Chapter One-hundred Sixty-Eight: Narcissistic Narcisse

Chapter 168

Narcissistic Narcisse

Bastien and Tristan gazed at each other for several minutes. Bastien then smiled and folded his hands in front of his waist.

Tristan: “J-Je m’appelle Tristan… Tristan Trémaux.”

He stammered. The smile faded from Bastien’s face.

Bastien: “Oh, you must bear the same name as my brother.”

Tristan’s heart thundered in his chest.

Tristan: “B-Brother?”

Bastien nodded.

Bastien: “Yes, I had a brother named Tristan who died in a housefire he started.”

He said gravely.

Tristan: “NO! That is a LIE! Narcisse is lying to you! I never started that fire! THAT THING DID!”

He snapped. Bastien drew back.

Bastien: “D-Don’t yell at me! I-I’m sorry, are you a guest of Uncle Narcisse’s?”

He stammered and embraced himself.

Tristan: “Brother? Wh-What has he done to you?!”

He approached him.

Bastien: “Who do you speak of, sir?”

Tristan: “When were you born?! Does Papa know about you?! He kept this from Papa and me?!”

He said as he pressed on the temples of his head.

Bastien: “M-My birthday is August 8th, 1965! My father is dead!”

He stammered.

Tristan shook his head and paced around. So he’s 22 years old now. That thing disappeared about a few months after I was born. If my memory serves me correctly, Papa told me she vanished after Christmas of 1964. Tristan turned to Bastien.

Tristan: “Is your father Victor Trémaux?”

He asked as his tone softened. Bastien paused and nodded.

Tristan: “He’s not dead.”

Bastien looked away.

Bastien: “...The guest who visited me earlier mentioned the same thing.”

Tristan approached him.

Tristan: “Jaxon…?”

Bastien turned to him and nodded.

Bastien: “Yes, how did you know?”

Tristan: “Because my friends and I are here to rescue him… from Narcisse.”

He said as his tone harshened.

Bastien: “Uncle Narcisse is a very kind man. I wouldn’t be here without him.”

He furrowed his eyebrows.

Tristan: “Listen to me… He’s gaslighting you. That thing…”

His jaw tightened.

Tristan: “After it gave birth to me, it disappeared not long after…”

His eyelids dipped. Bastien gaped at Tristan.

Bastien: “What is this ‘thing’ you speak of?”

Tristan looked away with hatred.

Bastien: “Are you really my brother?! Is my father alive?! If so, that would be wonderful! I always dreamed of hosting elaborate family dinners like they do in Hallmark movies.”

He smiled widely. Tristan turned to him and snorted. Hallmark movies, he thought bitterly.

Tristan: “Is that a joke?! You can’t have any such thing with Narcisse! He kept you from Papa and me for YEARS. You also have grandparents!”

He hissed.

Bastien: “Grandparents…?”

He whispered and cupped his mouth.

Bastien: “Would you… Would you care to have a cup of tea with me?”

He smiled. Tristan raised his head to him.

Bastien: “I prepared some cinnamon tea.”

Tristan’s demeanor softened.

Tristan: “Do you like tea?”

Bastien smiled and nodded.

Bastien: “Very much so! I grow my own herbs, leaves, and make my own spices to make my special blend.”

He scooped spoonfuls of loose-leaf tea into the infuser balls, closed the lids, and dropped them into the china teacups.

Bastien: “Do you take sugar, cream, or milk?”

Tristan: “Two sugar.”

Bastien smiled.

Bastien: “Likewise.”

He put a teaspoon of sugar in each cup and poured boiling water from the kettle into them.

Tristan: “Loose-leaf tea? I use teabags at home.”

He laughed.

Bastien: “What? You’re not getting the whole flavor! Teabags crush the herbs and leaves, taking out the robust flavor and aroma.”

He explained.

Tristan: “I get my loose-leaf tea from ‘Alice’s Dreams.’ I don’t have the time to make that at home, and to me, it tastes the same.”

He said with some irritation.

Bastien: “Why don’t you have time?”

He asked as he stirred his tea with a little spoon.

Tristan: “I own my law office and have to be there at a certain time. I also don’t sleep the greatest.”

He admitted with a strain.

Bastien took the infusers out of the cup and blew on his tea.

Bastien: “Must be nice… I’m just a cook for Narcisse, Amanda, and his guests. Narcisse doesn’t like to have me around in case others try to harm me.”

He explained. Tristan surveyed him and stared down at his reflection in his tea.

Tristan: “You never questioned how… bizarre this is or that you’re essentially his prisoner? He doesn’t allow you out of his quarters or contact with anyone.”

He knit his eyebrows. Bastien waved his hand dismissively.

Bastien: “That isn’t entirely true now. I am permitted to cook for his guests, himself, and Amanda. I also drive to the grocery stores when we’re low on meat, canned goods, and pantry items.”

He smiled. Tristan cupped his mouth. He doesn’t read between the lines that he’s being groomed, gaslit, and manipulated. He’s pleased to remain as Narcisse’s dutiful slave, he thought.

The fluffy cat jumped on Tristan’s lap.

Tristan: “Oh, hello! This little guy led me to you!”

Bastien beamed.

Bastien: “Oh, this is Kyle! He must have sensed I needed someone to talk to, and that someone is my own brother… Why would Narcisse lie to me?”

He cupped his mouth.

Tristan: “Because he wanted to manipulate you to bend to his will.”

He said grimly. Bastien knit his eyebrows.

He set his cup on the table and rose to the bookshelf. He withdrew a photo album and opened it up. He pointed to a picture that had “Noël 1970” written above it. The picture had a 5-year-old Bastien holding up a giant teddy bear with Narcisse smiling down at him.

Next to him was a stern-looking woman with a diamond-shaped face and oval-shaped glasses hung over her emerald green eyes. Her long, flowing white hair was wavy and cascaded down her back. She wore a cardigan over a top and a long, fitted skirt. Bastien gazed at her and at Tristan.

Bastien: “You look like… our mother.”

He smiled. Tristan turned to him with a glare. Bastien drew back.

Tristan: “Don’t… compare me to that thing…”

He snarled.

Bastien sighed and turned the page to show a picture of his mother and him in 1971.

Bastien: “That was the last time I ever saw her…”

He pursed his lips.

Tristan: “Good. The last time I saw it was the following year, when it put Papa in a coma for fifteen years and left him with trauma. That thing left ME with trauma, so I can’t sleep!”

He hissed.

Bastien: “I-I’m sorry…”

He sniffled. Tristan’s expression softened a bit.

Tristan: “How would you know? You lived a lie and never questioned the man who weaved the web of lies.”

He shook his head.

Bastien: “What? Narcisse doesn’t have spider powers.”

He raked his fingers through his hair.

Tristan: “That’s not what I said… but he may as well.”

Bastien sipped his tea and gazed intently at Tristan.

Bastien: “Tristan, would you care to have dinner with me? I… I made some chicken fettuccine alfredo.”

He said softly. Tristan smiled.

Tristan: “That’s my favorite dish…”

Bastien returned the smile.

Bastien: “Likewise.”

~

Jordi rolled down the foyer in the bubble he was entrapped in. It came to a halt. Jordi growled and clenched his fists as electricity coursed through him. The charge started with a high-pitched, crackling hiss as he sparkled purple, then erupted into a screaming, purple bolt that crashed down on the bubble, shattering it into a million pieces and leaving the air smelling sharply of ozone.

Jordi gnashed his teeth and ran down the hall. I have to get Tristan, he thought.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang loudly. Seriously?! He paused to wonder and then reached into his suit jacket. It might be my grandfather, he thought. When he saw Gina’s name, his ire soared.

Jordi: “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!”

He snapped. He felt the ground shake, and Dougal came out of one of the rooms in his Gold Todger armor.

Dougal: “Cor blimey! I knew me schmoodar was going off!”

He licked his lips and marched to him.

Jordi: “Who are you?! Get the Hell away from me, or I will shock you!”

He snapped and braced his feet apart.

Dougal: “Oh, ya stupid cunt! Ya can’t give me the shocker; I ain’t a lass!”

He bellowed.

Jordi shot his hand out, and a bolt of purple lightning struck down, shocking Dougal all over.

Dougal: “YYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHHH!!!”

He caterwauled and slammed face down onto the floor, giving a mighty thud, shaking the hallway. He jolted and twitched as electricity coursed through him.

Jaxon gingerly stepped out and sighed with relief when he saw Jordi. He ran up to him.

Jordi: “JAXON! Are you okay?!”

Jaxon: “I am now! Thanks, man!”

He cried and wrapped his arms around him. Jordi was taken by surprise when Jaxon did this. He smiled and embraced him.

Someone grabbed both Jaxon and Jordi. Dougal buried his head in Jordi’s hair. Jordi shuddered and groaned. Jaxon bared his teeth and tried to wrench himself away.

Dougal: “OOOOOOOOOH, WHAT A SEXY SMELL, LOVE!”

He screamed and licked his face.

Jordi: “UGH!”

He screamed and elbowed Dougal hard in his ginormous gut. Dougal grunted, Jordi shoved Jaxon away from him, and tried to get away. Dougal grabbed the collar of his suit jacket and yanked on it. Jordi struggled and snapped off his buttons, shrugging out of it. He ran with Jaxon down the foyer. Dougal placed Jordi’s suit jacket to his face and inhaled his scent. He grinned and marched after the two men.

Jaxon: “NO, GET AWAY FROM ME!”

He cried. Jordi shot his hand out, and another bolt of lightning struck down. Dougal rolled out of the way, and the bolt struck a nearby table, shattering it into pieces and leaving a burnt mess on the floor and a charred wreck of the table.

Suddenly, a purple bubble dashed through the hall, scooping up Dougal, Jordi, and Jaxon.

Jaxon: “WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Jordi: “NO! Not this again!”

He pounded on the glass.

Dougal: “Trapped in a ball with two schmoodars! Don’t mind if I do!”

He pounced on the two men.

Jordi: “GET OFF US!”

He bellowed as electricity coursed through him, and the jolt sent Dougal flying away from them and slamming on the surface. Dougal fell face down, clutching onto Jordi’s suit jacket as if it were a priceless possession.

Jordi and Jaxon turned to see Narcisse.

Narcisse: “What have you little kittens got your little mittens on now? My out-of-control temperamental beluga?”

He chuckled.

Jaxon: “You’re keeping Tristan’s brother prisoner, asshole!”

He snapped. Jordi raised an eyebrow at him.

Jordi: “Wh-What?!”

Narcisse’s smile faded.

Narcisse: “No, Jiro, I am doing no such thing. I’m keeping him safe from the world and safe from the likes of Tristan and Victor.”

He grimaced and pushed his glasses up with his knuckle.

Jaxon: “He needs to be away from YOU!”

He rasped. Narcisse’s lips curled into a brazen smirk.

Narcisse: “Eh, I think not. We’ll see about that, Jiro.”

He chuckled.

Dougal: “Sch-Schmoodar…”

He croaked and ripped a giant fart. Jordi’s and Jaxon’s faces contorted with disgust, and they put their sleeves up to their noses as the stench of sulfur and bologna filled the bubble.

Jaxon: “Fucking gross!”

He gagged. Narcisse threw his head back and laughed.

Narcisse: “Well, you’re stuck together, and I’ll have to keep you two and that oversized nimrod confined. It’s the only way you’ll be controlled.”

He waved his hand.

Jaxon: “My Green Queen will kill you, asshole!”

He hissed. Narcisse smiled at him.

Narcisse: “Then I do look forward to that.”

He clapped his hands, and the bubble rolled down the hall.

Narcisse clicked his tongue at the burnt mess from Jordi’s lightning.

Narcisse: “Perhaps I should bill Miss Negligee for the mess her little toyboy caused.”

~

Deimos and Celeste gaped at the person in the hyperbaric chamber. Suddenly, they heard footsteps and turned to see Narcisse scowling at them.

Narcisse: “You two nitwits couldn’t keep your little mittens out of the forbidden area, could you?”

He shook his forefinger at them. Deimos snarled and charged after him.

Deimos: “YOU SON-OF-A-BITCH!”

He bellowed, and then he and Celeste were placed in a light purple bubble. Celeste pounded on the walls.

Narcisse: “Don’t you two know guests don’t have free rein of this house?”

He chuckled.

Narcisse: “But do not fret, my simple-minded jesters! I have a magic show for my guests! I will ensure you don’t miss it.”

He smirked. Deimos snarled at him.

Deimos: “STAY AWAY FROM TRISTAN, YOU FUCKER!”

Narcisse: “That’s quite enough from you. Off you two go.”

The ball rolled away.

~

Tristan patted Kyle on his lap while Bastien was in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Bastien: “Where do you live now, Tristan?”

He asked as he chopped up the onions.

Tristan: “I live in Pink Top City… in the United States. I have lived there since I was fifteen.”

He replied.

Bastien: “Do you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend?”

He asked as he started to mince the garlic.

Tristan: “I have a boyfriend! His name is Deimos Katsaros. He’s here in this mansion on our rescue mission.”

He nodded.

Bastien: “What is Christmas like at your house?”

He asked as he smiled.

Tristan: “It’s… pleasant. Papa and Grandmother make a bigger deal out of it than I do. I love Christmas, but not gatherings.”

He replied as his voice trailed off.

Bastien: “Every year, Narcisse, Amanda, and I watch Hallmark Christmas movies, have Christmas dinner I prepared, and I watch Uncle Narcisse open the gifts I made. I don’t have my own money, unlike him, so I make stuff for him.”

He laughed and nodded.

Tristan: “Did you ever want to venture out of this place?”

Bastien laughed.

Bastien: “No, why on Reona would I want that? I love it here. Uncle Narcisse is kind to me, and I am happy.”

He smiled.

Tristan: “You don’t want to see the world outside of this?”

Bastien: “No, Uncle Narcisse tells me of the horror stories and how people want to hurt me. I don’t want to upset him.”

He sighed.

Kyle dashed out of the room and went down the hall. The door opened, and Narcisse stepped through with a smile.

Narcisse: “Evening, gentlemen! I see you’re becoming quite friendly!”

He chirped. Tristan angrily rose, and Narcisse whipped out a high-frequency sound device, pressing the button that rang in Bastien’s and Tristan’s ears. They cupped their ears and screamed in pain. Narcisse marched to Tristan and fastened a power-suppressing collar on him. Narcisse stopped the sound playing, and Tristan and Bastien panted.

Tristan: “You fucking bastard…”

He rasped.

Narcisse: “Ah, Tristan, nice to see you and Bastien getting along so well. I dreaded the day when he would betray me.”

He sang.

Bastien: “Uncle Narcisse, I am not betraying—”

He rose and ran to him. Narcisse delivered a hard slap to his face. Bastien cupped his sore cheek as tears welled in his eyes.

Bastien: “I’m sorry…”

He cried.

Tristan: “DON’T TOUCH HIM!”

He barked. He shot his hand out, and the collar delivered a shock to Tristan. Tristan screamed and fell to the floor. Bastien gasped and cupped his mouth.

Narcisse grabbed Tristan by his ponytail and yanked him up.

Tristan: “YARGH!”

Narcisse smacked his ass and licked his cheek. Tristan panted with fury and humiliation. He grabbed Batien’s head and slammed him over the counter with Tristan, slapping both of their butts. Bastien broke down crying.

Narcisse: “My naughty little nephews decided it would be fun to trick me, did they?”

He chuckled.

Narcisse: “Tristan, if I didn’t feel about you as I did, you look so, so much like my dear Charlotte…”

He moaned. Tristan glared at him with pure hatred.

~

Narcisse shackled both Tristan and Bastien to wooden racks. They were in a dungeon with brick walls, stone flooring, and light illuminating from sconces. Narcisse eyed the two men hungrily. Tristan panted furiously as his green eyes burned with anger and hatred.

Narcisse: “I would love to commence this session, but… our guests haven’t arrived! It’d be rude to start without them!”

He clasped his hands together and rubbed them.

Tristan: “I will kill you!”

He rasped and struggled against his bonds. Narcisse scowled.

Narcisse: “Like you did to Charlotte?”

He asked grimly. Tristan froze.

The purple bubbles containing Jaxon, Jordi, Dougal, Deimos, and Celeste rolled in and formed into one ball.

Celeste: “Oh, fuck me, what is that stink?!”

She fanned her face, and her eyes widened when she saw Jaxon.

Celeste: “JAXON!”

She rushed to him and they hugged.

Jaxon: “Oh, babe, thank God you’re here!”

He cried.

Jaxon: “And that stink is that fat fuck.”

He nodded to Dougal. Celeste kicked him away.

Jordi: “Tristan!”

He gasped.

Deimos: “TRISTAN!”

He screamed and banged on the bubble.

Narcisse: “Splendid! Our guests are here to enjoy the magical show, starring my naughty little nephews!”

He spread his arms out.

Deimos: “You touch Tristan, you DIE, motherfucker!”

He screamed.

Narcisse: “I don’t speak crazy redneck, sir. My apologies.”

He chuckled.

He bent down and removed Bastien’s loafers and pulled off his brown socks. Bastien fanned his toes out and panted.

Tristan: “What do you think you’re doing?”

He asked sharply.

Bastien: “He does this whenever I mess up! I’m so sorry, Uncle Narcisse!”

He cried. Tristan panted furiously at him. Narcisse gazed at Tristan, taking a lock of his hair and curling it. He knelt and untied his shoes. He took them off and stared at his sheer socked feet.

Tristan: “DON’T!”

He snapped and struggled against his bonds. Narcisse pulled off his sheer socks. Tristan panted and laughed.

Tristan: “DON’T! DOHOHOHON’T!”

He laughed.

Narcisse: “I didn’t touch you, Tristan, and you’re already in laughter.”

He pressed his lips on Tristan’s foot. Tristan jolted and whined. Narcisse then tickled his feet.

Tristan: “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

He laughed through furious breaths. Deimos’ face contorted with rage.

Deimos: “GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

He bellowed and pounded on the glass. Jordi pounded on the glass.

Jordi: “Tristan!”

Narcisse cupped his mouth as he reddened. He pressed a button, and little tiny hands sprouted from the rack, hovering over Tristan’s and Bastien’s necks, underarms, tummy, sides, groins, inner thighs, and feet. Bastien knit his eyebrows. Tristan furrowed his eyebrows and struggled against his bonds. The tiny hands begin tickling the two men.

Tristan: “WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

He laughed hard and thrashed around.

Bastien: “AHAAHAHAH AHAHAHAHA HAHAHAA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

He laughed and whipped his head from side to side.

Tristan: “AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEHASE! STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!”

He laughed hard and rasped in between breaths. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he found it hard to breathe as the tickling overwhelmed him.

Bastien: “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEAHAHAHAHA!!”

He laughed hard and thrashed around.

Celeste, Jordi, and Deimos furiously pounded the glass.

Jordi: “TRISTAN!”

He cried.

Deimos: “STOP DOING THIS, YOU PERVERTED FUCK!”

He bellowed. Narcisse turned to them and grinned.

Narcisse: “This is only the beginning.”

He sauntered to Tristan and buried his head in his hair.

Jordi: “GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

He yelled as electricity coursed through him.

Celeste: “Jordi, we’re trapped in a ball with Dumptruck McWhalen! You’re going to shock us all, and it will smell of his fucking dry farts!”

She exclaimed, followed by a gag.

Kyle ran into the dungeon and leaped. Narcisse turned his head, and he latched onto his face.

Narcisse: “WHAT THE?!”

He rasped, dropping the remote. The bubble popped, releasing everyone. Narcisse pried Kyle off his face and threw him on the ground. Deimos then delivered a decisive blow to his jaw, the impact turned his head, and a loud crack was heard as his jaw broke. Narcisse glared at him with fury.

Celeste pressed the button to stop the tickling and release the two men. Tristan and Bastien gasped for air. Jordi went to Tristan and put his arm over him. He removed his power-suppressing collar. Tristan went to Bastien.

Tristan: “Are you okay?”

Bastien smiled and nodded.

Narcisse’s hand rose, and he was knocked out. Trevor stood behind him with a chair.

Trevor: “Hey, guys! My powers are back.”

He chirped. Tristan breathed with a sigh of relief. He put his socks and shoes back on. Kyle ran up to Tristan and jumped into his arms.

Deimos: “Let’s get the fuck out of here and leave that fat piece of shit behind with your crazy, incestuous uncle.”

He huffed.

Tristan: “Gladly.”

He nodded.

Bastien: “You’re all leaving so soon.”

Tristan: “You’re coming with us, Bastien.”

He turned to him.

Bastien: “Wh-What?!”

He gasped.

Deimos: “Who is he, Tristan?”

Bastien: “Don’t I have a say?!”

He sobbed.

Trevor: “Okay, hang on, let’s go!”

He grabbed them all and teleported out of the dungeon.

~

They all landed on Tristan’s lawn.

Bastien: “Wh-Where am I?!”

He said frantically as he looked around.

Trevor: “You’re in Pink Top City, Palm Tree State, in the US of A!”

He beamed. Bastien clutched his chest.

Bastien: “What about Narcisse?! What about my belongings!? They have sentimental value to me, and it’s all I know!”

He removed his glasses and cried into his hands. Jordi knit his eyebrows. Deimos blinked.

Deimos: “Who IS he?!”

He asked sharply. Tristan approached Bastien and hugged him.

Tristan: “You never had better to know better, Bastien… Now you have Papa, our grandparents, and me.”

He said softly. Bastien hugged him back.

Bastien: “You’re right, but my home was back in Clerteaux… What about my car?”

He asked him. Tristan raised an eyebrow. Celeste looked away and whistled. Tristan then sighed.

Deimos: “Tristan, who is he?”

Tristan turned to Deimos.

Tristan: “He’s my little brother, Deimos. This is Sébastien ‘Bastien’ Trémaux.”

He nodded. Deimos gaped at him.

Bastien: “Oh, hello! Nice to meet you.”

He put his hand out to Deimos. Deimos reluctantly shook his hand.

Bastien: “I’ve already met Jaxon, so who are the rest of your friends?”

He asked Tristan.

Tristan: “This is Jordi, and here is Celeste!”

Celeste: “Hey!”

She waved.

Jordi: “Hello!”

He shook his hand.

Tristan: “And that over there making a pig of himself is Trevor.”

He nodded to Trevor, eating a wrap and wiping his mouth with paper.

Deimos: “Can you just fucking wipe your mouth with a napkin, you dumb fuck?!”

He snapped and grabbed the papers from him.

Trevor: “It’s all I could find in that house! Those papers were in some room where a burned person is being kept in a tube.”

He drawled. Tristan raised an eyebrow.

Celeste: “Yeah, Deimos and I came across this room in the basement where this person was kept.”

She nodded. Dread formed in the pit of Tristan’s stomach.

Tristan: “...Who was it?”

Bastien: “There was a person in the basement?”

He asked as he wiped his eyes. Deimos and Celeste turned to them and soberly nodded. Bastien cupped his mouth.

Bastien: “Yes, Narcisse prohibits anyone from going down there.”

He said breathlessly.

Deimos gaped at him and looked at the papers Trevor used as napkins. Most were covered in food residue, and his knot. He tossed them aside and scrutinized the page, which only had the words “Project Ghisyn” on it. He turned to the next page. There was a black and white photograph of a man wearing a lab coat over a suit. He had monolid eyes, a hooked nose, defined cheekbones, and wore his dark hair parted in the middle.

Tristan: “What are you reading, Deimos?”

Deimos: “This.”

He raised the papers. Tristan looked over his shoulder. The page with the man on it read, “Named after the goddess of war in folklore. This project was established in 1925 by Dr. Dodd Lancaster, but it failed. It was reestablished in 1963 with an enhanced ehtytrim inserted into the fetuses of women to create god-tier Etheressums. Ehtytrim can create powerful etheressums, but with the enhancements by Dr. Alfred Horowitz, these etheressums will be more powerful and superior to others.” There was a black and white portrait photograph of a man with a gaunt face and large glasses that hung over his hooked nose; he had a thick, dark moustache and a mop of dark bushy hair.

Celeste: “I know that man!”

She pointed to the picture.

Celeste: “He was at the facility where I was held until Adelio broke me out.”

She smiled.

Deimos: “What is this project? Is HE the result of this?!”

He nodded to Bastien. They turned to him.

Bastien: “What do you mean? I don’t have powerful abilities if this is what you mean. I can only grow herbs, plants, and flowers with my mind.”

He explained.

Deimos: “Why else would Narcisse keep these papers in his mansion and you locked away in a tower?”

He asked gruffly. Bastien embraced himself.

Tristan: “Deimos, please. He’s shaken up. Yes, he was in prison and Narcisse’s slave, but we took him out of his home, and he’s terrified.”

He chided him gently.

Deimos: “And you told Celeste you had your powers for decades.”

Tristan paused.

Tristan: “It slipped out. I wanted her to be empathetic to Jaxon’s plight.”

Deimos glared at him.

Deimos: “That’s bullshit. I know when you’re lying, and you kept a brother from me, too!”

He snapped. Tristan gaped at Deimos.

Tristan: “Deimos, I just found out I have a brother TODAY! I never kept this from you! Narcisse kept this from ALL OF US, as did that thing!”

He fired back.

Deimos: “Since WHEN do they have kids in those camps?! When I went with you, you had to be eighteen!”

He huffed.

Jordi: “Deimos, does this matter?”

He asked sharply.

Deimos: “YES, it does!”

He snapped at him.

Celeste: “I’ve had my powers since forever, so kids are in camps or facilities.”

She drawled.

Tristan: “Deimos, why do you do this?! You treat everything like this as if it were an argument and not a discussion!”

He snapped.

Deimos: “Because if you already had them, why did you go with me to camp?! It’s like I’m someone you feel sorry for! I feel left behind by all of you! My healing powers aren’t even as good as Jaxon’s!”

He bellowed and flailed his arms. Tristan drew a long breath.

Jordi: “Tristan’s brother was rescued, and you’re making this about yourself… like Blair does.”

He groused.

Deimos: “Oh, shut the fuck up! I don’t remember asking you anything! I am tired of HIM leaving me in the dark! But it’s not JUST ME! It’s EVERYONE! He tells me to face my nursery, and he keeps all these secrets!”

He barked and marched down the driveway.

Celeste: “He’ll get it out of himself tomorrow.”

She nodded. Tristan looked away.

Celeste: “Jordi, your suit jacket is gone.”

Jordi looked down and sighed.

Jordi: “Yeah, that fat pervert took it. I guess a new one will be docked from my paycheck.”

He laughed bitterly.

Jaxon: “Wanna take me home, babe? I wanna get out of this robe.”

He shuddered.

Celeste: “Sure, Jax. See you guys later.”

She waved and scooped Jaxon up in her arms to carry him home.

They heard the door open, and Victor stepped out. He gasped when he saw Bastien.

Bastien: “Are you Victor Trémaux?”

Victor slowly nodded.

Bastien: “I-I’m your youngest son, Sébastien Trémaux.”

He smiled.

~

An elderly white doctor knelt to Narcisse in his dungeon. He smacked his hand away and glared at Amanda.

Narcisse: “What was SO important to you that you couldn’t be here?! My precious Bastien is gone! GONE!”

He rasped.

Amanda: “My apologies, sir. Bastien said he ran out of—”

Narcisse elbowed her as he marched past her.

Narcisse: “Shut up.”

~

Narcisse walked into the room with the hyperbaric chamber and slowly walked in. He gazed into the window with a faint smile.

Narcisse: “I am so sorry about this… I will get him back soon…, ma chérie…”

He whispered.