Effect: The Next Generation [✔️]

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"I'm really grateful to you Donghyuck. Kano was all I had, and when I lost him.... I just didn't care anymore. I couldn't kill myself with my ice no matter how hard I tried, so I ended up killing anyone who crossed me.. I became an untouchable serial killer..."

Damian sat with me and Suyun, petting Kano as he slept in his lap.

"But you also made it your mission to protect many animals. That should count for something"

I reassured him.

"I agree. You may have been lost in the dark, but you still found your light within other innocent animals"

Suyun added.

"I see where you're coming from. But it wasn't just the animals that made me happy. Eventually, I met Marshall-hyung. And because of Leon and Daegal, he was the first person I hadn't killed in a long time. We became close the very first day we met, and he took me home with him because we didn't want to be separated from each other. Before, I only stayed to be with him, but then the others became my friends. They were the first six people I actually cared about in a long time. And then...everything changed again"

"Hm?"

I questioned, wanting to hear more of his story.

"Then...we meet all of you. I'll admit, I really hated you at first, with a deep burning passion. But I won't lie. I first became intrigued with you when I saw you and Mark-hyung fuse. And as time went on, we watched how you guys saved everyone with every planet you went to, and eventually, I realized that we all wanted to help you. I didn't want to admit it, especially since you were our enemies before. But after what The Boss did, I felt nothing but hatred and fear, just like I did with my parents. I just wanted for us to get away from him, and I didn't care how we did or what it took. So, I agreed with the plan to give you all clues to save us"

"And you only fought with dad because you were still scared of what The Boss would do if you betrayed him"

He nodded at Suyun's conclusion.

"I wanted us to be free, but I also didn't want to die. I saw the others suffer once we lost our second strike, and I just didn't want to see that happen again. If you couldn't help us and we failed him one more time, he would've killed us one by one, starting with Jean. You should've seen how powerful he was..."

"Just...what did he do? If you don't mind me asking"

I asked, and he willingly told us so we wouldn't be left in the dark.

"...He broke Jean's legs, Marshall-hyung's back, Leon's and Daegal's necks, and Jonah-hyung's sword, and he even impaled me with multiple nails. And it got worse after the six of us were knocked out. After The Boss left, I woke up and eventually went to the lab and checked the cameras to see what happened... He deliberately allowed the demons that he summoned to rape Cassidy in order to break his mind, and made Robin-hyung watch the entire thing, before Cass finally broke and killed them all. Then he used that chip override Robin-hyung's system completely so he would want nothing more than to kill all of you, starting with Renjun-hyung. The only one of us that he didn't abuse close to death was Jamie, but he saw what happened to the six of us before he knocked him out and was still traumatized from that"

"..."

"..."

"...After seeing all of that, I felt like there was no way out of what we had gotten ourselves into. I felt that if we didn't obey his orders, we would lose everything we had. I didn't want to lose my friends... I...don't ever want to lose my friends, or see them suffer.."

Both Suyun and I remained silent, absolutely infuriated from what Damian had just told us.

If we had a way to get to them sooner, this wouldn't have happened to them. They were already broken to begin with, but The Boss broke them even more just to get his way.

He took them in, but he treated them like absolute shit..

"..I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you both... I probably shouldn't have said that so soon.."

"No. Don't apologize. You have every right to vent about this Damian, especially now. It's The Boss that's going to pay for this"

"He'll get what he deserves"

We both insisted, trying to calm down for his sake.

"..B-But look at the bright side! We're doing a whole lot better already! Ever since I got Kano back, a lot of my happiness and my compassion towards others has returned. You brought my first friend back to me, and for that, I am in your debt Donghyuck"

"H-Hang on! There's no need to repay me! I didn't do it because I wanted something in return. I just wanted to see you sincerely happy, no matter what it took. I know that you already had happiness with the other Gang Stars by your side, but I knew that bringing back someone dear to you that you lost would make my dream for you a reality. And besides, I promised that we'd save you guys so you wouldn't have to live in fear anymore, and I really didn't want you to break my finger~"

I smiled, reminding him of the pinky promise we made.

"That's right..! We did make that promise! It was called a pinky promise, wasn't it? You..really kept your promise"

"And I'll do it again~. I promise that we'll continue to keep all of you safe from harm's way, no matter what~. And once again, if I break that promise, you can break my finger~"

I held out my pinky to him, and even though he hesitated a bit, he locked our pinky's together.

"That won't happen. But if you do somehow end up breaking that promise, I'll take it upon myself to break your finger~"