Marcus/Rocco
The trip north was quiet. Not because nobody had nothing to say. I think we'd all finally felt it.
Victory. Cassian was gone.
For the first time since this whole nightmare started, one of Aldo's higher demons had actually fallen.
Noah stretched his shoulders as we jogged through another empty intersection.
"I'm just saying," he breathed, "if this next guy wants to wait till tomorrow, I'd really appreciate it."
Callie rolled her eyes. "You were complaining about being bored an hour ago."
"That was before I got punched through a bus."
Riley looked at him. "You weren't the one that got punched through a bus."
"Details, princess." A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Everyone looked at me.
"What?" I asked looking at them. Noah pointed at me.
"There he is."
"What do you mean by that."
"You're laughing." Noah shrugged. "You've been brooding a lot more lately."
"I always laugh." I corrected. "And I don't brood."
Everyone glanced at each other. I scoffed, feigning offence. "You guys are impossible."
Before they could reply, Darren's voice crackled through the communicator. "I'm updating your route."
A holographic marker shifted on the map attached to the watch Darren demanded I wear.
"The signature stopped moving."
"Stopped?" I asked.
"Yeah…" the tapping of keys echoed through the comms. "…Actually…" more typing. "Huh."
Noah frowned. "I don't like 'huh'"
"What does 'huh'mean?" Callie asked.
"I'm trying to figure that out." We turned another corner and nothing. No screams. No demons.
Just another deserted street lit by flickering traffic lights. Callie slowed slightly. "Shouldn't we have seen something by now?"
"I was just thinking that." Riley replied.
Darren inhaled sharply. "Guys." His tone changed. He sounded tensed. "The signature…"
His fingers flew across his keyboard. "It's still there, but..."
"But what?" Seraphina asked.
"It hadn't moved."
"Didn't you just say that?" Noah asked.
"No." more frantic typing. "I mean, it hadn't moved… at all." Goosebumps crawled up my arms.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," Darren muttered to himself, "Whatever it is… it's been standing in the same spot since I first detected it."
Nobody spoke. That… was strange. Even Cassian had wondered around while waiting for us. This, felt deliberate.
We stepped into another intersection. The city was silent. Almost painfully so. No wind. No distant sirens. Nothing.
Valen, who'd been watching silently spoke. "Rocky."
"Yeah?"
"Listen carefully." I stopped walking. Everyone noticed. Noah looked back.
"Marcus?"
I raised a hand. "Wait." The silence became louder. This didn't make any sense. But that's exactly how it felt. Like the city itself was holding its breath.
Then Darren shouted through the comms. "I've got visual!"
I looked up. "So do we."
She stood in the middle of the road. Hands resting loosely behind her back. She didn't look older than twenty-five, but I was sure she was older.
Dark indigo hair fell just past her shoulders, the ends catching the glow of the streetlights with faint hints of violet.
She wore a simple black coat over dark clothes. As always, nothing about her screamed demon.
If I hadn't felt the pressure and the faint smell rolling off her, I would've thought she'd gotten lost.
She looked around slowly. Almost curiously. Like she was visiting somewhere she'd never been before.
Noah twirled one tonfa into his hand. "That's a demon?"
"I'm assuming so." Riley responded. She finally looked at us. Then smiled. Small and polite.
"Hello." Nobody answered. She didn't seem offended. Instead, she looked past us. Toward the empty streets.
"I expected…" she tilted her head, "more people." Seraphina stepped forward.
"They've already been evacuated."
"Have they?" the woman sounded… disappointed. "That's unfortunate."
Noah clicked his tongue. "You planning on asking for directions or are we doing this?"
She blinked then looked at him. "Oh, I almost forgot." "You people enjoy introductions."
Noah frowned. "What?"
She gave a tiny bow. "My name is Nysera." Then she straightened again. "I've been sent to retrieve something."
Her eyes settled on me. "You."
My grip tightened around my swords "Sorry, I'm busy." For the first time, she laughed. Softly.
"I can see that."
I heard Darren's voice through the communicator. "Marcus."
"What?"
"I'm picking up some kind of airborne contaminant." Everyone stiffened.
"What kind?"
"I…" typing sounds. "…I don't know."
Black wisps drifted lazily across the asphalt. Thin. Almost transparent. If Darren hadn't said anything, I would've missed them completely.
Noah noticed them too. "You guys are seeing this too, right?" Callie nodded.
"They weren't there a second ago."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed. "Don't inhale any of it."
Nysera didn't move. She simply watched us. Almost, interested.
Darren's breathing became audible over the communicator. "This doesn't make sense…"
"What doesn't?" I asked.
"The particles aren't behaving like gas."
"Then what are they?"
"I don't know!" more typing, faster this time. "They're not attacking your respiratory system."
"They're not toxic?" I asked.
"They're not corrosive. They're…" silence. "Why are they moving like that?"
Livia spoke quietly in the background. "Darren…"
"I know."
Noah pulled the collar of his jacket over his nose anyway. "Can't hurt." Riley did the same. I looked toward Valen.
He wasn't looking at Nysera. He was watching the smoke. His expression had changed into recognition.
"Rocky…" his voice was lower than usual. "Don't lose sight of yourself."
I frowned. "What does that- "
A metallic clang echoed behind me. I spun around. Noah's tonfa hit the ground. He was still standing but completely still.
His eyes were open but unfocused. "Noah?" he didn't answer. Riley walked closer to him.
"Noah?" halfway there, she stopped too. Her baton slipped from her fingers. It hit the asphalt with another sharp clang.
Callie looked between them. "What is going on?"
Seraphina reached for Riley's shoulder. The moment her hand touched her, she froze too.
My heartbeat stumbled. "Sera?" nothing. Three people. Standing motionless. Breathing. Eyes open, but not responding.
Darren's voice exploded through the comms again. "Marcus!"
"I'm here."
"I think it's affecting brain activity."
"What does that mean?"
"I DON'T KNOW!" a pause. Then-
"No…no…" keys clattered violently. "it isn't attacking the body…"
His voice dropped. Almost to himself. "it's attacking perception." My stomach dropped. I looked back toward Nysera.
She hadn't moved an inch. She simply watched. As though this had been inevitable. Then, her eyes met mine again.
The world around me flickered. The street disappeared for half a second. Not physically.
Just, like someone had blinked for me. One moment I was staring at Nysera. The next, the traffic lights above her were gone. Then they came back.
I tightened my grip around my swords. "Val?"
"Keep breathing, Rocky." His answer came immediately.
"I am."
"Good." I looked around again. Nothing had changed. Except, Noah still hadn't moved.
Neither had Riley. Seraphina's hand was still resting on Riley's shoulder. They looked less like people. And more like statues.
"Darren?" his voice sounded uneven through the comms.
"I'm trying to isolate whatever she's releasing."
"Can you?"
"I…" silence. "No… it doesn't exist."
I frowned. "What?"
"The particles." He sounded out. "They're there, but every scan says they aren't."
Another pause. "That shouldn't be possible."
Callie spoke quietly beside me. "Darren…"
"I know."
"No, listen." He stopped typing.
"What?"
"The smoke… I can't see it anymore." The words settled over me like ice water. I Looked at her.
"What do you mean you can't see it?" I asked.
"I mean…" her voice shook slightly. "It disappeared."
Darren didn't answer. Then very quietly. "I can still see it on the radar."
I swallowed. "So can I…"
Nysera smiled at me. "You have a remarkable friend." I didn't answer. "You've trained them well."
"I didn't."
"No?" her smile widened just a little. "I suppose someone else deserves the credit."
I shifted my footing. She still hadn't attacked. She hadn't even taken a single step. Yet somehow, we were already losing.
No. not yet. I looked at Callie again. She was still standing beside me. She looked worried but alert.
Good. At least one of us-
Her shoulders relaxed. My stomach dropped. "Callie?" she didn't answer. Her whip slowly slipped from her fingers. It landed with a dull thud.
"Callie…" nothing. She was like the others. I reached for her shoulder.
"Rocky." Valen's voice stopped me. "Don't."
My hand froze inches away. "Why?"
"If she's already inside…" he didn't need to finish. I slowly lowered my hand.
Nysera finally spoke again. "They're beautiful." I looked at her.
"What?"
"The worlds people create." Her voice remained soft. "So warm and peaceful."
She glanced toward Noah. "I wonder, what he's seeing." A chill crawled down my spine.
Then Riley. "Or her." Finally, Callie. Her smile became almost… sympathetic.
"She carries quite a bit of guilt." I took one step forward. "You stay away from them."
Nysera feigned confusion. "I didn't touch any of them, did I?"
Another flicker. The street blurred again. This time, longer. I blinked hard.
The buildings bent strangely before snapping back into place.
"Rocky."
"I'm fine."
"No," Valen's voice was calm. "You're starting to drift." I swallowed.
"How do I stop it?" he was quiet for a moment.
"Don't trust your eyes."
"Helpful."
"I wasn't aiming for helpful." Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped me.
"You're unbelievable, old man."
"Never been called old before, I'd be careful if I were you Rocky."
Nysera's head tilted. Interesting. It wasn't confusion but more like curiosity.
Like she was trying to understand why I hadn't frozen like everyone else. Her eyes lingered on me for several seconds.
She finally took her first step. The pressure around the street changed immediately.
The air felt like it had become difficult to move. Through the comms, Darren's voice suddenly rose.
"Marcus!"
"Yeah?"
"I think I've got something!" hope flared inside me.
"What is it?"
"I… I don't know what it means exactly."
"Darren-"
"It's not affecting everyone equally!" I blinked.
"What?"
"The brain activity is different!" he sounded like he was arguing with himself now.
"Noah, Riley and Seraphina all flatlined into the exact same neutral pattern."
Flatlined?
"They're alive!"
"I know they're alive!" his voice cracked. "But their brains… they're in like a dream state."
The word hung in the air. They weren't unconscious. They were trapped. Nysera looked almost pleased.
"It seems…" she glanced toward the comms in my ear. "Your little analyst is clever."
Darren and I went silent. Because we'd just realised…. She could hear everything he was saying.
I slowly lifted one sword. "I've heard enough."
Nysera sighed, disappointed. "I was hoping you would understand."
"I understand plenty." I responded harshly. "You hide behind everyone else's minds because you can't fight them yourself."
Silence.
Then she laughed. Because I'd amused her. "Physical strength…" she smiled. "Is such a human obsession."
Before I could answer, the world shattered. Like glass.
The street cracked apart into thousands of fragments. The buildings dissolved. The night sky fractured above me. Every sound vanished. Even Darren. Even my own breathing.
Only one voice remained. "Rocky." Valen. Calm and steady. "Don't move."
I obeyed. Darkness swallowed everything. Slowly, light returned. Warm sunlight.
A gentle breeze. The smell of fresh bread. My heartbeat stopped. "No."
The street was gone. Instead, I stood outside my childhood home. The front gate creaked softly in the wind. Flowers lined the walkway.
The windows were open. Someone inside was laughing. A laugh I hadn't heard in months.
"Mom?" the front door opened. She smiled the same way I remembered.
Behind her, Dad looked up from the dining table. Ella came running down the hallway. "Marky!" she tackled me before I could think.
Her arms wrapped tightly around me. "I knew you'd come home." My throat tightened.
No, this wasn't…
I closed my eyes.
"Val?" nothing. Not even an echo.
For the first time since I'd met him. I was all alone.
And standing in front of the family I'd spent months wishing I could see again.