Chapter Two-Hundred Seventeen: The Super Richonoid

Chapter 217

The Super Richonoid

Ichiro glared at Fabien.

Ichiro: “Why are you smiling?!”

Fabien snorted.

Fabien: “Let me see… You made a fake party, bullshit invitations, probably paid the guests to attend, and rented this villa just for me?”

He threw his head back and laughed. Jaxon rolled his eyes.

Fabien: “You got a man crush on me, Ich?”

He smirked. Jaxon and Ichiro glared at him.

Ichiro: “NO, you moron! Unlike you, I have DRIVE in life and will do anything to achieve my goals!”

He snapped as he pointed to himself. Blair whimpered, and pee dripped from his leg onto his shoe. Demetrio trembled and cried.

Demetrio: “Won’t someone save Blair…?”

He whimpered.

Ichiro: “Shut up!”

He hissed and turned to Fabien with a scowl.

Ichiro: “YOU? You sit around on Bungle, smoke weed, and troll this loser!”

He snapped. Fabien snorted and rolled his eyes.

Fabien: “I dunno, man. I think going to the lengths you did for Blair is more pathetic than what I do.”

He said smugly.

Celeste: “He’s got you there, Ichiro.”

She blinked. Ichiro grinned at her.

Ichiro: “Did you like the turtle cheesecake?”

Celeste bowed her head and nodded.

Jaxon: “YOU! YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!”

He snapped.

Fabien: “And you didn’t invite Tristan on the heist because he would have figured out your game. I kind of did.”

He laughed. Ichiro sneered at him.

Ichiro: “You’re partially correct! I knew you, my idiot brother, Robin, and Stefano and his morons wouldn’t figure anything out!”

He fired back.

Deimos: “Yeah? Well, I’m going to kick your ass!”

Ichiro: “Oh, Tristan’s idiotic, slacker boyfriend is here dressed to the nines. Let’s face it: Tristan only keeps you around because he refuses to admit he loves it when you worship him!”

He rolled his eyes. Tristan’s right eye twitched.

Deimos: “FUCK OFF! HE KEEPS ME AROUND BECAUSE WE LOVE EACH OTHER!”

He charged after him.

Ichiro cocked his gun at Blair and kept his finger on the trigger. Suddenly, Ichiro felt a pair of hands tickling his sides. His glowering face turned into laughter.

Yoshi: “HOOOYAAAAAH! TICKLE-FU CHOP!”

He screamed in a falsetto squawk. Ichiro laughed.

Ichiro: “Heheheheheehe hahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

He flailed his arms and released Blair. As his hand jerked forward, he pulled the trigger of his gun and fired it.

The needle hit Radinka’s neck, piercing her skin and injecting her. She winced, and her hand rose to her neck.

Demetrio and Sylvia rushed to Blair, kneeling to him as he screamed and cried, hugging his grandfather. Yoshi stopped tickling Ichiro and rushed to Blair.

Yoshi: “Thanks to Ashley’s tickle-fu moves, I saved the day!”

He beamed.

Demetrio: “Thank you so, so much, Yoshi! You are a true friend to Blair.”

He sobbed.

Blair: “WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEIR TICKLE-FU MOVES?! YOU COULD HAVE SAVED ME WITHOUT THOSE!”

He bawled. Tristan rolled his eyes. Fabien laughed at Blair.

Tristan: “Mr. Donati, I think you should go with your family, Yoshi, and Lena. Fabien will escort you all out of here.”

He said firmly.

Demetrio: “Thank you, Tristan. What about Radinka?”

The needle dropped to Radinka’s feet, and she started convulsing.

Tristan: “Mr. Donati, listen to me.”

He put his hand on his shoulder.

Tristan: “Go with Fabien, get Blair, Sylvia, Yoshi, and Lena out of here.”

He reiterated firmly. Demetrio gazed at him and slowly turned to Radinka, who kept convulsing.

Blair: “NOPE! I am NOT listening to YOU, you loser!”

He cried. Deimos bared his teeth and clenched his fists. Tristan rolled his eyes.

Demetrio: “Blair, please stop this!”

He chided him.

Lena: “Tristan, what’s happening to the lady? Shouldn’t we help her?”

Tristan knit his eyebrows.

Tristan: “Lena, please go. I will explain everything later.”

He said gently. Deimos watched them, and his jaw tightened. He clenched his fist tightly.

Fabien: “Come on, guys! Ichiro’s grand plan failed, so let’s get us out of here!”

He extended his hand out. Ichiro glared daggers at Fabien.

Tristan turned to Deimos.

Tristan: “Deimos, you should go, too.”

Deimos’ jaw dropped.

Deimos: “WHAT?! LIKE FUCK I AM! I am here to protect you!”

He snapped and stomped his feet.

Celeste: “Yeah, but your powers are gone, man.”

She drawled.

Deimos: “FUCK YOU! I am staying here to protect Tristan!”

He snapped at her.

Radinka collapsed to the ground, groaning and coughing as the sweat dripped from her face onto the floor. Demetrio gaped at Radinka, and he cupped his mouth. Sylvia stared in horror. Jaxon trembled and embraced himself, staying close to Celeste. She let out a scream, followed by a ghastly moan as her eyes bulged out of her head. Lena screamed and clung to Tristan.

Large bumps formed on Radinka’s skin. Her hair dropped onto the floor in clumps, and her lips and breasts started swelling. Her eyes shot out of her head, and she started increasing in size, swelling, and her dress tore. Her entire body started bulging and increasing in size as she expanded, while making bloodcurdling screams and groans.

Her nose expanded like a balloon as she rose. Black, beady eyes formed in her sockets. Her head crashed against the chandelier, which crashed to the floor. Celeste grabbed Jaxon and jumped out of the way.

Her legs and feet were crushed under the immense girth of her stomach.

The creature stood before everyone. It was a twenty-foot-tall blobfish-like monster with moist pink skin, a large bulbous nose, blobby arms, and hands. The creature opened its giant mouth and roared. Lena screamed and clung to Tristan.

Yoshi: “WHOA! That is so cool!”

He marveled. Demetrio gasped and convulsed and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Sylvia: “D-Demetrio?”

She stammered.

Blair: “NOW, LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID, TRISTAN!!”

He cried. Deimos turned to him and punched him out. Blair fell to the floor and cried.

Tristan: “Deimos, help Sylvia carry Demetrio!”

He formed a battle axe of ice in his hands.

Deimos: “NO! I am protecting you!”

Jordi: “Deimos, come ON! You don’t have your powers, and this IS helping Tristan!”

He snapped.

Deimos: “FUCK YOU, DICKHEAD!”

He charged after the monster and leaped at its face to deliver a punch.

Jaxon convulsed, panted, and ran out, screaming. Fabien knelt to Demetrio.

Fabien: “Okay, let’s get him out of here.”

He said to Sylvia. Sylvia nodded and lifted Demetrio’s arms while Fabien lifted his legs.

Blair: “I’ll follow you, my best buddy!”

He smiled. Fabien rolled his eyes. Lena looked back at Tristan as she left with Sylvia, Fabien, Blair, Yoshi, and Demetrio.

Tristan handed his battle axe to Celeste.

Tristan: “Cut it in half.”

Celeste: “Got it!”

She leaped in the air and crashed down on the creature, splitting it in half. After it split, the creature began to mend itself.

The creature sucked in some air and vomited out green sludge. Celeste, Tristan, Jordi, and Deimos dodged it. Splashes of the vomit hit Jordi’s back, causing him to fall down. The sludge burned his jacket. He shrieked as he quickly shrugged out of his suit jacket, throwing it to the ground where it melted. He screamed when the vomit burned his skin.

Tristan: “JORDI!”

He screamed and rushed to him. He knocked over a table and hid himself and Jordi behind it.

Tristan: “Where’s Jaxon?!”

He looked around. Deimos flew into the creature, delivering an uppercut to its face.

Celeste pulled a spear from a knight statue and threw it into the creature’s eye. It roared and tried to pull it out.

Celeste: “I don’t know, Tristan!”

Tristan: “Deimos, please find Jaxon! Jordi needs help!”

He pleaded.

Deimos: “NO! I am protecting you!”

He punched the creature’s eye. The creature’s slimy hands grabbed him and slammed him down. Tristan shot his hand out, shooting icicles through the creature’s arm. The creature roared and thrashed around. Deimos rose.

Tristan: “Now, find Jaxon, please!”

Deimos: “NO! I am protecting you!”

He said defiantly.

Fabien popped in, heard they needed Jaxon, and ran back out.

~

Fabien ran back in and saw that Desiree had Jaxon with Minerva leading the way. Jaxon whimpered and trembled. Fabien grabbed a chair.

Fabien: “HEY!”

Desiree turned around, and Fabien hit her over the head with a chair. She fell to the floor and shook her head. Minerva sneered at him.

Minerva: “Who do you think you are, taking Jiro from me?!”

She sneered at him. Desiree glared at him and shot her hand out, shooting several knives into Fabien. He fell over and collapsed on the ground. Jaxon screamed and cried. Fabien pulled each of the knives out and rose to his feet as his wounds healed before their eyes. Desiree bared her teeth.

Desiree: “Why you?!”

Fabien sprayed pepper spray in her face. Desiree screamed and staggered back, tears spilling from her eyes.

Minerva marched to Jaxon to seize him. Fabien rushed to her. Minerva gasped and staggered back as blood spread onto her dress. Fabien grinned, holding his keys between his fingers. Jaxon screamed and ran to Fabien, clinging to him.

Desiree staggered into Minerva, knocking her over.

Minerva: “Desiree, you idiot! Get me to the hospital NOW!”

She hissed.

Desiree: “MY EYES ARE FUCKIN’ BURNIN’ FROM MY SOCKETS!”

She bellowed.

Minerva: “How dare you speak to me that way!?”

She fired back.

Fabien took Jaxon.

Fabien: “Come on, man, you need to heal Jordi!”

He nodded. Jaxon wiped his tears and nodded mutely.

~

Celeste ripped the creature’s eye from its socket and threw it on the ground, squishing it between her heels. Jaxon and Fabien rushed to Jordi.

Tristan: “Thank you so, so much, Fabien! He would have died if it were not for you!”

Jaxon knelt and put his hands out. A red glow emitted from them as he healed Jordi’s wounds. Jordi felt the pain leave his body as his wounds healed and his skin formed again.

The creature sucked in air and vomited its acid bile, shooting at everyone. Deimos flew out of the way and across the room. Celeste stood behind a marble statue. The bile hit the statue, where it melted. The vomit hit the table where Tristan and Jordi hid, and it burned and melted.

Celeste: “Nothing is fucking killing it!”

She shouted.

Tristan: “I need you all out of here! This room has to be negative thirty degrees or lower!”

He stated.

Deimos: “I am not leaving you!”

He snapped.

Tristan: “Deimos, do not look at me or talk to me.”

He said slowly. Deimos felt a pang in his heart.

Celeste: “Come on, Deimos! Listen to him, man!”

She knit her eyebrows. Deimos folded his arms and pouted. Celeste grabbed him.

Deimos: “HEY! PUT ME DOWN!”

He pounded her back and kicked his feet. Jordi turned to Tristan.

Jordi: “Are you sure?”

Tristan: “Yes, I am, Jordi! Please go!”

He waved his hand. Jordi and they all left the villa.

Tristan raised his hands. The room’s temperature started to drop drastically. The liquid began to freeze; frost formed on the surfaces, and ice formed on the ground and ceiling. The creature screamed and groaned in pain. It sucked in air. Tristan gnashed his teeth as sweat popped out on his forehead. A whirlwind of snow and ice surrounded the creature.

The creature spewed its acid vomit, some of which splashed on Tristan’s cheek, arm, torso, and leg. He gnashed his teeth as he cried out, trying not to stop, his tears turned to ice. He knelt on the floor as he started to grow weary, using his powers to the maximum.

The creature roared and thrashed around as ice formed on its skin. The entire creature turned to ice, and its skin started to crack and fall off.

Tristan screamed and collapsed to the floor, panting rapidly.

Deimos flew in and screamed when he saw Tristan on the brink of death.

Deimos: “TRISTAN!”

He shot out to him and swooped him up. As the creature exploded, a hollow thrum vibrated through the icy floor. A monstrous wall of white turbulence rose thirty feet into the air, devouring the ballroom. The air was suddenly thick with pulverized ice, a blinding powder that turned the atmosphere into a solid. The roar was all-consuming, a primal, mechanical scream of Reona reclaiming its own. Deimos flew out with Tristan in his arms, racing against the clock, against the crashing tidal way of snow with Tristan in his arms.

As the force of the snow blasted through the windows and doors of the villa, Deimos roared as he flew into the night sky with Tristan in his arms. A purple glow surrounded the two as he healed himself and Tristan.

Tristan’s eyes fluttered.

Tristan: “Deimos…?”

He whispered. Deimos lowered himself and Tristan to the ground. Celeste rushed to them.

Celeste: “Tristan!”

Celeste gaped at Deimos.

Celeste: “You can fly?”

Deimos: “Yes! I can!”

Tristan snapped his eyes open and saw Deimos. He shoved himself out of his arms and fell to the ground. Deimos knit his eyebrows.

Deimos: “Tristan…?”

Tristan: “Don’t touch me!”

He cried and rose.

Celeste: “Deimos can fly, Tristan, and he saved you from the avalanche!”

She beamed.

Tristan: “Yes, and he left Jaxon while Jordi was in pain to prove his manly man strength!”

He cried.

Celeste: “Yeah, but Fab got Jax, and Deimos got you!”

She chirped.

Deimos: “She’s right, Tristan! Fabien has to pull his weight and not troll Blair!”

He said doggedly. Fabien snorted.

Jordi: “Thank you, Fabien.”

He said earnestly. Fabien’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

Tristan: “It’s not about that! I asked you to get Jaxon, and you didn’t do it!”

He cried.

Deimos: “I had to be there for you, Tristan! Jaxon was getting scared of that monster when we saw this shit many times! He has to get over it now!”

He said firmly. Jaxon embraced himself. Tristan delivered a hard slap to Deimos’ face. Deimos’ head turned, and he cupped his cheek, looking deeply hurt.

Tristan took a deep breath.

Tristan: “I am glad you saved me, Deimos. Thank you for that, but you didn’t get Jaxon! What if, by your logic, I was hurt?!”

Deimos sighed.

Deimos: “I healed you.”

Tristan bared his teeth.

Tristan: “At the time I needed you to get him, you didn’t know your powers returned!”

Deimos: “I am NOT healing Jordi! Fuck him!”

He snapped. Jordi glowered at Deimos. Tristan slapped him again. Deimos hung his head.

Tristan: “Do you think he’s a traitor? You went to Narcisse for help, and you helped him!”

He sobbed.

Jordi: “You WHAT?!”

He rasped. Jaxon looked away. Celeste bowed her head. Fabien laughed.

Fabien: “What?”

Deimos: “That was a mistake! It’s leading us to the bigger mystery: who is in the hyperbaric chamber?!”

He snapped.

Fabien: “What is going on?”

Tristan growled.

Tristan: “...This discussion is over.”

He turned around.

Deimos: “Don’t you want to know, Tristan?!”

He cried, and Tristan kept walking. Deimos watched him go, and he knit his eyebrows.

Jaxon: “You didn’t save me, and you went to HIM!?! Minerva was going to kidnap me again!”

He cried.

Deimos: “Stop bitchin’, Jaxon! Fabien got you! It’s about time he did something other than laugh at Blair and smoke weed!”

He snapped.

Jaxon: “I thought we were friends!”

He sobbed.

Deimos: “We are, Jaxon! Why is the onus on me to do that!? Why not Fabien or Celeste?!”

He threw his arms up.

Celeste: “That’s right, Deimos! Fab took care of it, and you saved Deimos! Don’t beat yourself up!”

She nodded.

Jaxon: “WHY ARE YOU BEING HIS CHEERLEADER?!”

He bawled at her. Celeste winced.

Celeste: “I’m not, though? It’s just that things worked out.”

Jaxon: “They didn’t! Someone else died because of that fuckin’ Ichiro!”

He shot his hand out to the villa.

Celeste: “Yeah, and she was a piece of shit this time!”

Jaxon threw his hands up.

Jaxon turned to Fabien.

Jaxon: “Did the others get home safe?”

He asked. Fabien nodded.

Fabien: “Yeah, I think the old man is in the hospital, and Blair shit himself.”

He laughed.

Jaxon: “Can we call a cab and go home?”

He knit his eyebrows. Fabien raised his eyebrows.

Fabien: “Sure.”

He smiled and took his hand. Celeste started to follow.

Jaxon: “NO! You stay away from me!”

He snapped at her. Celeste froze in her tracks and knit her eyebrows.

Jaxon: “Go with your hero!”

He cried. Deimos rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Fabien: “Sorry, Celeste, catch ya later, okay?”

He waved and walked with Jaxon.

Deimos: “Wanna lift home?”

He asked her.

Celeste: “Okay.”

She walked with Deimos to his car.

~

Deimos drove with Celeste in the passenger’s seat. He blasted Beneath the Shadows by Floatsam & Jetsam on the car stereo.

Celeste: “Can we get some food?”

Deimos: “I’m not hungry.”

He said coldly.

Deimos: “Wanna crash at my place while Jaxon has a fuckin’ cry about nothing?”

Celeste embraced herself.

Celeste: “But he always does! He got like this after Chelsea turned into that monster! I thought Tristan would be broke, but Jaxon was.”

She shifted her eyes.

Deimos: “Yeah, he was. I don’t think he was ever made of strong stuff, unlike me.”

He nodded.

~

Celeste fell asleep on the couch with her heels by the couch. Deimos sighed and put a blanket over her. He looked around and went outside.

~

Tristan was in his bedroom, with a cup of tea on his nightstand. He wore his silver silk pajamas, and his hair was loose. He was reading a book, trying not to think about the events that had taken place tonight. He heard a knock on his window. Tristan gasped and froze. Another knock. He threw the sheets off himself and went to the stained glass window by his desk. He opened it up and saw Deimos floating outside. He flew in his bedroom. Tristan scowled and shut his window.

Tristan: “What do you want?”

Deimos: “I want to talk, Tristan. I just want to say I can fly and my powers are back! Everything worked out, so there’s no reason to be angry with me!”

Tristan put his hand up.

Tristan: “You disobeyed me, Deimos! I told you to get Jaxon because we were succumbing to that richonoid!”

He snapped.

Tristan: “I had to use my cryokinesis to its maximum to kill it!”

Deimos: “And I saved you! Jaxon was crying like a fuckin’ baby, Tristan! He needs to get over what happened at Seashell Cove!”

He snapped. Tristan gaped at him.

Tristan: “Have you no compassion or empathy for anyone?! They trigger something within Jaxon! It’s a lot for him to deal with, Deimos! Those things are to him what that nursery was to you!”

He said firmly.

Deimos: “Yes, and I faced it!”

He countered.

Tristan: “Yes, you did: years later.”

He concluded.

He heaved a deep sigh.

Tristan: “This is going to take Jaxon some time, and we need to be there for him.”

Deimos: “You don’t need to be everyone’s psychologist, Tristan!”

He huffed.

Tristan: “No, just yours, right?”

He fielded scathingly. Deimos pouted.

Tristan: “You refuse to see where you went wrong! You keep arguing and have an answer for everything!”

He flared hotly.

Deimos: “Celeste said it all worked out!”

Tristan drew a long breath.

Tristan: “Yes, it did, Deimos, but you did not work out. You refuse to see where you went wrong. You have this need to always be right. You could argue this is another trigger you refuse to face.”

He said coolly.

Deimos: “How?!”

Tristan: “Well…”

He folded his arms over.

Tristan: “Your father always said you were wrong and refused to see anything from your point of view, so you have this incessant need to always be right.”

He explained. Deimos drew a rough breath.

Deimos: “He always nitpicked everything Lazaros and I did. Nothing was ever good enough for him, so why bother trying if you’re going to fuck up in the eyes of the perfect Giorgos Katsaros?”

He rolled his eyes.

Deimos: “And yet, he and Mother went out to the party, leaving Lazaros and me at home with Diamantina. Monica was back in Anglia with her family. She was crying. We went to her room to sleep and woke up. She was dead. Somehow, Mr. Perfect blamed Lazaros and me. The difference is, I saw it for what it was. Lazaros just recreates this 1960s cooking show he loved.”

He pursed his lips.

Deimos: “I’m surprised he didn’t put Ashley’s hair in a beehive so they could be his ‘Mrs. Cherry Pie’ or whatever.”

He rolled his eyes.

Tristan: “I don’t think they need a beehive to become her; he already was doing it.”

He replied. Deimos nodded.

Deimos: “I know.”

Deimos and Tristan gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment. Deimos looked away.

Deimos: “So why did you bring Jordi’s sister to that ball?”

He asked as he clenched his fists.

Tristan: “Because I learned you went to Narcisse for help, for one. For another, you would have found it boring.”

He sneered at him. Deimos growled.

Deimos: “That is total bullshit, and you know it!”

He shot his forefinger at him.

Tristan: “YOU told me you went to Narcisse for help!”

He fired back and shot his forefinger at him.

Deimos: “Because I want to know who’s in that fucking tube! He wants me to heal whoever it is!”

He flared. Tristan’s right eye twitched.

Tristan: “Does it matter?! You weren’t going to, right?!”

He snapped.

Deimos: “Not only was I not going to, but I can’t! Whoever’s in it is badly fucking burnt!”

A pang of fear shot through Tristan. He shifted his eyes and embraced himself.

Deimos knit his eyebrows and went to Tristan to hold him. Tristan wrenched away.

Tristan: “Don’t touch me!”

He cried.

Deimos: “Why are you being so fucking difficult?!”

He snapped at him.

Deimos: “I said I was sorry, and I saved you!”

Tristan: “Deimos, I need space from you right now!”

He sobbed.

Deimos: “You don’t want to answer what you’re doing with Jordi’s sister is all!”

He huffed. Tristan waved his hand out, forming a sheet of ice, and icicles protruded from it, pointing at Deimos. Deimos knit his eyebrows as he backed away.

Tristan: “This is not it at all, Deimos! It’s YOU! It’s YOUR EGO! It’s your refusal to see the error in your ways!”

He bawled through hot tears. Deimos clenched his fists tightly.

Deimos: “Fine, I’ll give you space, Tristan.”

He said coldly. He opened his window and flew out into the night sky.

Tristan sank to the floor in tears, feeling his world collapse between his feet.

~

Jordi stepped out of the shower wearing his black silk pajamas and left his bedroom to go into the hall. He met Lena in the corridor. She wore a pink robe. She wrapped her arms around Jordi and hugged him, sobbing on him. Jordi smiled and petted her head.

Lena: “I’m so glad you’re okay, Jordi! What about Tristan and the others?”

Jordi: “They’re all fine. I promise.”

He smiled down at her.

The two entered the kitchen. Jordi sat down and saw a batch of snickerdoodles that Ashley had made with a little note. Lena was at the counter making some tea.

Lena: “Want some chamomile tea?”

She asked.

Jordi: “Sure.”

He nodded and smiled.

Jordi unfolded the note and read it, “I hope you had a ball at the ball, haha. I figured you’d be home late, so I baked some snickerdoodles for you both!” Jordi beamed as he read the note. He folded it and munched on some snickerdoodles. Lena set down two cups of tea for them. She nibbled on some cookies.

~

Deimos paced around his front yard. Lazaros smiled dumbly at him.

Lazaros: “Hey, Deimos! Well, I’m not finding Ashley’s replacement yet, but Madelyn might be a good candidate! What do you think?”

He grinned. Deimos turned to him with a sneer.

Deimos: “Want to know what I fuckin’ think?! Getting your ‘Mrs. Cherry Pie’ will never fucking happen!”

He bellowed. Lazaros’ bottom lip trembled.

Lazaros: “Don’t say that, Deimos! Ashley was close, but they wanted Blair and now Jordi!”

He said acidly.

Deimos flew to Lazaros, ramming his fist into his face. The impact broke Lazaros’ nose and glasses. Lazaros crashed to the ground. Deimos got on top of them, punching them repeatedly.

Deimos: “YOU GODDAMN ASSHOLE! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!”

He bellowed as he punched him. Lazaros cried and wailed as his fists hit his flesh. Blood splashed on Deimos’ face.

Deimos: “I FUCKING HATE YOU!”

He roared as his fists slammed into Lazaros. Lazaros sobbed and tried to pry away from Deimos.

Lazaros: “STOP IT, DEIMOS! STOP HITTING ME!”

He wailed and slapped his arms.

Monica rushed out in a long-sleeved, long night gown and a night bonnet.

Monica: “Deimos! Stop! Stop this right now!”

She flailed her arms and rushed to pry Deimos off Lazaros. Deimos rose and kicked Lazaros away. Lazaros lay there in a pool of blood, with a broken nose, collarbone, and jaw. Monica cupped her mouth.

Monica: “Deimos, please heal him!”

She pleaded.

Deimos: “Fuck him! I am done helping people!”

He snapped and flew off into the night. Monica flailed her arms and trembled.