Chapter 35

Lio

I pulled the long white gloves I havent worn in so long over my slender fingers, cracking my knuckles as the cold of my hands are trapped once more. Frost trickles up my wrist, up to my elbows.

"So you understand the job then?," Decay demanded. I turned, watching him wrap bandages around wounds in his gut and shoulder.

"Yes... ," I looked at my hands.

" Flare needs substanance.. Medication. So we break into the hospital and get as much of it as we can," I recited, pulling a dark jacket onto my shoulders.

"Blood too. You'll understand why soon enough.. As soon as we're positive we can trust you," He added disdainfully, pulling a hoodie on. I turned and scowled.

"What did I even do to you?," I demanded, crossing my arms. He sneered, gesturing to his injuries.

"I don't remember that," I hissed, grabbing a pistol and a couple of knives off the shelf. He raised his brows.

"So your a Schizo or whatever," He inquiried. I my scowl deepened.

"The term is dissociative identity disorder. And no, I dont have that. I'm always one person at all times," I reprimanded. He slammed his locker shut, turning to me and leaning against it.

"But you still have blackouts where you turn into a total nutjob who is more inhumane than the man we work with?," He snickered, grabbing a machete and some knives, turning away from me.

"Sounds like more than one person up there. Back when you did this to me, you called yourself 'Lionel Valdez', Yet whenever you've been introduced to anyone else, media or off camera wise, word is you call yourself Lionel Hall. So, one identity, Or are you just a closeted nutcase," He taunted. I glared, heading towards the door.

"Honestly... I dont know," With that, we embarked on our job.

Magnus

I watch the GPS on Lios phone start moving. I had it installed when I first bought it for him, so I had a good eye on him when he left alone. I pull my hood up, speed walking down the street. Hes only a few streets away... Is he going to the hospital?

I look down at my scarred arms and wrist. If I fought anyone in a one on one fight, I would lose, with the way my arms are. Especially after my fight with Flare all those years ago. If I end up on the other side of Lio, I'm done for.

Then again, this must be how he felt all those years enduring my torture. Mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hurt him... I ruined him. Then I turned around and started acting the exact opposite. He must have felt so used... Abandoned. All because I didnt go and bail him out.

What was I supposed to do.. They wouldnt let me see him. Honestly, I'm lucky they didnt arrest me too. I deserve it more than he does.

I stop across the street from the hospital, checking my GPS one last time. Hes here. I check the braces attached to my wriss and into my palms. I'm going to need these if a fight broke out. I wonder what hes doing here.

Lio

"Decay... This isnt smart," I warned, watching as he shoves a doctor towards the supply room door, machete in hand. He smirked, cocking his head towards me.

"What do you mean? You have the highest kill count of any of us. What would you know?," He demanded. I choked back my anger, grabbing his shoulder.

"The doctor probably has someone out there right now calling the police. Hes only following through as a distraction. They probably already have someone on their way," I murmured quietly so the scared doctor wouldn't hear anything. He gave the doctor an angry glance.

"So why the hell did you come with me?," He growled. I looked at the doctor.

"So you wouldnt kill him. He is.... Valuable. We can use him," I grumbled. I cocked me head.

"Go watch everyone at the desk.. Take my gun. I'll get all the supplies as humanly possible and come back with the doctor in toe. We may need him for the medications themselves," I added. I handed him my gun, watching as he angrily slunk off into the distance.

An icicle formed out of the palm of my hand, pressing into his back.

"You are quite valuable indeed. Let's go in," I ordered. He nodded with fright. He pushed the door open, leading my through the vast storage room. I looked around.

"You wouldnt happen to have something called an amulet, would you?," I asked coldly. He nodded pointing off in the distance. I shoved him, walking around and grabbing all the stuff I could find. Blood, selective drugs that was listed for Flare. Very last, I grabbed a stone looking creation fro the back of the storage room.

"How do I use it?," I asked. He grabbed it from me.

"You press it on your bare chest, apply some if your power to it. It'll link to you almost immediately if done right. It'll help you control your abilities, even strengthen it," He informed me. I nodded, throwing it into the bag and shoving him forward.

We walked out the storage room, just to run into the last person I wanted to see right now.

"Magnus," I breathed angrily. I gave the doctor the bag and thrusted him back into the wall, freezing him there on purpose.

"Lio, let me explain ," Magnus started, raising his hands in surrender. I glared at him, cracking my neck.

"What? You left me to rot in a jail cell for something I didn't remember doing. You judged me," I hissed with a trembling voice. He took a step closer.

"No.. They wouldnt let me come see you... I didnt know what was happening, Ryan kept it from me," He explained. I shook my head, my ears starting to ring.

"You lied... Again and Again you lie to me... I'm sick of it," I looked up, my back ripping open. tendrils of frost spill out of my body, materializing my newest favorite move, the spider legs. I reached down to my right hand, pulling off my silver glove. Underneath, the ring Magnus gave to me burst to life, golden flames spiraling around me. He stepped back, his eyes widening.

"Lionel, this is not how I wanted it to end," He pleaded, but his hands caught a flame anyways. I lifted my hand into the air.

"It seems things come full circle after all. I'm tired of chasing after you.... Yet even now, I'm chasing your ideals. Your strength. Your approval. The thing is, I am a killer. I dont remember doing it, but that wont matter in court. I've lost one person after the other. My father. My mother. My friends. Lyon. Michelle. And then that night, I finally remembered what you thought of me. A damn weakling right? Whenever the chips were down, you always reverted back to your old self. That night wasnt any different. You didnt say a word as I was dragged into a cop car. For following orders. You didnt defend me as they blamed me for breaking the law. You did nothing!,"

"Lionel That's all I could do!,"

"LIAR," My tendrils of ice shot forward, slashing at Magnus. He raised his arms, his braces smashing my ice. I flung forward, going to grab his arm.

"You forget who's superior in a real fight Lionel," He growled, catching my wrist and yanking hard. Before I knew it, I was rolling on the ground, my arm bent at an awkward angle. I cackled, rising shakily as I snap my arm back into place, frost easily healing it.

"So we're back to that again are we... ," I turned around, locking eyes with him.

"Let me remind you why I'm SSSS+ Rated," I howled. I took off into the air, grabbing my knives and sliding towards him on a wave of ice.

"DODGE THIS!," I yelled, before leaping at him throwing one of my knives. It caught him in the shoulder, forcing him to recoil. I reached out and caught onto his neck, fixing my trajectory and kicking his legs out from under him, taking his full weight onto me. I rolled backwards, pinning him to the floor with my knee on the back of his neck.

I panted, wiping my sweat away.

"I dont need my power to beat you anymore Magnus," I chuckled breathlessly. He turned, his usual blue eyes almost completely black.

"You think so?," He demanded, before his body erupted into flames. I leapt back, watching as the ring he made for me shattered, the flames all around me sputtering out. He cracked his knuckles, laughing as he rose to his feet.

"So... This is how it must end then... Lionel Valdez," He grumbled. I stepped back at the change in tone of his voice... It reminded me of back then.

Damn nerd.

Pathetic.

I hate you.

Lyon is dead.

I clenched my fists.. He was always so cold... Was he really taking it easy on me all this time.

"I guess so..," I gulped, raising my hand in front of me, the ground at my feet freezing over.

"So be it," He turned, his eyes covered by his dark hair.

"DIE!," I screamed, my voice raw with anger and pain. What am I doing.

A large scale ice attack shot from the ground at my feet, heading straight towards him.

"Not today.... Not by you!," He looked up, his blue eyes wide with anguish.

He put both hands out in front of him, two familiar red bullets shooting from their glowing white centers. I put up a wall of ice behind me as my attack exploded on itself, throwing me backwards. My head cracked into the ice, the world dotting with black. Pieces of oce stab into my shoulders.

I crouched, panting.

I screamed, waves of large icicles tearing from the ground and stabbing at him. He dodged them all easily, breaking a few of them with ease. I stopped, panting heavily, sweat caking my head.

"I suppose this means we're done... We're enemies once more?," Magnus demanded, his head lowered. I looked up, reaching up and touching my chest.

"So be it. Goodbye, Lionel," He reached out, his blazing hands turning black. His flames... They're changing to that awful color again.

Hes going to kill me.

My heartbeat drummed in my ears. Is this how it ends. I could see everything I did in life flash before my eyes. All the death, pain and strife I've endured.

"LIONEL GET UP!," A familiar figure appeared before me in my head. Its myself. He reaches out, his right eye glowing violet intensely.

I WONT DIE HERE.

I let out a deppe breath of frost, feeling the familiar trickle of ice covering my body. I looked up, making eye contact with Magnus.

"Now freeze,"

Time around me stopped. Magnus's attack frozen midair. The anger in his eyes almost as clear as the frost covering my body. I rose, roundhouse kicking him in the face. Time unfroze as he flew backwards, slamming onto the floor.

I lifted my iced over palm. I can use it once or twice more before I freeze to death. I need to end this.

"I'm sorry Lio," Magnus whimpered. While I was caught of guard, a wave of fire seared my entire abdomen.

Ben

I carried Lios body into the warehouse, sropping him onto the table. Flare limped over to him, looking down at his burnt body.

"Is he dead?," He asked me. I shook my head, avoiding looking at his face.

"No... It wasnt hot enough to kill him. I think Magnus was too burnt out to do anyworse," I responded, making eye contact with Flare.

"No... Its more than that," Flare retorted with a smirk. His right eye started to glow. I watched in awe as suddenly Lios body started to steam, his bare flesh sprouting new skin like it was never gone. He was healed up.. Completely.

"What was that?," I demanded. Flare turned to me sitting down.

"My power is called mimic. If I see any power in action, I can automatically mimic the exact attack or even the power itself as long as I understand the basics of whatever I'm trying to mimic. This power was called Reconstruct. Used by one of my former henchmen in the original war we waged on Lionel and Magnus. Her name was Lyra. Similarly, they used to have a friend who could shapeshift into anything as long as he knew what they were on a fundamental level. Their capabilities, and their weaknesses," He informed me. My mouth opened.

"That sounds like-," I started, but he cuts me off.

"That is our ace in the hole. He knows these guys better than anyone, which is why he was so valuable to us," He bragged. He turned, looking at the trembling doctor and all the supplies we stole.

"So... Doctor... Shall we begin?,"

Magnus

I sat up from my bed, shaking and sweating violently. Lio-

A woman sat in front of me, a silky blue cloak hiding her features from me. All I could see was her ink black hair.

"Youre lucky Tara has been watching over you. Especially since you destroyed her puppets arms," She taunted, wetting down a clothe.

"Who's Tara... And you mean Ryan?," I asked. She nodded, or at least it looked like she did. She turned around, the bottom of her face hidden by a mask. All ai could see were her eyes. They glowed Cyan.

"Indeed. That guy would've killed you had we not been there. You did quite the damage to your one little friend though didnt ya," She added. She means... Lio!

"Where is he! What happened?," I demanded. She started wiping the blood off my face, her eyes still blank.

"After you roasted him, his little friend came and knocked you out. He took Lio and the doctor," She answered.

"So... Why did you say those things? If I may ask?," She demanded, making eye contact. I looked down.

"He wasnt listening... He made it perfectly clear how he felt about me. It's about time I respect that and leave him alone," I answer, ignoring the burn in my eyes.

"Maybe he didnt want to listen. Maybe the poor kid just wants to be heard," She mumbled. I stiffened. What does that mean.

"What I'm trying to say is this; From what he said in that hall, He's dealt with a lot of shit in his life. All he wanted was for you to listen to him. To understand him and how he felt. He laid out how he was feeling on the table and you had a negative reaction," She informed me. I gave her a confused look.

"Ok, I'll dumb it down for you. You're being selfish. Have you ever asked him how he was feeling?," She demanded bluntly. I froze, trying to think back. No... I would ask him if he was ok but... Never how he actually felt. I looked down.

"No,"

"Have you ever let him tell you how he felt?,"

"No..,"

"Why?,"

"Because I-,"

"Because you what?,"

"Because I thought he was better!," I snapped. She sat back, watching as I rubbed my eyes.

"I knew he had those urges... But I thought that I fixed him-,"

"That's where you fucked up Magnus. I'm sorry to say this, or to burst your little bubble, but he doesnt need fixed. Those urges came from a lack of understanding. He wanted to be heard. He wanted to be loved. He never got that as a kid. He is not broken. He is not ruined. He is lost. And alone. He feels abandoned again and again. Not to mention the way you speak makes it sound like you're a very negligent boyfriend," She scolded me. I glared at her.

"Why do you care?," I demanded. She sat back, looking at her hands.

"I may not know everything. But I do know what it's like to be considered a ticking time bomb. He only ever lost control trying to save you. Have you ever thought of that? Magnus... He needed you. So why weren't you there for him?," She scoffed. I clenched my eyes shut.

"Because I didnt know!," To care is to be weak... That's what my father drilled into my head. For the first time in years, I see his creepy smile again.

"I dont know how to be a good anything... I dont know how to be good for him," I cried, my eyes brimming with tears.

"All I ever wanted was for him to be happy...," I whimpered, burying my head into my knees.

"Do you think he was happy though?," She asked. I shook my head, biting my knuckles.

"No... I loved him... But I didnt understand him... What he needed... And now it isnt me," I whispered. She nodded , reaching up and ruffling my hair.

"I may have deceived you.... You're not alive anymore Magnus... I cant say you're dead either though...," She reached up, pushing the cloak off of her head, pulling off her mask. Sitting with me, was Michelle Hall.

"You're in the land between the living, and the dead. This is me trying to help you. If you manage to pull through... and you will. You should listen to what he has to say. It may be hell. But show him you care. Words arent enough anymore," She smiled softly, wiping my tears away.

"He needs love again... Remind him that he is loved... Promise me," She pleaded. I nodded. Before I knew it, the world went dark again.

Lio... Please be ok.