Chapter 12 : Defeated

A billion questions piled up in Clover's head. Who was that? Why does he know Kaya? What was a bearer? Why does he have powers too? All the confusion made his head spin and it didn't help that his arm was still bleeding profusely. Still, the boy's words stuck to him.

He stared at the gem, wondering if there really was more power that was yet to be discovered. Clover's attention was drawn to the monster, when it started flailing around, sending debris flying everywhere. It was panicking because of it's loss of sight and now it was heading towards the city, the civilians.

"Kaya! Watch out!"

Kaya's eyes widened when the blind monster flailed it's tentacles around. It was squeezing out of the alley, it's voice shrill with pain. The buildings around it were hit, so there was debris everywhere. Currently, Kaya was carrying a child, who was separated from his family during the chaos. He was crying in her arms, both because of the monster and his missing parents. Kaya was barely able to dodge the boulder that rolled towards her. She screamed at the other people to run while the child continued to cry.

"Clover!" Kaya screamed as she saw a flaming figure in the air, before it landed on the monster's head.

"Get out of here, Cow!" Clover shouted, his eyes even brighter and the nails of his hands now claws. There were scales on his hands and face, like a dragon's, and his flames were so hot that they were turning blue. He was growling, fangs just poking out of his lips. Kaya froze for a bit, shocked by how he transformed so quickly.

"Now!"

"How many times do I have to tell my name-"

"Go!" Clover's tone made Kaya flinch but she ran anyway, the child still in her arms. She wished that she could help him but she was just a guardian. A human, with no powers. Well, that was what she thought anyway.

Meanwhile, Clover had taken the hoodied boy's advice and discovered that most of his powers came from his anger. So, even though it hurt, he dug deep through his memory and thought of the moment in his life that angered him the most.

It was no surprise that it was related to his mother.

A loud smash rang through the room as Clover's mother destroyed his painting materials. Clover could only cry as his step-father held him back, forcing him to watch all his hard work, his paintings literally shatter before his eyes.

"Stop!"

Clover kept screaming that his mother seemed deaf. When she was done, she took the canvas from his shelf and started tearing them. Each tear felt like a stab in Clover's heart. All of his hard work was gone.

"I said stop, you bitch!" Clover was slapped across the face by his step-father and he crashed to the ground, breaking his guitar in the process. Tears were flowing down his face as he held his swollen cheek.

"Why? Why do you hate painting so much?!"

"Painting?I don't hate paintings, not at all. I hate the happiness that you express every time you're on that shit. It's time to put an end to it."

"...I deserve to be happy, you bi---" Clover was cut off by another slap from his step-father.

"No, you don't."

"I do." Clover gritted his teeth, as he slid down the monster's back. He placed his hand on its back, listening to where the heart was located.

"I deserve to be happy and nobody can tell me that I don't."

Clover dug his nails into the monster's back, his flames making it's skin boil. It flailed even more and he could only hope that Kaya was able to get the people away safely.

"I'll show you that I have the right to live a happy life."

Clover wasn't really talking to anybody but his anger had taken over and now he had the urge to kill the monster in front of him. To him, the monster was his fear, his cowardness, his will to resist the treatment he got from his family. He had to get rid of it.

"I'll show you!"

The monster's scream ripped through the air as Clover's hand pierced through it's chest. He wriggled his fingers around the muscular organ before pulling it out of its body. As the monster's limp body fell on the ground, Clover sat on its back, it's heart still in his hand, burning because of the flames. He was breathing deeply, blood all over his arm and face, while his eyes slowly faded back to their original brown color. As soon as he came back to his senses, he crushed the heart in his hands before wiping the blood on his shirt. He walked towards Kaya, who was standing in front of a group of scared civilians.

After Kaya assured the civilians that they were safe, she walked towards the bloody Clover. He looked a bit dazed because of what just happened and Kaya honestly was expecting that kind of reaction from him.

"They look at us like we're freaks." he said monotonously and Kaya looked around and saw that everyone really was staring at the two of them in fear. "Even after we saved their asses."

"We aren't normal, Clover." Kaya sighed, remembering what she went through in the orphanage, as she pulled him towards herself and walked away from the crowd. "We just have to get used to it."

"Please tell me." Clover whispered, his eyes dull, exactly the opposite of the burning expression he had while killing the monster.

"Tell you what?"

"Everything."

...*****...

The boy who beared the gem of darkness was sitting on a rooftop. He had witnessed everything and was smirking, since everything had gone according to plan. Since he was in a good mood, he swung his legs at the rooftop and whistled, while playing with the purple mist that was dancing around his fingers.

Honestly, he was amused by how both Kaya and Clover were clueless about everything but at the same time, he was impressed by how the two of them handled the situation. Especially when Clover went berserk and literally pulled out the monster's heart, he was struck with awe.

As he continued to whistle a tune he picked up from a radio the other day, he heard the fluttering of wings behind him. This made him frown, instantly shattering his good mood, since he knew who exactly it was.

"Leave me alone." He said with gritted teeth while tugging onto his hood.

"Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you or anything." The boy who had just arrived folded his wings, tucking them underneath his shirt. He had angelic white hair, perfectly complimenting his baby blue eyes. Resting on his chest was a pendant, the light gem, glowing like the rays amongst the darkness.

"What are you doing here?" The hooded man eyed the angel, who had sat next to him and was now also dangling his legs at the edge of the roof.

"I just wanted to visit my old friend." The angel said with a smile, while the other scoffed at his words.

"We are not friends, angel." He growled, his eyes turning purple and bared his fangs. The angel stared back with a blank expression, while the other returned a burning glare. He sighed, disappointed that his friend was still mad about that incident. He couldn't blame him though, who wouldn't get mad?

"You told me that you were against the reunion of the seven wonders, right?" When the angel saw his friend playing with purple mist, he summoned a ball of light and bounced it back and forth from one hand to another.

"I did..." He trailed off, not really sure about the words he spoke before.

"Why did you help Clover then?" The angel enlarged the ball of light and set it on his palm. He stared at it, the brightness giving him comfort. "Doesn't that mean that you're on their side?"

"Your logic is stupid. Just because I helped them, doesn't mean that I'm their ally." He rolled his eyes and spread his palm, the mist turning into an image of a dancing lady. The angel raised his eyebrow at this action. "I'm on nobody's side, I've told you before. If you or even one of the wonders die, my plan won't work out."

There was a loud crackle, which made him flinch out of shock. The ball of light in the angel's hands had exploded into sparks and now he was giving the other a burning glare. The angel stood up spread his wings, his feet dangerously close to the edge of the roof.

"I hope one day, you'll realize what the consequences of your actions are. Your plan... it's just wrong."

"I hope one day, you'll realize how wrong you are and you'll regret not joining me in my genius plan."

The bearer of Darkness gem replied arrogantly, the purple mist fading into vapor. The angel glanced behind him, through the feathers of his wings and gave his friend a look of anger and sincerity. He sighed before looking up, the gem on his chest glowing as he did.