May 6th, 2026.
Jefferson's unconscious body comfortably laid flat against his mattress. The old man snored soundly into the lazy Wednesday morning, his hand placed over his exposed chest. He, fortunately, wasn't awakened by incessant sunlight shining through the open window. Instead, deafening banging came slamming against his door, throwing him out of bed. Rubbing his head and rear, he moaned.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow…"
After scratching the back of his head, he stood up, exited his room, and walked down the corridor toward his front doobr. Upon turning the knob and opening the entrance, he was met with two familialr white faces.
"Detective Karlo. And… Natalia? What're you two doing here? So early, too," Jefferson restlessly asked them both.
"Pardon the intrusion, but we came to talk. We didn't wake you, did we?" questioned Detective Karlo.
"I'm sure you two did." Darrell averted his gaze, then sighed. "What'd you two come to talk to me about?"
"Alex and Katie–"
Just saying their names was enough for Darrell to instantly yank the duo inside. They stumbled in behind him, confusedly staring at his back while he triple-locked the door.
"What was that all about?" Nat loudly asked.
Instead of answering, Azazel squinted and glared directly down at her. She was unbeknownst to it at first, but in an attempt to escape this awkward situation, her brown eyes darted over to Jefferson. Unfortunately for her nerves, he was sending her the same squinting glare, in the middle of locking the door. From their stares, she felt the 'you should know what that meant' vibe. Nevertheless, she feigned ignorance.
"What?"
Azazel sighed. "Ever since Katie and Alex were confirmed to be powering the Tower, the living citizens of the Capital pledged their undying allegiance to the cause," he told her.
"The Evolutionaries and Hybrids finally set aside their differences for the sole goal of destruction. Today, they focus on traitors within their midst. Tomorrow, who knows? With that much power in their hands, they could annihilate anyone not on their side and no one would even bat an eye," Jeff added.
"I doubt they'll stay allied for long. Those guys have been at each other's throats long before any of us came here," commented Nat, shrugging her shoulders.
"I can't help but agree with you on that front."
These three had been members of the Evolutionary brass before its collapse. And so, before discussing any business, they sat down on their friends' couch.
Having just finished rolling a joint, Natalia flicked the lighter, watching the flame spark into existence. She lit the joint's end. Leaning into the sofa's cushions, she vented smoke from her mouth and watched it flow. Soon, the transparent mist would envelop the room. Luckily for Jeff, the window was open. He wouldn't have to hear any neighbors' complaints anytime soon.
Darrell sipped from his glass of liquor, seated and gazing out the window beside him. Only after he finished drinking did his head turn to the guests.
"So… what'd you two come here for?" The man asked.
"What makes you think we're not here to smoke, eat and have fun?" retorted the Detective.
"Because you woulda called ahead if that's all you wanted. I know you two. You wouldn't come here unannounced if it weren't for something important so spill. What've you come here for?"
Natalia coughed. The two men turned toward her. Revealing her brunette retinas following her hack, she noticed the quartet set of eyes on her.
"Sorry…"
"Gimme that."
Azazel snatched away the joint. He smoked it, closing his eyes once the smoke raised from the spliff's end, effectively covering his face. One puff exhaled the aerosol trapped within his mouth. He lowered the hand wielding the stick. More smoke leaked from his mouth all the while he repeatedly parted his lips.
"You see, Natalia and I aren't one to agree with the whole 'genocide' thing. I'm sure you know that. Long story short, we want you to come and help us try to stop Katie," Azazel told him.
Jeff's eyebrow raised. "You want me to help you stop Katie? Do you even need to ask me that?"
'He asked that rather aggressively…' Natalia thought, leaning against the couch's arm.
"I guess not–"
"Then let me ask you something instead." Jeff leaned forward, resting his arm against his knee and his palm's backside on his chin. "Could you two kill Katie Moon and Alexander Amara?" he asked.
The very thought of killing his daughter was disturbing enough for the Detective to drop the joint between his fingers. Even Natalia, casually resting against the sofa's arm, couldn't stop her quivering lip. All those memories… everything that's happened so far. Would it have to result in an end like that? Their silence was their answer.
"If I tried to kill Katie, could you two stand by and watch?"
Azazel uplifted the spliff from the carpeted ground. He blew away any excess dust and dug into his pocket. One flick and there it was: fire.
"I don't know…" the Detective's muffled voice responded.
Jeff sighed. He batted his eyes, gazing out the open window once more.
Natalia removed her palm from her cheek, watching as Azazel handed her the joint. As she placed it between her lips, her eyes closed. She didn't have to look at anything anymore. Blinded by darkness, the woman reminisced on everything. Regardless of how everything was now, Katie Moon was the one who helped her. The one who gave her a home. The daughter of the man who saved her back then—the Karlo family. Her shivering lips released the joint from her mouth.
"I… I don't want to fight with anyone anymore…" The mens' worried gazes instantly shot toward her. "Not with Katie… not with Chrollo… I don't… want to be the cause of any more deaths…" she tearfully admitted.
Azazel couldn't bear to look at her saddened face any further. So, he turned away, his azure retinas closed yet again. But turning away from her was nothing. His daughter's face flashed through his head. The words he told her amid the snowy forest in the dead of winter… her mother's words.
'You don't have to be alone in that. I want to be a good person, too.'
Having heard those words, Katie lingered. She glanced back at the ivory forest, likely to contemplate the true meaning of her mother's words. Even so, remembering his daughter this way didn't work in his favor. But what was the alternative? Turn the other way, endure their past sins and continue living into the future without regrets? Drown themselves in selfishness?
"Jefferson…"
Darrell's head turned at the sound of Azazel's beckoning voice. To not only his surprise but Natalia's, too, the Detective stared ahead with tears endlessly pivoting down his white face.
"I'll do it. I'll kill my daughter and put an end to this madness. Once and for all."
This time, Darrell didn't avert his gaze. Inside Karlo's eyes shone something brighter than ever. Fire. An inferno that contorted so erratically it became the very essence of chaos itself. That wild blaze… was the opposite of what he'd so regularly seen within the Moon girl's pupils. Sitting on his couch right before him was the very definition of a good man. And for some reason, that made Jeff smile.
The dark-skinned man covered his face; admiring the outside scenery once again. "You're a good man. Probably the last one one left in this world," he said.
After wiping away his tears, Azazel heard what the other man said. "What makes you say that?" he asked.
"If I said I'd rather stay here and do nothing," His head turned back toward them. Although his brown cheeks were now stained with tears, that pure grin remained forevermore. "Would you despise me?"
Natalia and Azazel closed their suddenly parted lips in tandem. She looked down and closed her eyes. The Detective seemingly copied her movement. Even as he faced away, however, his eyes remained open.
"No…"
However reluctant, Darrell Jefferson joins the party.
Trivia: The power of whatever ability he copies relies not on the power of the base ability, but his usage of it. The only reason Jeff was able to so easily behead Ryosuke was because of his prior training.