V.I.R.A.L

Stag was alone to her thoughts as she held her dear skull tightly, taking it off for a short breather. The crown wasn't the most comfortable piece of clothing to wear for her being heavy on the shoulders and challenging to see and breathe out of, but to her, it was essential. The door creaked open as she quickly put the skull back on, turning around finding Zinnia entering. Letting out a small ruffled sigh, she turned around, tilting her head curiously. Zinnia kept walking forward, punching Stag knocking her back as Zinnia held her up, barking furiously at her. "Why did you lie to him?! Rhapsody, Gale. You lied over and over to him and kept the truth from all of us! Why?! Was it for your own self-gain? So you could have a slave to do your bidding! Answer me before I rip that skull from your head!"

Stag looked down at Zinnia, speaking in a slow childish manner struggling to get any actual words out. "You stink. Garden."

Zinnia dropped Stag as she fell to the floor, coughing uncontrollably. "What?"

With each word, Stag would keep coughing, struggling to hold a conversation. "Garden stench all around you. Like Gale but stronger."

"This is a waste of time! You control Gale no longer!"

Stag shook her head, standing up. "I must. Protect everyone."

Zinnia snapped, slamming her fist down, knocking Stag to the ground, shattering her skull. Stag looked up, showing her face for the first time. Half of it was burnt from the nose down with one eye cloudy, clearly blind. The girl had pale skin and freckles to match her ginger hair. Her lips were bruised and dry, and her single clear eye was a chestnut brown. Realising her only protection had been shattered, Stag panicked, curling up digging her head down in between her legs, trembling. Zinnia looked pretty shocked by this feeling. The overwhelming sense of rage and anger she had shorty faded away into guilt and sorrow. "Stag…. I'm."

"Zinnia." Tempo stood at the helm of the entrance moving his finger, indicating Zinnia to follow him. "Give her some rest."

Zinnia walked out with a massive burden on her shoulder as she rubbed her face sighing. "I went too far."

"There's no point beating yourself up over it. Her name was Miley Crawford; like our old friend Alton, she too lived in Sunset Peak when it fell apart. Also, like him, she was a small-time streamer with no real fanbase. When the storm came through and killed everyone, she was one of the only survivors. She managed to last a few weeks along fighting for her life. Because of this, the storm and the will of the Garden changed her. It took part of her sight; it dampened her speech and breathing alongside her sanity. She came out a broken girl but one who survived. She gained popularity at the end of the tunnel, but in turn, she lost nearly all of her humanity."

"I…. I didn't know."

Tempo shrugged it off. "No one does apart from myself and Five. We would always assume humans were weak. That compared to even the Garden or us, they would crumble away into dust. People like Miley prove us wrong. She's strong without any influence of both factions. Even then, she is still just a girl who lost everything and tries her best to move on from the pain and torment of being back here again."

"I feel terrible now because of it…. I should apologise."

Tempo held his hand out, stopping Zinnia's remarks shaking his head. "Don't bother; Stag wants to be left alone."

"Alright…. Say Six, back when I was…. Talking to Stag, she said I had the sent of the Garden all over me. Why is that?"

"If I recall correctly, you made a pact with Bargaining years ago, correct? She could probably just sense his presences on you, nothing more."

"That would make sense, but. Our pact was cut off a few months ago once Alton became Acceptance. Bargaining told me himself our connection and deal was over."

"That is strange; well, to put it bluntly, I do sense something, could it be?" Tempo whispered, flinching as he felt a strong presence shake him to the bone. His eyes widened as he stepped back, turning on the spot. "This presence! It can't be! There's no possible way!"

Gale walked out slowly from his hut, head hung down low, a dark aura bleeding off him. Zinnia stared on, feeling uneasy, gulping. "Gale?"

Gale didn't respond, looking up with a bright smile as a shadow ripped from his back. "I am free."

****

"I found the snout a few days ago wandering the park aimlessly. I guess she didn't put into account that I'd find her. I've been debating what to do with this little devil for a few days, but now you're here. You can help decide."

"Me? Why me?"

"Why not? People make the hardest decisions best when under pressure. You seem desperate with nothing to lose. So why not let you choose. Just remember Iris, she took our homes. Slaughtered innocent people. People who did nothing wrong, people who didn't deserve to die. She was responsible for the deaths of Scarlett and Emil; they would still be here with us if it wasn't for her. She deserves to pay, does she not?"

"Yes, I mean she does…. But not like this. This isn't the way."

"I knew this one was weak, Lady Riley! She isn't worth our time!" Haggis boasted.

"Will you put a sock in its Haggis for five fucking minutes. There's no other way Iris, the Garden wouldn't spare us so easily. If we don't deal with this evil monster, who knows what she'll do. What she's capable of. She could turn on us at any moment. Take out Zinnia or Alton. Kill your sister; nothing is off the table. So, what will it be, Iris? Will you be a hero or a coward?!"

Iris turned to Jehovah conflicted, but her feelings edged towards one side. "The last time I hesitated against the Garden, Monty died…. Acceptance defeated me, and I caused all of this madness. I cannot change that. But I can make amends."

Even Riley was taken back by this, unsure if Iris had the guts. "That's right. That's right, make amends and end it."

A cube in her hand Iris looked at a petrified Jehovah, sighing. Giving her the best smile she could provide, given the situation, she winked. "Everything is going to be alright."

Turning on Riley, she was knocked back, crashing into the butcher's smashing through the glass windows as Iris stepped back, making her choice. "Lady Riley!" Haggis yelled, clocking his gun towards Iris firing. The bullet was stopped in mid-air as Riley pulled herself up, throwing pieces of meat aside, frustrated. "Lady Riley?"

Riley crossed her arms, judging Iris' choices. "So that's what you chose? You would rather protect the enemy who slaughtered our friends than end it? I see." Iris prepared for a battle, only for Riley to pat her back, nodding. "I'm glad you made the right choice, girl."

"What?"

Riley began walking away, arms out. "I'm not going to go around and pretend Scarlett meant the world to me. That her death tore me apart or any of that bullshit. Truth be told, I hated her guts on day one. She was always better than me getting the respect and love from the family while I was thrown the scraps. She's dead, and nothing will fix that; we are never going to get the chance to make amends, not like I ever wanted to. She's dead, and I survived. I won, and there's nothing else to it. She's your problem now, Iris."

"Why me?"

Riley turned back around, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess you and I aren't so different. We both lived in our sister's shadow. I chose to deny it do anything to beat her while you seemly embraced it. Two sides of a very different coin."

"You should be grateful that Lady Riley even gave you the time of day. Relish at this moment." Haggis boasted.

"You really need to tone it down like tenfold Haggis. How did Scarlett put up with you?" Riley muttered, stopping midsentence from falling to her knee with a pain in her chest. Her eyes widened in fear. "There's no way; that's not possible. She's dead…. I felt it. I know she died."

"Are you alright?!" Haggis cried.

Iris looked on, feeling off as well. "What? Who is it?"

"Syndicate's natural-born enemy. Mortem."

****

"Gale?"

Gale turned his head, scoffing. "What are the chances? What are the chances we would meet yet again face to face daughter of Geostruction? Was this a twisted turn of fate or something more? Or perhaps this was always meant to be."

"This isn't good. Shit, how did he remember so quickly?" Tempo muttered.

"Fairy-Tale. The Garden. V.I.R.A.L., I lost everything because of them all, everything I could possibly have wished for was stolen right at the finishing point, and it was all your fault. How could I ever have known Team Rhapsody, a team of misfit underdogs! Would topple the charts and overthrow all my hard work?! 400 years it took me to rebuild and bend this nation to my will. Now, look at it. The Garden has turned the ruins of my once great nation into their plaything. Innocent lives dead, and my pawns crushed under its might. It didn't have to be this way, but you just had to play the hero acting like those damn warriors from the past."

Zinnia stared on, devasted. "It can't be…. That's not possible."

"Anything is possible, Zinnia Trost; you walked right into my trap. I wished to be free, and you granted that wish perfectly to thank you."

"You're dead! My father stopped you alongside Team Rhapsody!"

"Dead? The concept means nothing to me. I am the angel of death reincarnated. Like the Garden, I will grow forever, never dying and this! This is my revenge."

"Get back!" Tempo ordered, pushing Zinnia back as Gale clenched his fists together. The darkness swelled up as he screamed out in anguish and fury before the area exploded in a flurry of shadows and death. A stream of darkness consumed Gale. Stepping out, Gale was now in a long black cloak covering his body. Standing on the end of a bloody scythe, he held a skull-crushing it in his hand. "The true power of Mortem…. The grim reaper of the Garden."

The others came rushing out as Gale swung his scythe around, cutting the veil protecting them from Alton's world as monarch began to fall, returning to the scrap yard. Gale's eyes were blood-red as night fell and the blood moon began to rise. Screaming with almighty rage, he slashed the sky as meteors began crashing down over the city as the revenge of Mortem had begun.

Across the city, Alton opened his eyes to these events as he stood up, arms folded. He looked to Alice, nodding. "It's time. Go to them."

"As you wish."

Alice charged into battle as Alton smirked, crouching down staring up at the blood moon. "Are you ready, Alton, for everything you treasure to crumble apart?"