The Last Saint

24: Alone

Lacking other options, the group decided to stop in Adam's old home. Adam sat on his bed, hugging his knees, and looked out the window, thinking.

Liz walked in with a mug of tea, offering it to him. He accepted, and sighed, turning to face her as she handed it to him.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

"I wonder if Ryan and Eve are ok, and what happened to them," he replied.

"Me too."

He nodded at her. "Everything got so badly screwed up. It's like a nightmare."  

Liz agreed, and left Adam to his thoughts. After a while, he drank the tea, which had gone cold. Finally, someone called up to him. It sounded like Cain. He slowly wandered down the stairs to the kitchen, and looked at the scene before him in shock.

Cain stood in the entrance hall, holding his sword tightly, with Liz and Sybil behind him. In the doorway, Kara held a pistol up.

"Come at me," Kara said. Cain grimaced. "I know what you are, and I know this will kill you. My dad was a hunter, I promise I'm a good shot."

"What the hell's going on here?" Adam asked.

Kara noticed him, and her mood immediately changed. She lowered the gun, switched the safety on, and threw it to Cain's feet. 

"I came to speak to Adam." She said.

Adam nodded. "Let her through. We'll talk upstairs."

Sybil put her hand on Cain's shoulder, and he lowered his sword, stepping aside. Liz grabbed the gun, and tucked it in her pants as Kara walked past. Adam lead her back to his room, closing the door. He pulled out his desk chair for her, and sat on the edge of the bed himself.

Kara awkwardly looked around, and walked over to the chair. She sat, seeming nervous, and remained silent for a while. 

"Did you know that I was the Fourteenth when we first met?" He asked.

She nodded. "We've been in the same school since elementary. My mom kept me close to you at all times to watch you. It's the reason she gave birth to me."

"If they knew since I was a kid, why didn't they just kill me as a baby?"

"I don't know the details, but they were protecting you. They had constructs and everything around you at all times to protect you. Even though you were their sacrifice, you were always precious to my mother and the others," Kara whispered.

Adam scowled. "Protecting me from what?!"

"Eve," she replied.

"I think you've got it backwards, your mother and her friends killed my family and tried to kill me!" He said, his voice rising with anger.

"The Eighth panicked," Kara said, meekly. She seemed scared of Adam. "My mother tried to stop her, even Uncle Taiyang came to the city to stop Pyros."

"Regardless of if I believe that, everyone has come after us, hurt us, tried to kill us!"

"I know!" Kara said. "That's why I came here! My mom and the others betrayed you. Only Aunt Fate and Uncle Baum still believe in you."

"What do you want from me Kara?"

Tears welled in her eyes. "I've never had a real friend for as long as I've lived. My mom only ever used me as a tool to spy on you and warn her if Eve got close. You and Liz were the first people to... to treat me like a human being. Not a construct, or an object."

He sighed. "I'm sorry Kara. It must have been awful for you to see me fighting her. Your mom."

She shook her head, crying. "She's evil and I know that now, I know you have to fight her or she's going to kill you, but... she's still my mother! I still love her..."

He stood up and walked over, hugging her tightly. She cried into his chest, and the door creaked open. Liz and the others walked in. They had been listening in, it seems.

Cain sighed. "You don't have to help us fight against her kid," he said, and Kara and Adam looked at him. "But if you could tell us just one thing, we'd greatly appreciate it."

"What is it?" Kara replied, sniffling. Liz walked over, and hugged her as well.

"Second's regeneration power works as a simple equation. She has a mass of energy stored somewhere. When we destroy her body, it simply deducts from that mass of energy to repair herself. If we find where that mass is and destroy it, then she won't be able to recover."

"You're talking about her soul, aren't you?" Kara said. "Destroying the anchor will return her soul to her body and make her mortal again."

Cain nodded. "Do you know where it is?"

Kara shook her head. "It's not an object. It's a person. I don't know where he is."

"Dammit," Cain cursed.

Sybil spoke up. "Do you know who it is?" 

"She knew that she had to make it someone who doesn't age, like her, and she wanted to make sure it was someone who could protect the power no matter what..." She began to hesitate. "So she hid her soul inside of Taiyang." 

"The First," Adam said, scowling. "Fuck."

Cain muttered something under his breath, then spoke up. "Alright, at least now we know."

"I have something else to say too, that you might find helpful, it's about Eve and Fate." Kara said. Everyone looked at her. "They took her to the fortress in my Mom's world, to be protected by her army of Constructs. Taiyang, my mom, Yuki, Wilt, Blitz and Shadow are all there too."

Cain sighed. "That's pretty much every Saint we have to fight except Baum. I guess we have no choice, I'm sure they'd be content just waiting us out."

Adam nodded. "You're right. We don't have a choice, not anymore. We're going to war."

"I'm coming too," Kara said. "I... I want to protect my friends!"

Adam agreed. It was time to attack.