as possible."

"Uhm- sure-!" Odette shouts, taking out his keys. "It's the green Kawasaki out in the parking lot!"

"Got it! Green Kawa-" Quade holds the keys and turns, then... pauses and stares at Odette for a moment. "... you- you have a motorcycle?"

A nod from Odette. "W-What? Is it- is it a problem?" Odette asks, tilting his head with the worry on his face getting worse. "A- A Kawasaki can handle city streets and off road, no problem- and if the issue's the paint."

"No, no, the cycle's fine-" Quade begins to explain, before bluntly admitting the reason for his shock. "Just... I mean no offense, but you're just the last person I'd ever expect to be risk-taking and ride one of those."

"I- I'm actually flattered... makes me a little bit less 'last', I guess...!" Odette responds, feeling- slightly better. Sniffling lightly as he wipes his eyes with his shirt sleeve, as the coolest guy he knows is shocked and impressed about him owning a motorcycle... "A-Alright-! Let's go, we need to get Giichi right away!"

"... Odette, you- you ain't coming," Quade tells Odette, shaking his head. Quade definitely know how badly it hurts to have his body scratched all over by glass, and knows that it was a thousand times worse for Odette. Odette, the man with sensitive and soft skin that couldn't regenerate. "You're badly hurt. There's glass all over and in your body, you're very- cut up from what happened. I can't let ya-"

"I- I told Uncle Talon that I would fight my own battles, no matter what!" Odette responds, clenching his hands into fists. "Plus- all he knows is that I'm there to get even with BB. I'm not going against the syndicate or the family, I'm acting in self defense in his eyes. We have no time to waste, Quade. Let's go save Giichi!"

Odette stares back at Quade with a suave, bold, stylish smile. The embodiment of confidence and bravery, rabbit ears lifted up as one hand adjusts his tie and the other rests on his hip. He truly was determined to save Giichi, in that moment.

"... alright. Are you sure?" Quade asks, staring at him with a serious face. "Are you really, really sure you want to come with, in your condition?!"

"... no, not at all!" Immediately, Odette's hands unclench as his smile fades immediately. Replaced with a scared, terrified look on his face as his eyes water up. Shaking and fidgeting like a scared animal, dropping the act completely. His rabbit ears dropping back down and covering his human ones. "I- I'm actually in a lot of pain right now and I'm scared and I want to lie down and cry, but Giichi's really in trouble and I can't afford to be my usual crybaby self right now because-"

"Odette-!" Quade interrupts, shaking his head with tension. "Just stay back and rest. It's- my turn."

"Okay... okay," Odette responds to Quade, sniffling lightly as his eyes tear up. "... I'm- I'm sorry, I'm sorry I got hurt, I'm sorry I can't help any more, I'm-!"

"It's fine, it's fine," Quade immediately interrupts, riled up in the urgency of the moment. "... but you can help. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the others. You'll help plenty by making sure everyone's safe, and telling them what you can. Worst case, if I don't come back, you get a search party out to that warehouse. Got it?!"

Odette- frantically shakes as he starts crying once again. The tears flowing from his cheeks as Quade suggests his potential death. "Q-Quade, I- I'm fine, you don't have to go alone- I-!"

Quade grabs Odette by the shoulders, gripping him tightly and staring him down. "Be brave, not foolish. You may be the only one I can depend on, but I'm better off going alone than bringing an injured man with me. I can handle myself against them."

"..." Odette continues to cry, and- sobs as Quade begins to walk to the exit. Quickly- calling out to him. Now that Odette isn't coming with Quade, Odette... needed to tell him everything he knew about where Giichi might be headed. "The slaughterhouse, it's- unmarked on the maps... but, it's- it's next to a lake. F-Find the river and head North."

"Right, right," Quade responds, nodding a few times. Taking his hat off and fanning his face, flapping the hat itself, before putting it back on... shapeshifting in that moment.

Without warning, using his hat as an eye-catch again, Odette was now face to face with himself. An identical copy, albeit with a hat back on his head. Basically smushing the rabbit ears down under the cap, having them dangle off to the side of his cheeks.

"... alright. I'm- I'm off. Stay safe," Quade instructs, before sprinting out of the hospital. Starting to head to the hospital parking lot for Odette's Kawasaki bike, preparing for his warehouse search.

Odette- stands as he's left crying once again. Eyes watering, unable to see Quade once the man was far enough. Looking down at the floor and starting to wipe his eyes again, just...

"I- I don't know if it helps, but-" the receptionist calls out to Odette, giving a smile. "It... it looks to me that you did a great job, man..."

"..." Odette then looks back to the receptionist, takes a deep breath with sobbing eyes, and goes: "Please get me a doctor, I am in incredible pain."

"Ah, r-right! Okay-" Directing his attention to page a doctor for Odette, now.

"..." Odette nods slightly as he stands and waits. Head looking down at his feet on the floor, just hopelessly thinking to himself for a moment.

Memories crossing his mind of when... when Giichi introduced him to...

"Peritzal, Papaya! I'd like you to meet someone! This is Odette!"

"U-Uhm- hi! I'm- I'm Odette... nice to- nice to meet you two!"

"Uh, well- hi, Odette! Nice to meet you too! Heh."

"... Giichi, why did you bring this man here?"

"Oh, see, okay, I just kinda met him while- out and about and all. He's pretty cool! See, okay, he can do this thing with his mind. Move stuff with his mind and all."

"Telekinesis? You brought a psychic here?"

"Oh! Wow, that's pretty cool! Odette- try picking me up!"

"U-Uhm- okay?! Uh...!"

"Woooooah! This is so freaking cool!"

"I know, right?! I thought the exact same thing! It's not just you, he can carry a looot of stuff! I think he can carry me and like a bunch of cars!"

"Giichi... honest question, you JUST brought a stranger you met out of nowhere here. What reason do we have, to trust him?"

"None yet, but- honestly, he's pretty cool! He's a potentially really good friend, he's- superpowered and chill, and if I had to..."

Odette stares down in horror as these words echo in his mind, seeing Giichi's unconscious body being carried out of the ambulance. He hyperventilates aggressively as his fingers tightly grip his ears. He could feel his pink eyes narrowing to dots from stress, pure guilt and anxiety riddling his body, remembering those words that Giichi said.

He couldn't stop the gangsters from taking Giichi. Quade was now alone and left to fend for himself. Everyone else is either poisoned, injured, or they're just Verness...

He vividly remembers what Giichi said, what he failed to live up to, what caused him to feel abysmally terrible and horrible this entire morning ever since his uncle called...

"... I'd trust Odette here with my life!"