V.I.R.A.L

"Ahh, if it isn't the stream sniper of Team Rhapsody, I've heard all about the little show you all put on last night. Whispers spread fast; your group decimated the cult and Alton annihilated Paradox. I expected nothing less."

Gale stood in front of Vanguard's cell as he stared at the man with eyes of hate. His hand was trembling as he spoke with a spiteful tone. "We've dealt with the last of your reach. No one will remember the legend of Vanguard anymore. We fought your pointless war, are you happy now?"

Vanguard stood by with a smug look. "Was the battle too much for you? I did warn those two though. You don't belong in the world of streamers. Quite surprised Percy didn't come and rub it in. Pity."

Gale looked up with eyes full of tears as he bit his lip. "Percy is dead."

"What?" He muttered shocked. "You're joking."

"He gave his life to save everyone from you. All of this is your fault. His death is on your hand." He spat slamming a photo of Percy on the glass cell. He stuck it on stepping back. "Now his face will never leave you. I want you to remember the boy who admired you and died for that. Goodbye."

Vanguard stared at the photo dazed. He clenched his fist, slamming the cell yelling out. "Don't you turn your back on me, Gale! You get back here now! Answer me! How did he die! Tell me!" Gale never turned back as he left Vanguard alone. He stood still staring at the photo of Percy, one which would haunt him for years to come. He slammed the cell once more, leaving a small crack as he screamed out. "Damn it!"

****

The door to the hospital ward was open as Alton alongside Zinnia stuck their heads in seeing both Alice and Iris resting in bed. Stepping in, Alton began chuckling to himself. "Ah, I remember the days when I too was a prisoner to this place, subsided to lying in a bed for days on end. How does it feel now the tables have turned?"

"The Alice senses a hint of mockery. She disapproves of your insults. Do not move while she puts you in a ward of your own."

"Pipe down sis, Alton has a bizarre way of caring for others." Iris chuckled sitting up. "How does it all go?"

"That doesn't matter. Zinnia wanted to visit."

Zinnia sat on the bed staring at Iris concerned. "How are you feeling?"

Iris sighed, looking down, cupping her hands. "It only hit me last night that I might never see again. To have something I never apricated truly to be stolen from me in an instant hit hard."

"I could only imagine."

"It only serves me right, I suppose. I got way too cocky after defeating Vanguard I thought I could take on the world by myself. This couldn't be any more of a reality check."

"What are you going to do?"

Alice pulled herself out of bed, walking over. "We are going to take a little break from streaming. I've already put through the request with my father. We're going to pull through this and find an alternative for my sister."

"That's understandable." Alton nodded. "Zinnia I think I left my wallet by the vending machine can you check?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure."

Alton turned back sighing. "I've been thinking about a short break too. It's probably best for Zinnia."

"Percy's gone. It's clearly affecting her; I can tell that."

"Yeah, Percy looked up to Zinnia as his hero. She won't admit it, but she feels guilt over it. Probably blames herself for it."

"It wasn't her fault."

"No, it's not. But as the leader of the group, I can't help but feel somewhat responsible. I should have disagreed with the CEOs. If we were all together, I could have protected him."

"Don't you dare do that?" Iris snapped almost falling out of bed. Alice helped her stand as she looked towards him. "You cannot blame yourself again for this. What happened to your old team wasn't your fault. Neither is this; I will not sit around and allow you to carry that guilt, Alton."

Staring at Iris for a short time, he tutted giving up the argument. "I'll leave you be; it's clear you need rest. You must have hit your head."

"What makes you think Iris has hit her head? I do not see any injures of the sort."

Opening the door, he turned back with a traumatic look of guilt. "Because what happened to hero's might will always be my fault." Letting out a long-winded sigh, he rubbed his face holding back the tears. He needed to distance himself for a while, get back on his feet and push the guilt and trauma back down again. In a state of thought, he noticed Scarlett walking away, catching his attention. "Scarlett, what are you doing here?"

Scarlett turned around cursing under her breath. "Oh, shit. Ah! Alton, if it isn't the hunk, I was looking for. I was actually looking for you no less. I'd thought I would visit the others out of respect and all."

"Oh, I see. Fair enough, I guess. Sometimes I forget you care for other people."

Scarlett gasped punching Alton's shoulder. "I am deeply insulted by those terms, to actually think someone thinks I'm so psychopathic is downright disturbing."

"I was joking stupid. I know you care about us." He laughed, punching Scarlett back. She yelped, holding her stomach as Alton looked concerned. "Hey, are you alright?"

Scarlett stared at Alton dully as she didn't speak for a little while. Dropping her arms to her side, she smirked. "Suppose the cat is out of the bag, yeah? No point hiding it now." She lifted her shirt, showing bandages over a large wound which was dried up with blood. "You really had to twist my ace didn't you Dauntless…"

"What happened?"

"If you really must know, I was jumped by the Syndicate family during the raid. I chased after them, but they ambushed me and left quite the hit on me. It's embarrassing and might I say insulting showing any sign of weakness. As a member of the Dawn family, it is not acceptable to be injured like this."

"You dummy, we're a team why didn't you say anything?"

"I did not want it to be an issue. You had enough on your plate with Monty, Paradox and Percy. Worrying about silly old me is the last thing you should worry about."

"Not to me."

Scarlett lowered her shirt, looking away, going red. "If you are quite done making a fool of me, I would like to go home."

"I'll walk you home?"

"No, while I apricate the request like I said you have much more Dearing issues to take care of." She informs pointing to Zinnia behind them. "I'll see you around Dauntless."

 Zinnia walked up, confused. "Was that Scarlett?"

"Yeah, she was just passing through…"

"oh, okay. Sorry I couldn't find your wallet."

"That's fine it was in my back pocket."

"That's a relief. Say did you hear what happened to Monty?"

"No? What happened?"

Zinnia pulled out her phone, showing a news article. "The Montagues booted him. After picking a fight with you and endangering the whole mission."

"Holy shit, it happened. I suspected he was on the end of a string after our little fight, but he's out. I wonder what will happen to him."

"Does it matter? I saw the stream; he got what he deserves!"

"You saw our fight…"

"Yeah, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

"I would prefer that." He whimpered, looking away. "Zin, can I ask you a question? Do you think I'm a good person?"

"What sort of question is that? Of course, I see you as a good person Alton. You are the greatest person I've ever met. Whatever happened between you and Monty was then. I know that wasn't the real you. Don't overthink it. Let's get out of here; I'm starving, I'll pay too, consider celebration for our debt being magically removed."

Alton watched Zinnia walk off as he looked down at his stone-cold hand smirking. "Not the real me, huh? You have no idea."

****

"I think we know why I called us all here today."

The CEOs stood around the table in silence as Kurt smirked tapping his fingers on the table. "I was wondering when this topic was going to be brought up. Look at you all; you're all terrified of what's happening."

"You think this is something to laugh about? You never take any of this seriously Kurt."

"Hey, I wouldn't go that far, I take many of my tasks very seriously. Or are we all forgetting what we are doing here?" Kurt spoke with a dry tone staring each CEO down.

The other four remained silent before one spoke up. "We don't have time for this. The Garden has appeared for the third time now. This isn't a one-off fluke anymore. The Garden is coming back."

"How is that possible? We dealt with them all 400 years ago. We saw the Garden die."

"Unless you pull a weed out it will forever grow unseen. This was inevitable. Brothers and Sisters, we've been planning for this. The return was always going to happen; that is why we made V.I.R.A.L. The Garden was a shock to the world. Mankind was almost wiped out because they had no idea. We are different. We are well aware of what could happen. What will happen? The five stages of grief. The Gardeners. They won't settle for a second defeat. If we are not ready, we will all die."

"Not wanting to make the situation worse, but what are we going to do about the elephant in the room. A child of the Garden has revealed himself. Alton Brantley could easily make everything we've worked so very hard for fall apart. He's a danger to not only V.I.R.A.L but the rest of Victoria."

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Kurt snarled. "We dispose of him, Monty failed us so it seems like we will have to take matters into our own hands. I have just the person to do so too. He'll make sure Team Rhapsody's reality is squashed."

"So, your little experiment was a success."

"Perhaps. It took quite a few subjects, but this one seems up to the task. The only thing left is when to strike."

One of the CEOs pushed a crumpled-up poster of the annual V.I.R.A.L League. "We'll give him an opportunity he just can't turn down."

"So, it's settled then. Our priority is disposing the child of the Garden for the future of V.I.R.A.L, for the future of Victoria."

"For the future of V.I.R.A.L, for the future of Victoria."

****

Zinnia stared at herself in the mirror of the restaurant's bathroom, letting the water run. She let out a loud sigh washing her hands. Looking up again, she heard a faint whisper. "Why do you look so down for Zinnia? Your friends are alive because of you?"

Zinnia spun around seeing no one in sight. Beginning to feel anxious, she hurried up, washing her hands only to freeze seeing someone in the mirror. She stepped back as a boy stood by the door dressed on an old bomber jacket and jeans. He had flower petals stuck to his clothes alongside black biker gloves. He had short white hair ruffed up and two different coloured eyes. One yellow the other red. "Who are you?"

"Why, Zinnia did you already forget? Don't bother calling out. Only you can see me; after all, we did make a deal."

"Wait, you're. You're one of the stages of grief, Bargaining."

"In the spirit. So how does it feel, to be a hero saving your friends."

Zinnia had her back up against the wall-shaking her head. "No, no. This deal, I didn't mean to, I was desperate. I shouldn't have taken it."

"Hey, don't be like that. There's nothing to feel guilty over. You did what many others would have. After all the people you love are important. Many people would do anything to save them."

"I don't want this. I want out of this deal."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. Even if I wanted to, us two are tied by destiny. By the will of the Garden, nothing you can do about that."

"Oh, God. What have I done?"

"No need to look so gloomy. You should feel privileged; not many people get the chance to make a deal with me. I grant any wish people desire, as long as they keep up their side of the bargain, of course. And you Zinnia. You have quite the deal—my best one in fact. As long as you keep to our agreement, your friends will always be safe. Every last person you care about will be free from harm. You will have the power to save them no matter what—quite the achievement. You can be a real superhero. I think it's worth it."

Zinnia bit her lip looking conflicted. "I care about my friends more than anything. I don't care what happens to me, as long as they can stay safe."

Bargaining shook his head cackling. "You two are so alike. Always on edge around a golden opportunity. I won't spare you the nitty-gritty details, but I am a man of my word. Tied by my stage, I will forever uphold my deal until my death. All you have to do is the same."

"And what do I have to do?"

"I'm glad you asked. Compared to others, it's elementary. You just have to do one small task for me, and your deal is complete, and I will grant you that power forever when you awaken to it. I do hope you can still to it, both Rodger and Gemini failed me, I hate it when contracts are, broken."

"What do I have to do?!"

Looking at the tormented girl, he stared down at her with a look of authority and power; this look shook Zinnia to the core burning into her mind forever. "I want you to kill him. When the time comes, you will kill Alton Brantley."

A hackling laugh was echoed as Bargaining disappeared, leaving Zinnia feeling empty and distort. She toppled over, catching herself on the sink staring at herself once again in the mirror appalled but her own reflection. "What have I done?"