Twisted Empire - Episode 97&98

 

TWISTED EMPIRE

Twisted Empire - Episode 97&98

(Her Blade, His Neck )

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or reposted in any form, or by any means without a written permission from the author.

Copyright © 2025 

by Naomi Cindy B.

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Theo was about to stab Paine's tummy for the third time when a low growl sounded behind him.

Whipping around fast, he saw a training dog standing behind him with flared nose, raised furs, bared teeth. It's on a prowl.

The same training dog he shot during training the other time.

Theo would have killed it right now, but that'd be too messy, and things could go south.

The dog picked a unhealthy race towards him, and Theo didn't wait for it to arrive before he rammed the knife into his own stomach.

He groaned out, and the dog stopped running. Even as an animal, there's shock and fear in the dog's eye as it watched the knife in Theo's stomach.

Theo dropped on his knees, his blood falling on the leaves in thick droplets.

He thudded on the ground beside Paine, and he faced the sky, holding his bleeding tummy.

"Help!!!" He yelled, his mouth widely open. 

"Help!!!" He repeated.

The dog ran out of the forest, and Theo quickly took Paine's phone.

A minute later, the dog returned with almost half of the armies on the field including Four and Kash.

"F+ck!! Theodore!!!" Rook screamed, scrambling to his knees beside him.

"Hey...hey orexi. Talk to me...hmm?" He held his cheek as Theo's eyes rolled around agonizingly.

"Paine?" April went on her knees beside Paine too. He's not even breathing anymore, and his body feels cold.

"Paine!!!"

Teal went on a knee, touching his wrist to feel his pulse.

Four went low beside Theo too, putting pressure on his stomach to control the bleeding.

"Call the ambulance, Kash." He ordered while looking around the bloodstained environment.

"Oh my goodness." Brent muttered.

Shannon gulped, unable to say anything.

"Are they... gonna survive?" Morgan gulped too.

Teal looked up from Paine's side after checking his pulse.

"Tell me you felt something, please." April said anxiously.

Teal's eyes found Four's, and she nodded twice, as fast as possible.

"There's a faint pulse, and we need to get him medical attention now! I mean now! Or we lose him." She said.

Theo's eyes twitched, but he concealed it fast.

The doctors arrived, and Paine was driven away in the first ambulance.

Theo was placed on a stretcher which rolled towards the second ambulance.

"Paine likes filming, so I believe he was... filming when he saw the spy entering the forest. He followed, and I happened to see them so I followed too, only for the spy to suddenly attack us after we caught him communicating with an outsider on his phone. We didn't see his face, he wore a nose mask." He explained the lie he had cooked.

"Save your energy, it's ok." Rook replied. Tears fell out of Theo's eyes.

"It's hurts like hell...my stomach." 

"I know I know, please just...keep quiet." Rook wiped his tears and followed him into the second ambulance which rode out of base immediately.

The armies began returning to the field, but trainings couldn't continue. Not after what happened.

Yulia came back to the base at that period, and the tears on her face startled everyone.

"Paine! Where's Paine?" She held the first army she saw.

"He...got stabbed in the forest by the spy, and..."

"What!" Yulia lost her breaths, and her chest seemed to lock.

"He has been taken to the clinic, together with Theo." The army further explained.

Yulia didn't wait to hear more. She ran out of the base again, marathoning her way to the clinic.

She was there in five minutes, and she dashed in, meeting the squad members in the wide hallway including Kash and Four.

Four looks like he's in a knot as he paced the hall, his hand in his hair.

"Ma'am?" Kash faced her.

"Big mummie." Teal stood, sniffling. Her hands are stained with Paine's blood. No idea when this bloodshed would end, but this is one of the most heart-wrenching ones.

The fact that Paine was barely alive when he was wheeled into the theater is the scariest part.

What if he doesn't make it? 

Paine has become a major part of the squad. He started off as a pain in the arse, but now he's tolerable, so he can't just die like this.

"Where is my baby?" Yulia's voice brought Teal back. She bashed her lashes, standing with the rest from the bench they're all sitting on.

Even Four stopped his pacing to face her.

"Baby?"

Yulia held him tightly by the arms.

"Ronnie...no I mean Paine. He's mine. He's my third child, your immediately elder brother." She said.

The shocks of the armies behind was indescribable, and Four?

His eyes just widened.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not explainable right now, but where the hell is he? Please tell me he's still alive and breathing even if it's by just a thread. Pleassse." Yulia cried.

Kash was gasping repeatedly, looking spellbound.

What's going on?

Four couldn't even talk anymore. The shock is still molten.

The moment one doctor emerged from the theater, Yulia and April were the first to rush forward.

"Alive? Please say yes." Yulia shook her head nervously.

"Alive by a thin thread. He made it through the stitching. No vital areas affected but his heart was almost grazed. The bleeding has stopped for now, but we can't guarantee his continuous aliveness though. He's in a fragile, critical state right now, and we'd have to keep watch till daybreak before making further deductions." The man said calmly.

Yulia smiled, her hand flying to her chest to lay there while April took a deep breath.

"So far he has the DeVille blood in him. He escaped death once, he's gonna escape again." Yulia said.

"Theo? What about Theodore?" Rook asked impatiently.

"Theo is stable. His stab wasn't so deep, so he'd be ok with enough rest and drugs." The doctor explained.

April pinched herself deeply. Now Paine's suspicions are starting to make sense.

Some hours ago, Paine told her about how he suspects Theo, and somehow, they both got stabbed today too?

There's gotta be something. Something she's sure is wrong.

Teal walked up to Four who's still standing confusedly on that spot. She hugged him gently, and his arms fell on his sides.

"Don't think about it too much. Just stay put. Stay calm like you always do even in the darkest situations. We got this." She assured.

Then she felt his arms sliding behind her back, hugging her too.

She shut her eyes on his chest, thinking about the text she got.

--

[Ambrose Ranch, Kalynda]

"Why didn't you tell me?" Paul asked, staring at Dave who looks treacherous on the other side of the kitchen table.

After the exchange of words earlier, Paul had left the ranch to get some air outside and digest the outburst. He only just came back right now.

"Like I said...it was a one night stand, and Sierra has been birthed long before Teal's parents died, so I didn't betray Teal's parents. I met Empress at the local bar out of town that year, and I could swear she approached me on purpose. We got drunk, did it, and a year later, she appeared with Sierra. At the same time, she was in a relationship with Late General Pedro." Dave explained.

Paul was speechless.

"I guess Pedro also got drunk in a random bar with her and they slept together too. She knows I'm a fighter, and she knows Pedro is from a family of warlords. She wanted a strong child, so she had the two of us, and unluckily for me, my release fertilized her. She birthed Sierra for me." Dave continued.

"So what happened after she brought Sierra to you?" Paul said.

"She told me she was my child, but she already trapped Pedro with her. Yunno....Pedro is more powerful, so she made her Pedro's daughter cos she wanted her to become future General. She asked me to be her trainer, but I declined, saying I didn't want my daughter on the battlefield. She got angry and took her away, said I wasn't fit to be her father." Dave continued.

He's crying already.

"And?" Paul nodded.

"She came to visit me with Sierra all the time, but she never introduced me to Sierra as her father, she just told her I was a friend. When Sierra clocked 5, she stopped bringing her to visit me. I stayed in the dark, deciding to let go of Sierra completely for her. But then later on I found out she stopped visiting me cos she already got what she wanted. She stole our black training book—my own copy. That's what she trained Sierra with, even trained herself." Paul sobbed, wiping his tears.

"There's this long story, and you've been keeping it to yourself all these years?" Paul stood. "I'm so disappointed, David."

"Paulo I was ashamed!" Dave stood, facing him. He's starting to cry again.

"Empress is a devil, she planned everything! She... she's the start of everything! I was too ashamed to confess that I had something going on with that woman! She's capable of many things, and Yulia's ruined pregnancies? She's behind everything!"

"What!" Paul received the second shockwave.

"Yeah. She wanted Sierra to be the future General despite the fact that she's not Pedro's daughter!" Dave ranted.

"Jesus f+ckin Christ." Paul muttered, unable to digest it.

"She's also entangled with The Marquis. She once dated him too, and now she wants to use his daughter as a lab rat, and that stupid old man sat there, allowing that mad woman to do it!" Dave yelled.

"Oh...this is the height of it. I'm running mad. I mean hell!" Paul shouted.

"And I'm not even concerned about the Marquis and his daughter. They deserve whatever they get from her, but there's an innocent lady over there. That lady has been locked here for long and Empress is slowly running her mad." Dave continued.

"A normal human locked up in a mental asylum?" Paul gasped.

"I'm not even sure if she can be normal anymore. They've injected her so many times and it's crazy how she looks right now. But she's the president's son girlfriend whom they thought is dead." Dave said.

"Oh...man." Paul sat back, hitting the table.

"Empress ain't human, Empress ain't...damn!" 

"I don't know what to do, and I'm even scared to make a move cos it might cost the lady's life." Dave said.

"Dump your fear and better get ready to work. You're the one who'd release the lady from your mad woman. I'll only give you pointers, and you should take the halo vial from the artillery with you. That should be enough to calm the lady down when you finally set her free. Go back to that annex tomorrow, and do what you have to do. That same tomorrow, I'm gonna go back to UNN with Four." Paul explained.

Dave wiped his tears again.

--

[Therapeia Underground Annex]

Hera is still inside the tub.

She has not been moving since she entered last night, but the monitor connected to her outside the tub is still reading, meaning she's still alive.

Empress held the remote, and she has been on her toes, watching closely with her assistants who're taking notes on their laptops.

The Marquis sat behind Empress, sipping from a mug of tea.

Number 44 sat in her ward, looking as miserable as she has always looked as she stared at the ongoing crime with drowsy eyes.

Bubbles suddenly appeared on the body of the tub, and both Empress and the assistants stood at alert.

Hera's eyes opened in the tub,, she began kicking in the water, wanting out and hitting the wall.

Her eyes are wide, indicating fear.

"Get her out!" The Marquis spranged up from his seat.

"Just a little bit more, struggling is part of the strengthening process. To get stronger, she has to fight in there." Empress replied.

"Are you crazy? She's hitting the wall, look at the bubbles!" The Marquis held her.

Empress broke free.

"You agreed to let's use her, so quit this idiocy she's not coming out yet! Look at the monitor, her brain is yet to accept more extra neurons and that's why it's still beeping blue! She can only come out when we see green." She glared.

"She has been in the tub all night! Let her out!!" The Marquis yelled.

Empress signalled secretly at an assistant at the back, and Marquis was injected on the neck.

The needle entered him suddenly. Before he knew it, he was already on the ground, passed out.

"Finally some quiet." Empress sighed, but then...

The monitor began beeping red instead of green, flipping the annex upside down.

"She stopped moving!" One of the assistants noticed Hera's body in the tub. Empress ordered for her to be brought out, and the tub was opened.

One of them jumped in to push her out, but by the time her body hit the ground, she was lifeless.

Completely lifeless.

Empress felt her pulse with two fingers, and when she couldn't feel her vein pulsing, she stood slowly.

"She's dead." 

She turned right.

"She's dead!!!" She yelled, running out of that ward.

She was laughing as she ran into every ward containing the patients, flipping their beds and throwing their dirty blankets around.

The poor patients gathered fearfully at a corner in their wards, shaking with fear as Empress continued her mad round race.

It's as if their madness is recharging her own, and by the time she finished running round their wards, she faced the only ward she hasn't stepped.

Number 44.

"Get her!" She ordered.

Gem was dragged out of her ward, and she was crying as she was taken towards the tub.

"No no no!!! No please!!!! Don't!!!!"

Empress stroked her rough hair, her smile sour.

"My experiment has to be successful. I need at least one human robot to start a coup in the base! Hera is gone, why don't you take her place? You're stronger than her, I'm sure you'll come out of the tub alive."

Gem continued shaking her head frantically, but that wasn't enough to save her cos two minutes later, the wires cap was balanced on her head, and she was thrown into the tub too.

"Increase the light currents!" Empress ordered, connecting the monitor.

--

[Military Base, Matrix]

Four, Kash and Teal are here with Fez, trying to track down the spy.

There are cameras on the forest trees which should have captured him, but again...the cameras captured nothing.

Fez slammed his palms on the table frustratingly.

"If Usman's technology is this powerful, then we should probably all bury ourselves alive before the next attack. He's gonna kill us all I swear! I mean...how could cameras not capture when it's not spoilt?" 

"It's a human robot, and it was probably programmed to not he captured by surveillance cameras. But the dog's camera ain't a surveillance camera, it's a simple phone camera lens." Four said.

"There's a canara on the dog?" Teal looked at him.

"After Axel's disappearance wasn't captured by the prison surveillance cameras, General secretly told some special ops to install phone camera lens on all the training dogs." Kash explained.

"Assemble the dogs for lenses check." Four ordered.

--

[Forest]

April made sure Yulia stayed with Paine before she left the clinic, then she came here.

She's holding a torchlight, and she's opening her path with her hands as she approached the incident spot.

If Paine's suspicions are right, then she should be able to detect.

She arrived at the scene and brought another torchlight out of her pocket, shining the two on the trails of blood.

According to Theo, Paine entered the forest first before he followed him.

Then they both saw the spy.

The spy would surely stab Paine first since he's in the front, and while stabbing Paine, Theo who's at the back should be running. He should have gone some steps before the spy would catch up with him and stab him too.

So their bloodstains on the ground should be far from each other.

But right now... Paine's bloodstains is right beside Theo's on the ground.

It's not making any sense.

Maybe Paine saw Theo entering the forest and followed him. He saw him calling, and Theo stabbed him.

Then the dog appeared, and he thought the dog was with one of the sergeants, so to avoid being caught, Theo stabbed himself too.

April's eyes widened.

"That's it! That's just it!"

She ran out of the forest.

--

[Clinic, Theo's Ward]

Rook wouldn't leave Theo's side, and it's the most annoying part of this night.

He has to communicate with Usman to know the way forward and inform him of his mistake.

He shouldn't have stabbed Paine. He should have snapped his neck, but he let his bloodlust take over, so he had stabbed him to see blood.

He has to do something, else that Paine bastard might wakeup faster than expected, and things would go sullied.

"Are you ok?" Rook asked beside him for the countless time.

He's sitting on the space beside the bed, holding tightly to Theo's hand.

"I'm fine, can you get me a wet towel for my forehead? I feel slightly hot." Theo asked, squeezing his face to fake pains when he's barely feeling anything.

His insides is half flesh, half metal, so metals take the biggest part of the pains, leaving him with the mild.

"Alright, I'll go ask the doctor if I'm permitted to use cold water on you." Rook kissed Theo's forehead, then he ran out of the ward.

Theo made sure the coast is clear before pressing his back ear button.

"Yulia's third child got suspicious, I killed him, but a training dog appeared, so I stabbed myself. Paine survived though, and we're currently at the clinic. Over." He rushed.

"Training dog? Surveillance cameras might not flash you, but there might be unseen lense on the dog. Are you underestimating Four? He's not a fool you dullard! What the hell are you still doing there? You ruined things! Over!" Usman yelled.

Theo stood from the bed immediately.

"What!"

"Get out, now! A car will come for you at X. Over and out." Usman snapped.

Theo grabbed his shirt from the bed, wore it on his bandaged body and rushed out of the ward.

He was already going down the hallway when he looked back, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rook, but he didn't see him, so he ran out.

Rook got back to the ward a minute later with the doctor, and he went crazy when he couldn't find him.

"I left him here... Theodore!" He shouted, checking the adjoined restroom. "Theodore!"

It's empty in there, and his eyes widened.

"The spy, what if he took him...what if..."

Teal and Four ran inside, followed by April 

They're all holding their guns tightly in their hands, index under trigger.

"Where the hell is Theo!" Four demanded.

"Where is that bastard robot!" April yelled impatiently.

"What!" Rook frowned.

"Where is he, Rookie?" Real glared.

"He wasn't here when we arrived just now." The doctor replied.

"He must have caught on," Kash muttered.

Four tapped his earbud, connecting to Fez in the Matrix.

"I want the cantonment gates automatically closed, now! No entries, no exits." He ordered.

"On it sir." Fez replied.

--

[Paine's Ward]

Yulia is here with the rest.

They're not allowed close to Paine's bed, but at least he's still breathing, and they can watch him from afar.

Yulia is smiling happily.

Paine might be in a critical condition, but f+ck critical condition. 

Her son is gonna wake up, and she's gonna hug him so tight and shower him with the affection he has never experienced before.

Her baby is gonna live. Her Ronnie will wake up soon.

And now that Four is Giant spider, maybe Ronnie would be Giant scorpion?

She smiled again at her own crazy anticipations. She can't wait for Four and Ronnie to bond, too.

And she's suddenly wishing Pedro didn't die, he'd be so fuckin happy beside her right now.

And the spy...he better hide well cos robot or not, she's gonna fight with her blood and flesh when they meet.

"Paine is a DeVille? News of the year." Brent muttered.

"Tell me about it, I'm still in shock." Shannon sighed.

"Paine? It's Ronnie. I like Ronnie more." Morgan said.

"No. I'll never see him as anything but Paine." Brent argued.

"And who's this robot spy?" Shannon sighed.

"Are we really safe in the next attack? I mean...if Usman has human robots, we're all dead." Morgan muttered.

Rook entered the ward in tears, and that stopped their conversation. Yulia stood from the stool she's sitting on.

"What's wrong?"

"Theodore..." Rook hiccuped, holding his chest. He's really breathing heavily like he's gonna faint anytime soon, and his whole body is shaking so hard. His teeth is clashing.

"Yes?" Yulia came closer.

"The...the spy." Rook said soundlessly, and like that...he went down.

Unconscious.

"Rook!!!"

--

[5AM, Presidential Estate]

Thanks to Four's influence at the airports and seaports, Jason was able to find out that Xanthe didn't fly out yet, so he's definitely still inside the president's mansion, and he's not safe.

Jason has been hanging around the estate surroundings since hours ago, trying to device ways to get in, but it's highly impossible.

The president's mansion is currently bedecked with too many guards, and penetration is too risky.

So he did the only thing in mind.

As early as 5am, he dialled the Head of security line, talked to the man for few minutes.

He waited one more hour, and at 6, Mr. Yuri arrived, escorted by a car full of securities.

"How did you get my number, oh boy?" He questioned Jason who smiled.

"I can get any number I want in this country, that's my specialty. I once worked in telecommunications for this reason." Jason shrugged.

"And you're telling that to the head of security without fearing arrest?" Mr. Yuri smirked.

"If you're gonna arrest me, help Xanthe out of that mansion first. You're the only one with the power which stretches to the police bureau." Jason said.

"Xanthe Dimitris?" Mr. Yuri frowned.

"There's no other Xanthe in this country, sir. Yes. His line has been cut off service since last night, and it's unlike him." Jason said.

He dialled Xanthe's line, showing Mr. Yuri his phone screen.

It's still out of reach.

"The president is probably hiding him to keep a secret. You should request a search warrant on his mansion." Jason shrugged.

Mr. Yuri came closer.

"I'll lose my job, lose my reputation, and land in jail if this ain't true. I hope you know what you're pushing me into."

"I bet it with my life that Xanthe is in that house and unsafe and he knows secrets. If it's untrue, then I'll go to jail with you." Jason said.

Mr. Yuri stepped away immediately, facing his co-officers.

"Contact the police bureau for a search warrant on President Spyros Dimitris mansion, and it should be done secretly." He ordered.

"How many hours would this take?" Jason asked.

"He's the President, of course it'd take long to press the necessary buttons. Five hours at most." Mr. Yuri replied.

--

[Daybreak, President's Mansion]

"Prepare their relocation documents and the private bombardier jet. They're to leave this country today without failure." President Spyros told his senior guard over the phone.

"Before midday." He further said, taking his seat on the couch.

He didn't sleep throughout the night, there are dark circles under his eyes.

Mrs. Katerina came downstairs, her under-eyes as dark as Spyros'

"Out of the country? You said they were gonna stay till the end of this case. You said they were gonna stay till things would calm." 

Spyros stood moodily, "I can't keep them in here anymore. I thought about it all night. It's too risky. I'm the President of this country, and keeping fire under my roof would be the stupidest thing to try."

"But he's your son, and Quentin is my brother. Besides the two of them, we both have no one." Katerina came closer, eyes suddenly calm.

"We have each other. We've always stayed with each other, Katerina. Let them go." Spyros said.

Katerina leaned in, and just like her sudden calmness, she kissed him.

She was smiling as their lips touched, his moustache pricking her.

Spyros drew her away, causing her to gasp out.

"Get yourself together, Katerina." He glared, walking upstairs.

Katerina sniffled, nodded.

"Fine, let them go."

--

[10am, UNN College]

Uncle Paul and Four came down from Paul's minivan in front of the main gate, and Four took a long look at the building, his eyes so fuckin red.

He didn't sleep.

He chased Theo all night together with Teal and the rest, but it was like chasing wind.

Theo managed to escape the cantonment, and he's not even surprised.

He put an halt to that case and came here with Paul to solve this puzzle since it's demanding quick attention.

"Will your partner be able to really bring down the underground annex?" Four asked.

"Dave might be a drunkard, but he's actually stronger in will than me, I'm just more stubborn." Paul replied.

Four didn't talk further, they entered the college and went straight to the medical faculty, asking for any professor who has spent more than thirty years in this school.

Thanks to Four's status and uniform, the students and lecturers treated him with respect. Even the chancellor was informed that he's here.

"The oldest Professor here is Prof Kai, and he's not on seat sir." A student said.

"And when is he supposed to be on seat?" Four asked flatly.

"I heard someone mention Kai." A new voice said, and both Four and uncle Paul turned to see the oldest man they've ever met all their life.

He's walking with a stick, all hair grey, even his nose hair that are stretching out, his eyebrows and lashes. All white.

His skin is wrinkled and eyes are sunken. He looks thin like he's suffering from an ailment, but he's still able to walk well with the stick.

Four and Paul followed him into his office, and they settled down in front of him on his desk.

"Why still working as a medical prof when you should be at home resting?" Paul asked.

Prof Kai sighed, the sound painful. "Cos I've been waiting for the right time. I was afraid if I rested, you wouldn't meet me whenever you come."

"You knew we were coming?" Paul asked.

"Aren't you Vaughn's brother? You look a lot like him, so it was easy to know. I handled Vaughn and Rue's project when they were still here." Prof Kai said.

Four has been quiet, and he kept it up, awaiting the best part.

"Back then, I was a desperate fool who wanted money and connections which could only be offered by Spyros, so when he gave me the connections i wanted and told me to ruin Rue and Vaughn's life in return, I didn't argue...I did what he wanted." Kai narrated.

"Ruin?" Four finally talked.

"Spyros stole their projects, and I knew about it, but I acted blind about it. I made Spyros the best graduating student, but Vaughn and Rue were sent to jail." Kai explained further, regrets taking over all of his features.

Four picked a pen from the table, ready to stab him in his two eyes.

He was already raging uncontrollably.

"How could you ... How..." Paul slammed his fists on the table.

"How could you!!!"

"Rue was the most brilliant, so Spyros was obsessed with her." Kai continued.

"Rue?" Four's eyes shadowed.

"He's right..." Paul muttered.

"Rue has always been more brilliant, but she layed low cos of Vaughn and let Vaughn take the shine. If he scored 20 in a test, Rue would knowingly answer her questions wrong just to score lower. Rue was also Vaughn's tutor—from highschool to college. Rue was the legit genius, but like I said... She allowed Vaughn take the shine always. She taught him painting, she taught him how to play the zither, she lectured him about medical. She even taught him about computers." Paul confirmed.

Four stood hastily.

"Rue was also a computer genius?"

"Yeah...why?" Paul stood too.

Four was about to talk further when his eyes suddenly caught a document on the desk.

He grabbed it, eyes coming wide and breaths rising as he checked it out.

"That was the project report...the one Spyros stole from them." Professor Kai said on his seat.

"What's up with it?" Paul asked Four who's still staring unbelievably at the document.

"Read the project title." Four muttered, handing the documents to Paul.

"Understanding Special Medical Advances Now." Paul read the title.

"Now pick out the first letter of each word and call it together." Four said, his heart thudding violently.

"USMAN..." Paul muttered, his eyes widening as his face shot up.

"USMAN?????"

"Usman isn't just a name, it's a dark title...a title of doom. A title of destruction herself. A title of revenge." Four muttered.

--

[Ring Building]

Usman didn't give Teal a specific time, so she came here at half past ten, boldly alone.

Since Four has decided to keep certain secrets from her, then she's gonna keep hers too.

It works both ways. She once told him, but he's obviously not getting it.

Usman isn't gonna kill her. She's very sure of that.

This ain't arrogance, but if Usman wanted to kill her, he'd have done it since long ago.

Their first mission when she almost bombed with the classroom but she was saved by Four.

Second mission when they dealt with human weapons but Four was there to partner with her.

Third mission at Boma when she jumped in the river after Sierra chased her.

Or when Sierra made her fall in the sinkhole and she landed in another river, Four saved her too.

Somehow, she always took the least hits everytime. Four took the biggest hits, and that just proves that Four is Usman's main target in the base.

Four, not her.

As she walked into the ring building, her heart wasn't thudding with fear like she expected. Her steps were firm and calculated.

But they turned sharper when she saw the building walls have paintings attached to them.

Paintings of orchids—her favorite flower. They were painted with the Ambrose family signature—the black butterfly.

But this butterfly has two gold dots on it's wings, and only one of her parents own this particular signature.

She stopped on her tracks, feet turning cold inside her boots when she arrived at the middle of the building and saw a female figure standing in front of her. 

Her back is on her.

Curly long hair, short but not-too-short height, heels that are colour teal, and a flowing gown that's the same colour.

A female?

Is Usman playing tricks?

"Will you turn around and show me your ugly face, or would you rather I drag it down to the concrete myself?" Teal said coldly, angrily.

She could taste her own anger at the tip of her own tongue.

"Oh dear... Mummy is far from ugly, and you know that." The familiar calm voice replied. 

Teal froze.

The figure turned, facing Teal and giving her the hardest, rawest, wickedest shock of her existence.

There she is... Rue Ambrose, her dead mother.

"M...m..mm..mum..??" Teal stuttered, unable to feel her lungs and bones and flesh!

"The one and only beast, Usman." Rue smiled ghastly like a ghost.

TBC.

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