Extra's Descent

Clank!

The door to the intensive care unit slammed open.

A stretcher emerged. Surrounding it were several nurses, and amidst all that was a man with pale-white hair.

His body was in a bad shape with possible hemorrhage.

Beep... Beep.... Beep....

Standing behind the glass, Rachel scanned the entire process with an agonizing look.

She bit her lip tightly.

Before she realized it, it started to bleed.

However, she didn't care.

Brandon was in a perilous situation.

Clank!

"Rachel!"

The door abruptly opened, and emerged the familiar figure, with long lustrous pale-white hair.

Her ice-blue gaze instantly met Rachel's, and her expressions seemed to crack.

"Belle..."

"Rachel, what happened?! Why is--Oh my god..."

Belle covered her mouth as soon as her eyes landed on Brandon.

As soon as the ambulance arrived, Rachel had already called Belle.

She had only told her which hospital they were going to. For the other details, she panicked too much to think of any explanations.

And now came the hard part.

Explaining to Belle how everything happened.

It became apparent to Rachel that Brandon was--in fact--a secretive person.

But,

This was no time to be hiding any secrets.

Not when it was the sole reason why he fell in this predicament.

But for the time being, she allowed Belle to break down.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Minutes persisted like that. The occasional sound of the beeping, mixing along with Belle's sobbing.

Rachel had already cried her eyes out.

But still,

Seeing Brandon in that state.

Belle's agonizing cries...

...Even Rachel found herself in tears once again.

Drip. Drip...!

***

"Zed, you fucking bast-ah..."

Unable to finish his last words, Dwight breathed his last.

Thump!

Limply falling on the ground, several crystals etched on his back.

"Hoo...."

The fight lasted for an entire 32 minutes. If Zed was at his prime, it would've been shorter.

Dwight was always weaker than him. Moreso, because he mostly fought with his brawns and not his brain.

"Tsk."

Zed clicked his tongue.

Now that Brandon was out of commission, he didn't know what to do next.

This plan...

"It's a bust."

Cli... Click--!

Lighting a cigarette, Zed took a long nice drag.

*Puff*

Regardless of how smart Brandon was, and despite him being strong for his age, there were limits to what he could do.

"What was I thinking, relying on a 16-year-old kid?"

He regretted it.

This was especially so, as he started flipping a coin for no reason. The gesture of coin flipping became an inside joke to the two of them.

"Heh."

He stifled a chuckle.

In the past month of knowing Brandon, he had grown rather attached to the boy.

If he had a son, he would want him to be friends with Brandon.

"...."

On second thought...

"Never mind."

Brandon would be a bad influence.

But truth be told, not all hope was lost into accomplishing the plan.

Surely, Brandon had something in mind when he had asked Zed to inform the leader, Lancelott.

Yes, Zed didn't know what to do next.

But what he did know was not to doubt Brandon.

*Puff*

And so he retracted his previous thoughts.

He had to wait.

***

Out of respect for Belle, Rachel had told her everything there was to know.

Belle's reaction ranged from worry, to sad, to disbelief, and fear.

Now that Rachel thought about it, what Brandon was doing transcends insanity.

Infiltrating an underground organization. What kind of lunatic would even begin to think of doing that?

Even if her father was involved, Rachel couldn't see herself following Brandon's footsteps.

"...."

Her father.

The topic of her father was quite sensitive to her at the moment.

But,

She turned her head to look at the unconscious Brandon.

"...."

...She would go out of her way for the man she loved.

Then, she turned to look at Belle who had already calmed down.

According to the Doctors, they had managed to stabilize Brandon's conditions. It took over seven Doctors with the [Holy] affinity, just to achieve the feat.

A total of 78 fractured bones. A broken spine, and 11 missing teeth.

But thanks to the combined efforts of the hospital, most of the injuries would heal above human capabilities.

They were advised to give him time to rest. There was a high chance he would be comatosed for a long while.

But by the time he wakes up, hopefully...

Hopefully, Rachel will have the tools and the necessary information that would be of use to Brandon.

And all of that starts with confronting her father.

***

Beep... Beep... Beep...

Midnight, 2:00 AM.

The hospital room was clean and bright, with white walls and floors. Fluorescent lights hum softly overhead.

On the bed lay a man with pale-white hair, unconscious.

His figure was connected to various machines that beep and whirr quietly, monitoring his condition.

A single window allowed some of the moonlight to seep, but the blinds were partly closed.

And on the far corner stood a figure.

A man with jet-black hair and ink black eyes revealed himself under the moonlight.

His face was indifferent. But his lips pulled up to a smile.

"Fucking lunatic."

He stepped forward.

"Can't believe he managed to lure me out like this."

Opening his system, he took out a peculiar item from his inventory.

A healing potion.

Opening the lid of the potion, he neared Brandon. Opening Brandon's mouth, he slowly poured it inside.

"Now wake up... You crazy bastard."

Just as he spoke, Brandon's eyes slowly opened.

His vision was hazy, hence he blinked repeatedly.

Slowly, he took in his surroundings.

The familiar man stood beside his bed.

As expected.

Jin was here.

Just before the operation, Brandon had specifically sent a text message to Jin.

Just a simple, 'I'm going to die.'

That was it.

It became apparent to him that Jin didn't want him dead.

So maybe...

Just maybe...

It would lure him out.

And to his surprise, it did.

Slowly, Brandon spoke with a hoarse voice.

"Cough... You've finally... shown up."

"Yeah, now make it quick. I've got somewhere to be."

"Why.... Cough... have you been... ignoring my calls?"

"You think I've got the time for that?"

Jin's expressions were indifferent as always, as well as his tone.

"I'll only save you once. Next time, you're on your own."

"Twilight Syndicate, have you heard of them?"

A sense of familiarity seemed to etch itself on Jin's face.

"That ragtag group of children? What about them?"

"Tell me what you know."

"You sure you want to know?"

There was no sense of hesitation in Jin's voice.

Clearly, he knew something about the syndicate.

"...Yes."

"It's better if you find out slowly. If I tell you now, you might go and kill yourself again."

"...."

That was enough.

It meant there really was something important going on in that organization.

Even Jin spoke a bit highly about it.

"If that's all, I'll be going now. I told you, three years."

Jin walked towards the window.

"Wait."

But halted as soon as Brandon called out to him.

"What?"

"What do you know about the rift?"

"...."

This...

Now he hesitated.

At that, a sudden chill ran down Brandon's spine.

Was there really something ominous beyond that rift that even Jin couldn't articulate his words?

So...

"They..."

Brandon's eyes were slowly peering wide open.

There was a sense of tension in the way Jin spoke.

But his next words...

"They're going to die."

Flooded Brandon's thoughts like a tidal wave.