Chapter 8 - Chapter 8 Annabelle's POV

When I woke up, I saw Eric already getting our things together, ready to depart. I immediately woke the girl and we both went to freshen up. By the time we were back, Eric had prepared rations for our breakfast after which we started moving. He was talking casually with Elsa (that's the name the girl we captured introduced herself as) and trying to get to know her better. She said that she was rejected by her family after she awakened to her abilities as an Irregular so she ran away from home, managing to survive off the streets before she was taken in by the organization she worked with. I was moved by her story but what surprised me more was Eric, who with tears in his eyes, asked her "Can I call you 'Big Sis'?" "Why?" I asked him and he replied "it's a given you'll want to treat someone who had similar experiences with you as family". "Sure" Elsa then replied to which Eric said "Thanks, Big Sis Iv-- Elsa" "Who was the person you almost called there?" I asked, trying to break the ice as the whole place appeared tense. "A name I can't seem to forget no matter how hard I try" he answered and turned away. The rest of the journey was uneventful as we managed to get to the location where Elsa said the organization was hiding the captured Irregular. I sensed we were being followed so I signalled Eric to blend in with the crowd as we were in an open space. He immediately dragged Elsa and ran, to which some guys chased almost immediately. How they managed to make it look casual, I can't really explain. I walked through, moving towards the high-rise building she pointed us to as the hideout of the abductors where I met Ivory. Ivory was a girl I knew when I came in contact with the Licht family. She was their first daughter who always appeared gloomy from the day I got to know her, always with her locket necklace and staring into space. Her demeanor hadn't seemed to change over the past year since we saw each other, rather it seemed to have gotten worse. When asked what she was doing there, she replied "Anthony's my boyfriend. I won't lose him too. Are you the only person for the job?" "Not really" I answered "We're 2 people on this mission but we were joined by an extra person to make us three" "Then where are they?" she asked, obviously impatient to which I tapped the communication device in my ear "Eric? Can you find my location?" the reply came back "Right. After I'm done losing these people". I could hear the sound of fighting at his end but from his tone, it seemed he wasn't having any real difficulty facing them. I turned to Ivory and told her that my teammates were clearing a path and making for our position to which she felt slightly relieved and said "It's been three days since Anthony was kidnapped. That's also how long I've been watching them, trying to figure out their pattern and I can say I can be of help here so don't even think of trying to send me away" she said and turned. I looked at her and smiled. I had actually been thinking of evacuating her before taking on the group that were lying in wait for me but after what she said, I couldn't bring myself to send her away. I then said "Try hard to not get in our way". As soon as I said that, Eric, together with Elsa came into the clearing, each dragging two people. Eric dropped the ones he was dragging and said "Not really a challenge. Are these the guards?" to which I said "The fun is just beginning" as the whole place exploded into chaos. For I and Eric, the fight was nothing challenging but Elsa and Ivory seemed to have a hard time fighting off their enemies. We managed to clear the area and were about moving forward when Elsa fell. Looking at her, we saw that she was shot in the heart which made Eric so angry his eyes glowed green. He immediately said "Casper, let's go" as he sped off into the distance. The next minute, I saw him dragging a man whose arm was freshly cut off and he asked, dead calmly "Where are your team?" The man laughed and said "Who would believe 017 would actually betray the Master. She was bound to die either way so, it's better she ended at my hands". Eric was so enraged that he stabbed his hand through the man's heart and turned to me, saying "Annabelle, I'll leave the snipers to you" as he charged into the building, recklessly slashing through anyone that dared to stand in his way. I immediately told Ivory to evacuate while I moved to take care of the snipers whose gazes I could feel piercing me like an arrow. Though it didn't take long for me to finish, Eric was done by the time I came back. He had a guy in hands who did not look much older than us but fit the description we were given. He then said "Thanks for rescuing me from these people. My name is Anthony". As we were about to get going, A bulky, ripped man appearing to be in his late thirties suddenly materialised before us and asked "Where do you think you're going?" "Home" Eric answered to which he laughed "A quick witted one, I see but I'm sorry to say you won't be leaving here, at least not alive". Eric looked at him straight in the eye with his face devoid of expression as he asked "And who decided that?" The man answered with a punch which Eric narrowly dodged and came back with a drop kick which started their fight in earnest. They fought for quite some time, ferociously exchanging punches and kicks as Eric fought to free us. We thought of going to aid him but this man suddenly disappeared, dealing us attack after attack. Even if we wanted to counterattack, we couldn't because until he attached, he seemed to be intangible and as such we couldn't touch him until Eric used the power from his alter ego. The whole area suddenly burst with his aura, a strong wind blew and a locket necklace fell out his pocket while he moved forward. The man suddenly materialised, which seemed forced because he was as shocked as we were. Facing him, Eric (or rather his two personas) said "You're found guilty of killing someone I regarded as family and so are sentenced to death" as he stabbed through his heart. At that point, Eric's eyes returned to their normal colour and Ivory started sobbing. She looked at the locket she picked when it fell out of his pocket and said "Who would believe I would run into you here" "What do you mean?" I asked her and she said "That statement, that eye colour, that voice that sounds like there's another person living inside him, coupled with this locket. I'm sure of it" she said as she walked towards him and asked "Little Brother, when do you plan on coming home?"