Chapter 6: Call Me Evil

The Venice HQ was massive and lucky for me, I still have 3 hours before the final briefing before our so-called personal mission to get the rest of RAYA's weapons to either fight the end of the world or cause it. So I decided to do some exploring.

RAYA's main HQ is located in the States, all available agents will stay there in case of immediate emergencies, which seems fitting since the States have the quickest evolving problems. The main headquarters should be alike with this one. Bigger, for sure, but same structure, same design, same model. This HQ might just give us an advantage later.

I strolled along the rooms here. I know what they're for. The rooms are for guests and hostages. We keep them in rooms like these to either train them, before selecting them to join RAYA, or get information out of them, before executing them.

Still, we have rules here, same as the other HQs around the world, just a bit different though. But that's nothing to discuss right now.

Because I might have just found something good in all these layers of boredom.

I gotta admit, after all these years of modification, again and again of torment, I thought I would've gone bored of it and decided to stop snooping around on Ultimate stuff. But to leave it out in the open is just giving us an easy way in.

As I looked down the hall of countless bedrooms and dungeons, I saw the one thing that I know can destroy what they would call home.

A beautiful, yet destructive, person, who caused all of this to be. RAYA's creator itself, Viviane Miller.

She was Ultimate Z's first love, so was she Ultimate A's, and as I am pretty sure we gathered along, they are the best of mates, and she was their downfall. When she died, they came together in grief and mourning and restored their once broken bond.

A woman, so powerful and clever, that she was the only one capable of breaking and rebounding a brother's bond. Viviane Miller, that power of yours is a strong one to hide behind. Unfortunately, your disease got through it.

➰➰➰

"Phoenix X, I thought you finished packing earlier," Alpha Q came into my room just as I was placing my last additional item into my bag.

"I did. I just forgot something," I said, putting on my backpack. "All ready now."

He nodded, looking me up and down, "Good. Everyone is in the main room waiting for you. It would be rude to keep them like that, no?"

I hummed in agreement, "Best not keep them waiting then. Let's go."

Alpha Q and I walked the endless hall to the main room, only to see that the room is empty.

I glanced at him, to find him looking as confused as I am, meaning he knows as much about this as I do.

"What's going on here?" Just as those words left my mouth, the walls burst in and I soon heard the familiar ringing in my ears. I called out his name, knowing better than to put my ego first right now.

"Phoenix X!" I heard him call back, but I have no idea where he is. My eyes are blinded by the dust and my sense of smell is blocked by the smell of my own blood.

I panted, reaching for my paralyzed leg that I knew wouldn't heal in time for this mission to work. "I'm over here!" I gritted out the words.

In an instant, I felt a hand touching mine and my leg that I could barely feel. Amidst all of this chaos, I can see Rogue F trying to lift the block of cement pressing into my leg.

"What happened here?" He asked me, still struggling to help.

"The HQ exploded."

"Yeah, I can see that, love. How did this even happen?" Rogue F lifted the block as I screeched out in pain.

"Alpha Q, where is he?" I asked Rogue F as I got on my feet.

"I-I don't know. I can't find him anywhere," He answered.

"Alpha Q!" I called out his name.

My ears kept ringing. I knew it wouldn't stop until I found him. Believe it or not, I wanted to have that hope that we could've started over. Maybe we weren't meant to after all.

I wanted so badly to find him then, but for all I know, he could've already been dead.

So I just left. Like I always had.

It's a disappointing thing, to leave someone you barely knew for 3 days and still feel that grief, as if knowing that they could still have a chance if you hadn't left them. I should know, this isn't the first time I left people who needed me. Not my second either.

Call me evil, call me cruel. But we do desperate things to survive.

The selfish ones survive the longest, I would know. And keeping the curious ones alive would be the cost of everyone's survival.

I felt bad, that was for sure. And what did I do? I still left, following Rogue F out of the rubble and taking my motorbike.

We went separate ways until we should meet again.

We all know we would.