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Chapter Forty Four

The tension in the air is almost too thick to breathe in.

My heart was pounding furiously at the looks given towards William Kei from the four adults standing next to me. Disgust and fury were prominent, and I could tell that even the FBI agents we contacted had stepped just a bit further away from them. After I found out who was running Parallel, I told my parents about it, who used their contacts to come up with a plan in about a day. At first, they were hesitant to let me join as well, but when I reminded them the potential my attributes had to helping them sneak in, they let it slide. However, I didn't think it'd take such a turn.

I know things I feel like I shouldn't.

My eyes shifted to Dexter, who was up on his feet with his arm around his torso, uncomfortable and wounded from earlier.

Like his identity.

I resent him with all my guts, and it's confirmed that I can barely even stand in front of him without being reminded of what he's done to me. At the same time though, he's the son of my parents' friends, and he doesn't even seem to know it.

My first mission should be to make an effort to bring him back here.

Back to the light.

"Dexter."

He looked up when his name was called as I broke the silence.

"Are you sure you'd rather be sided with a criminal mastermind?" I asked, stepping forward slightly. Mom tried to pull me away, but I peered over my shoulder with a firm expression, knowing what she wanted to do. She stopped, her lips in a thin line. Looking back at Dexter, I said, "I know you want great intentions for yourself and others, but the way you were raised by him— the way you show your intentions— seems to be inefficient." I bit the inside of my cheek, slightly upset at my own understatement. "It's not too late, you know. There's still time to come back to the real world."

"This isn't the real world," Dexter responded coldly. I flinched at the tone, not used to hearing it from him. "I would never go against my idol's ideals when he's right about them, so save your whole hero speech for someone else." He looked up at me, his eyes hardening as he explained, "William Kei raised me when I was abandoned by my parents in a basket to die alone. He saved others who were left to become burdens, and that's something this world never knows! They don't know pain! They don't know the pain that comes with being an outlier, and yet, he was the one who saved me!"

"I used to think like you," someone said behind me, cutting him off short. I turned to look over my shoulder, seeing Leo walk to my side. He had his hands in his pockets, and his eyes lazily glowered over Dexter, who appeared disturbed. "My parents tried to kill me, but that criminal took me in as an accomplice. I was the person before you— the original accomplice of the world's greatest criminal. I thought this world was shit for giving me shit parents." Leo's arm rested on my head as he leaned on me, and I peered up at him. His gaze remained on Dexter. "But, you know, not everything is so bad. You should give the world a chance, especially if you don't know what really happened behind the scenes with your parents."

I heard Dexter inhale sharply at Leo's words, which cut into him. "Behind the scenes?" He repeated, confused.

"That's enough out of you, you failure of an accomplice!" William Kei snapped suddenly at Leo. I knew we pushed a certain button when we almost exposed the lies he had been feeding Dexter his whole life. Speaking of the newer accomplice, William turned to him and snarled lowly, "You. Don't listen to them. Their delusional fantasies will get to your head too."

Dexter's eyes widened at the hostility of his master, who he had always seen so kindly. A powerful aura erupted behind us abruptly, and I shivered at the familiarity of it. Mom. Leo automatically pulled me back towards the group as Mom stepped in our place, the Music attribute enhancing its power by the second from her body. William Kei and Dexter must've felt it as well, because their trembles were noticeable under the purple light of the attribute.

My breath hitched in my throat when the purple streaks in Mom's hair became more prominent in the midst of the black strands, almost glowing. Everywhere on her body, tattoos of music notes appeared, black outlined in purple, and she rolled up the sleeves of her coat, showing them off. Mom's Music attribute transformation was always prettier than mine, in my opinion. She looks like the prettiest goddess anyone has ever seen, and I wish I looked like that instead of a monster.

"Let's make this quick and easy for the both of us, alright?" Mom asked, smiling at the duo sweetly as her hands clasped together. At first, I heard the FBI agents behind me let out a sigh of relief at her calm nature, only to scream a little when the ground began shaking. I clung onto Papa's arm to keep myself from falling over. Mom's eyes flashed purple suddenly, and she cracked her knuckles in a threatening manner as she said in a low voice, "I have to cook dinner soon."

Papa let out an uneasy laugh as a few FBI agents stared wide-eyed at him, as if asking how he managed to keep Mom so happy and loving. "Cheryl, princess," he called out nervously, trying to ignore the several snickers at his nickname for Mom. She turned, her eyes shining at him innocently, which made him almost melt. "We promised not to kill, remember?"

Mom paused for a second before pouting at Papa, saying quietly, "We did..?"

"D-Don't sound disappointed!" Julia exclaimed, sighing heavily at her response. "You sound as if you had all intent to kill!"

Mom sighed, turning back to William Kei. Angrily, she pointed at him and shouted, "Alright! I'll ask for a peaceful surrender from you! If you fail to acknowledge or comply to it, further initiatives will be taken!" She glared at the mastermind, who clenched his jaw to keep from trembling even more at her attribute's aura. "That includes my attribute's bloodlust and need to kill."

"That's not happening today!" William Kei yelled, his hand pointed out in a gun shape. He muttered a word, and there was the sound of a gunshot.

Mom's eyes widened, and I heard Julia scream as Leo held onto her. A.. gun? From his hand..? My heart stopped when Papa appeared to my left with Mom in his arms, out of the bullet's way. The bullet went past my head to the right, grazing my hair and burning just the ends of them. There's no bullet, but I felt it. My eyes landed on my parents, with Papa hugging Mom tightly as she appeared confused. His expression was torn to shreds, and I could tell he was afraid that moment would be when he lost her again.

William Kei just tried to kill Mom.

He tried to kill Mom.

Kill... Mom?

My eyes lit brightly at the thought, and I began walking towards the criminal with an enraged confidence, my footsteps leaving traces of black shadows on the floor. My heart felt like it was burning suddenly as it pounded in my chest, and I clenched my jaw. He tried... to kill Mom.

"Meredith—"

"Shut up, Leo," I snapped harshly at the blonde, glancing at him. My eyes were glowing in a hostile manner, and it held him back from stopping me. I continued on my trek to William Kei, who didn't make a move to evade me out of sheer cockiness. "You know, I always thought you were smart and intelligent," I admitted aloud, catching his attention as he perked up. "The way my parents told me stories about you— how you were never found after the Atlas Bomb incident, even after trying to find your identity for five years straight. I thought of you as some sort of evil mastermind, and it was mesmerizing."

Stopping myself, I stomped on the ground, and the floor in front of him cracked. The screams of the people on the floor below us rang through the air, and my eyes settled on the man before me. "After that stunt you tried to pull just now, I think it's pretty clear that you never were really intelligent."

My arms wrapped themselves in a purple light, and I appeared in front of him, punching his face as hard as I could without breaking the floor from the pressure. He fell over, and blood rushed to his face, making it red. My fist was engrave into his jaw, and I stood over him, my eyes glowing furiously.

"I'll destroy you."