Never

Chapter Six

I was shocked. Stunned by what Hadrian had just told me for many reasons. For one, Hadrian really was guilty for what he caused at The Games, driven mad by former Old Builder Cassie Rose... I felt quite bad for not trusting his word earlier... Second of all, he and Mevia are married...?! I didn't believe it at first, but once he had mentioned it, I looked down at his left hand, and there it was, the bright golden ring. It was a spin out to me to even imagine he and Mevia ever bring that close, though when I thought about it, it made perfect sense; he saved her life during the fire, ultimately in trade for his own, and Mevia? Like Hadrian mentioned, she would do anything for him, follow him wherever, even down the darkest path... It was in their wedding vowels. And that's how everything went downhill; At The Games, and for their relationship... What most would think would lead to a strong, healthy and caring couple lead them down a horrid path, plaguing them for the rest of their days and eventually tearing them apart...

And now, here we are, both injured immensely from a natural disaster, one teetering on the edge of life and death, the other literally on their death bed as we speak... As all the information processed in my mind, I slowly turned my attention to Hadrian, who had buried his head into his pillow and was crying softly. I looked at him sadly, holding back tears of my own. I felt horrible for pushing his feelings to the side, thinking he was still the same man I had met at The Games, but it was obvious the man I met before wasn't the true Hadrian; this was, just an ordinary human thrown into some extraordinary events. A builder of the Portal Hallway, founder of The Games, Husband of Mevia and possibly so much more! And now... He was months, possibly weeks away from his life coming to a halt, after being driven mad by a former friend, after being de-throned at The Games (Which I feel responsible for) and experiencing a major argument with his own wife. I felt... Responsible, at least partially for putting him here... I may have disliked him beforehand, but even then, I wouldn't want his fate to be sealed in such a horrible way... Slowly, holding back the lump in my throat, I gently placed my hand on Hadrian's shoulder

"Hadrian..." I said, trying not to choke. "It's OK..." Hadrian didn't even turn to me nor lift his head up.

"No, it's not Jesse..." He replied with sob. "I appreciate your efforts to comfort me, but you have to face reality; it's not OK, not at all! I'm literally weeks away from leaving this world without a trace, without a positive mark left anywhere, without... Saying sorry to all I hurt, without saying goodbye... Without showing them... Who I really am..." I bit my lip. As much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn't. He was right, he was only a few weeks away before he left this world forever, without a positive mark shown at all, only the stain he left at The Games, marking his wrong-doings... It was then, I noticed something;

""It just drives you crazy to see someone else succeed, doesn't it?! You just can't stand to see someone else in the spotlight, can you? You just can't let anyone else win!"

"One of you has the treasure I desire, and I will not rest until it is mine! Even if I have to resort... TO MURDER!"

"Why keep trying, Jesse? You will only fail. Just as you failed to save Reuben. Just as you failed to lead your friends back home. You will fail to defeat me, and Axel, Olivia and everyone on your home world will soon be made USEFUL!"

"This is *our* games! *We* control their outcome!"

"Surrender the Redstone Heart, NOW. Because, ha, I *will* trap you here forever. I am 100% fine with that course of action!"

I fell completely silent as the words fumbled in my head. Everyone that I had defeated, that had antagonized me throughout the portal journey, including Hadrian and Mevia themselves... I stopped them, I had to! It was the right thing to do! As the hero, you stop the villain, correct? But as I thought about it more, my gaze slowly shifted to Hadrian. Injured, emotionally scarred, alone and death dancing around him as we speak... This started... Because of me. Hadrian's downfall from The Games to here were all caused by me. I still feel I should've stopped him, but what I didn't do, was help him. It was obvious from what Harper and even Otto hinted beforehand that Hadrian wasn't always the twisted man we knew him to be. Under the confidence and arrogance he showed on the surface, was someone internally suffering as he put it himself. As I thought about this, my mind immediately shifted to Aiden. I spared him, I helped him, I comforted him. If I had not done that back on Sky City, would Aiden have grown up into the Hadrian I witnessed at The Games? Did I save Aiden from a life a villainy? If so... Why didn't I do that with Cassie? Or PAMA? Or Hadrian and Mevia? Why did I only depose of them once defeated? A hero is supposed to save all people, including the ones they are trying to stop. A hero does not stop them simply because they're doing the wrong thing, but to help them do the right thing. And I did not do that. Aiden I may have saved, but others I did not... I am no hero, not a true one at least...