As Andrew appeared outside of an empty warehouse, he saw the door to the warehouse open, the sll of blood assaulting his nostrils stronger than ever.
When he went inside, he saw a bunch of children passed out in one corner of the room while in the other corner of the room, there was a man who was beaten and bloodied.
He wasn't dead. Andrew could pick up a slight heartbeat. He knew if he left the guy there, he would die. He knew the man. It was the sa man who had sworn to him that he had changed his ways.
Yet the picture spoke differently.
Andrew was conflicted about everything. The words of his brother, his father, his own nature. Everything was conflicting everything and his world seed to be colliding with another world that he had constructed on his own.
The world of Andrew Moore who never killed and the world of Andrew Smith whose nature was born to kill. They collided in the end, and the survivor was the stronger one.
He still didn't have it in him to kill soone.
But he didn't have to save him either.
Andrew coated the children in lighting, disappeared from his spot along with the children, and appeared outside of a precinct. He dropped all the children and left.
His next destination was his father's office.
~~
Gabriel was mostly on autopilot as he knocked on soone's door. The owner of the room didn't ask who it was. The sll of the blood was enough of an indication of who it could be.
As Aliya opened the door to her room, she saw a bloodied Gabriel standing with his eyes as if dead. He just looked down with no apparent movent in his eyes but his voice could tell Aliya in what sort of turmoil he was.
"I couldn't do it." He said in a quaking voice.
Aliya sighed and stepped out of the room. She grabbed Gabriel's hand and disappeared from that place.
A blue-eyed saw the interaction from so distance. As warm-hearted as she was seeing Gabriel going for Aliya, she was also worried for her son.
"It seems I have to talk to hubby." She thought as she made her way to her room while thinking of her husband.
As for Gabriel and Aliya, they appeared on top of a building in Chicago. The snow-covered city looked incredibly amazing at nightti. But it wasn't the nightti or the beauty of the scene that Aliya brought them there.
She brought Gabriel there because that was the place where Gabriel died many years ago. Or at least a big part of him did.
"Why here?" Gabriel asked.
"Before her, before Celina, this used to be the place you loved. This used to be the place where we would co to escape Mom and Dad's nightly adventures." Aliya said with a smile.
However, Gabriel couldn't smile. He still looked like a dead person breathing and said, "I thought I would be able to do it. But I couldn't."
"She's a part of you, Gabe. She always will be." Aliya said.
"She's not." Gabriel replied, "She just took a big one. I didn't just kill her that night, I also killed a part of . The part of that makes , ."
Aliya couldn't help but feel sad for Gabriel. She knew what he was going through and although she couldn't relate, she could tell how conflicted he was.
She took his hand in hers and said, "Then do what you always did before her. Co to ."
Gabriel raised his head to look at her, a conflicted feeling in his eyes before he lowered it again and said, "I don't know how to."
"You just do. Just like I did when my whole world crashed onto ." Aliya said, referring to her past when she lost her entire family. A pain Gabriel could relate to because it was also painful to him, losing one of his masters.
But he knew the pain was nowhere near what Aliya went through. And all he could do then was be there for her.
But one question always lingered in his mind. 'Did he deserve to?'
He didn't know and he never found an answer. All he did was look away. As he always did. He always found another reason to live. Because he was afraid he would lose what he had right now.
"I don't know if I do," Gabriel replied before he went silent.
Aliya was a little hurt from that reply but she didn't let go of his hand. Not when he was still in pain from everything.
~~
Vrak-rhhom-boom!!
Thunder crackled as Andrew appeared in front of his father's office elevator. However, at the mont, there were three n and a woman standing in front of the elevator door dressed in tactical bodyguard suits.
They each had an earphone stuck in their left ear but those were just for show. They didn't need them to converse with each other.
As Andrew saw them, he stopped. No matter who he was, if they were standing in his path, he had to tread lightly. His status didn't matter to these four and added one more person who wasn't among them right now.
If they deed him as a threat, or even trying to do sothing his father didn't want him to do, they would move and hurt him, if he was lucky without a care in the world.
"I want to see my father," Andrew stated her purpose for coming.
"Not today. Go ho." The woman said in a British accent.
Her accent was so thick it didn't sound like modern English but English from olden tis.
Andrew, who wasn't very happy with hearing a no, took a step forward to persuade them but as soon as he took that step, he froze in his way as the thick energy of a predator threatened to kill him.
He instantly jumped back, panting as he involuntarily clutched his throat. He felt like a pair of fangs had dug deep into his neck.
He saw the n standing motionless but the eyes of the woman were slightly darkened while she also stood motionless.
That energy of a predator ca from her. A power Gabriel knew he would never be able to win against.
"Take one more step forward, Prince, and I will cut your legs." The woman spoke calmly but every word felt like a massive weight was hitting Andrew.
Before he could react or apologize, a hologram appeared in front of the four individuals' eyes.
[Let him up]
The eyes of the three n turned to the woman who remained quiet for a few minutes.
After a few more monts, she nodded and the three n disappeared from their spots. Only the woman was left who said to the still-afraid Andrew, "You may go up, Prince."
Since there was only one to enter his father's office, Andrew slowly but cautiously made his way to the elevator. The woman didn't care and let him be all the cautious he wanted to be.
Once Andrew was in the elevator and its doors closed, only then he heaved a sigh of relief but not for long because soon the doors opened and he was looking at a pitch-black space.
His father's office was as dark as the word itself and even the glass windows didn't help since it was nightti. Still, Andrew didn't need to see in the dark. He could easily sense everything so he made his way to his father's desk.
"Why did you do that?" Andrew asked.
"…" No reply ca for a while before Bruce, his father spoke, "Archangel."
"What?" Andrew was confused.
"That's what your brother was called. His na was enough to invoke fear into those who thought themselves to be unstoppable."
"In the wake of his steps was nothing but destruction and madness."
"His very title would make people fear him dinsions away, make them forget the fear of their own maker."
Bruce stopped speaking and turned to Andrew, "And all it took to bring down such an existence was a woman."
"I knew the damage she was doing. I saw what he was becoming. I don't just hold her responsible for what he's beco. I hold myself responsible as well."
"I'm his father, I should have stopped him from falling in love with her; falling for the wrong woman but I didn't."
"I didn't."
"My fatherly nature got in the way. He was happy. So in love that his happiness knew no bounds so I let it be. I let everything be."
"All that for a mont of happiness."
Bruce looked at Andrew, who clearly was confused as to where this conversation was going.
Bruce shook his head. He stood up from his seat and approached Andrew, "I let this mistake happen once so I will at least give you a piece of advice."
"Don't fall in love with the wrong woman like your brother did."
Before Andrew could ask what that ant, his father stepped away and said, "Now if you will excuse . I have to get an earful from my wife."
[Shadow Verse]
Shadows engulfed Bruce and he blended into them, disappearing along with them, leaving Andrew alone in the office, left with his own conflicting thoughts.
Ding.
The door to the elevator opened and the sa woman as before was standing in it, "Let's go, Prince."
Andrew hesitated to get into the sa space with her but he had no choice. He didn't want her to get rough with him. He knew he would lose at least all his limbs if she was in a good mood.
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