Chosen

Part 2- The Banished

One hundred and ten years ago, the first mark had been found. It was a purple band around the arm. Raegan Jawson was born to a wealthy but widowed noblewoman with an ability to possess other people. First, he accidentally took control of his mom, then, as his age progressed, he grew into an unstoppable force that had to be restrained. Countless people loathed Raegan, and those with his mark are banished to a place where they can't harm anyone. On and on, many other babies across the globe found they had these marks too, and they shaped the world into what it was now.

    "God," Pierce muttered on top of a pile of assorted junk, "Sometimes I just want to beat those smiles off of the Chosens' faces." Everyone else in the rubble heap sighed, for this was a normal occurrence. She was, after all, Raegan's daughter. She should've died a long time ago, but her mark let her turn into a monster with flaming red skin on that occurrence. She was in this form way longer than she was human. Forever a monster, and the Chosens were at fault for their rules.
    "We can't, Pierce," Fenley seared. "Believe me, I tried." She gestured to the jagged scar across her right eye. The rabid guards stalking the area could get violent at times. They don't really get along with Fenley's flames.
    "No, no. I really believe this time. You'll see!" Pierce gestured for her friend to follow her to a guard's post.  Fenley rolled her eyes, still reluctantly following.
     The guard's face was sullen, his eyes drooping. It was obvious that his age caught up to him. That was nothing compared to Peirce's quick and agile body, she assumed. As she sprinted up to him, the guard looked down.
   "What are you doing, little girl?"
Pierce growled and called for Fenley. In less than a second, dark flames licked up the guard's frame. He didn't even flinch. "You girls are forgetting that we have flame resistant suits. Please, just get back to your assigned areas. I don't feel like dealing with you." Pierce flashed her claws. That was it.
      Taking her chance, she aimed for his eyes. "God, people like you disgust me." Not even landing a scratch, the man grabbed Pierce's wrist and slammed her down. He pulled a gun to her head.
    "It's people like you," he spat, "who keep on testing my patience. So you better expect consequences." The man swapped his gun with a taser, and held it to her ear. "Don't worry, this won't kill you, but after this, you'll wish it did."
     Peirce awoke to Fenley, hugging her tightly. "That bastard is gonna get hell for what he did. He knew about your pain resistance, obviously. Peirce, that was the closest to death you've ever gotten, and I'm never letting you get that pain anymore."
     Groggily opening her eyes, Peirce cupped her hands around her friend's. "I'm fine. They can torture me all they want, but the Chosens can never dent my spirit."
  "I mean it. You're not leaving the hut again without me," Fenley warned. She was undaunted. "People don't think you should even be alive. Your dad and mom are both dead, so why not you? That's all that people will ever see, and someday that will change, but not now."
     Peirce flinched, forced to remember her past. A guard fell in love with her dad, and they had a child. Both of them were caught and their limbs were slowly cut off until they bled out. It was until Peirce was fifteen that the public decided to kill her, too. After the first try only made her more powerful, they just tossed her into the banishment pile. "You didn't have to go there, Fenley."
    Fenley pulled back. "I'm sorry. You're right." She hung her head. They let the moment settle for a while, taking in each other. Finally, Peirce cleared her throat.
     "We should go to bed. It's getting dark out."
Fenley nodded, and they did just that.
   Peirce did not sleep that night. What Fenley said reminded her of when they killed her father oh so long ago. Sobbing, she wondered if she or anyone down here would ever feel safe. She had tried so hard on to do something about this unfairness, but nothing worked.
    Peirce's tears hit the a puddle on the ground with a soft plink.
        Plink plink plink.
  Peirce awoke to Fenley hugging her. "I heard you," Peirce's friend consoled her. "I heard you crying. I wish I could make everything go away. I really do." Peirce crumpled into Fenley's arms. They sat there until Peirce sensed a figure over them.
    "What did I walk into?"
"Rascal!" Fenley exclaimed, taking in their friend. Rascal Langley was a broad, glamorous young man who grew crystals out of his head. His green crystals were edible and could heal when ingested and his purple ones were poisoned. His crystals took a day to grow back, but he had plenty on his head and arms to spare. If he ever needed leftovers, Rascal kept them close to him in a satchel. One of his hobbies was hurling his crystals at guards, so Rascal was often on the run.
   Peirce yanked off one of Rascal's crystals and chomped on it. "You came just in time," she thanked him. "I'm still kind of sore from getting tased." Rascal didn't look all that surprised. Peirce fell disappointed. She loved messing with her friend.
      Fenley glared at them. "Stop trying to make humor out of this."
       "Okay, okay," Rascal complained, throwing his hands up. A grin fizzled on his face. "Trust me, I want to see as least of possible of your ugly faces," he elbowed Pierce and she snorted, "but I have special news."
     Pierce's ears perked up and Fenley's hair started to glow. "Continue," Peirce's friend urged. "Please."
      "I met someone, and I've been talking to them for a while now. Arctic Mclent. Sorry, I had to make sure this was foolproof before talking to you guys about it, and we've been working on," he took a breath, "how to make the Chosens pay. For real, this time."
    "Wait, how?" Pierce exclaimed.
   "I'm getting there, I'm getting there. So, Arctic's like smart, real smart, right? And his power gives him a clear destination of the things he needs. We've been making power enhancers. Fenley, this can make your flames wipe out forests within seconds. And Pierce," Rascal looked at his friend, "for you, we're talking about claws that can cut through flesh like second nature, eyes that can see up to five miles, horns that can spear through iron, and semi invulnerability."
   Pierce fell to her knees, thinking about what Rascal told them.
     "Holy shit, this is great!"
   Fenley massaged her temples. "I need to process this. We can finally..."
        They could finally be free.
        "I can take you to him in a week," Rascal explained, playing with the crystals growing out of his arms, "Arctic has a busy schedule, but he'd love to meet you. We will be the ones to make history. We'll make this city ours." Rascal sneered. "I have another surprise, too. But you'll have to wait." With that, he left, leaving a couple crystals in his wake.
     Pierce's eyes glowed. "This is legendary!" she exclaimed. "I can't wait." Fenley didn't even utter a word as she leaped into Pierce's arms, both of them sobbing.
     "I love you, Pierce," Fenley said, turning her head up.
       Pierce cupped Fenley's head in her hands. "I love you too, bitch." They collapsed on each other once more.
     Bam bam, rapped the door, breaking the girls up from their bliss once more.
     "House check," snarled the guard. He whipped out his taser threateningly, as if they were actually going to fight back. "Out."
    Pierce and Fenley slowly backed out. Pierce silently cursed the the guard for ruining their moment, promising to savor her death. She'd pound her to a bloody pulp, Pierce decided. And play with her veins like wires. Like all those guards. Pierce licked her lips, and then stopped. "Psycho," she mumbled to herself, becoming aware of what she was saying.
    When the guard left, Fenley followed her friend. "Next week," she announced.
      "Next week," Pierce repeated.
    The night came, and Pierce closed her eyes. Drifting away, she saw a short girl with white, curly hair smiling at her. Pierce was beat up and dirty, one of her worst times. "It's ok," the girl smiled. "I'll help you get cleaned up." She held out a hand to the demon girl. "I'll help you."
    Just as Pierce was about to take the hand, the white haired girl faded away. Pierce turned around, and she noticed a small white cat laying down. It had blood smeared all over it, and its heart was on the ground next to it. Gunshots echoed in her mind, and she awoke with a jolt.
    Pierce had been having this dream for a while, but it got more vivid each time. They occurred sporadically, spontaneously. The girl felt too familiar for it to be a coincidence. Erie. Pierce tried to push the thought out of her mind, yet it kept creeping back.
    I'll help you.
Pierce noticed Fenley curled up next to her and recognized the time. Instead of waking her, she clung to Fenley and fell back asleep.
   That morning was hazy, Fenley made Pierce some grit from what they could ration. "All over soon," she kept muttering. Fenley hummed a tune and tossed the plate to Pierce, "Your breakfast, miss," she sang. Pierce ate her scraps with a cheesy grin on her face.
    The rest of the day was blurry in Pierce's mind, and she went to bed completely unaware. Unaware of the heroine in her future.
    Fenley yawned and stretched awake, and this time Pierce was the one making food. When she was finished, Pierce set the plate down. But before they could even take a bite, they heard the oh so familiar clomp clomp of footsteps. From the doorway emerged a girl with dark teal hair in loops, a brown haired boy with a messy ponytail-it looked to be a ponytail-and a pale blue girl with styled hair. Before anything else, Pierce thought it was funny. She had red skin, and that girl had blue skin. Then, she noticed Randy Peters behind them.
Randy, the second member of the Apollo Counsel. What were these guys doing here? After thinking these things, Pierce looked at Fenley.  She was glaring at Randy, her hair blazing. But that was all, everyone knows that you're dead if you're rude to a Counselmember, regardless of who you are. 
    "You know who this is, right?" Randy asked her group.
      The girl with the loop hair raised her hand eagerly. "She's Pierce Jawson! Her father is famous for starting the line of purple marks."
    "Correct, Maelyn," Randy praised.
Pierce was seething. She didn't give a shit about punishment in that instance. "You still haven't explained why you're in our home."
     "Yeah," Fenley hissed. "Do you think we're your little lab rats or something?"
       Rabdy stared at them. "Maybe I do." She looked at her lemmings. "You guys are going to be spending the day with these guys. They'll teach you about their everyday lives. See if you can spot the differences between theirs and ours."
    The loop haired girl-Maelyn?-automatically went over to Pierce. She bared her teeth and turned away instinctively, but was met with the boy behind her. Fenley was being lectured on how to respond and treat Chosens, and she looked bored out of her mind.
    The blue girl was ducked behind Maelyn, probably scared of Pierce. So, the demon decided to go for her first.
     "Hey," she sneered, holding out a clawed hand to the girl. "Let's get to know each other. I'm Pierce, what's your name?"
    The girl went pale and started vaporizing. Literally, vaporizing. Stunned, Pierce was taken aback.
       Fenley, apparently, wasn't. When she was done with her lecture, Fenley came over and joined in. "Let's get to the point and cut the crap. We hate each other, not just dislike, hate, so I don't know what you want to get out of this," Fenley spat.
   Maelyn dared to open her mouth. "It's not like we hate each other," she spoke. "We're just, uh, different."
        "Fenley," Pierce called to her friend. "Remember, this'll be over soon." They'd be free soon, all thanks to Arctic and Rascal.
    Randy angrily heated a wall up. When she realized what she was doing, Randy cooled it off again. "We're actually doing this tomorrow, too. So don't get your hopes up."
     Would two days be enough to look through a century of prejudice? By tomorrow, Pierce would be head of Apollo City.
   That kid with the brown hair kept on stealing glances at Pierce, she noticed. "Hey, Pierce," he mumbled. "Do you remember a girl with white curly hair? With, like, a fancy suit jacket?"
    Something snapped.
    Pierce walked towards him, a burning inferno. "What do you know about her?"
    "Come with me," he motioned her to the back of the hut. Pierce decided to follow him.
   "Before I do anything," she demanded, "I need your name."
    The guy nodded. "Jeremy Forrest."
     "So I'll repeat myself. What do you know about the white haired girl?"
    Jeremy stared at her, long and hard, like he was deciding something. He finally cocked his head and spoke again. "All I know is that her name is Yatari." At that moment, Randy called for them. "Excuse me, but I have to go now. See you at this time tomorrow."
    "Bye, guys," Randy spoke, dry and monotone.
      Maelyn waved and Sorphine took one last glance and left.
      "Those bastards," seethed Fenley when everyone had left. "How dare they just come into our home and force contact between them." Fenley tramped outside and scorched a leaf, her hair a walking fireplace.
   Pierce felt angry too, loathing, but she knew that anger would just attract more bad people. "Hey," she told Fenley to hopefully calm her down. "We can go to Arctic's tomorrow, please don't forget."
    "You're right." Fenley's hair charred. "Let's go to bed, I'm tired."
    And so they did, and they woke up early the next day to go to Arctic's.
      "Hey," Rascal greeted the girls, joining their walk.
     "Rascal!" Pierce cheered. "You wouldn't believe what we had to do yesterday."
      Rascal nodded. "I heard. News goes around quickly here, you know. So is it also true that you have to go back today?"
    "Yes," Fenley told grimly, "but by then, we'd already have the elixir." It would be perfect timing.
   Rascal looked impressed. "I never thought I'd say this, but luck is on our side today." And with that, they had arrived at Arctic's hut. "We're here, by the way."
    Pierce got overwhelmed by a wave of excitement as she rushed in.
"So this is the famous Arctic Mclent," Pierce grinned, sauntering in the doorway. She feel embarrassed, as there was nobody but the three there.
    Rascal laughed. "He wouldn't be so easy to find, you know. With him making illegal weapons, you know." He asked over to a spot on the pale cement wall, and motioned for Fenley to touch it.
    Looking confused, she pressed her fingers to it. Then, Fenley yelped as she fell into the tunnel that appeared when the wall let out.
    Pierce yelped, and was met with Rascal's smug smirk. "There's more than just Arctic here, you know. So many people here want to see Apollo City bleed," he explained. "So you'd guess that some people have fancy tricks."
    "Fancy indeed." Pierce followed Rascal down, just in time to hear Fenley yell out when she reached the ground.
    "Holy shit, this is epic."
  Pierce too, when she got down there, was marveled. There were thousands of test tubes and giant cylinders, big enough for her to step in. Liquid spills were frequent as Pierce made her way around. There was a giant tank with clear fluids in it. She didn't even want to guess what was in there. To her right, she was met with a walled off area. The glass was clear, so Pierce could notice a tub of water and bright splotches on the wall. Pierce tore her gaze away from everything and to where Rascal was headed. In the middle of the fluorescent lighted room, there stood Arctic.
    He was just like she'd pictured, a tall man with glasses. He wore a silver witch hat to match his lab coat. Arctic's long black hair was slightly messed up, and was that dirt?
    "Hello ladies," he greeted flamboyantly. His voice was velvety, fit for a Broadway performer. "Hey, Langley. So anyways, how do you like my lab?"
   Pierce nodded, a goofy smile on her face. Fenley gave a silent thumbs up, but her expression ruined the cool girl effect Pierce guessed she was trying to portray.
        "I'm glad to hear it. The whole crowd's on break, so it's just us today." Arctic winked.
    "We need to get this done quick," Pierce told him. "We have fifteen minutes." Fifteen minutes until Randy and her little entourage would meet their match.
    "Alright, alright," Arctic chuckled. He handed them a box. "In this box," he explained, "are tiny needles infused with a special serum. The moment the serum entered your bloodstream, your mark will get boosted times ten. I tried it on myself, it's not so bad."  Pierce and Fenley shared a look. Arctic continued, "We made a lot, so almost everyone in the Junyard has one."   
    Pierce was awestruck. "I love you, Arctic," she smiled breathlessly. Fenley stared dreamily at the box, clearly sharing the same idea.
   Rascal looked proud of his friend. "Good job, Arctic. I swear, they don't get better than you."
     When they were outside, Rascal explained that he would wait near Pierce and Fenley's hut until they signaled it was alright for him to help. Then, once Randy and the others were slaughtered, they'd move on to Apollo City.
    Pierce rolled that plan around in her head, savoring the sweetness of it. When they finally arrived at the hut, Randy, Maelyn, the blue girl, and Jeremy were there. Jeremy still hadn't told Pierce that much about Yatari, so she was suspicious of him.
    When the group got in the hut, they found Randy and the others waiting expectantly. "You're late," the Chosen reprimanded.
    Pierce clenched the needles in her pockets. "We were meeting up with a friend. You Chosens can hang out with people too, right?" she taunted. Fenley's hair started to crackle.
   Randy pressed her lips. "Alright, fine," she continued, "I'll let you have your idiotic little play-dates." Pierce's breath hitched, but she kept silent. "The Council is only making us do this one more thing, so let's get this over with. I want to spend as little time as possible with these criminals." Randy grinned, ever so slightly. Was she trying to provoke her? Pierce could keep her cool, no big deal. She willed Fenley to, also, with all her might. Randy opened her mouth again. "I don't really see why they couldn't have just killed you, but hey, nobody listens to me." Pierce's eyes fizzled into slits. Wrong move. But Randy wasn't done. "If that whore of a mother you had had just done her job and killed Raegan when she was supposed to, none of this would've happened."
   Pierce erupted. Randy would pay her price. A fatal price. Pierce jabbed the needle into her wrist. It hurt like hell, way more than she expected, but afterwards, she felt something else surging through her-power. Fenley also had a needle, and Pierce motioned for her to do the same, which Fenley was doing at that very same moment. When Randy felt what was happening, she tried to grab Fenley. That was her power, after all, temperature change heavily relied on touch. Fenley winced and tore away her arm, but not in time. Pierce could see the skin heat up.
    Fenley screamed and unleashed a blaze of fire from her unharmed hand. "Die, you heathen."
    "Go, now Sorphine! Get the council while you can!" Randy yelled before becoming victim to Fenley's flames. The pale blue girl disappeared before Pierce could even land a claw on her. This wasn't good. Sorphine would turn this into a war. While Piece was thinking this over, Fenley narrowly dodged a bubble that came from Maelyn.
    "Not today, bitch," Fenley screamed as she swerved around it. Meanwhile, Pierce went straight for that selfish Chosen.
    "Come on!" Maelyn groaned as her bubble fizzled away as it impacted Pierce's leather skin. Pierce stared at the bubble for a second, disgusted. She knew those bubbles wouldn't work on her. Her skin was like a shield. Then, Jeremy dived for her.
   He screamed as he grabbed her arm. "One touch is all I need to affect your senses. This is a special move I've been working on." Pierce but back laughter, she was actually beginning to like this guy. Some fantasy daydream told her that he could maybe help her, but she was wrong. Fuming, Pierce rammed her horns into Jeremy's arm. The guy's eyes widened as he clenched the wound, blood poured onto the cement floor.
   Not a second later and Pierce crumpled onto the ground, pained. Crap, she thought, I didn't think it would be that painful. Fenley rushed over to her, creating the perfect gap for Randy.
   When the Chosen pressed her finger pads onto Fenley's arms, she let out a cry as her power surged through Fenley's left arm. Pierce had murder in her mind.
   "Shit," Fenley yelped. "Pierce, do you think you can handle her?"
      "I got it," Pierce replied, bringing herself up. Again, though, she winced and fell down in pain. That Maelyn girl had the nerve to smile at that guy. Jeremy.
    With Fenley's unhurt arm, she held out a hand to Randy's face. "I'm going..," she drawled, "to kill...you."
   Randy huffed, and yanked Fenley's hand, pressing her palm to hers. "I thought this would be a challenge," she sighed. "Guess not." Fenley yelped one last time before collapsing onto the ground.
    Pierce imagined Randy's eyeballs getting plucked out, one by one. Her skin melting off. "I gave Pierce the illusion of a broken leg," Jeremy hollered to them. Stupid move, Pierce hissed in her mind. Don't tell your plans to your enemies. If they even qualified as enemies.
    Then, just as Pierce was about to get up again, a purple crystal soared through the air and clocked Maelyn on the head.
   "Rascal!" Pierce exclaimed. He had come, and they'd turn this all around.
     "Geeze," he winced, tossing her a green crystal. "You need this. Give this to Fenley, too."
   Pierce chomped on the crystal, and she felt new again. Better than new, actually. She guessed that Rascal already injected himself.
   Pierce sped to award Randy, claws out and horns in front. She caught her off guard successfully and rammed her horns into Randy's heart. Pierce used her claws to claw out the organ and crush it.
   She was speechless, about this strength that overcame her. "Rascal..," she breathed, "your friend is awesome."
   Jeremy, still dazed from all that happened, huddled to a corner. Pierce decided to let him live-for now.
   "Get the Maelyn girl and Jeremy," she ordered Rascal. "Feed him some poison and render him unconscious. Tie them up and keep them in a secluded spot." Her friend nodded. "After you do that, get someone to watch them and meet me and Fenley in the center of the Junkyard. We'll rally some Banished to join our raid on Apollo City."
   Jeremy screamed and darted out of the house, but Jeremy was too fast. "Wait!" Fenley exclaimed.
   Shit, Pierce thought, Rascal doesn't know about Jeremy's mark.
   It was too late, Jeremy yanked Rascal's arm. Rascal winced in pain, but that was about it. He smirked as he popped a green crystal in his mouth. "Idiot," he laughed. 
   As Rascal was doing that, Jeremy had managed to scurry away. Pierce noticed all of that as she and Fenley were too far away to run in and stop it, so only one person got captured.
    "One is enough," Pierce muttered angrily. "It better be." She clenched her fists and led Fenley to the podium in the center of the Junkyard.
    Already, there were crows of Banished looking up at them.
     "They came!"
   "Wait, is that Pierce Jawson?"
   "Hey, Jawson!"
   "Who's that chick with her?"
   "It's finally time!"
     Pierce waved to her fans. She flushed with pride and grinned to her friend. "I love you, Fenley." Pierce raised her fist. "Today," she began, "we take back our nation. I want you guys to storm Apollo City, destroy everything you see and kill without hesitation. This'll confuse the Chosens and make it easier to take down the Council."
   She was meet with cheers from the crowd. "Let's do this!" yelled Fenley as the crowd rushed away to fulfill their purpose. Pierce, too, had a purpose. She, Fenley, and Rascal had the mammoth task to take down the Council. It would be hard, a three on four, but they had Arctic's needles. "You already talked to them?" asked Rascal as he hurried behind them. "Don't worry, I got one of Arctic's assistants to watch her."
   Fenley nodded and kept running. "Thank you," Pierce praised.
    When they got to the steel wall barring them from the city above, Pierce saw that it was already reduced to rubble by the crowds.
    "Let's go," Rascal exclaimed.
   When Pierce got to the city, she was breathless. The crowds made quick work of the cute little coffee shops and pet stores, at least she guessed they were coffee shops and pet stores. This great big city looked worse off than the Junkyard, now.
    Someone in the crowd with spiky purple hair noticed Pierce. "Hey, guys!" She jutted a finger toward a giant building, still untouched as the crowds made their way through Apollo. "The Council is over here."
     "Great!" Rascal grinned. "Thank you." The girl smiled in return and went off to cause some more destruction, presumably,
    "I say we just go now," Pierce suggested. "We can take them, right?"
    Fenley nodded. "We need a structured plan, first. Let's go over their strengths and weaknesses."
  Rascal squared his shoulders. "Cherry Cheery is the fifth Councilmember," he explained, "she can shoot bullets made from her own energy and mold them as her weapons."
    "Bolt Wilde," Fenley continued, "is the third Councilmember. He can create force fields around anything he wants. This could be quite a problem, but the strength of each of his fields is compromised by how long it stays. So I can try to focus on destroying them. I think my amplified mark can handle it. You guys just go for any opening you can, okay?"
   Rascal and Pierce nodded and gave a quick thumbs up. "Vincent Keef," Pierce told them, "the number fourth councilmember, can generate sticky webs over anything he pleases. We just need to dodge a lot."
    Rascal gave a brisk nod. "Parse Trinity is the number one Chosen. If she touches you, she can take your energy for her own. However much she wants, and she can also give."
   Pierce looked up. "So we also really need to dodge."
      Fenley shrugged. "I have energy to spare," she got up. "So let's get to the fun part and start actually fighting already."
   The sound of Pierce's heartbeat was the only sound she could hear among all the chaos. When they got to the Agency-was that what they called it?-Pierce saw Bolt giving help to some children. 
    "Bad move," Fenley sneered, "leaving your teammates behind and going alone."
      Bolt bared his teeth. "You kids really need to get taught some manners." He charged at them, his hands topped with the fields.
    Pierce ran for him, horns ahead. Just as she was about to headbutt him, Bolt switched the force fields to his full body. Bouncing off, Pierce fell back on the floor
   That's gonna bruise later, she thought. Pierce still felt very little pain.
      "You guys really piss me off," she glared as her horns broke the field and drove into his abdomen.
    Bolt screamed out, and wound back a punch to Pierce's neck. It didn't even hit before Fenley cascaded red hot lava up Bolt's legs.
   "Don't you mess with my Pierce," she seethed.
   "Fenley!" Pierce thanked gratefully, "Just as we planned!"
   Meanwhile, Rascal just kept on hurling crystals at Bolt's exposed skin. "Die, you idiot."
  Bolt groaned, threw his head back, and just as the flames reached his face, he shrouded the Agency in a giant shield. Then, he dropped down.
   "He's unconscious," Rascal pointed out. "I'll take him back to Maelyn and the other people we captured."
   Fenley nodded, and sent out a wave of flames to the forcefield. "That Council got real cocky, resulting in our luck," she mumbled, "but we still need to keep our guards up."
   "Exactly," Pierce yelled, "be prepared, Fenley."
       They tiptoed inside, Pierce expected anything. Once inside the Agency, Pierce screamed as she and Fenley got swallowed up in a single spider web.
    Five seconds before, they were so confident and careful, and now Pierce was immobile. "Shit," Fenley hissed. "Vincent."
     "Please, guys," he begged, "just give up. I really didn't want to do this."
     Pierce craned her neck. "If you don't want to do this," she prompted, "then why are you in the Council?"
   Vincent huffed, walking away. "It's my duty as a mark keeper. I need to use it to help people, including the innocents you tortured."
   "Funny you say that," Fenley spat, "because that's what we're trying to do." A whirl of fire swirled under the webs. "Your skin can handle this, right Pierce?" She nodded.
  Seconds after Vincent had left to alert the other Chosens, the webs melted away. Pierce's skin prickled a bit under the direct fire, she thought it tickled. Pierce laughed.
   Nothing would get in their way. They'd already won.
        Pierce rushed up the staircase, following Fenley.
       "We only have three Chosens left," her friend rejoiced. "until we can relish the sweet taste of triumph."
   Just when they got to Vincent, he turned around.
     "I don't like you," he mumbled, his voice sour. Vincent shot out another stringy web to them. Pierce dodged, but Fenley wasn't so lucky.
   Vincent shrugged and spewed up another web. It barely avoided Pierce's horn, and she took that to her advantage. Charging forward, she let out a war cry as her horns rammed into Vincent's stomach.
    He let out a wrenching cry and doubled over. The blood loss would get to him soon, and it would be fatal. Pierce knew that for a fact. Unless they had Rascal... Wait, why was she even thinking about that? Chosens don't even deserve a first chance. "Let's continue," Fenley told Pierce, burning through her constraints.
   Pierce nodded and charged up the stairs once more, just to bump into Jeremy when they arrived on the second floor.
      Fenley alerted and grabbed him in a chokehold. "Listen, bitch," she warned, "you got away once, and it was stupid to try to run here."
   Pierce glared at him. "Let him go, Fenley. He's not worth our time."
     Fenley huffed and tossed him away, rushing to the next flight of stairs.
    Pierce went to follow her, but not before glancing at Jeremy one last time. His expression was twisted, unsure, until it settled. "Wait!" he begged her.
      Pierce stomped towards Jeremy. "What."
      "Yatari, remember her?"
   "Of course I remember her," Pierce yelled. The truth is, the night before, she had another dream.  Nothing had changed except that girl-Yatari-was glaring the whole time.
   Jeremy stared at her, blankly. "She was a real close friend to me, and she believed that the Banished were being treated unfairly. A couple years ago, she tried to rescue you. A guard found her, she was shot, and your memory was erased. I wanted to become a Chosen to maybe change these rules."
    Pierce's mouth felt sticky as she comprehended all that. "So I guess not all yellow marks are bad." Jeremy had chipped away at her, piece by piece. Pierce just felt so overwhelmed that she exhaustedly collapsed to the ground.
    Just as Pierce's eyes were hazed over, she noticed a dash of flaming hair dart by her.
    "What did you do to her?" Fenley raged. She was irate.
  Jeremy threw back his hands. "Nothing, if you're planning on killing me, do it. My whole world got reduced to ruin, and I clearly don't have that much to live for."
   Fenley rolled her eyes. "Way to be depressing," she scoffed. "But that won't stop me. I just won't torture you like we're planning to to Bolt and that Maelyn girl."
    Torture? thought Pierce, I thought we just captured them. But she still was powerless, Pierce needed to conserve her energy. Pierce's vision grew spotty as Jeremy was swallowed up by Fenley's blaze. She fell to the floor with a thud.
    "Rise and shine," Fenley greeted Pierce, deadbeat. Wait, that wasn't Fenely, that was Parse Trinity? Where even was Fenley? Parse stared down at her, her eyes empty. "I'm going to send you and your friend to a secure place, and we'll execute you tomorrow. Fenley's still unconscious, I guess you woke up at the perfect time. You can tell her everything." The corner Parse's mouth twitched up.
   Pierce's mouth was dry. She was barely able to move. She guessed that was Parse's doing.
      "Please," she found herself saying, "kill me now, Parse." None of this was right. Pierce just now realized. She had a moment of clarity when everything was hopeless. Killing more people was no way to solve anything. Most of them were innocent, or actually helped her. Jeremy shouldn't have died, and maybe not even some other of the people that had. Pierce wished desperately that she could've resolved everything better. That nobody wouldn't had to die.
  Pierce just couldn't bare this. She was pathetic, hopeless. "Please, I can't live any longer," she begged. She couldn't do more than talk, and she wasn't even sure that was an option any more.
   Parse took a breath. "Is that what you really want?"
    Pierce conjured up all the strength she had left. "Yes."
    "So be it."
  The last thing Pierce ever felt was the last bits of energy draining away with her last breaths.