Valentine woke up in his room, he had a big gap in memory from the day before. He could remember barely being saved from John's spell but after that it was all blank. He felt well rested, something rare for him. The pain only got worse at night, though never in intensity. It was a constant pain that was aiming to drive him mad.
It happened multiple times. Valentine's mind felt foggy when under stress and his decisions were completely instinctual. He lost rationality and like an animal acted on instinct while being fully aware of his actions. But he wouldn't let the pain break him.
Valentine's phone rang. He picked it up and it was an unknown number. He felt uneasy, knowing that it would be a message from Eclipse. His heart started racing, he had made a mistake and it wasn't one he could apologize his way out of.
"Yes?" Valentine said as he picked up. He tried to sound confident even though he was scared.
"Hello Mister Anderson. You are ordered to go to 321 Y street at exactly noon." A gruff male voice said.
"What for?" Valentine asked, he was certain about it. He was absolutely fucked.
"It's confidential. You'll see when the time comes. I wouldn't advise being late." The man replied.
"What what do you -" Valentine was cut off by the click of the man hanging up.
"BASTARD!" He shouted, slamming his fist against the wall.
Valentine sighed loudly as the reality of his situation started kicking in. He was going to die. They were calling him there to kill him. He thought of running away but it wasn't a viable option. He was lucky enough for his family to be out of it. He had to go.
"At least he respected our deal." He mumbled, getting out of his room and going to the living room.
The smell of bacon filled the lower floor but Valentine had no appetite. Yet when he approached the door to leave he heard his uncle call out to him.
"Hey, gotta eat well while you're still young. When you get to my age you'll have a doctor screaming at you for eating well. Why don't you join me for breakfast?" Carl said. He was holding a plate filled with many slices of thick cut bacon and 3 sunny side up eggs.
Valentine looked at his uncle. He looked tired but tried his best. He hadn't seen Carl cook in way too long. He remembered the last time as clear as day. He had just come back from abroad and made that very thing. A true breakfast as he called it.
"Alright! Fill it to the top." Valentine replied, Carl's face lighting up with a big smile.
"That's the spirit. I'm making burgers for dinner. So don't stay out too late. They are my specialty." Carl said.
Valentine felt pained yet he didn't show it. He was about to die well before dinnertime. He could only hope that it wouldn't affect them too much.
Valentine moved to the kitchen with Carl. They sat down and started eating.
"You know. You really look like Charlie. Your eyes, your hair, even your build is starting to resemble his. Though not in height. You might remember your dad as being very tall and brush it aside as it being a byproduct of you knowing only as a kid but that's not the case. Your dad was a man of significant stature. He looked like a statue. That's how big he was." Carl said.
"Really?" Valentine asked, feigning a smile.
"Yes. And all that size wasn't for show either. One time your mom was about to get mugged and she told me he chased them away after knocking a guy's tooth out with a punch. I saw the scar the tooth left. That man was an absolute badass. But first and foremost he loved you and your mother more than anything." Carl continued.
"Wow. That's incredible." Valentine replied, the sorrow of his father's death weighing him along with his own imminent one.
"Okay now, let's dig in shall we?" Carl said, realizing that Valentine was feeling down.
-
John was in his office. He was dressed in a well fitted expensive suit. He was pacing around his office. He felt anxious for the first time in a while. He hadn't talked to Jack and Danny since the day before and didn't feel confident enough to call Valentine himself so he ordered one of his underlings to do so.
"Should I apologize? No, no. It would diminish my authority. I shouldn't have tried to kill him but he shouldn't have…" he mumbled to himself
The office door slammed open and a middle aged woman entered. She had long violet hair and blue eyes. She was dressed officially in a beautiful black designer dress. She had a look of persistent rage in her eyes as she grabbed John by the collar of the shirt.
"What are you doing Pandora?" John demanded to know, shoving her off of him.
"IT WAS YOU. IT WAS YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD." She screamed.
"Hey. Pandora. Calm down. Please tell me what's going on." John replied, trying to calm her down.
"YOU KILLED MY BABY. IT WAS YOU. I'M GOING TO KILL YOU." She continued.
"Pandora. Calm down. I've done nothing. We have been friends for years now. I'd never do anything to harm you." John insisted.
"RAKSHASA YOU PIECE OF SHIT. I'LL KILL YOU. YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Pandora screeched, throwing lightning bolts at John which were stopped by his barrier.
"PANDORA. CALM. DOWN. WE ARE FRIENDS. I'D NEVER HURT YOU." John shouted, trying to get through to her.
"JUSTIN PIERCE YOU PIECE OF SHIT. I'LL KILL YOU LIKE YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER." Pandora continued to bombard John with spells which hadna clear effect on his stamina.
John stopped moving, took down his barrier and let the spells hit his body. The spells left large gushing wounds on him, having pierced through the suit and deep into his flesh.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Pandora shouted, as she stopped casting spells.
"It's my fault. I apologize. I didn't want to kill back then, really. I just. Had to. Harm me as you wish. I deserve the punishment." John replied.
"What are you saying? You didn't want to kill? You HAD to kill? Why was my Lilly in your scope? It should have been me. You should have killed me. I was an easy target back then. You just have been at least 7th circle. I was just at fourth. You should have killed me Justin." Pandora said, choking on her words as tears streamed down her face.
"The barons. They didn't want you dead. They wanted you alive. I was ordered to kill the kid and your husband so you'd go back to them." Replied.
"Did you kill him too Justin? I left for him to be safe. Did you kill him too?" Pandora asked, hair face stone cold and her voice full of venom.
"I did not. I refused since you had already left. And I fled. I'm not Justin anymore. I'm John." John replied.
"If you could flee with such ease, why didn't you do so before?" Pandora asked.
"Because I also had something to lose. And I did." John said.