The Hero Trilogy Imagines

Christmas - Part 3

[The worst Christmas ever continues!]

Matthew was still kneeling in front of Stephanie, trying to get her to react. She just kept staring at the carpet, eyes scarily empty and face expressionless. "Stephanie", Matthew whispered, wiping away yet more tears. "Please." A frown flashed across her face before disappearing behind that blank façade.

Dan hesitantly put a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Matt", he said softly. "You have to leave her be." Instantly, the theorist shook his head. "I'd rather die." Dan sighed, looking back at Jack, who shrugged. Matthew put a gentle hand on Stephanie's uninjured shoulder. "Steph please. You need to talk to me. I know what the boss did was... horrible... but you need to move forward. We can help you. I can help you. Just please listen to me."

Stephanie slowly looked up at him, their eyes meeting. "Matthew", she whispered quietly, her eyes lighting up again. "I'm here", he said reassuringly.

A/N: I'm tearing up a bit here, why must I torture them so much?

"He- he was going to kill me, but he said- he said he needed me", she stuttered, never breaking eye contact. "He won't kill you. He wouldn't", Matthew said. Stephanie nodded, relaxing a bit. Matthew pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her.

Dan and Jack shared a grin and began to slowly back out of the room. However, the henchman appeared in the doorway. Stephanie stiffened, hiding her small frame in Matthew's. "The boss wants him", the henchman said, pointing at Jack. "And said that the girl got off easy. She was supposed to die but he needs her. Next time, she won't be so lucky." Jack stood up, reluctantly following the henchman to the boss' office.

Inside the boss was furiously yelling at another henchman cleaning blood off the walls, telling him to hurry up. The boss stood up when Jack entered the room. He didn't bother speaking, just punched him in the stomach. He was frail but he could hit like a train. He waved his hand and the henchmen approached, knives in hand. They cut every inch of his flesh, carving the words 'Don't disobey' into his stomach.

The knives were ice cold but the pain was like a thousand burning suns. Jack screamed and cried and begged, pleading for his life. They ended it swiftly, a stab to the neck. Jack felt the sickly feeling of warm blood drenching his cold skin. He gagged and spat but couldn't take a breath. I'm dying, he thought. Mark, I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me. I'll wait for you. I'll always... wait... for you...

His senses shut down, eyesight fading. "Mark", he whispered, voice raspy. "I'm... sorry..." His eyesight left him and his limbs grew heavy, but Jack smiled and breathed his last.

I'll always wait for you...

—

Something was terribly wrong and Mark knew it. He felt it in his heart, his bones, his every being was tingling as his breathing grew rapid. Jack, he thought. He knew he couldn't go to the Institute. He'd be killed. He had to wait. It went against every rule in the Book of Life but he waited.

I'll always wait for you...

—

Cry found the body in the morning. He had listened to Jack's screams, along with the rest of the villains, through the night and winced when they cut off in the early hours of the morning.

He exited his room and stared. In the corridor was Jack, slumped against the wall, shirtless. Cry's breath froze in his lungs as he rushed forward and checked for a pulse. None. He cursed silently. There was a message carved into Jack's stomach. Don't disobey, it said. There was a note taped to the wall next to Jack's head. It read;

Never pull a stunt like that again. The girl got off easy. She would be here with him if I didn't need her.

Cry screwed up his eyes and smashed his fist against the wall, his mask hiding the tears flowing freely from his eyes. He hesitantly walked to Matthew's door and knocked quietly. Matthew answered, bleary eyed. "Don't scream", Cry warned, voice breaking a little. "And don't tell the others yet." Matthew nodded, following Cry back to where Jack's corpse lay. Matthew's eyes widened, staring at the body. He read the note and shut his eyes tight, opening them again after letting out a deep breath.

"Ok", he said in a small voice. "Ok. We need- we need to tell Mark." Cry sighed. "Yeah. He um... he won't take it well", he said. Matthew gave him a weak grin. "Merry Christmas to us eh?" he chuckled sadly. Cry nodded. "Merry Christmas to us."

I'll always wait for you...

A/N: Welp. I made myself cry. SHI-