VIII

I snorted.

"What does he want?" I grumbled as I snatched the sheets off me and started to get up. Dragonfly caught my wrist.

"You don't have to go right now." He said, which I must admit was quite tempting.

"I kind of must, before he does something utterly stupid." I reminded him. He didn't let me go.

"Let him suffer!" He hissed under his breath. "You need rest!" I rolled my eyes, and with the shades off I knew he could tell.

"I already rested... thanks to your "sleep serum"." I passed him an aggravated look, his cheeks modelled with colour.

"It didn't last as long as I thought it would. Hell, you barely slept four hours!" I raised a questioning eyebrow at him: the blush on his cheeks ventured further, covering most of his face. "Okay..." He muttered after a minute of staring him down. "Maybe it was five hours and a half, but still! It's the unholy hours of the early damned morning! No creature is supposed to be awake!" I arched both brows and he, much to my dismay, jerked me to him: locking me in a death-grip with the both of us sprawled on the bed.

"Dragon!" I playfully growled at him. The voices of the silhouetted people grew eye-piercingly loud, but I ignored them. Ever since the afternoon, they've been back with a vengeance. I knew I was doing something to piss them off, but I didn't know what it was. Not that it mattered, I figured I could just keep doing what I did and hope it pissed them off. I tried to break out of his hold, but it was pointless and so I gave up: surrendering my entire weight to him. He scowled down at me, whilst I looked up bemused. It was always like that with him. I could be in the worst mood possible and he'd find some roundabout way to turn it around.

"I swear you weigh less than Grace!"

"And I bet you can't even lift me!" Dragon's eyes gleamed and before I knew it he had me upside down, hanging by the legs: his arms around my waist. "Let me down!" I hissed. He laughed delighting in my torture. He shook me up, jumping up and down on the bed.

"What's the magic phrase?!" He teased.

"Please." I groaned.

"That's not a phrase." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine! Fine! I love you! There!"

"Say it like you mean it!" He ordered. I groaned louder, a smile on my lips.

"I love you, you deranged fucking bastard!" I told him, he loosened his hold on me, lowering me onto the mattress again a wide smile on his face: from ear to ear.

"Love you too, pain in my ass." He laid down beside me and took out a book: a children's book we used to read for each other every night the two of us and... We kept the tradition every night: on links if we were apart.

"Who's turn is it?" I asked.

"Mine." He took out the old book and opened the night light. I grimaced slightly at the intense light, he gave me a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, not all of us are mutants that can see in the dark."

It was an ancient children books that some believed outdated the 21st century itself. The title was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

She loved it. I thought to myself. But she is not around anymore. She is gone. She left. Yet, she remains. I ignored the treacherous thoughts in my head and closed my eyes listening for Dragon's deep baritone as he read from the ancient book that we all but memorized out by heart.

""Oh, you can't help that," said the cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."" Dragon read in a false note. He faked a higher pitch when he read Alice's response. ""How do you know I'm mad?" Said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you would not have come here." The sheer irony of that strikes every time. The fact that madness is accepted in wonderland as a part of society. It is not questioned. None of the characters in the book tries to change their behaviour to make it more "normal". It is just recognized and that's the end of it. There is no need to explain misplaced actions or behaviour: waste breath to explain your point of view to someone else who does not really care to know. The reality of the world is that people do mad things for mad reasons or none. Life itself is mad and chaotic. As such, why must we live up to some virtual expectations of normality?

Dragonfly yawned, and he fell asleep before he had even completed the chapter: a hand draped casually around me. I rolled my eyes: smiling at his exhausted face and Viper clutched tightly in his other arm. I had lain there a while, waiting for him to completely surrender to sleep.

About half an hour later, I snuck out of his grasp: moving to put on my T-shirt again. Dragon sucked his breath in sharply but thankfully drifted back to sleep. He had always slept like the dead, which had led me to question how it was that he had survived that long. A small smile tugged mercilessly at the edges of my lips as I stared at him, cuddled like a child, cradling viper to his bulky chest. He had one of his hands tugged under his chin and his hair was standing on ends as if it had just been electrified.

Rolling my eyes, I ventured to him, kneeling over to whisper, ever so faintly, in his ear:

"Sweet dreams, Elias. I shall be back before you even miss me." I teased, knowing he can't hear me.

With one last glance towards him, I snuck into the living room with the paper evidence acquired by Darling. Flipping through them, I cursed.

It is her, after all.

What little joy Dragon had given me depleted, leaving me with a chilling feeling that I felt all the way down my spine.

I will end this. For all our sakes. What is one more girl to my conscience? What is one more girl compared to the lives of my brothers?

Nothing. That was the answer. I will surely always pick my brothers to some worthless girl that meant absolutely nothing to me. And if I didn't want to do it, then my feelings can rot to the very pits of Tartarus and I sure hope they will never return to me again.

The numbing sensation crept over me and I found myself already heading out, tracing Katarina. It was about time I ended it.

===

I grabbed my knife, clutching it desperately.

Kill her.

I stood over Katarina's sleeping figure intending to finish it, yet the blow never came. I found myself unwilling to go for it.

The room was large, shared by three girls: Katarina, Cassiopeia, and a third that appeared to look like Kat, but around Cassie's age. There were paperwork and computer parts littering the space. The wires were strewn about: wrappers and dirty dishes all over: not to mention the pile of clothes scattered.

Focus!

My hold tightened around the damned dagger; the voices grew louder until my right ear couldn't handle the sound, retiring and leaving a trickling stream of blood in the absence of sound.

"KILL HER!" The voices ordered shrieking. I raised the knife higher, preparing to plunge it in her throat.

One slash. You've done it thousands of times before. It's her or you: it's her or your crew: your brothers.

Katarina rolled over in bed to face me, still blissfully asleep: ignorant.

She looked so innocent asleep... like an angel. I never truly realised just how tiny she was. One would forget she was barely five foot four. An entire foot shorter than me.

I steeled myself, looking away from her peaceful form and struck.

I stopped mere millimetres away from her skin something shimmering in my prefrail vision. I moved towards it: thankful for the distraction. It was the mechanical pencil she used to draw her sketches. Out of curiosity, though telling myself it was for the sake of the mission, I flipped through it. There were all sorts of sketches: colourful and colourless: with brushes and pencils. Some were of people, animals, scenery, and some were random doodles. I turned to the last page and it was a sketch of me with a paragraph at the bottom.

November 5, 3130

Today, we had a new student in our class and I was stuck with showing him around. He was like a robot! I mean he was rude, but I don't think he meant to be. I think he's just not used to people conversing with him, but he's not shy. Far from it. He carries himself like he can kill you if you talk to him wrong and yet he is so calm and collected that it seems like you can't really piss him off at all. I guess the better term for him is cold. He is ice cold, yet everyone just thinks him acting "cool". The girls are already ogling him and the guys rambling on about how to befriend him, but I think he's like me. I think he just wants the world to leave him alone: in peace. I think he doesn't want anybody to get close because it hurts too much when they leave.

I stared at the paragraph in shock and anger.

Who does she think she is?! What does she think she knows about me?! How about she tries being an assassin for seventeen fucking years and see how she likes it?! Cassie shook awake and I bolted out, barely escaping before she noticed me.

Fine. I told myself. I'll get her.

===

Just as I was about to enter the bedroom, my phone rang. How very strange no one, but a handful of people, knew my number. I picked it up and to my utter surprise, it was someone I hadn't spoken to in a while. Bracing myself for the matter I picked it up and wished no one did anything stupid. I held my breath in expectation of the disaster about to unfold.

"Not dead yet?" I scoffed as I opened up the line. A girl tsked in response, Star Skrymer. I sighed in relief.

Thank skies, it's just you. I almost said.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked sarcastically as she scoffed.

"Save it for Queen Pain." She answered laughing at the other end of the line. "Besides I tried to contact the others, but none of them would answer me..."

"Gee, I can't see why?" Anew, she snorted at my remark.

"Anyway, I have things to do, so I was going to ask you about that hacker's websites... any luck with you?" She was lying. I could always tell with her, just like she could tell with me. I played along.

"Slow, very slow progress, but that was not why you called was it? No. you called to check on me after you've heard about my encounter with Erebus, didn't you?" Starskrymer sighed wistfully as I caught her in the middle of her act.

"Okay. Fine! You caught me. Yes! I don't give a crap about the websites I just called to see if you're alive. There! I confessed! Now, are you alright?!" I rolled my eyes at her tone. She was the one person who was even more paranoid that I am. Heck, I was normal, even careless, by her standards.

"Yes, Star Skrymer. I am fine." I rolled my eyes.

"Are you, now?" The sincerity behind her words stunned me to silence a moment, something that seldom happened.

"Yes, I'll live. I promise." I repeated getting impatient, though trying not to be a jerk to one of the few people, who gave a damn about me.

"Do you swear on your assassin's blade and oath?" I groaned.

"I swear." I breathed.

"Good." Last word. She always got the last word. A silence stretched a few seconds before I broke it.

"I will update you if anything happens with the websites-" She interrupted me.

"-And in your life. If one of you gets hurt or injured and you need help or a replacement you will call me! Promise! And for the love of god please stay away from trouble!" Nagging. That was one of her "talents". If only it were an Olympic sport, she would hold the world record.

"Yes, mother. Anything else? Should I pick up rice or vegetables on my way home? Oh! You forgot to tell me to keep the house door locked and not to open to strangers." Even thRough the link, I could feel her rolling her eyes at my dry sarcasm as she played along.

"Yes. Also, play nice with your friends and try not to poison anyone with your cooking!" That stung.

"Hey now! My cooking isn't nearly that bad...!" I knew her well enough to imagine the look she must be giving me through the phone. The are-you-serious-or-just-that-stupid stare.

"Keep telling yourself that sweets..."

"That's just mean..." I mumbled.

"No! Really?!" Last word. "Later Gator". She ended the call. The door opened to show a furious Dragon.

"Where. Were. You." It was my turn sheepish.

"I can explain," I told him. He dragged me as if I were a rag and closed the door.

"Please," His voice dripped sarcasm. "Enlighten me."

"You see, I..." I was searching my mind for a plausible excuse. "I -um. Skrymer! Yes, Skrymer called and I had left my phone in my car." I always sucked at lying, it was a miracle I was still alive. Dragon arched a cynical eyebrow.

"How'd you hear it then?" My cheeks heated.

"I-I didn't," I said. "I just remembered it was in the car and went to grab it and then I got the call."

"And it took you all forty-five minutes? Man, Skrymer must've had lots to say." I didn't respond, and he pushed me onto the mattress again – or tried to anyway. "Where were you?" He asked again.

"I swear Dragon it wasn't anything dangerous." I sighed. "I just went out to check something out for myself."

"And why didn't you wake me to go with?!" He demanded, invading my personal space until our noses all but touched.

"Because you were asleep."

"You need rest." He insisted.

"And so do you. Maybe next it will be me who's slipping something in your tea." That quieted him down and he backed off, upset.

"Fine. Don't tell me." He crossed his arms, turned ninety degrees to the left to face the small window, as the familiar tick started in his jaw. "But so help me if you get hurt again, I will personally kick your ass for it."

"I won't." I brushed him off and laid down in bed. If the truth were to be told, Dragonfly was right. I was utterly exhausted, I could probably sleep for two days straight, but I was always sleep-deprived for some reason or another and no sleep-serum or drugs will ever make it better. So, for the sake of Dragon, I turned around and pretended to fall asleep. Dragon just stood there furiously staring at me, but his own exhaustion shortly won out and he collapsed next to me a hand clutching mine to ensure that I stayed put that time because the truth was that Dragon and I shared the same nightmare.

We were terrified of waking up one day and not finding the other.