V.I.R.A.L

Zinnia sat curled up, staring at Alton, looking even more conflicted than ever. The concept of this all still hadn't come clean with her nor the memories she had on. Sniffing, she jumped, seeing Iris walking in as she wiped her eyes. "Oh, did you want some alone time? I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's fine…. I was just struggling to cope, you know, with everything going on…. The Garden won't stop, will they?"

Iris sat next to Zinnia shaking her head. "No. I don't think they will…. Not unless we stop them."

"I was gone for so long that I had forgotten just how desperate everyone was here. Vanguard, Gemini, Eyes Over Reality, Hans, Ragnar…. All the enemies we stopped in the past all felt so easy and simple. We came close to losing, but we would always win at the end of the day. These days we're not so lucky. First my father…. Then Emil. I'm still so useless even to this day I have to have people constantly protecting me like some damsel in distress…."

"Emil…. No. That can't be. How did it?"

Zinnia kept wiping her face tearing up at the thought. "We were idiots thinking we could trust Henry. We were desperate in taking down a Stage of Grief without any idea of what that meant. We just jumped to the conclusion Henry would help. We would take the Stage and walk away unscathed. He was playing us all from the start, and when it came to an end, we were always two steps behind. He stole Jehovah's Stage for his own gain. We tried escaping, and Emil stayed behind to fight. Even then, his death was for nothing, we couldn't escape, and I thought I was going to die…. I couldn't do a damn thing again!"

Iris stood up, clenching her fist. "Will you get a hold of yourself?!"

Zinnia startled looked up, whispering. "Iris…."

"You're not the only one who lost Zinnia; we all have! The Garden escaped because I couldn't stop Acceptance from taking me. Now I got Monty killed, Alton trapped in a mental battle. I haven't heard from my own sister in months. She could be dead or worse, and I have no idea. I have to live with the realisation all these deaths and losses are my fault…. But I'm not lying down crying; I'm making amends for those mistakes no matter the cost."

Iris stormed out, leaving Zinnia dazed. Wiping her eyes again, she stopped hearing a dry laugh. "That girl is the spitting image of her sister. It's quite scary." Bargaining spoke.

Zinnia laughed at this, nodding. "She sure is…."

"She's not wrong, though. If you had defeated Acceptance five months ago, none of this would have happened. The Syndicate girl would still be alive, Emil, your father. No one would have fallen. Imagine the amount of guilt that must linger on in your brain?"

"Have you been feeding that trauma to her all this time?"

"I'm no monster. I would never do that to my sister. Well, technically, she's my sister, I digress. Are you even sure you're up for the task? I mean, just look at you falling apart without a moment notice? How pathetic."

Zinnia nodded in agreement, whispering. "When the Garden struck 400 years ago when my parents fought the same battle to save the world, what went through their heads?"

Bargaining stayed silent, giving it some thought as he took a long-winded breath. "You know what, I have no idea…. I was too scared to ask, but if they were, they didn't show it. Your parents were heroic suicidal maniacs to the very end."

"I'm happy to hear that. I strive to be even remotely like them. I still try, but with each passing day, when this gets harder, I question, am I strong enough to be the heroes they were?"

Bargaining looked up to the night sky tutting. "No one said it would be easy. That much was clear, I didn't know your parents for long, but even I could tell how afraid they were. You would be stupid not to be, but they didn't let it show. If heroes are breaking down and afraid, what sort of message does that show to the others who aren't. It's not just about saving people and stopping evil. You also got to battle your own problems and hide them away. No one cares for a hero's problems. The public just wants to be saved."

"Now it sounds like your describing streamers."

"What's the difference? I mean, seriously, I'm still trying to figure this one out. You both run around in stupid outfits fighting evil, if you fail or fall victim to the pressure, people cast you aside, and you've forgotten. You hold reasonability to help others who require that. You go around saying you wanted to bring the age of heroes back, but the way I see it. That age never left." Bargaining exclaimed, hands in his pockets. "It was nice."

"Huh?"

"It was nice living here on earth, even if it was just for a little bit. For as long as I could remember, our goal was to fight. To put down threats to our people time and time again. Fairy-Tale, The Garden. It didn't make a difference. It was the same shit different civilisation. I thought the humans would be like that too, but I was pleasantly surprised to find them kinder and more desperate to cling to life than others. Humans die so easily clinging onto beliefs while our race cast those away to live for as long as possible. I think I know how I want to go out; what about you?"

Zinnia nodded to this. "I do…. You're not as bad as I thought, Adam. Were you friends with my parents?"

"I wouldn't go that far; your father did try to kill me. I never quite knew why…. Regardless the feeling is the mutual daughter of Kurt and Hannah."

Smiling, Zinnia stopped scorning Bargaining. "This doesn't change anything; we aren't friends."

"Thank God for that on- No…. it can't be." The room exploded as Bargaining jumped back, avoiding the destruction of a freight train crashing into the ground. As it made contact, it began to glitch, fading away. "Damn it, I would have thought we had more time."

Zinnia looked at her, gasping as her worse fears came true. "My my isn't this a pleasant delight. Oh, I can taste the bliss at the tip of my tongue. The chance to find you again, Zinnia, doesn't come by chance. It was destined I would find you and kill you for good."

Iris and the others rushed in dazed. "What the hell?! Don't tell me that's Henry!"

Jehovah stared on, clenching her hand. "Him again."

"Ha, ha, ha! So many new faces, so many to fall under my power! Relish, in fact, at what I can accomplish; not even that prick Alton Brantley can hold me back. Speaking of which." Teleporting next to Alton, he rested his hand on Alton's chest, smirking. "Most people would hate the idea of killing their foe when they are down. Luckily for Alton, I'm not like most people."

Going to kill Alton, Henry suddenly stopped teleporting back, holding his chest. "What's this feeling? Don't tell me…. Yes, there's another me here. How simply marvellous!"

Where Henry once stood a dozen, blades were stabbed into the ground as Bargaining walked forward. "So, you're the new Denial I've heard so much about. I'm really not impressed; I quite honestly preferred Jehovah."

"You…. Who are you?"

"I represent one of the Five Stages of Grief like yourself. I take hold of the sin of Bargaining; such petty games are not my forte, and I have no use for you at this current moment in time. I'm only going to warn you once, leave."

Henry raised his eyebrow, giggling away, holding his stomach pointing to Bargaining. "Don't you dare talk down to me like you are stronger? I am Eyes Over Your Reality, the strongest fighter in the world."

Bargaining turned around, pointing to Harmony and Tempo. "I know you two the least, so I quite frankly don't care if this kills you. Take these." The two caught a set of rings, looking confused. "Technology from my homeland. Use it when you're only in the direst circumstances…. Jehovah, can I trust you to break into Alton's pocket world?"

"I think so."

"Good. You all go and complete the mission. I'll keep our guest busy." Bargaining ordered, turning back to Henry. "This shouldn't be an issue."

"Adam!" Zinnia yelled, looking troubled. "Don't you dare die! Eve would be upset if you did."

Bargaining laughed at this as Jehovah took all of their hands kneeling down as everyone began to sleep. Keeping direct concentration on Alton, she too slipped into a deep sleep infiltrating Alton's world with the last echo of her Stage. "Now then, sorry to keep you waiting."

Looking in disgust, Henry spat, calling upon his illusion magic. "You side with such pathetic weaklings; why would someone like you swoop that low. Are you that weak you have to look for their help?"

"Not bad kid, you sure act and sound like a Stage of Grief. The Logic of the One suits you down to a T. However." He boasts as serval giant grand golden doors appear slowly opening as a marvel of weapons began to appear stabbing into the ground as well as hovering around them. "You cannot even begin to understand what I'm doing here. This goal is over 1000 years in the making, and I'm not about to let some hack who got lucky too low to fight his own battles get the best of me. I must thank you; however, you've saved me the job of hunting you down later and taking what's rightfully mine. Your reign as Denial ends here, Henry Truman, for as short as it was relish in the thought that you will help achieve my goal."

"I'll wipe that smug attitude from you when you're nothing more than a corpse!"

Henry went in for a striking blow as Bargaining held his arms out, taunting him. "Bring it, show me what the next Denial is capable of!"