Chapter 4: Fix You

In a dark, pitch-black room, the voice of one of two individuals shrouded in mystery could be audibly heard as they were currently talking to each other.

They were none other than the two beings who had previously discussed the details concerning the plan they were carrying out.

The entity speaking was the Aztecan figure who was assumed to be a male by Rae.

And the other entity somewhere near him was the one who had attempted to shatter the face of the Aztecan man after he had relentlessly made fun of the being as one of Rae's future lovers.

"Good to see you again. How long has it been since we have last seen each other? Seven days?"

"So... what's the goal this time? I already did my job. Rae shall no longer have a reason to distrust me completely."

The one before the Aztecan man spoke with an earnest voice, completely ignoring his question.

However, the Aztecan was unfazed by this, as he continued the conversation in smooth fashion.

"Hmm. I've got a rough idea, but let's cast it aside for now. First thing's first, I want to question you."

"Don't question me about such foolish manners like our last meeting, or else I will not miss this time."

"Ha! Please. You would still fail to land a single jab on me even if you tried your best."

The skinny man mocked his friend in a sarcastic tone and, in the process, threw a heavy haymaker at their already wounded pride. This, however, did not wholly distress the prideful individual, as they were already far too accustomed to taking such cheap shots at their expense.

The lanky figure had spewed out worse insults in the past, and this wasn't even close to being the most hurtful.

Nevertheless, the being could still feel their heart being torn to shreds at his words. Still, the prideful individual did not throw a tantrum and returned to the previous topic, hoping to save themselves from being even more embarrassed.

"You were asking me a question. Mind telling me what you were about to say?"

The lanky figure responded within seconds, "What was your impression of Rae? Is he the same Rae from before, or has he already changed himself for the better?"

Pausing to think for a moment, the Aztecan's friend didn't say anything as they were pondering over their next words.

"He has... not changed. Not one bit. For now, at least. But soon, we will 'teach' him our ways, and maybe he will finally wake up for once."

That was their hope. They couldn't exactly do anything other than to 'fix' him by teaching and showing him the truth. They were highly confident in their chances of changing him to the point of practically guaranteeing it.

"I see. He still has yet to pass my test, much less take it. And now it seems he is forcing us to be more proactive than ever. Though, this is still nothing out of my expectations. This was obviously a very real possibility."

Not wanting to waste any more precious time, the prideful individual once again talked. "I've already shown myself to him, and I was planning to do that from the beginning, but now it seems you'll have to do that too. Do you think revealing yourself this early is worth the risk?"

"I already expected this, so I know what my next best actions shall be."

In a bored demeanor, the Aztecan's friend said, "So... in the end, you're choosing to go with 'that', huh? Somehow, you're even more predictable than I thought."

The skinny man immediately responded to his friend's words without hesitation, as if he knew that his friend was going to say something along those lines. "You know, I knew you were going to tell me just how predictable I was, but may I remind you who it was that beat you numerous times in a fair battle by constantly outplaying you over and over again? Are you still perhaps missing a few screws? Should I once again bring up your fighting record against me?"

"Do you ever shut up about that!? I told you not to remind me."

The prideful individual raised their voice before forcing themselves to calm down. The skinny one wasn't exactly wrong, but it still hurt just thinking about it.

"That's what I thought. Now be a good listener and listen to what I'm about to say next."

The prideful individual shook their head at such provocative words and replied lazily yet again, not wanting to be even more annoyed than they already were.

"Sure, thing. Boss."

The skinny being giggled. It was fun to smash his friend's already shattered pride constantly. He was used to handing out daily beatings, and they were used to dealing with them in return. It was quite a one-sided relationship and an ill-fated one at that.

"I will personally go to the nearest police station in the area where Rae lives and see to it that he is guided towards the right path. After what he has done so far, it only makes sense to help him even further on his journey. Of course, I won't interfere or meddle too much, but I will still do what is necessary."

"I don't disagree with that at all."

"Indeed you don't. Why should you?"

Sighing, the prideful individual once again replied in a tone that hinted at just how enervated they'd been from being abused on the daily. "Just do me a favor and 'fix' him a little for me while you're at it. He is still far too inexperienced. At this point, calling him by his famous sobriquet is outright disrespectful. I don't mean to make fun of him, but for now, he is still not quite a Great One to me."

"I will do what I want and need to with him. You can just sit back and relax. Don't worry."

"Sigh. Just go already. I'm tired of hearing you and your voice."

"Hahahaha. Well then, we shall meet each other again in the very near future. I can't wait to start toying with you once more," the skinny figure said while blowing a playful kiss to his friend.

Before long, the skinny entity completely disappeared from his spot, and this was quickly confirmed when the prideful individual could no longer feel his presence.

'How annoying.'

Silence permeated the air, and soon enough, the room was emptied, and what accompanied the silence was the usual, numbing darkness.

***

Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak. Tak.

As I took the Uber ride to the police station, I ended up extending my previous conversation with the detective who had given me his input regarding the recent dilemma. I was currently doing nothing but typing into my phone and reading just about every word, all without missing a beat.

This was something I had practiced for quite a while.

Initially, dealing with phones was like dealing with alien-like technology. I was against the idea of having one, but Irene insisted on handing out such a device to me, constantly highlighting its importance.

Eventually, I gave up refusing and reluctantly agreed to take one.

But phones were truly strange. Even when he and I worked together to grasp how phones worked, I still couldn't figure anything out about them.

To make up for this, Irene forced me to pay more attention to my surroundings, especially to the students who used these devices like it was their most valuable tool. But as I spent more time in class being exposed to all these phones and having to text my only true friend daily, I eventually got the hang of it.

It was annoying. Very annoying, to say the least, but looking back on it, this was definitely for the best, so I didn't regret all that time I spent practicing.

As I continued staring at my phone, I took a moment to read through my messages with the detective.

The conversation between us wasn't exactly long, but there was a lot of vital information to unpack and read through.

Scrolling through the wall of text on my phone, I looked at all the information being presented to me. More precisely, information related to the Aztecan-looking man who had shown up that one morning.

Eventually, I ended up singling out all the pieces of information that I deemed to be the most important. The detective did text quite a lot, and if I had to be honest, some of the stuff he was texting made me genuinely question just how fast his texting speed was.

He could write an entire paragraph like he was writing a sentence and made writing essays look like child's play. Truly a professional, I thought.

Nothing he was saying was utterly useless, but I still needed to look at the foremost information to save extra time to sort out all my remaining thoughts.

[...He considers you his 'master' for a reason he won't disclose.] 8:54 P.M.

[The person who came to the police station looks to have tan skin and is about as old as a young adult. He doesn't seem interested in talking anymore after what he has already said.] 8:56 P.M.

[He also said that he would never show himself to us again if you decide to come for real.] 8:58 P.M.

[Just who are you really?] 8:58 P.M.

'That's the question I'm supposed to ask the guy that showed up at the station, damn it.'

As I was nearing the station, I couldn't help but ponder over the questions I had stockpiled beforehand.

I was very nervous at that point. Before I could even think of paying the weird guy back, I hoped to ask some questions that were in definite need of answering. I was beginning to grow extremely curious, and these nagging feelings had been eating away at my mental state, which had been slowly deteriorating ever since the incident.

I was planning on figuring out everything that had happened to me that day, and if things succeeded, then I wouldn't have needed to go back to my therapist, as I only went there for the sole purpose of carving out my way of life.

After it was all said and done, I would probably never converse with him again. But of course, that all depended on what was gonna happen today.

'Will he reveal everything, or will he only say a few things in an attempt to throw me off?'

I had become increasingly wary of the man who had caused me so many headaches and a terrible sleeping schedule for the past few weeks, and before I knew it, my heart started beating even faster. I had no idea where this was going, and such a situation was unfamiliar to me. Hell, everything that was happening ever since that day was all new to me.

The last time I experienced anything remotely similar was when Irene disappeared for the first time. Frowning after musing over his disappearance, I quickly recomposed myself and shook my head in disapproval.

'No, not now. This matter is more important.'

I didn't want to overthink about these things, as I knew firsthand just how dangerous that was, so I decided to clear my mind a little and stayed calm. I took the last chug at my water bottle that I had remembered to bring with me as I quietly sat in the back of the car, not even uttering more than a couple of sentences to the driver in front of me.

Eventually, I arrived at my destination and unfastened my seatbelt. I thanked the driver before giving him some spare change; I took my first step toward the department ahead of me. With a more determined mind, my will had now been reformed as I confidently entered the department after walking up the small set of stairs before the entrance.

'It's time for me to get rid of you.'

Unfortunately, that was gonna be even more difficult than I ever thought.

***

In what was inside a spacious room with very modernistic decorations and decorative paintings scattered throughout the walls, a man stared blankly at an individual who had just taken his first steps into the police department building.

The man sported jet-black hair that was rather greasy and quite unkempt at the moment, a well-trimmed beard, and hazel-colored pupils in his eyes. He looked into what seemed to be an orb that displayed the surroundings of the one he was currently observing with clarity rivaling that of some of the highest-quality cameras of today's technology.

A look of curiosity appeared on his face as a smile formed on the edges of his lips.

"It looks like we'll see each other again, Mister Great One. This time, even sooner than expected. I can't wait to fix you."