Case #9-The Harvester’s Genocide, Part 2

One week later…

Ding ding.

The overhead bell above the door chimes as Evelyn and I enter El Coffe Cafe.

"Hey Zach," one of the baristas said to me. "Where's the entire gang?"

"Oh, we haven't been getting together lately," I answer with a small smile. "I'm too busy right now."

"Are you sure that this was a good idea?" Evelyn asks as the two of us stroll up to the counter. "It is summer break now, it would be the perfect time to keep working! Imagine all of the money we could fail to make with all the cases!"

"Yeah, I know," I shrug as I turn to face the new barista standing at the counter. "Name's Zach with an H," I say, before reciting my order.

Evelyn tells the barista her order as well, before turning back to me. "Even still, it'll be a slow summer without work," she says.

"I know," I replied as the barista handed us our drinks. "I just…need to take some time off to find myself, you know? My entire world has been shattered, and with school off, I have the perfect opportunity to do whatever I want!" I say as I throw one arm around Evelyn, causing her to raise an eyebrow at me, and wave my other hand through the air. "Maybe I'll go on a journey!"

"With what money?" Evelyn snorts as she takes a sip of her drink.

***

Last week…

"Other than that, how did you guys fare against the Twelve Zodiacs?" I ask once we're done talking about Evelyn and I.

"Well…you and I managed to beat Cancer, but then you lost to Sagittarius," Evelyn frowns.

"And Raiden and I lost to Mikoto," Circe sadly admits.

"Koga and I managed to defeat Libra, but we were too injured to keep fighting after that, and blacked out," Crimson adds.

"I heard that the Supernatural Investigators didn't fare too well either," Raiden chimes in. Agent Hexley defeated Capricorn, and Agent Sniper and Agent Kardos defeated Virgo, but Agent Smith and Agent Gaumond lost to Yamata, and you and Sniper were defeated by Sagittarius.``

"Dammit…" I grunt as I ball my hands into fists. "Why are we all…so weak…?"

Everyone else frowns.

"Not only did I learn about all this Harvester bullshit, but now my adopted brother is slaughtering his fellow Reapers? And on top of this, now we're failing case after case…" I ramble. "It's like…my entire world is crashing down at once. Things were so much easier when I was alone…"

My friends shift awkwardly from foot to foot.

"Oh, sorry!" I then say as my eyes widen and I peer up at my friends. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"We know, Zach," Evelyn replies with a sad smile. "We know."

"So what do we do now, boss?" Circe asks.

"Yeah, Zach?" Raiden asks as well. "What do we do now?"

"Where should we go from here…" Crimson sighs.

"I still need to collect your bounty…" Koga says to myself.

I look back and forth between all of my friends. "Why are you asking me?" I snap. "I'm the one who's suffering here!"

"Because you're our leader," Raiden answers, causing my eyes to widen.

"Yeah, you're our boss!" Circe chimes in. "So naturally, you're our leader!"

"Not mine…" Koga says, but we all ignore him.

"We all follow you," Crimson says.

As for Evelyn, she takes a step over to me.

"Evelyn…?" I ask, as I peer up at the girl. But Evelyn doesn't say anything, she simply slaps me across the face. "OW!" I cry as I rub my stinging cheek. "The Hell was that for?!"

"You're our leader, so act like it!" Evelyn snaps, causing my eyes to widen. "We follow you, Zach, because you've always been strong, brave, and kind. You inspire those around you, and fight for them, as well. You're not the only one who's suffering. When our boss suffers, we do, as well. If we can't help you in your time of need, then what good are we?" Tears form in the edge of Evelyn's eyes. "So please…lead us."

 I smile sadly at Evelyn. "Right…" I reply as I get up out of my seat. "I'm sorry guys, I'm being an ass," I say as I sheepishly rub the back of my neck. "But I'm better now, I know what to do."

"So where does Reaper's Paranormal go from here?" Evelyn asks.

"As of today…" I begin to say, as I look at each one of my friends. Raiden, then Koga, then Crimson, then Circe, and then finally…Evelyn. "-Reaper's Paranormal…is disbanded."

My friends are all silent.

"WWWHHHAAATTT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" They all cry.

"Disbanded?! But why?!"

"WHAT DO WE DO NOW?!"

"THIS JOB'S ALL I HAVE GOING FOR ME!"

"I LEFT MY VILLAGE…FOR THIS?!"

"I DON'T EVEN WANT YOUR BOUNTY ANYMORE!"

Everyone furiously rambles on and on, and even Koga is in distress.

"Guys, guys, please, settle down,' I say as I raise my hands up, but everyone continues shouting at me, causing me to sigh. "GUYS." I then snap, and instantly, everyone quiets down. I sigh again. "This isn't permanent," I explained. "It's only for the summer."

"But…why…?" Evelyn asks.

"My entire world has been shattered, so now, I don't know what to do," I answer. "I just…need some time to find myself."

"But what should we do?" Raiden asks.

"I don't know," I answer.

"Are we still going to see each other?" Crimson asks.

"Yeah, we'll still hang out," I answer. "We just won't be working."

"Well I know what to do!" Circe proudly exclaims. "I'm gonna work on brewing some new spells that I've been meaning to try!"

A smile spreads across my face.

"Maybe I'll go home," Koga adds. "It has been a while."

"Well, I'm going to be a Junior next year, so it's about time I started focusing on college," Evelyn pipes up. "I'll spend the summer studying."

"I'm going to train," Crimson chimes in. "I don't know what exactly, but I'll become strong enough to make sure that Reaper's Paranormal never fails another case."

"And I'll…" Raiden begins to say, but his voice trails off.

"What's the matter, Raiden?" Circe asks as she throws an arm around the wizard. "Don't know what to do."

"I…want to do something, but I don't know if I can," Raiden answers. "I want…to go speak with Mikoto, and see if I can learn anything about Lightning Magic."

"WHAT?!" Circe, Evelyn, Crimson, and Koga cry.

"You're crazy, Raiden!" Evelyn then laughs.

"That doesn't seem wise…" Koga adds.

"I know, but I can get a lot stronger if I spike with Mikoto!" Raiden blushes.

"Well I think that it's a great idea!" Circe swoons, her arm still slumped around Raiden.

I smile as I look at each one of my laughing friends. "Thanks, you guys," I say.

"For what?" Evelyn asks as she turns to face me with a smile.

"For everything," I answer.

***

"So how are you doing?" Evelyn asks.

"In what regard?" I ask as I take a sip of my drink.

"Y'know, in everything regard," Evelyn shrugs.

"I'm kinda over the whole "being adopted" thing," I admit. Hundreds of kids are adopted each day, so it's not really a big deal. I understand why my dad didn't tell me about that, but I'm still offended since he knew how much I hated being a Reaper. Not that I am one, anymore.``

"Uh-huh," Evelyn nods.

"The Harvester thing bugs me though," I continue. "I have to learn everything on my own now. Reapers have other Reapers to teach them, as well as handbooks. I have nothing I'd kill to have another person to talk to about this…"

Evelyn takes a step back.

"Not literally!" I laugh.

"The part that really gets me about all this is Ezra," I continue. "He's the son of my adopted father who not even him knows how he's alive! And on top of that, he's now going around and murdering his fellow Reapers, to boot! He also tried killing me, even though he knows I'm not a Reaper."

"If your dad thought you were dead, normally you'd want to go see him ASAP," Evelyn replies as she takes another sip of her drink. "Well…not me, a least."

"True," I reply. "None of this makes any sense. How did my dad not know his own was alive, wouldn't he have head to…discard the body, or something? And how does no one know who slaughtered the Harvesters."

"Aren't you interested in learning about who your parents were?" Evelyn asks.

"Meh, not really," I shrug. "As much as I hate him, I have a dad. I'm more interested in learning how they died, and what they were, not who."

"I wonder how Raiden's doing," Evelyn says as the two of us stroll out of the cafe.

"Yeah, we haven't heard from him in a while," I reply. "But I'm more interested in Crimson, I wonder how her training's going. Maybe I should join her, some time."

"What you really need to do is show me how to use my whip," Evelyn grumbles as she elbows me in the ribs.

"Circe, too," I continue. "I wonder how her potion-making is going."

"Poor Crimson…" Evelyn shudders. "Circe is probably making her test every single one…"

I shudder as well.

"And Koga doesn't seem to be doing anything," Evelyn adds.

"Yeah, I wonder when he'll go ho-" I begin to say, but I'm cut off when I take a look at the cup my drink came in. "Hey!" I exclaim.

"What, what is it?!" Evelny cries as she stares at the cup. But then, she bursts out laughing.

"HACK?!" I cry. "I know I said "Zach with an H," but that's not what I meant!"

Evelyn continues laughing and I continue complaining, but then, we're interrupted when a strange woman wanders over to the two of us. The woman is tall, around 5'10, and appears to be in her mid-thirties. She has long, stringy black hair and bangs tied up in a ponytail, and wears a long sleeved black shirt with four silver buttons attached to a tall collar that partially covered her chin. Over that, she wears a light gray shawl with a brown string necklace that has different shaped teeth and fangs hanging from it. She wears two dull blue belts that had a matching dull blue messenger bag attached to them. As for pants, she wears long black pants tucked into a pair of dull blue boots. But the most noticeable feature of the woman is her violet eyes with yellow pupils that had black lines circling them, as if she were wearing eyeliner, which were obstructed by a pair of black glasses.

Eyes…that look like mine.

"Can I…help you…?" I ask the woman.

"Your name…is Zach Reaper, correct?" The woman asks.

My eyes widened.

"EVELYN, GET OUT OF HERE!" I ordered.

"H-huh, why?!" Evelyn cries.

"Because when strange people come up to me and say my name, they are never up to no good!" I snap as I peer over my shoulder at Evelyn.

"R-right," Evelyn stammers, before hurrying away.

 "I was sent by the Grim Reaper," the woman says as she reaches into her messenger bag and pulls out a soul, before stuffing it into her mouth and swallowing, causing my eyes to widen. A burst of soul-blue energy then swirls around her body. The blue energy then subsides as she crouches down into a running position. Next, her legs and feet begin to glow blue as well, and then, in the blink of an eye, she chambers a fist and springs towards me. As she charges me, her fist then begins to glow blue as well, as she launches it outwards.

"SOUL FLASH!"

My eyes widen as I bring my arms up in across to block, but the woman's fist slams into me, crushing my defenses and socks me in the gut, sending me flying backwards as I spit up a glob of blood. My back slams some garbage cans behind me, sending trach flying everywhere, and I crash to the ground in a cloud of dust.

Some civilians scream while others whip out their phones to record the potential fight that is about to ensue.

"Well this is no good," the woman says as the blue glow fades. "You've lived your entire life as a Harvester fighting as a Reaper, and now, I'm going to have to unteach you how to fight."

"What…did you just say…?" I ask as I stand up to face the woman, dusting trash off of my pants.

"You heard me," she replies.

"Just…who are you…?" I ask as I narrow my eyes at the woman.

"My name…is Lucine Spyridon," she answers, causing my eyes to widen.

"And I…am your aunt."

"My…aunt…?" I softly ask. My eyes then widen. "My aunt?!" I ask again, louder this time. "MY AUNT!" I cheer as I throw my hands in the air in celebration. "This is great, now I have someone to teach me about my Harvester abilities."

"Zach!" A voice cries, and I turn around, seeing Evelyn run over to me, Behind her are Crimson and Circe.

"What are you doing, you idiot, I told you to run!" I snap.

"I thought you needed help," Evelyn explains as she stops next to me and doubles over, placing her hands on her knees and panting heavily for breath. "So I brought Crimson and Circe, the only two that I could locate."

"Is this the foe you need us to vanquish?" Crimson growls as she leers my aunt, bringing a hand up and igniting it in Hellfire.

"Oh yeah, someone else to test my new potions on!" Circe exclaims as she draws a vial, causing Crimson to shudder.

"No, guys, it's alright," I begin to say as I take a step in between Aunt Lucine and Crimson and Circe, putting a hand out to each party. "This…is Lucine, my aunt," I explain to the three girls.

"Oh my," Aunt Lucine says as she looks Evelyn, Crimson, and Circe up and down. "My nephew sure has…a lot of girlfriends."

"WHAAAAAT?!" The three girls cry.

"We are not his girlfriends!" Evelyn snaps as she places both hands on her hips.

"I'd never share a boyfriend," Crimson adds. "That is shameful."

"I'm dating RAIDEN, not Zach!" Circe pouts.

"Hell yeah they are!" I exclaim as I turn to face Aunt Lucine, earning me a whack to the back of the head by Evelyn.

"My apologies," Aunt Lucine nods to the three girls, before turning back to me.

"But wait, if you knew that I was alive, why did you wait to contact me?" I ask. "We're the only two remaining Harvesters, shouldn't we stick together?"

"Grim told me not to contact you," Aunt Lucine answers. "I owe my brother-in-law a lot."

"Brother in law!" I exclaim. "So you're my…?"

"Mother's sister," Aunt Lucine answers. "Your mother is named Rosalind Spyridon. Our eldest sister, Clarabella, married Grim and is Ezra's mother, and I am the youngest sister. Your father's name is Soul Spyridon."

"So why did Grim take me in, and not you?" I ask.

"Because Grim was grieving after the loss of his wife and son," Aunt Lucine answers. "And I hate kids."

"Oh…" I snort.

"Your father told you about your heritage and the Harvesters' Genocide, I'm assuming?" Aunt Lucine asks. "I'm guessing that's why he contacted me."

"Yeah, he told me about adopting me after the Harvesters were mysteriously wiped out," I answer.

"Mysteriously?" Aunt Lucine asks as she raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"My dad told me that no one knows who killed the Harvesters," I answer, causing Aunt Lucine's eyes to widen.

"Oh," she replies. "OH!" She then says. "Oh…" she says one more time, before walking away. "I shouldn't have come…"

"Wait!" I cry as I grab Aunt Lucine's shoulder, causing her to pause in her tracks. "You can't leave now, not when I've finally met someone that I can talk to, that would be cruel!"

"I hate kids," Aunt Lucine says as she begins walking away again, causing me to lower my hand and frown as I stare at the floor. "But, you seem like an adult," Aunt Lucine then continues as she turns around to face me, causing me to perk up. "Zach… we know who killed the Harvesters, our family," Aunt Lucine says, causing my eyes to widen.

"But then why didn't my dad tell me?!" I cry.

"Because if he did…then you would hate him, and the world," Aunt Lucine says, causing me to frown. "I can tell you the truth about the Harvesters' Genocide, but if you do, then you will hate your father from here on out, I guarantee it. Now…are you prepared to learn the truth?"

I stare at the ground for a moment, trembling. I'll…hate my dad if I learn the truth? What does that mean?! No, I already know what Aunt Lucine is going to say. Ezra, my adopted brother, my cousin, is half Harvester. Ezra was thought to be killed by the same people who slaughtered the Spyridon Clan, as well as his mother, my aunt. Ezra is now going around killing all the Reapers.

I know what Aunt Lucine will tell me.

I take a deep breath in…then out. And then, I look up to face Aunt Lucine again, as a nervous smirk washes away my doubtful expression.

"I'm an edgy teenager who's hated my dad for years," I smirk. "But I still love him. So…tell me, who killed our clan?"

Aunt Lucine gives me an approving nod. "Our clan was killed by-" she begins to say, but when she spots Evelyn, Crimson, and Circe behind me, she pauses. "Come on," she says. "Let's go back to my house. It's more quiet." And with that, Aunt Lucine turns around and begins strutting away.

"R-right," I reply as I jog after her. "Sorry guys!" I call to the three girls as I peer over my shoulder and wave. I've got more secrets to keep from you!"

Evelyn, Crimson, and Circe awkwardly look back and forth between one another as I follow Aunt Lucine away.

***

"Alright, here we are," Aunt Lucine says as she leads me into her log cabin nestled in the far corner of the South Woods, which leads out of town. "Take a seat," Aunt Lucine orders as I sit down on a straw chair.

"Now…I will tell you the story of the Harvesters' Genocide."