V.I.R.A.L

Iris had managed to slip away from the Safeties while they were entirely focused on Zinnia. Seeing the city on fire and more enemies on patrol kept her on her feet. Hiding under a water tank avoiding the threat and now the sudden downpour, Iris waited a short while until she was sure the coast was clear.

As the sun began to set, Iris climbed out from safety scaling the building landing in a back alley. The moment she did, a voice taunted her. "You kept me waiting, Iris."

Spinning on the spot, Iris stumbled, falling on her back as Alton approached from the darkness. "Alton… How did you find me?!"

"I thought that was obvious from the start. I allowed the safeties to only focus on Zinnia; doing so gave me an easy time following you. We need to talk, alone." Iris looked, scouting her every surrounding only for it all to be blocked off by pillars of ice. "Don't bother; you cannot escape."

"Yeah, well…. We'll see about that." Iris whispered, turning on Alton sending her cube towering towards him. Meant to only stun him, Iris couldn't bring herself to strike down one of her oldest friends and ally.

Alton took advantage of this, catching the cube clenching it tight holding it up for Iris to see. Slowly but surely, the cube began to freeze over before Alton shattered it to pieces. Dropping it to his side, he shook his head, pushing his long white hair back. "If you intend on stopping me, then you must do it with the conviction to kill. Like this."

Lunging forward, Alton ripped through Iris, digging his hand right through her chest. Her eyes widened as she coughed up, blood falling to the floor bleeding out. Flicking his arm Alton look down, tutting. Iris was mortified, looking down at her chest only to find the wound gone. "What…. But, impossible."

"Stop acting like a baby; it's raining, or did you forget what I could do back during my fight against Paradox? Even if I did kill you, this is nothing more than a dream. You'd just wake up with a painful headache. Now, if you're done with your little act of bravery." Iris shot to her feet, pressing herself against the wall of the alley, panting, holding her neck, gasping for air. Sweat trickled down her face as her heart was racing with pure unfaulty fear. She couldn't even bring herself to talk. Alton noticed this. "You're aware of this world, right? You spent a fair amount of time in Archie's made-up world before we broke you out. I, too, was a pawn to that. He used this power to manipulate, torture and defy his enemies into submission. Do you honestly believe I intend on doing the same?"

Iris stared at Alton, still dazed, as she shook her head with a simple word. "No."

"Good. I'm glad we're all on the same page. Archie was a coward; he couldn't nor wouldn't fight his own battles. He'd hide behind his curtain in his emerald city while his victims would be following the yellow brick road to doom. I'm not like that, you know that, Iris. You know me; I just want you to understand."

"Understand…. Understand. You just almost killed me. You're not. You're not!" Iris cried, even more, terrified.

She squirmed as Alton pulled her in for a one-way hug, his hand running down the back of her head. "Shh, shh. It's alright. It's okay. You know everything I do is for the people I care about, Iris. You, Alice, Zinnia. Everyone in Rhinefield is precious to me. I'll do anything to protect them, anything. You may believe in an early false ideology about this world. That all of this is evil and under the Garden's influence. It is not; this is a world where the Garden nor Fairy-Tale exists. I consider that peace in our time, no fighting, no conflict, no wars. Paradise, as in Garden terms true Salvation. If you would just sit down and appreciate the work put into this world and flush out the past, you'd learn this world isn't like anything we've fallen victim to. People are happy; they are free."

Iris fell back, pressed up against the wall looking up at Alton, panting. "It's all a lie; they are living out a world not their own."

"I understand that. But tell me, Iris can you prove your world is any more real than this one? If the world we've lived in, fought in, lost in was fake as well would you be so eager to break free? The way I see it, any reality can be your reality if you wish it to be. A dream is just our realisations and ambitions made real for a few short hours until you're snatched back into the truth."

"I know what's real. I know! People should be allowed to choose, to choose to return whenever they want!"

"I couldn't agree more," Alton stated, holding his hand out, breaking Iris' connection with the world. She gasped out, finding herself back in the worn-down hideout sitting beside Zinnia and Harmony. She took serval deep breaths rubbing her eyes back home. Or so it seemed. Opening her eyes again, each of her friends was replaced with Alton standing there with a judgemental look. "But of course, who would want to go back?"

Iris was plunged back into the world she never left, crashing into the streets, unable to move. Alton began floating around her, smiling to himself. "Stop this."

Alton landed on the floor, his back to Iris. "But why would we stop for? I've solved world peace; I've achieved what all men sought out their entire lives to find. A purpose, mine is to protect everyone from the greed and might of the Garden. Think of the possibility and perspective we can bring together. Families reunited with their long-lost loves. A new sense of joy and security to everyone's lives. No corruption or scheming from V.I.R.A.L, no slight possibility of the Garden returning and tearing everything you hold dear away. You can live happily." Stepping away, Iris flinched as Hans and a woman with beautiful long brown hair and silver eyes stood hand in hand. Alton looked at them with a smile. "It can all be yours, Iris, yours forever. All you have to do is convince the others. I want to help them, nothing more. Once they realise that this resistance and pointless fighting can stop. Take this." Iris has forced a watch onto her wrist, which was seemly broken at the time, not moving. "All you have to do is set the clock to three minutes past midnight, and I'll have the location of your friends."

"But I…."

Iris went to speak her mind only for Alton to cover her mouth, shaking his head. "Nah, ah, ah. Don't give me an answer now. The choice is forever in your court, Iris. Take your time and think it over. I can sense the pain and guilt you hold over what happened in Rhinefield. You blame yourself for what happened. You don't have to anymore, make the right choice and save the world. And then you can be with the ones who mean the most to you forever. Now run along. Run along, run home and spread the word of Alton Brantley. Act out his vision Iris Hawthorne and finish what I started!"

Iris scurried to her feet, running through the streets, not looking back as Alton's plea ran through her ears for the whole journey."

****

Sam and Destiny had arrived just shy of midday at Rhinefield Station, ready to begin the operation. They had taken a different train from Marco to keep him from being paranoid. But regardless, they had come across him waiting at the ticket machine for his date. Hiding behind a set of pillars, Destiny had a pair of binoculars out as she began scouting the area. "No sign of a potential girlfriend in sight."

Sam looked around, also feeling slightly deflated, seeing dozens of girls walking and talking. "Anyone could be the so-called Maya."

"Or no one. Keep an eye out for creeps looking to catfish our beloved loser."

Sam and Destiny went back to the search, only for Sam to turn when someone tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me? Umm, what are you doing?"

The two turned, seeing Alice standing there with a confused smile. She wore a long flowery dress and had her now blonde hair down to her waist tied together at the end. Her eyes were of a single colour being navy blue. She generally had a much more mature and upbeat look to her than Alice in the real world. Destiny tried thinking of a good excuse muttering anything that came to mind. "Birdwatching…."

"Indoors? That seems rather weird?"

Sam stared blankly at Alice, only for sharp pains to run through her head as memories clouded in fog and haze bleed into her mind. Shaking her head, she whispered quietly. "Alice?"

"Alice?" She responded, taken back. "Was that a lucky guess? Sorry to burst your bubble, but my name is Maya…. Oh, look at me getting distracted. I was meeting someone. Excuse me."

Alice ran off as Destiny's jaw dropped as she pivoted, watching Alice meeting with Marco. Taken back, she leaned against the pillar, shellshocked. "There's no way. No fucking way this is possible. He's paying her, or she's using him or whatever! That's Maya?! Am I going crazy…? Sam, what's wrong? You're crying…."

Sam held herself up with the support of the pillar panting. She felt her cheek as tears were pouring down.

Don't worry about that. The name's Sam. I won't tell anyone."

"Sam…"

"So, you gonna tell me your name?"

"Brantley. Alton Brantley."

"I'm fine…." Sam whispered, wiping her eyes. "I don't know what came over me."

"Alright then, well…. The mission isn't over yet. We know who this Maya chick is now. Our next line of operation is to make sure nothing happens to Marco. Let's move on the double!"

Destiny ran off as Sam slowly walked behind, still holding her head in pain, confused. "Alice…. Alton…. Who are you two, and why do those names hurt so much?"