"It's not often you have a Hunter who was originally meant to be a Vanquisher." Dr. Callahan said quietly.
Right where we left off.
"I wasn't meant to be anything… everything was just a freak accident." Nighthawk muttered, his painful memories flooding back.
"Grey wanted you to become a Vanquisher, and you chose to be a Hunter instead. You were meant to be a Vanquisher." Dr. Callahan said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, but I'm not. What about it?" Nighthawk fired back in an irritated tone, his repressed memories of Grey's untimely demise making their appearance.
"What about it? I'm saying that you're special. You can do much more than the average Hunter."
"I don't want to do more. I don't want to." Nighthawk repeated, his breathing becoming heavier than normal.
"Why not take advantage of your powers? Use them to help the corporation?"
"I'm scared… scared to end up like him… scared to lose everything I've worked so hard to obtain."
"You'll get nowhere with that mentality."
"And who are you to tell me what to do with my life?!"
Dr. Callahan sighed.
"I'm trying to help you see what's best for you, son. You can be so much more than what you are." He spoke, his own tone becoming slightly irritated.
"Nari didn't want me to, so why should I? She was justified in her fears! I could die!" Nighthawk retaliated.
"Keep your voice down. And being a Vanquisher is extremely safe. All you're doing is going into memories. Where's the harm in that?" Dr. Callahan questioned, bringing his arms up in an overly exaggerated shrug.
"If it's extremely safe, then how did Grey die?! Huh?!" Nighthawk screamed, his eyes watering. "I should've never told you about him… about anything." Nighthawk lamented, trying to calm his breathing to the best of his ability.
"Don't think like that, Nighthawk. To be honest, I - I don't know how he died. Or why he did. I wish I did, so I could help you get through the pain. But I can't know something no one else can. At the end of the day, I'm just an ordinary guy. I'm nobody special. I'm just a random doctor. A doctor who wants to help you." Dr. Callahan said.
Nighthawk knew why he did, but not how. He did not know of the nature of the origin. The "splicers". The final words of his father. They rang around in his head like sound waves bouncing off of the walls in an echoey room. The mystery behind his father's death still taunted him, shrouding in an unending blanket of the unknown.
Even knowing this, he had never mentioned the splicers to anyone.
But it seemed that no one else knew what they were either.
No one else had ever heard of them.
What did Grey mean? What did Nighthawk know that no one else did?
The question remains unanswered.
"What do you know about me or my father? As far as you're concerned, I could have lied to you completely. And that just sits fine with you?" Nighthawk provoked.
"You would've had no reason to lie to me." Dr. Callahan stated.
"I wouldn't rely on that thought so much."
"Why are you so focused on making yourself less credible?"
"I'm not. I just want you to understand the risk of believing so carelessly."
"Where is this conversation going, Nighthawk? We've arrived nowhere after all of this bickering."
"I guess… I just don't like when you speak about my Dad so carelessly like you knew him how I did."
"That wasn't my intention. I'm sorry, Nighthawk."
Nighthawk was not expecting an apology.
"It's fine. I just don't want to be a Vanquisher. I don't want to end up like Dad. And Nari doesn't want me to either." He said solemnly.
"You really care about her, don't you?" Dr. Callahan asked with a smile.
"She's the only person I can rely on. I mean, I love my parents as well, but… Nari has always been there for me. Even through my dark moments when I thought about my past." Nighthawk revealed.
"That's good to hear. Look, I care about you, but I won't stop believing that you would be better off as a Vanquisher than what you are right now. But at the end of the day, it's your decision. I won't stop you from doing what you want to do." Dr. Callahan said, finally managing to settle on terms he knew Nighthawk would agree on.
And that was that.
Nighthawk finally stood out of the bed and bid his farewell to Dr. Callahan as he exited the rehabilitation room. On his walk across Checkpoint Oriesal back to his quarters, his mind whirled with a myriad of thoughts about the previous conversation. Thoughts of Lora. Thoughts of Grey. Thoughts of the family he had lost.
But he had to push them back.
To the back of his mind.
For the sake of himself.
Around halfway through his commute back to his quarters, Nighthawk took a short halt at a nearby bench directly next to the Vanquisher training grounds so he could more effectively clear his mind. A window sat behind the bench, the white shroud of snow concealing the mountainous landscape outside.
As he sat down, his mind continued to reel. He thought about the life he had unfortunately lived after his exile from the household he held so dearly in his heart. Alone and scared, for months on end.
Nowhere to call home.
Nothing to cherish.
No one left to love.
He thought about Nari's warm embrace and the safety he felt while spending time with her.
Her soft words spoke in his mind.
Memories of when he would enter her room in tears, and her soothing voice as she allowed him to sit down in her room and comforted him through the uncomfortable moments despite his rather old age of 18 at the time.
He found solace in these moments.
"Just relax, it's all okay now. I'm here, Mom and Dad are here. And we'll never let you go. Never forget that."
Her words pierced through the rigid barrier he had built around his mind.
To shield from the hurt.
Unmatched love broke free.
And a voice could be heard, snapping him out of his trance.
"That you, Nighthawk?"
Calypso's voice.
She had just exited the training grounds when she saw him alone on the bench, his head lowered into his hands.
"You ok?" She asked, breathing heavily as she walked up to him. Behind her stood Paragon, also breathing immensely, a sign of Calypso's teaching and brutal training regime. Nighthawk's head snapped up, taking him out of his trauma-induced trance.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I was just lost in thought, I guess. Whatcha up to?" Nighthawk asked.
"Paragon and I just got done with our training for the day. Or, more like his training. I'm the teacher here, actually." Calypso said with a cocky look on her face.
"Oh, you've got a student?" Nighthawk asked. A surprised look came over his face, and Calypso sighed heavily.
"He actually prefers that I call him "pupil". Makes him feel good about himself or something. I don't know." Calypso responded, making an exaggerated confused facial expression at Nighthawk, making sure Paragon couldn't see.
"Calling me a student makes me sound like some child. I'm a man." Paragon chimed in, leaning out from behind Calypso.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, buckaroo. You're literally a student." Calypso remarked with a snarl, causing Nighthawk to smile slightly.
"Hey! I'm a pupil, not a student!" Paragon complained, his voice raising in annoyance.
"Don't talk to your teacher like that, young man." Calypso teased, turning around towards Paragon and pointing a finger at him in mock sternness.
"Yes ma'am…" Paragon said, falling back into line with a soft voice.
Calypso laughed.
"I'm joking, I'm joking! Geez." Calypso said through laughter, turning her head back towards Nighthawk. "He's like you, Nighthawk! Doesn't know how to take a joke!" She exclaimed.
"Oh, shut up." Nighthawk fired back with a sly grin plastered on his face. "You know damn well I'm funnier than you." He added on.
"You wanna try me? I will absolutely whoop you - right after I use the restroom. I'm kind of holding in a big one." Calypso said, instantly converting the atmosphere of the conversation into one of awkwardness.
"Did we really need to know that?" Nighthawk asked in disgust.
"I'm with him on this one." Paragon said softly.
"I'm out. Be right back!" Calypso hollered, jogging off towards the restrooms down the hall.
"She's a handful, to say the least. Annoying as well. Don't even get me started." Nighthawk muttered.
"Heheh, yeah. You're Nighthawk, right?" Paragon asked with a tinge of shyness hiding in his voice.
"Yeah. You're Paragon?" Nighthawk asked, recollecting himself after the awkward encounter with Calypso.
"Mhm. I kind of already knew you, though. The incident and everything." Paragon mentioned, sitting down next to Nighthawk.
"Oh yeah. Hey, Calypso seemed like she was having a hard time with the incident. She talk to you about it?" Nighthawk questioned.
"Yeah, a little bit. She felt really bad about you getting knocked out and everything. I feel bad for her." Paragon said in a slightly more timid voice than before.
"Well, it seems like she's back to normal now, which is good. I was trying to tell her it wasn't her fault. I think that finally got through to her."
"It was bad earlier, but now she seems fine. I guess you worked your magic or something?" Paragon asked with a smile.
"I just showed her common courtesy. Guess she's not used to it."
"Well your common courtesy worked. Although I kind of wish it didn't. She's gone back to her usual making fun of me because I'm 16."
"Whoa, you're 16? That's really young for a Vanquisher, hell, even a Hunter! What class are you?" Nighthawk asked in genuine surprise.
"Oracle."
"Oracle as a 16 year old? That's no easy feat. Congrats, dude."
"Ha, thanks. It's just intimidating, being someone so young in a place full of adults. I would be more outgoing, but it's kind of hard. I've also just been focusing a lot on training recently because I want to rank up to Ascendant-Class. That's the reason I asked Calypso if I could be her pupil." Paragon explained.
"Wait, Saint-Class is after Ascendant, right?" Nighthawk asked.
"Yeah. What about it?" Paragon asked back.
"You're catching up on Calypso quickly. She better watch out." Nighthawk exclaimed. "It would be funny if you reached her class. Give that little snob a surprise." Nighthawk said with a sneer.
"Oh, no, not at all. There's a huge gap between Ascendant and Saint-Class. It'll take me a long while to reach Saint. Plus, Calypso's on the verge of ranking up to Lord-Class. Just one more after that and she'll be in Elder-Class, the highest one." Paragon said with respect.
"I didn't realize she was that good. That's cool." Nighthawk revealed.
"I'm glad someone as good as her agreed to teach me. And she doesn't even demand payment or anything."
"Well, I think she has a soft spot for people weaker than her."
"Really?"
"Did you see how she treated me?"
"I think that's just because she almost killed you… she's usually never that open and vulnerable around me. Or anyone, for that matter."
"That makes sense."
Nighthawk zoned out.
Whether it was due to how silent the air had become after the supposed end to the conversation or the serene shining landscape outside of the window, he zoned out, staring at the snow that covered everything outside.
Shelter in the storm. The idea that no matter how harsh and unforgiving the conditions outside are, there's always a safe haven. You just have to find it.
And Nighthawk found it.
His safe haven, away from all of the hurt and pain he accumulated over his lifespan.
Away from reality.
Rather than facing it,
he ran away.
And now he had to deal with the consequences.
"What are you two up to?" Calypso's voice rang out from behind Nighthawk, causing him to turn around.
"Huh? Oh, we were just talking." Nighthawk replied.
"He treating you well, Paragon? I know you can be a little… shy." Calypso questioned.
"Yeah, we were talking about my class and stuff. He's nice." Paragon confirmed.
"Glad he's not teasing you or anything. Only I can do that, pipsqueak." Calypso said with a smirk. Paragon let out a sigh and hung his head down upon hearing the same old insult he received more than he would like to admit.
"Is this how you two get along? Pretty crappy relationship, if you ask me." Nighthawk mentioned.
"And who are you to tell us how to live our lives? Know your place, Hunnnterrrrr." Calypso fired back in a teasing manner, slurring out the last word with an overly exaggerated facial expression.
"I could still whoop your ass." Nighthawk said, looking away and whistling a merry tune.
"Ok, bud. Whatever you say. I'm not going to act on that statement because I don't feel like absolutely destroying you. Plus, I -"
A siren went off.
Its noise filled the entire room. The entire checkpoint.
A voice played over the intercom.
The voice of a hunter. Afraid and terrified.
"P - please help… m - my Vanquisher is dead, and - and there's p - people in the anomaly… I don't know h - how, but they k - killed him… help, please! Anyone!" The voice yelled.
A statement that would make anyone's blood run cold.
"People… in the anomaly? H - huh?" Paragon questioned, petrified.
"We have to go. Now." Calypso stated, immediately grabbing Paragon's arm.
Nighthawk's memories flooded back.
What are splicers?
The things that killed his dad.
"People in the anomaly."
The splicers have reemerged.
"Please, take me with you! I know I'm not a Vanquisher, but please!" Nighthawk begged, still not wanting to unveil his past and Vanquisher powers to anyone.
The risk of bringing back painful memories was too large.
"What?! Why?! You're a hunter!" Calypso yelled, getting ready to leave.
"Please! I can't tell you why, but… just let me come!" Nighthawk screamed back.
"You can't tell me? What happened to wanting to trust me?! Not keeping secrets?!" Calypso asked.
"I - I'm sorry… I just have to go. Please let me come!" Nighthawk asked once again, pleading desperately.
"I can't trust you not to get injured… I don't want to be responsible for almost killing you again… I can't bring you. I'm sorry." Calypso said remorsefully, proceeding to run off down the hall with Paragon.
Who am I if not with friends?
If not with people around me?
I don't want to be alone…
Grey… Lora… Calypso…
Why does everyone abandon me?
I miss you, Grey…
These splicers…
Grey, is this what you wanted? For me to inherit your power and vanquish the splicers when they appear again?
I'm sorry, but… I can't.
I don't want to. I don't want to end up like you.
Nari doesn't want me to.
I'm scared… I'm so scared…
I don't want to be alone… I don't want to die…
For the sake of everyone else in my life…
And for the sake of myself.