The Quo

  She opens her mouth to speak but the shock of the last few minutes has yet to wear off. She takes a deep breath and tries again.

  “My track coach tried to kill me,” she says in complete astonishment.

  “Yeah, he’s Quo,” Miku says.

  “What’s a Quo?” she asks.

  “Angel/Human hybrids.”

  “I thought humans and Angels couldn’t…”

  “So did we,” Miku replies.

  “Okay… and why are the Quo trying to kill me?” Emmy asks.

  “They don’t play well with others,” Ameana says.

  Miku goes up to the human and examines her wounds.

  “One of the Healers left a mixture here that might help with your bruise. Let me go see if I can find it.”

  “I don’t care about that. Miku, what’s going on?”

  “Aren’t you in pain?” Miku asks.

  “I can handle it. Just tell me what’s happening. Why is New York City a no fly zone? Why are the Quo after us? Why are you guys down here at all and where is Marcus?” The team looks at each other and silently confers.

  “Someone speak,” the human says.

  “A lot has happened since we last saw you,” Miku says.

  “Okay…”

  “First thing you need to know is that there is no longer a light to go back into,” Jay tells her.

  Shock spreads over her face. The team explains everything that’s been going on. She listens quietly and tries to absorb all the info she’s being given. When they are done, she speaks with awe in her voice.

  “The Sage did all of this?” she asks.

  “Yes. He betrayed us,” Ameana says.

  “So now you guys have to put the Shoma together and only Marcus can do it. And you guys have just two months to do it?”

  “Actually, we now have six weeks,” Jay corrects her.

  “Wow, okay. Where’s Marcus? Out looking for the three Alphas to put the Shoma back together?”

  “No,” the Mood Ring says.

  “Did something happen to him?”

  She looks at the team and I can almost smell the fear in the air. Judging from her attempts to swallow, her mouth has gone dry. The anticipation of what the team might say next makes her hands shake slightly. When she speaks, her voice trembles and she sounds more like a five-year old than a teenager.

  “Guys, where’s Marcus?”

  “He’s here. But he needs your help,” Ameana says, sounding very official.

  “Help with what?”

  “He…Emmy, he’s a Tic,” Miku says finally.

  “A Tic as in a drug addict?”

  “Yes,” Ameana confirms.

  “That’s not possible. Marcus would never do that. Never. ”

  “It’s was hard for us to believe, too,” Rio says.

  “No, he would never do that,” Emmy says stubbornly.

  “We found him in some alley. He doesn’t really know who he is, much less who we are,” Jay says.

  “I don’t believe any of you. I know Marcus. I know what being an addict did to his family. He would NEVER go down that path.”

  “Why would we lie to you?” Ameana says filled with irritation.

  “Marcus is not a Tic!”

  “WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS. THE SOONER YOU ACCEPT THINGS, THE SOONER WE CAN GET ON WITH IT!” Ameana yells.

  “I want to see him,” she says, looking Ameana in the eye without flinching.

  “Okay, but you have to be prepared. He’s different now,” Jay warns her.

  “I want to see him,” she insists.

  “Okay…” Jay says as he takes her into the room to see the former First Guardian.

  Jay slowly opens the door and allows the human to enter. She walks in and finds the heap of grey, ghastly, macabre waste that was once her hero.

  When the Tic looks out onto nothingness, she gets a good view of him. She sees his hollowed out face and nearly featherless wings.

  It’s as if someone reached in and pulled her heart from its chest cavity. She runs for the exit. She is barely outside the room when she vomits into an awaiting bucket placed there by the Mood Ring.

  Ameana addresses the team as the human continues to hurl.

  “How the hell is she gonna save him? She’s too weak to even look at him…”

  CHAPTER SIX:

  WHEN A LEADER BREAKS

  An hour later the team assembles in the living room along with the Healer and the human.

  “How could this have happened?” Emmy asks.

  “Angels take drugs for the same reasons humans do - to keep their inner demons away,” the Healer informs her.

  “Yeah, but they always come back. Stronger than before,” Jay says.

  “How can I help?” she asks eagerly.

  “I am told you two are in love,” the Healer says simply.

  “No, we’re not. I mean, not anymore,” she speaks as if trying to put together a sentence with the words she thinks will hurt the least. So far she has failed because every word is filled with pain.

  “I was told he had great feeling for you,” the Healer counters.

  “I don’t know what he feels. Why does it matter?” Emmy asks.

  “There are three phases a Tic has to endure in order to come back from the pit of addiction. It’s a difficult climb and sometimes even the help of a loved one isn’t enough.”

  “If he needs the help of someone he loves, you should be talking to Ameana,” Emmy says.

  There is an awkward silence that fills up the room. The team looks at each other as if waiting to see which of them dares to break the silence first. It’s finally broken by the Healer.

  “The one you are with isn’t always the one you love,” he says.

  “Well, you’re wrong. Marcus loves her. He chose her over me.” I can actually hear her heart breaking from here.

  Humans - so weak.

  “Actually, we’re not together. We never were. Marcus lied because he wanted to keep you safe. He knew evil would come after you for vengeance. So he pretended you didn’t mean anything to him so they would leave you alone,” Ameana says quietly.

  The team looks at Emmy, not sure what her reaction would be. The Mood Ring is reading her waves and he seems perplexed.

  “I’ve never seen that many colors in one person’s wave before,” he says to his twin.

  “Is she okay?” Miku asks.

  “I’m not sure…”

  She seems lost in thought; the kind of thoughts that make it difficult to return to the current situation. I get that way a lot since meeting Ameana. It’s awful. You think so deeply about things that couldn’t possible happen.

  Once I thought about what it would be like if I had a Rah to give her. Would she take it and be my wife? Would she give me hers in return? It was a stupid thing to even contemplate because demons don’t have a Rah. And even if we did, who’s to say she’d give me hers?

  She wouldn’t; would she?

  “Emmy, are you okay?” Jay asks.

  She doesn’t answer him. She turns all her attention to the Mood Ring.

  “I asked you if Marcus felt anything for me and you said he didn’t. You lied to me?” she asks in a small voice.

  “I’m sorry. I did what Marcus asked of me,” he replies.

  “He did what he had to do in order to protect you,” Ameana says on her ex-boyfriend’s behalf.

  “So all of you knew that Marcus was lying?”

  The team slowly nodded their heads.

  “Em, we’re sorry—” Miku begins.

  “—Let’s just…we need to focus on Marcus. We can deal with the rest later,” she snaps.

  She is so angry she’s shaking. I’m guessing the Mood Ring picks up on the same thing because he asks her if she wants to take a moment to compose herself. She ignores him and tells the Healer to continue. That’s the first time I’ve seen her being rude.

  Maybe there’s hope for this chick yet…

  “As I said before there are
three phases to recovery: The first is the Shock phase. It’s more of a test for us than it is for the Tic. We have to deny the First Guardian any more CP no matter how enraged or in pain he is. We have to shock his system into accepting the fact that he will no longer be getting CP.”

  The team goes on to explain how dangerous Marcus can be once he is in need of a CP fix. They tell her how they have not been able to take the drug away from him completely in fear he would not survive.

  “Where are you keeping the CP?” the human asks.

  Jay points to a glass casing that hangs on the wall with several vials of a gold-colored paste.

  Emmy looks around the room. She spots the fire iron along the wall. She calmly picks it up and smashes the glass casing into pieces.

  She turns back to the team of stunned Guardians.

  “What’s next?” Emmy asks with a sense of clarity and focus I have yet to witness in humans.

  “We wait. In a few hours, he will demand CP and when he doesn’t get it, he will be violent.”

  “Has anyone ever pulled through this?” Emmy asks.

  “Very few.”

  Emmy sighs deeply and hangs her head. The Healer approaches her.

  “I’ve never seen CP take over a Guardian, let alone a First Guardian. He may stand a chance. We just have to be patient. Normally it takes months if not a full year for the Angel to gain their wings back.”

  “Wait, what? We don’t have that kind of time,” Ameana says.

  “Well again, Marcus is a First Guardian. He’s stronger. It’s highly unlikely, but who knows? He could Spring.”

  “What do you mean by ‘Spring?’” Miku asks.

  “When an event is occurring that the Tic finds too tragic to bear, his Angel nature will take hold. He will gather Omnis-like strength, grow his wings back almost instantly, and stop the event from happening.”

  “You mean the Tic will get adrenaline, like a human mother lifting a car off her baby?” Emmy asks.

  “Yes.”

  “How many times have you seen a Tic Spring?” Miku asks.

  “Never,” the Healer confesses.

  “Then what was the point of telling us that?” Ameana asks.

  “I’m just trying to give everyone a positive outlook.”

  “Don’t worry about our outlook. Just tell us the truth, plain and simple,” Ameana demands. Miku touches her shoulder in an attempt to get her to calm down.

  “The truth is CP is like a Soul Chaser on the inside. It eats away at your soul and there’s a ninety-nine percent chance that no matter what we do, Marcus is going to die.”

  “No, he’s not. I don’t give a damn about your percentages. Marcus Cane is going to make it through this. He’s going to walk out of that room and be exactly like he was before,” Emmy says confidently.

  “I can’t promise you that,” the Healer says sadly.

  When Emmy replies to the Healer, she is steady, controlled, and certain. The leadership tone in her voice catches everyone in the room off guard. “I’m not telling you to promise me anything. I’m telling you how this part of the story is going to end. The Angel in that room has saved my life time and time again. So long as I’m alive, I will make damn sure he is, too.”

  The human chick had no idea what she was in for. A few hours later, Marcus was suffering major CP withdrawal. The Shock phase had begun. He first started by breaking all the windows in the room. Then he smashed through the walls and broke down the door.

  He punched, kicked, and tackled every single member of his team. They wrestled with him but there was no keeping him down. He got past the team and found the shattered pieces of the CP vials. That enraged him even more. He attacked his teammates again, this time with the pieces of broken glass. Jay suggested they put him in a Holder but the Healer said it won’t work.

  The Mood Ring tried to get the human to stay back but she was determined to be front and center. She was sure that Marcus wouldn’t harm her. The team tried to talk some sense into her by reminding her that the Marcus she knew was no longer there.

  “That’s not true. He’s in there somewhere, I know it,” she says as she continues to call out his name. He pays her no mind and continues to destroy the house and attack his teammates. This goes on for another thirty minutes until the Healer says regretfully that they may be fighting a losing battle.

  “We have to get him some CP, now! Or he’ll hurt himself,” Miku says.

  “NO!” Emmy shouts.

  “Emmy, he needs it,” Jay pleads.

  “What he need is for his team to believe in him. We are not giving him any more drugs,” she vows. The team begrudgingly agrees.

  “Why is he so strong now and so weak before?” Jay shouts over the sound of falling cement.

  “The Shock phase gives a Tic great flashes of strength,” the Healer replies.

  Emmy somehow manages to get away from Jay and runs right in front of Marcus. She looks up at him like a lost puppy and pleads for him to stop.

  Marcus pauses briefly and then slams his hand into the wall. Half of it comes tumbling down.

  Jay quickly Glides over to Emmy and carries her off before the debris falls on her.

  “Let me go!” she cries out.

  “He’s gonna hurt you,” Miku says.

  “Marcus would never do that.”

  “That is not Marcus!” Ameana shouts.

  “He’s in there and he’s all alone. He needs me,” she pleads.

  Meanwhile Marcus has ripped every cord and cable out of the wall. He swings violently at the Mood Ring, who has since put up his shield. Marcus continues to pound on the shield in attempts to destroy it.

  “Marcus stop! You’re gonna hurt yourself!” Emmy yells from behind Jay, who refuses to let her get near the Tic.

  “Why did you bring me here if you weren’t going to let me help, Jay?” she begs.

  “You can help, but not when he’s like this, Emmy, he will kill you.”

  “No, he won’t.”

  “You can’t go.”

  She looks over and watches in horror as Marcus slams his fist yet again against the wall. This time there is a nail there and his palm splits open.

  “He’s hurt,” she cries to Jay.

  “I’m sorry, Emmy. You have to wait for this phase to pass.”

  “He needs me,” she pleads with tears in her eyes.

  Jay is unmoving. It is almost an hour later when Marcus finally gets tired and stops tearing things apart. The human bursts into tears as she watches her hero fall pathetically to the ground.

  Jay lets her go; she races to his side.

  She whispers in his ear.

  “I’m here, Marcus; I’m here, Marcus.”

  The Tic shows no signs that he hears her. It doesn’t stop her from repeating it all night and reassuring him that he is gonna be alright.

  Lies.

  Still, I have to hand it the human. She is dedicated. The nights of rage-fueled CP withdrawal known as the Shock phase, went on and on. She never gave up the Tic. The team would force her to stay away from him when he was out of control. Then the minute he had calmed down, she was by his side comforting him. I think I even heard her singing to “Staying Alive” to him.

  She’s singing to a Tic? This chick is crazy. Really, what does Marcus see in her?

  Although it’s kind of cool that she didn’t bail on him.

  I wonder if Ameana would be there for me like that…

  Not that I would ever need it. I’m a freaking Akon. I don’t get hurt and I don’t need anyone to stay up with me like I’m a damn kid.

  Still, I wonder…

  It’s been two weeks and the human has been true to her word: She has not let Marcus have any CP whatsoever. But the house is now in shambles and every member of the team has been attacked by the Tic at some point.

  The Tic does look slightly better. Is he ready for the “Hottest Looking Tic of the Year” award?

  No. He still looks like a grayish mess of crap. He has sprout
ed a few feathers. They are also gray and can’t seem to stay on his wings.

  The Healer says they are doing well and that they passed the first stage. And now Marcus will no longer go into violent rages anymore.

  Too bad...

  The Healer says they are ready for stage two: The Break.

  “This is the stage where we get past the anger and go back to find the sadness,” the Healer explains.

  “What sadness?” Miku asks.

  “There was a point, a moment, or better yet, an event that made Marcus turn to CP for comfort. That moment is called the Break. We have to find it.”

  “Why?” Emmy asks.

  “Once we find the Break, we can then confront him with it and force him to begin to feel again. Once he starts feeling and not numbing his sadness, we can move on to the last phase.”

  “How do we find the Break?” Emmy asks.

  “We figure out the moment that caused Marcus to turn to drugs.”

  “Then what?”

  “Do you know what a Replay is?” he asks her.

  “Yeah, it’s a snow globe-like thing that reenacts an event from your past. Marcus gave me one. It reenacts the time I—”

  “—the time you kissed another girl’s boyfriend,” Ameana finishes her thought for her.

  Why does she even care? Is it because she still has feelings for the Tic?

  Whatever.

  “Yes, that’s exactly it,” the Healer says.

  “So, we think of the event that hurt Marcus the most, then show him the globe and hope it gets him to feel again?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t mean to doubt you, Healer, but I have been here with Marcus everyday for weeks and I don’t think I’ve made a difference at all.”

  “My dear, Marcus did something with you that he has yet to do with anyone else.”

  “What?”

  “He paused.”

  “What?”

  “When he was in phase one, all he wanted was the CP. He nearly killed his team to get at it. But when he saw you, he paused. Something somewhere in him said “This being in front of me is important somehow.” Getting Marcus to pause is like getting time to hesitate. It goes against its nature. But he did it, for you.”

  “Look, I think that Marcus is improving too but with the time we have it’s just not enough improvement,” Ameana announces.