Negative Awakening.

Vonn's gaze was as lifeless as the ash that coated his skin. His back leaned against the rough wall, his body a map of bruises and cuts that throbbed in unison with his racing heart. 

He had actually been awake for a while now, his bloodshot eye, vacant and unfocused, stared into the distance, as if gazing into the abyss that had swallowed his soul.

The ground beneath him was damp and cold, seeping into his bones like a winter's chill. Bugs crawled across his wounds, feasting on his blood and sweat.

The memory of Akari's brutal death still lingered immensely, as Vonn was constantly being tormented by the picture of the horrifyingly twisted expression on her crushed face.

However, amidst the silent torment, the view that currently embraced his sight made him feel more unease,

The man in futuristic military-like gear and puffy pants lying on the rubble and casually swinging a piece of wood toward the sky looked mysterious, but even worse, Janet his mother knelt seemingly immobile on the ground, with some lady in a black sleeveless top, and similar looking black, silky, puffy pants as the man, looming before her.

Vonn's unease morphed into disgust as he observed the woman remove her top. He was gradually getting a grasp of the situation, his expression souring even further as he witnessed the lady caress her breasts before kneeling in front of his mother.

Now, Katarina proceeding to cup Janet's cheeks in her palms ignited an instant surge of pure rage within Vonn.

Biting his lips in anger, Vonn's fingers immediately dipped into the cold rubble beneath him, searching desperately for something hard and liftable. 

Vonn's palms sliced multiple times against jagged edges, but he didn't flinch, his bloodshot gaze unwavering from Janet.

By the time he actually found something–a rod, visibly the surviving remainder of a signpost–the lady was already licking Janet's face with her tongue.

At least, that's what it looked like from Vonn's point of view.

Vonn's lower lip bled from his clenched bite as he tightened his grasp on the rod and sprang up in a fury.

Ignoring his body's protests, he charged towards Katarina without hesitation.

But as he rushed forward, a thought struck him–had he ever been this aggressive before?

Vonn's mind raced as he tried to recall a time when he'd felt such intense anger and aggression.

Even in his past life, he'd always been the type to laugh off adversity and endure any feces thrown on him with a smile.

Why was he feeling this way now? 

While some things do piss him off at times, he had never felt so much anger and contempt in his heart.

So much that even ending this lady's life wouldn't seem to contain.

Was it an effect from witnessing Akari's gruesome death?

Or perhaps the notion of not wanting to see anything bad happen to the last one of the two people in the whole world who ever showed him genuine love and concern had awakened such a negative personality within him.

Vonn too, couldn't understand why he felt how he felt, but the one thing he was very certain about was that nothing could stop him from bashing that lady's head in.

"Leave her alone, you crazy bitch!!" Vonn yelled, shooting both his hands back, readying his rod to strike, and suddenly,

WOOSH!

He swung it right towards Katarina's bareback in an instant, even before she could react to his yell, the tip blurred from the speed.

But just before the strike connected with its victim, 

TWAAK!

A hand with an unseen speed intercepted the rod, halting its descent mere inches from Katarina's body.

VVith a sickening crunch, Vonn's hand twisted at an unnatural angle, breaking with a loud snap.

"Arrrghhhhkk!!" Vonn screamed in pain as he let go of the rod, his hand throbbing in agony. He crumpled to the ground, clutching his broken hand to his chest. 

Katarina turned, surprise etched on her face, 

Vonn, the kid whom she had saved from the mutanaut earlier, now clutched his arms crying in pain, her partner looming over him with a smile. 

He turned to her and added;"Worry not, my angel. This lover of yours has grown a gig for dramatic rescues under this moon, apparently." Chris said with an arrogant smile.

"What an eyesore. So gloaty over every little thing." Katarina uttered. 

Glancing at Vonn who retched in pain, Katerina frowned, looking back to Chris, she added; "Was there really a need to go this far? He's only a little boy, you shameless cunt. He was probably just trying to save this lady."

Suddenly, her frown twisted into a warm, convincing smile when she looked back at Vonn."Hey, sweetpie. I was not going to harm this woman. Is she your mom?.. Aunt?–"

"–Shut your mouth, you dirty bitch!!" Vonn interrupted her with an angry yell, and with fierce determination, he crawled towards the rod, his eye fixed on it with a fierce intensity. He reached to pick it up once again, but

SLAAM!

Time seemed to slow as Chris's iron boot came down cold on Vonn's face, the impact like a sledgehammer. Vonn's head snapped back, the slim rope that held the eyepatch to his face sliced, his nose cracking under the force of the blow. 

He felt a sickening crunch as his facial bones shattered, his vision blurring at the edges.

With a pained groan, he was sent flying across the ground, his back colliding hard against a broken pole, a jarring force that knocked the breath from his lungs.

A sharp cry of pain escaped Vonn as he felt the searing agony radiate from his spine, causing him to arch involuntarily.

His eyepatch was gone, revealing his now bloodied, creepily empty eye socket. His body crumpled to the ground, blood surging into his mouth, a metallic taste flooding his senses as he retched. He coughed, feeling the warm liquid spill over his lips.

Desperation clawed at Vonn as he struggled to focus his view which was now blurred by the blood which covered his face, the world spinning in dizzying circles around him. 

He could feel the blood pooling beneath his head, a dark contrast against the pavement. 

"Youuu!" Vonn uttered with clenched teeth, his bloodied eyes still piercing towards Katarina as he struggled to gather his strength, his broken arm trembling as he pushed against the ground, desperate to rise.

But just when he gained some footing, Chris's metallic boot slammed down on his back, knocking his stomach back, flat against the ground, his face also crashing down from the recoil, forcing the breath out of his lungs in a strangled gasp.

At the impact, unable to withhold it further, Vonn vomited, the sickening mixture splattering onto the ground beneath him.

Chris stood tall, pinning Vonn down with one leg, now faced backwards, opposite Janet and Katerina. "This one looks thin, but he's very durable, Kate. You don't need to worry about him. Boy's HV corp material," he said, glancing back at Katerina with a grin, bracing himself for her usual stream of curses.

"Bastard. I ain't marrying you if you end up killing that innocent kid. How can you even call yourself a hero of humanity?"

The man was taken aback by what he had just heard this woman say, 

How could the same woman who had broken a code of the organization, and had even taken off her battle gear to sexually molest some civilian lady say that to him?

Chris felt a torrent of words bubble up but chose to swallow them for the sake of peace. 

"Sure thing, ma'am, he won't die. Just be quick with whatever it is you're doing over there. I'll hold im down." Chris said, simply waving with a smile, every single one of his teeth visible.

Katarina clicked her tongue in dismay, her eyes narrowing as she turned back to Janet.

"I'm really sorry about him, okay?" she said, her voice laced with empathy. "I'll be quick here too. You need urgent medical attention. " Her expression softened, and the sincerity in her tone made it clear she was genuinely concerned for Janet's well-being.

She bent slightly, and went back to licking off the persisting drool on her chin.

Suddenly, Katarina felt something warm slide into her tongue ––a tear from Janet's cheek.

"Huh?" She uttered, genuine bewilderment flooding her features as she glanced up.

"You're crying?!" She said, irritation creeping into her voice as she noticed the glistening tears.

"What's that? You don't want me? Or is it the kid?!" She asked sharply.

Looking at Janet's tears persist, "Tch!" She clicked her tongue looking really disgusted, her grip tightening around Janet's cheeks. 

"You ungrateful bitch! Even after I just apologized. To think I just saved you from the monster too!" Katerina said, her voice laced with anger. 

She lunged forward, her lip capturing Janet's in a forceful, prolonged kiss that was both passionate and overwhelming.

Vonn, who was pinned down with his jaw broken from the attack earlier, was left in a silent scream as he watched what was happening, his pupil dilating in terror.

Of course, you'd think his gaze was focused on the sight of his mom who was being sexually assaulted, but that wasn't what Vonn was looking at.

What is that?

He pondered as he watched it, his trembling intensifying as he struggled to break free from the man.

Right at the center of the scenery, in the ruined landscape that used to be considered a road, amidst the pool of the Mutanaut's thick dark blood, Vonn witnessed some slowly growing from It.

Unlike Katarina and Chris who were facing the opposite direction, Janet seemed to be looking at it too.

Suddenly, the speed of the growth increased aggressively, and now Vonn was beginning to see.

It was the shape of the very same monster that had just recently killed his beloved friend, the only difference was that now, it looked way larger than it did the last time he saw it.

At this, Vonn was quickly reminded of the terror of the creature that had put him through so much grief.