- return the favor -

~Daylight, the end of the mall~

The villain was now gone, leaving the hero wounded on top of the building and a worried officer looking up to him. The blonde male yelled up at him, his words echoing off the decaying, crystalized walls, missing the hero's ears.

Oxzy stayed in his same position, his mind and eyes alert for movements around him. He knew the villain could still pop up from anywhere and do more damage, he had done it before. Only, nothing but the sizzling from the distinguished fire and shouts coming from Milo was heard.

Oxzy's heart calmed down a few beats, he kept his stance hard even if his ribs began to sting again. His body ached, Oxzy could already see the bruise starting to form. But the hero shook his thought away from himself, his senses high, the man put the shouts he heard into focus.

Thinking the sheriff might need help, Oxzy leaped from the building and to the ground, shocking the man in uniform when he landed next to him. Milo stepped back, but when he realized it was the hero high on alert, Milo put his hands up.

"It's just me now.." He said calmly, walking over to Oxzy, who the officer could see shake slightly. Milo found himself in need to comfort, the hero was stressed after a fight, and the officer had weird urges going through his mind. He put his thoughts to reality.

As gently as he could, he put his hand on the hero's shoulder. The man below the hand flinched, looking at the sheriff, their eyes leveled. "I got people to evacuate. Everyone who was injured is in the clinic, the police are coming to clean up this.. this mess Pierce made."

Oxzy's body slowly relaxed, the comforting words confused him more than comfort though. The sheriff was acting differently. He usually made the hero clean up after the villain when they fought, no matter what, since the blame was on him.

Now, after the sheriff saw him in a wounded state fighting with the villain where he helped Oxzy. Milo was now treating him differently as well as being different himself. It was like a light shined in his eyes.

He sees Oxzy differently now.

Oxzy probably won't even realize it since he didn't care, but it did make his job slightly easier if the police would help him from Milos orders. All the hero could do was nod, saying nothing as Milo said all that was needed to be said.

The sirens spunded the closer they got. The hero shifts out of the officer's touch, making Milo fight back a rising emotion. Oxzy looked at the destruction around him, it was mostly behind him where the villain mostly made his mark.

Even if the station were going to clean it up, the hero felt more responsible for this mess since ice and bent trees were his doing.

The curly haired man spread his arms to the trees, with a calming breath, the trees moved back into their normal position in one breath. Oxzy turned his attention to the ice that was already starting to melt, he breathed more deeply this time, his hands burning from the invisible weight as he sucked in the solid energy and slowly, it began to melt and disappear.

It turned to liquid in seconds and the hero's arms dropped with relief when it did so. With hard breaths and a sweaty face, his arms tucked to himself as they began to burn. The officer had taken notice of the hero's actions, he was looking at the man who closed in on himself, wanting to do more than touch him on the shoulder. The hero was about ready to leave when the flashing lights came into view.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Milo spoke up. "I can take you to Parrway if you like Oxzy?" The man in question turned at the use of his name and question, his silent demeanor stayed with a questioning look. "I brought you all the way to Oakway, to Daylight. So... I can take you halfway home, you seem tired."

"I don't need a ride." Oxzy replied coldly, swiftly turning away from Milo and began to stalk towards the direction of Parrway. Milo caught sight of the man limping, dragging his feet behind him in obvious pain. Milo gulped, lifting himself closer to the man about to talk.

Only when his hand was a few inches from him, Oxzy jumped up with a strong and quick wind lifting him away. It kept Milo grounded but carried the hero off his feet and into the air. The cold air blew around Milo, clutching to himself before looking back at the hero.

But he was already gone.

~The Grubs, Pierces home~

The man slumped on the brown ripped couch. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he put his hand over his eyes and internally screamed. The anger rising in him was hot and fast, hitting his head like a blazing bullet.

The sheriff had once again ruined his fun. Taking away his chance of playing with Oxzy for a lot longer than he wanted to. Now he was back at home, boredom seeping right into his red veins.

The boredom shifted when a loud figure waltzed in. With her baggy ripped black jeans littered with chains and an equally ripped jacket, Mercy came in and plopped right next to the man. He made no move to greet the trespasser.

Seeing her friend in an angry frenzy, Mercy rolled her eyes. She propped her heels on the sofa with her knees up, digging into her purse for something. When she found it, a foul smell surfaced in the room. The smell caught Pierce off guard, feeling a sense of familiarity. Looking at the woman who already very stoned, Pierce smirked.

"Already fucked?" He laughed.

"You look more fucked then me," she retorted, leaning into the sofa and facing the non-existent TV. "What happened? Got bored and played until your dick ran dry?"

"More or less." The man responded sarcastically, earning a hum from Mercy. "That damn blonde interrupted again."

"Oh, the boring sheriff?" Mercy asked, Pierce nodded, not even looking up. "That mans a fucking buzz kill. I wouldn't be surprised if he started liking the hero more than he should. They're both boring."

"Wait," Pierce turned in her direction with a raised eyebrow. "Like? Since when did the sheriff take interest in Oxzy out of all people? He hates the hero."

"It's obvious he dislikes Oxzy a whole bunch." Mercy responded, but she kept going. "Only now, he seems to be everywhere he is. Like today, he was in Daylight where Oxzy was right?"

"Right.." Pierce shook his head. He didn't want to believe it yet Mercy almost seems to be right. The thought prickled at him, thinking about the interest Milo had towards Oxzy. If they were becoming more close.

"You're burning." Mercy's voice surfaced through him, Pierce caught on. Looking at his arms, his skin grew red making his shirt burn with light smoke coming from it. "You can't be that serious about that relationship. I mean, Milo is gonna get mad at him over something you caused and poof! No more friends for Oxzy."

Seems about right. Pierce watched as the woman on his sofa let out smoke from her mouth. She closed her eyes in relaxation, leaning onto the sofa with a numbing mouth full. The villain noticed the woman drift off, her face smoldering in the sofa as no response came after that.

The villain felt himself have too much energy, he could take a hit and pass right out. Only he didn't feel like it. He had too many emotions right now, and that was dangerous for him and everyone around.

He traveled up to his non-roofed room, sitting up on his bed and facing the sky, the man pulled his phone out. Once again, Rosamee's voice broke through the silent air. The villain let his body relax, his body cooled off like he was dropped into cold water.

The emotions that were all over him turned to only one.

Comfort.

~The Grubs, Warehouse~

The young man brushed off his jeans that were littered in dust. He was in the back room of his gang's hangout and "workplace", the young man finished cleaning his pants before opening his door to an unwelcome guest.

The woman had her arms crossed, her hair behind her ear showed her long burn scar on her face. Felix gave a joking smile. "You're not Mercy."

The woman, Octavia, gave a low grumble and an eye roll. "Why would you invite that bitch?"

Felix gave a smile and welcomed his older sister in the small room. "I like her!"

Octavia came in and sat on the connecting seat where a desk lay in the middle of the room. She didn't say anything else, her head down and face a mash of annoyance and discomfort. Felix rolled onto the spinning chair next to her, pushing himself to the closed off shelf where the reason his older sister visited lay.

Felix pulled out the pouch and set it in front of his sister. Leaning back into the chair with a smug and relaxed expression, Octavia raised an eyebrow. Felix motioned to it with his hand, "that's it."

Octavia made a face. "Have you tested it out? It looks too small to do as much damage as you explained it did."

"Oh yeah we tested it on a rat who kept spreading lies about Pierce. And trust me, it worked a lot better than I imagined." Felix spun in the chair, a smile clear on his face. Octavia asked a question, ignoring the fact her stomach flipped in knots when looking at her little brother's expression. "The reaction is hard to explain. You'll have to see it in action to understand the full effect."

She looked up at him, fear behind her eyes. Felix tilted his head, "I have someone we could use-"

"No," Octavia replied quickly, closing her eyes.

Felix looked back at her, dumbfounded. "Isn't that why you're here?"

"It-" Octavia thought for a second. Knowing Felix would jump and overreact in a way that scared her, she gave a tight smile. "I want Corbin here to see it with me. We can do it maybe tomorrow, but I just wanted to know how much you have."

Felix relaxed a little at the exclamation, pulling the pouch back on the shelf and waving his hand in front of the window to the small room. The door opened and a tall, tattooed man walked in. "Yo Alex, how much is in the back again?"

The man Alex gave a tight face, shaking his head he looked away from the man on the chair. "About 2 pounds or less. The men are making more but it takes months for the drug to fully be effective."

Felix spun back to Octavia. "That answers your question?"

The sister nodded, her hands sweating but her mind a bit clearer. "Yes," she looked up to her brother who shooed the tall man away. "Is mom and Azeral in on this as well?"

"Mom knows really well and is part of the project." Felix said with a yawn.

"Is… Dad?" Octavia cringed lightly saying the word.

Felix burst into a laugh, shaking his hand while holding his stomach, he tried to catch his breath. "D-Dad!? Ha- that old man would spill the beans if we told him!"

Octavia took that as a no. She pulled out the papers that were filed in her purse, handing them to the laughing boy who soon let the noise die. He stopped, a smile on his face as he took them. "Are these?"

"Half." Octavia replied quickly.

Felix's smile dropped. "Half?" He replied rather quickly, his teeth showed as he scanned the top half. "I asked for all his files!"

"Look, that's all I could get! The man could only find those." She put her hands up in defense and Felix shook his head, dropping the papers on the desk in front of him. "I'm guessing Milo is hiding the rest for his protection."

"That damn sheriff can be so annoying." Felix put his hand on his head, scanning the papers and crumbling them. "I already know this about him!"

He spat the words out, flying off his chair and smacking the papers in anger. He looked back to his fearful sister who had rolled herself up. "I need to know where he lives! Who he is close to! Everyone knows this!"

"Yeah, and no one knows where he lives Felix!" Octavia yelled out, shaking her head, she shrunk back into the small seat. "That's all I could get-"

"Well if you want the drug. You have to get everything."

Octavia felt her skin crawl and her eyes shot open, same with her body as she lifted from the chair with her arms up. "That wasn't the deal Felix!"

"Deals change." Felix replied shortly, all smiles and joy gone off his face. He turned to his older sister. "Get it all, then we will talk."

~Formay, Police station~

The sheriff entered the station hours after the fire incident near Oakway. The men in uniform were exhausted, littered with ash and limbs shaking, they went to the changing rooms. Only Jamisen stopped to watch as his sheriff went straight to his desk.

He gulped before stepping forward. "Sir, you can look back after changing, you have cuts on your arms."

"I'll be fine." Milo grumbled out, his eyebrows deep in thought. Or what Jamisen thought was so, only the sheriff was angry. Pissed and disappointed in himself, he huffed while shoving papers around.

Jamisen sighed, turning to the doors of the back where lockers lay for the men in uniform. He left the blonde in his hustle, Milo didn't know what he was looking for, but he needed something to keep his mind off the hero. He couldn't help but feel angry at the man, he tried to be more open and willing to show him all the cases. Only Oxzy gave him nothing in return. The least he could do was listen to the officer, even if Milo decided not to be forceful anymore, he still was unnerved at Oxzy rejecting him.

How could he react any other way? He didn't like feeling angry at the beautiful man, so he focused on work in front of him. Focused his anger on Pierce's doing.

People in this town would look at Oxzy in frustration for the mess's and their source of anger instead of Pierce. The man who started it all. Milo didn't want to be like them, he had feelings for the hero, he wanted the man to trust him, to see him as different. So he had to be different.

He won't make the hero do things he couldn't control.

But he wanted something in return.

His hand stopped right above a paper he recognized. The pile that was on his desk was recruited to fill in Ronny's spot. He hadn't taken the time to look through all of them, he was too focused on Oxzy. Now that he wanted to distract his mind, the blonde sat down and looked closer at the information in front of him.

He pushed papers with low information away, sliding good looking people and a good background under his elbow. The rest had only two papers laid in front of him. He skimmed the information once again.

One man stuck out to him. His lips formed into a tight line, trying to figure out why the man looked out of place. Out of every other man on the papers beside him or under him, it was all in between. Not too much information, a good deed of background and a right amount of past experience.

It was the best option.

Milo realized he had to have the guy take the position, he shook off the thoughts that crawled within his mind saying bad things. He had to have someone take the place quickly, the station was losing concentration and now that Milo pulled his head back, trying to distract his mind on his duties. It all came clear to him.

He stood up, walking into the lockers and called out for the man. The man's papers were in his hand as he walked past his officers who nodded respectfully while dressing. He spotted the man when nearing the end of the lockers, turning in his heels, he called his name once again.

Jayce Keel, he was an average height with dull ginger hair, shaved underneath and a neat smile on his freckled face. He looked clean, proper almost as if he was ready for anything. He was ready when Milo called for him. Jayce stopped talking, facing Milo and his eyes narrowed for any command.

"Yes sir?" He stated, nodding to Milo.

Milo felt himself smile, seeing someone promising. "Are you up for becoming the third in command?"

The words made his eyes wide, he earned some 'whoops' and 'awes' along the walls. His lips turned up and his eyes shined. Seeing the attention on him, he nodded, straightening his back and focusing on Milo only. "It would be an honor sir!"

"Good," Milo replied. "You have a meeting with me tomorrow morning. I hope to see you ready, bright and early officer Jayce."

"Yes sir!" His voice was right and proud, a light smirk on his freckled face as he watched the blonde officer leave the room. His thoughts were anywhere but there.

~Cleoi, Oxzy's apartment~

The man stumbled down onto the end of a ramp that led to his small living room. He slipped, catching himself on the railing, he turned down the steps and quietly traveled to his window.

He made it there quietly, no one saw him so he was safe. He opened the unlocked window and tumbled inside. His feet caught himself, catching onto his couch that laid in front of the open window.

Oxzy was now inside, limping his way to his room, he turned the light on to see his way to the twin bed that was in the middle of the small room. The fluffy cat with a pink collar was slumbering silently on the gray covers. Her ear twitched when she caught the scent of her master.

Oxzy felt his lips curl up when seeing his cat stretch and wake up, she sat down, leaning her head to rub Oxzy's finger that was in front of her. He rubbed under her neck, kissing the soft kitty on the head with a small smile.

No matter how much he wanted to plop onto his bed and sleep for a few years, Oxzy knew better than to do so. If he went to his bed, he would fall asleep before cleaning himself up. Then he would regret it in the morning. So as slowly as he could, Oxzy traveled to the bathroom that was connected to his room and began to undress.

Blood and rips in his skin ran all over his body. Most were old, a few were new. The hero ignored the marks that held memories he wanted to forget and turned on the shower.

After finishing, it took him almost half an hour to get ready for bed. He had bandaged his new sores and cuts so they wouldn't be infected before feeding Kamari, and fixing up her cage as she had begun to rip her bedding once again. That made the hero smirk, shaking his head, he filled her bowl with pebbles and dried fruit.

The sound caused the snoozing kitten to crawl forward, she put her head in the cage, beginning to smell and noble at the rodent's food. Oxzy noticed her and giggled when he noticed that Kamari let her do so. The fluffy rat let the cat sniff at her food, the owner lifted the cat from her belly up and away from the cage.

He dropped her next to his bedside desk where she had her own food and water bowl in its own cabinet. The cat ate her own food, letting Oxzy go back to Kamari, he closed the cage, keeping it unlocked so the rat could leave when it wanted.

He knew that if Kamari was "trapped" in there, it would bore her which results in the teared bedding. He trusted Cirilla May not to attack or hurt the creature as she never showed any signs of aggression to any living things. What he didn't exactly trust was Kamari on her bed.

So as long as he was here, sleeping on his mattress, the rat wouldn't go on there. So he began to let her out every night for her to fair with Cirilla.

Finally dropping onto his bed that was a mess from the cat's lazy sleeping, Oxzy let his whole body and mind rest. His body rested quickly, his arms lay beside him limp, mind traveling as he took in the silence around him.

Waiting…

Waiting for what? What did he want at this moment?

He grumbled to himself, just wanting to sleep at this moment. That's what he wants, that's what he needs. But of course, it does not come when he needs it. The hero wanted a break, break from the outside, from the memories of trauma this town had given him without a care.

Thanks to his growing anger and grief, Oxzy had subconsciously thought back to his mother. His beautiful mother was God's gift to this cursed place he grew up in. The only good thing out of everything from this town was his mother, Genna was everything he wanted to be.

Kind, loving, faithful, pure, and most of all, honest.

Genna had believed her son was all of it. Only he wasn't honest at all. He hid his real thoughts, his true feelings. The villain would laugh at him, call him words that his mocking tone carried each time he opened his mouth.

Thinking of the villain, Oxzy growled under his breath when the man invaded his thoughts. Pierce always found some way to travel within his mind at unwelcomed times. The worst part was that Oxzy didn't know how to stop thinking about him.

Even if Oxzy hated and despised the man with spiky red hair and colored, inked arms and neck, he always had Pierce on his mind. It was something Oxzy was very cautious about. He had to remember that Pierce existed at all times. The evil man could start anything at any time like he did today.

Out of nowhere, Pierce started a fire and burned people. For what reason?

Boredom? Probably.

No matter how much Oxzy tried to believe that Pierce had more deep thoughts into his actions, he doesn't even believe himself.

The villain was so unpredictable. And above all, crazy in every sense of his dirty mind.

Oxzy felt his sore body flinch. Thinking back to their fight, the crude comments the man had made during their tussle made his flush. Pierce found the worst things to say at the most unbelievable times. It completely threw Oxzy off guard every time.

Even now, away from the fight, he couldn't help but think back to that moment. To those words and that stupid smile Pierce gave him.

His body began to grow hot, something began to hurt below him.

Oxzy's eyes shot open at his reaction from his body. Sitting up straight and fast, he welcomed the aches and shouts from his body.

Stop it! He cursed himself, looking at his pants, he couldn't believe he reacted this way. He immediately pulled his forearm close to himself, using his hand to scratch and tear at his skin, it shot pain through him which is what he wanted.

Pain.

Pain to ignore his body's disgusting reaction. Not only was he growing hot from the thought of a man treating him in a way, but that man was the VILLAIN. The main cause of his depressing life. It was unspeakable, Oxzy knew the gods or anyone would shun in disgust at his body's lewd reaction.

Even with the pain, Oxzy still felt stiff. He decided to chock it up to being pent up and alone for years. He hadn't had a partner or slept with anyone for ages. Thanks to that, he grew sensitive to slight thoughts. It wasn't an excuse, but the hero refused to release himself in shame.

No way would he think of the villain in any way and go along with it.

Pierce was the insane one, not him.