#WadeInTheStorm #OneV3
Dec 27, 2015 14:54:15 GMT -5
God King Dune, Dustin Beaver, and 1 more like this
Post by Wade Moor on Dec 27, 2015 14:54:15 GMT -5
Prologue: All I Want
"I-I never wanted any of this", Leven's voice rent through the wind chilled chamber that was as dark as the grave.
"All I ever wanted...", Wade replied, his voice cooed and met Leven's in the stars, "Was a brother."
_________________________________________________
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
*buzz-static*
"How many more ways can I spell out that you're fucked, Grayson? I guess I could L-I-T-E-R-R-A-L-L-Y spell it out for you, but we would probably agree that it would be a bit trite, no? It's a little cliche, isn't it? What would I stand to gain from such an action?
"The only way to do this Grayson...is to take a shit in your soul. I already ripped out the heart and beat out the courage, so this is the only thing left standing.
"You see, the thing about Livewires? The spark always burns out...but the Battle? Well, the Battle never ends. One fight's over and another takes it's place...but in the span of a week, you've made this your very last fight. Where do you go from here, Pierce? Once I beat you in the middle of that ring, they turn all the lights out, and everyone goes home? Where is there left to go?
"This is your final stretch, your last hurrah...and when it all comes crashing down at the end of a BROSIEDON PUNCH, then you've taken your very last breath. You might as well have a go bag for after it's over, it'll save you time when you're packing up to head home, lick your wounds, and call it quits.
"I mean, what else are you fighting for after that? You've painted yourself into a corner, Grayson. Your son is dead. Your wife is broken. You no longer have a family. It's time to take a step back and rebuild...and I will help you take that first step. That's what this has always been about, hasn't it?
"And you'll call me an asshole, yell to the world that hate me...but really, I was the one who saved you. I saved you from fighting for nothing. I saved your family by not allowing you to win this World Championship. There's only so much one man can handle, and you're at your limit Pierce.
"One more crack...and your whole damn world comes crumbling down. This is the beginning of your end...and well, it's a short fucking story, but we'll tell it in the ring as we've always done...and my story? Well, my story is just beginning, and it's one of them #BeachKrew novels. So sit back, relax...
"And enjoy the ride."
*buzz-static*
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
Part I: It Dawns On Me
“Now we just sit back and wait”, Seth's voice lurched across the empty chamber like the crack of a whip.
Leven stood across from Seth – set on his throne of stone – with Minerva at his side and Nikita bound and unconscious at his feet. He knocked her out before they arrived, though she had come with him willingly. He couldn't risk having her make a run for it. She was part of the plan...And even though Leven still wanted to give Seth a skull full of his axe, he knew that what he was doing was for the good of the Earth. It would be the penultimate sacrifice for Wade, and his death wouldn't be in vain. Dying for a world he never cared about – or a world that never cared about him.
“How do you know he will even come?” Leven asked, his voice as cold as steel.
“I know”, Seth replied, with that same steely coolness, “Because it is how I decided it will happen. There is not an inch of this world that isn't under my thumb. How do you think I found you in that dirty swamp? How do you think I knew about he and Nikita? I'm no fool, Leven. I know everything...
“And this is all part of my Magnum Opus! It's the grand design...the Prophecy being realized right before our very eyes! Wade will tragically die...murdered before One, and no one will even bat an eye. That is the persona I have created, the intrinsic web I have weaved. Gemini will face an opponent that he has a chance against...for that is the tale I've folded and put into my pocket. How do you not see it yet?”
Leven smirked.
“How do you not see?” Leven asked, “How do you not see that you shouldn't underestimate Wade?!”
“I MADE HIS LIFE MEAN SOMETHING!” Seth yelled, “THE ENTIRE WORLD AROUND HIM? IT HAS BEEN MY DOING! ALL ALONG! I HAVE GIVEN HIM EVERYTHING HE'S EVER WANTED!”
Leven shook his head, disagreeing with Seth.
“He never wanted this”, Leven replied.
“Yeah, well”, Seth said with a childish gleam, “It's time I took it all back. He's proven himself ungrateful. Unworthy.”
“Unknowing?” Leven asked.
“I don't care”, Seth replied, “He's about to find out. Just wait here. I can't be here when this happens. I have other things to attend to.”
“So you're just going to leave while I get my hands dirty?!” Leven yelled, “From my very own brother?!”
Seth turned and walked towards the door.
“That's why I hired you, isn't it?” Seth asked, “Finish the fucking job, and be gone from here. After this...I never want to see your face again.”
“The feeling...” Leven replied, “Is mutual.”
Seth slammed the chamber door behind him.
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
*buzz-static*
“So what do you think our story is Grayson? Do you think it has been one for the ages? Do you think when people talk about all the glorious moments that have happened in WSeaF history, that this one will let loose from their lips alongside the Johnny Fly's and the Steve Orbits? The Bobby Cairo's and the ICE Beckmens? The Dunes and Flashes?
“Or is this going to be just another Wade Moor ritual killing? I'm going to have to side with the latter, because I genuinely believe that you're a toothless wash. I carry no fear in my primal heart, as I step into the unknown ahead...but you? You're weighed down without a crutch in the world to hold you up.
“And that's going to be a weakness? That heart that you're fighting with? It will only turn on you. Cause you even more pain than what I'm putting you through at One. It's a double edged sword, only the end facing me is dull...and well, I'm not afraid of a little paper cut.
“So what do you think of our story, Grayson? Well, come a little closer...it's about to get better...”
*buzz-static*
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
Part II: Ride At Dusk
The cold beach front was accentuated by the brewing storm on the horizon, and the five silhouettes standing along it's bank. They stare ahead at a castle in the distance, and as the fog clears around them, Moor, Rabid, OblivSEAon, Kemp, and Beaver's faces wear stoic expressions, as if they had embraced death itself as an old friend. Wade turned to #BeachKrew.
“Kemp, Beaver”, Wade started, “I want you two to stay with the boa...”
“What?!” Beaver exclaimed, “After what that fucker tried to do with us? You want us to STAY WITH THE BOAT?!”
“Yeah Wade”, Kemp chimed in, “That's bullshit.”
“Listen...” Wade spoke, a calming fatherly voice taking over his usual cruel undertone, “You two...are still so young. You still have so much to live for. Inside this castle? I can't guarantee your safety, and that's the only promise I can make.”
“I don't care!” Beaver exclaimed.
“Me neither! Let us fight with you, man”, Kemp added.
“NO!” Wade retorted, “I can't have...I won't allow it! You two...have made me a proud GodNillaBrother. I can't even express...Stay with the boats, please?”
They must not have ever heard Wade say please, because something about it made them agree with him.
“Sure, we'll stay”, Beaver replied while giving Kyle a slap on the shoulder – who nodded his head in agreement.
“If we're not back in two hours...”, Wade said, “...then go. Get out of here. Men like us?”
Wade pointed at himself, Rabid, and Obi.
“We deserve whatever happens to us in there”, Wade finished.
Wade looked at his family one last time...ever since he was a child, it was all he ever wanted. Until his own family had turned on him. He knew finding what he had was too good to be true...since now his brother had returned to finish what his father started. Wade always had to pay this bill...but now it collected interest, but Wade was going out in debt. He wouldn't let anyone get their hands on his family.
He turned towards Rabid and OblivSEAon, who looked rearing to go, his mask perched upon his face like sadistic war paint. Rabid was standing tall, obelisk as a statue, his overcoat covering most of his body. He seemed to be smiling at the moon - that awful vengeful moon – as if he were basking in the sun, as if he had just come home.
“You two”, Wade said, “Are going to come in the castle with me.”
“IT was waiting for you to say that”, OblivSEAon snarled, which Wade returned a smile towards.
“I take no issue with this”, Rabid replied, “I'm fully capable of handling myself, as well as er – watching your six?”
“How did you even find this place?” Wade asked, his curiosity at an all time high.
Rabid smiled at the corner of his lip, baring his teeth in a chilling smile.
“I know a guy”, Rabid replied, “He deals in beachfront property like this.”
Wade didn't feel like questioning him any further...but if they made it off this rock alive, then he would have a bone to pick with him. Wade gestured, the trio moved forward, leaving Beaver and Kemp behind to guard the boat.
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
*buzz-static*
“I still find myself preparing to face Gemini Battle. Is that weird? That's weird right? I mean, he's gone. Dead. Never coming back. I know that feeling pretty well, Grayson. It's a pretty amazing feeling...at first. Liberating, even. Until...it starts to turn inward. It starts eating you from the inside out. Tearing at you like a ravenous cannibal eating his last meal – one that lasts for eternity.
“It turns from hopefulness to helplessness. It's kind of...well, it's kind of a fucking bitch, really. You're never really able to move on from it. You just kind of learn to live with it, or it tears you apart. It's all about how you come out on the other side. You, Grayson?
“Well, you're coming out in pieces. Gemini Battle was your only hope. Grayson Pierce died a long time ago. I mean, why wouldn't you let your more successful alter ego take the reigns? Was this your plan all along? Allow him to do all the heavy lifting so you can shatter everything he's worked for, pick up the pieces, and move on back to your nothing life? Because that's all you've ever had in this world, Grayson...nothing.
“You're nothing, and after One? Well, you're going to have even less. You're going to have a decisive clean loss to Wade Moor, a creature of your despise, because I never lived up to your standards of success. Heart. Courage.
“You got a brain in your head, Grayson? If you do, if you have even one ounce of logic, it would dictate that you were never meant to be World Champion. Gemini...now that's somebody who had a legitimate shot. He carried you here...but you, being selfish, decided that it was your time to shine in the sun. That...that just doesn't sit right with me.
“And I'm sure it doesn't sit right with Gemini either. I find myself preparing to face Gemini Battle...because I know he isn't truly gone. He's still locked in there, somewhere. Buried deep, like a 'dead Scarecrow in Buddy Roman's backyard kind of buried'. Like a 'Wade Moor fucking destroys you at One so bad, you have to up and leave' kind of buried!
“Is that what you've really wanted, Grayson? Is this match something that you really want? I mean, think about it long and hard for a second. This is a match that everyone wants...but nobody really knows what it entails. They don't know that they're sacrificing a pound of flesh and a portion of their mind for it.
“Did you think this was going to be easy? That you were going to waltz into this match and fulfill your destiny or some bullshit like that? No. Like I've said, that's not how this story goes. I know you really WANT to believe it to be true, that everyone around you is telling you the same thing...but deep down, in your real heart of hearts, you know without a shadow of a doubt that you're fucked.
“The simple reason being...you don't deserve to be here. Gemini Battle was the opponent I wanted...instead I got boy wonder Grayson. It's like you're about to fight Superman but Robin pops out instead, yells 'Gee willickers Batman! The star is a chump!', and you're left with that disheartening feeling.
“Instead of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, I got Flintstones presents. I got a cartoon character instead of the real article, Pierce. Talking about high diving, live wiring, cartoon kind of character. It's going to be a permanent black mark on your record, you know?
“When a man you hate beats you at your very own game. Because wrestling is all that you have right?
“I'm going to take that away too, Pierce. You're going to lose. Everything.”
*buzz-static*
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
Part III: Calm Before The Storm
“How do you think this ends for us Wade?” Rabid's voice asked in a calm tone, “Do you think it's a good morning to die?”
The sound of thunder outside rumbled the passageway they were currently walking through. Obi had taken a different entrance. The Gathering had transformed into great flying beasts and transported him to a castle balcony, where he lie in wait with reinforcements, should the need arise...but Wade had a feeling that this would be a fight he would have to take alone.
“It's as good of a morning as any, don't you think?” Wade asked.
Wade moved in a brisk walk, Rabid nearly floating at his side, keeping pace with him towards the castle entrance. Wade's hand began to ache as they came closer to the doors, his stomach did flips, and he felt some part of him whispering to leave this place and never return. It sounded like his mother's voice floating in his head.
“Do you hear that?” Rabid asked, eyeing Wade curiously.
“I don't hear anything”, Wade replied.
“It sounded rather...” Rabid paused, “Foreboding.”
“Don't be so dramatic, Johnny”, Wade shot towards Rabid, “We're almost there now.”
And they were. A pair of oaken doors lay before them, their entrance unguarded. Wade felt that it was purposefully left unattended...as if they were meant to enter here all along. For a moment, he felt a great surge of pride that he was related to the man trying to kill him. He deserved to be rewarded for his hard work. In a different time, another life...maybe he and his brother would have been close?
But it wasn't written in the stars. Not in this lifetime. This was how it was supposed to happen. How it was always going to go. Wade found peace in the thought as Rabid swung open the brazen, gilded doors and motioned Wade inside.
“After you, of course”, said Rabid.
Wade, hesitantly, crossed the threshold into the chilly passageway inside the castle. Rabid stepped in behind him as the doors swung shut, echoing through the corridors of the castle.
“Well, they probably already know we're here”, Rabid stated.
Wade nodded.
“I'm beginning to feel the same way”, Wade replied.
“It's probably best if we split up then?”, Rabid asked, “That way they won't kill us both at the same time?”
Wade furrowed his brow at Rabid.
“It's as good a morning as any, right?” Rabid asked.
Wade nodded once again, and Rabid immediately slipped into the shadows and disappeared down the hallway. Wade slipped into an antechamber door, which lead to a staircase, that lead somewhere up to the second floor of the castle. His feet moved along a path as if they were being guided by something else other than Wade's own volition.
He felt a low buzz begin in his ear, as if voices from another plane were trying to speak with him. They hooked him under the navel, guiding him down a corridor towards an ajar door. Candle light peeked through the crack, dancing against the wall, motioning for him to come in. He put his hand against the door and slowly pushed it open. The creak of the door sounded off, but didn't bounce off the walls, as if some outside force was protecting him.
The door opened into a small room, lit only by a single candle on a table in the middle of it. A bag sat open underneath the table and Wade moved towards it, his hand outreached. He opened the sack and pulled out random articles of clothing, a small pouch, and an old photograph. He held it under the candle light...and his heart nearly blew out through his chest bone.
His mom stood there, holding an infant in her arms – a young Wade. A small, black haired boy stood beside her, a smile spread across his innocent face...but a pain was held back in his eyes. He stood apart from his mother, and the photo appeared worn, as if his brother had tried to scrub himself out of the picture. Wade flipped it over in his hand and read the back.
“Leven and Wade 1990”
Leven was his brothers name. As he read it aloud, memories began to rush into his mind like a bleary dream. Leven staring down at him as he held him in his arms for the first time and their mother smiling at the both of them.
“I'll always be your big brother...” Leven spoke in a whispy tone.
Wade folded the photograph and put it in his back pocket as one lone tear slipped down his meaty cheek.
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
*buzz-static*
“Have you ever stared out at the ocean after dark, Grayson? The feeling is peaceful...serenity at it's finest. A moment when this dirty Earth is washed clean, given a fresh slate, and be reborn unto itself. It's a metaphorical phoenix rising from the ashes kind of moment. Have you ever had that feeling, Pierce? I mean, surely you have. That's probably how you're feeling after getting rid of Battle?
“But like I said, the Battle never ends Pierce. After you lose this match, are you still going to come after the World's Championship? Or are you going to wait until the opportune moment to strike again, when you get to face an opponent of slightly less quality and hard hitting offense? Or are you just going to lumber around in the United States Championship division and pretend like that's the top belt?
“This World Championship Grayson...it's all you want. You don't know what it means to carry it. You're not thinking towards the future. You don't realize the target that it paints on your back...and I don't think you're capable of having your head hunted like that? But me? I'm a monster. I've been hunted ever since I was young by men like you. Men that didn't think I was good enough to share this dirt pit with them.
“This match, Pierce? It's not a title defense. It's a slaughter. What I have, you want, and the trap is set. I've lured you into it, Grayson. I started with the deep cutting insults at first, but they seemed to just brush right off of you. Probably with Gemini's help. You don't seem like the kind of guy who would stand to be called anything lesser than me. You would lash out, probably after the first time I called you out.
“But no. That's not how it went. So I interfered in your match against Mikey to show you just how much better I am at everything than you are. If you were really the Worlds Greatest United States Champion EVOOOR, then you would have staved off my attack, nailed Mikey with one of those paper cuts you call finishers, and ended the match decisively...But you let me nail you with that BROSEIDON PUNCH and instead you laid down for the three count. Telling, isn't it?
“Still...it wasn't enough to break the 'great' Grayson Pierce. He still didn't want to fight for the World's Championship. He still believed, that after everything, the United States Championship was going to main event the biggest event of the year. Many have tried before you, and many others have failed at it. Insanity. Trying to make midcard belts important? It just doesn't happen, Grayson.
“You can be the greatest United States Champion all you want, but that still makes you the worst World Champion of all time. Still, you thought, it was going to happen. I nixed those foolish bolstering claims of yours real fast when I shattered Tommy Bates kneecap, didn't I? How did it feel to see a friend go down like that? It pissed you off, didn't it? I had the same feeling when Dune shattered Jared's clavicle and jaw.
“Speaking of Dune: you couldn't even beat him clean. You took the scraps that Joey left for you and Dune found a different fish to fry. If you couldn't even beat Dune...what makes you think you can beat me? I'm obviously better than Dune in every conceivable way. I'm not a baby murderer, for starters, and it's only a matter of time until my World Championship reign surpasses his in every way imaginable.
“I won't be taking on the Tommy Bates and the Deuce Murdocks of the world. Those men are dinosaurs. After One, my plate is going to be more full than I could ever even imagine. I'll have Dune. I'll have Flash. I'll have Bobby Cairo. I'll have Steve Orbit. I'll even fuck Johnny Fly and Torture up too if they want to step.
“But you? You're only thinking about YOUR moment. Your ONE moment on the grandest stage of them all. You have no idea how to think towards the future, otherwise you wouldn't have let Gemini go. He would still be here and he would help you on the way towards immortality. It's over though Grayson. You're smoked.
“This match was your coup d'etat. The biggest sham you've ever pulled off...but it will ultimately be your undoing. The only way you're going to take this Championship away from me, my moment away from me, is if you rip it from my cold dead hands.
“And I'm not easy to kill.”
*buzz-static*
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
Part IV: Explosive Windstorm
Wade found himself in an antechamber, a mess room of some sorts. A table sat in the middle of the dark room while thunder and lightning lit the room in an outbreak of sound and light. The table lay set, plates, forks, napkins, and wine goblets around it. Wade moved through the room, slipping through the shadows, and opened a door leading into a larger chamber: The main throne room.
Wade stepped through the door as another burst of lightning illuminated the room in it's bright glow.
“I was wondering when you would get here Wade”, a voice boomed through the chamber after the grumble of thunder waned.
Wade walked out into the center of the pulpits, stepping onto a crimson carpet emblazoned with Owl signatures and Latin phrases. He walked down towards the throne as another explosion of lightning lit the chamber before him. A man stood at the front, tall, muscular but lean. He held an axe in his hand, and his boot upon a block. Wade looked closer...
“Nikita!” Wade yelled.
Leven had his boot over Nikita's neck, looking down at her with a cold look in his eye. He delicately spun the axe in circles in his hand as Wade moved closer.
“I would stop right there Wade...” Leven spoke, gesturing with the axe towards Wade, “I really don't want to do this.”
“Then let her go Leven!” Wade yelled, “She has nothing to do with this.”
Leven's head lowered, looking towards Nikita.
“She has everything to do with this”, Leven replied, “If she had only done her job, then we wouldn't be in this mess.”
“Leven...” Wade pleaded, “This is how it's supposed to happen. How it was always going to end. Leave her out of this.”
“BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO DIE WADE!” Leven shouted, “IT DOESN'T MATTER IF SHE GOES FREE! IF I KILL HER TOO...then maybe you'll have some company where you're going!”
Leven lifted the axe above his head, but Wade rushed forward and held his hand out, catching the axe between the crook of his thumb and pointer finger. A splash of blood and a sharp pain in his right hand indicated that the axe had sliced clean through, renting his thumb from his hand...but Wade didn't hesitate. He punched Leven across the face with his left hand, knocking him backwards and away from Nikita.
Leven bound backwards and rushed towards Wade, tackling him to the ground, and began beating his face with hard rights. Wade moved as Leven came down with another hard fist, and it crashed directly into the concrete floor. He howled in pain, but Wade punched him in the face and knocked him away. Wade flew to his feet and headbutted Leven as he was standing up. Wade threw another punch, but Leven caught it and lifted Wade off the ground, smashing him through one of the pulpits.
Wood splintered underneath Wade as the pulpit cracked in two. Wade's back exploded in pain...but he couldn't succumb to it. The heavy axe swung over him, but Wade dodge rolled out of the way and elbowed Leven's knee. The tall lumbering man lurched forward, dropped the axe yet again, and it skid across the floor.
Wade punched Leven once more as the hole where his thumb used to be pumped violent spurts of blood onto the floor. His head started to swim...but he couldn't stop. It was his life at stake, and Leven had the upper hand. Leven came at Wade with another tackle, but Wade stopped him and brought his knee up directly into his face. Leven bound backward, but immediately spun around with a crippling lariat and they both crashed to the concrete floor.
Leven mounted Wade once more and started pounding his face again. Each blow to the head bounced his head off the concrete, causing him to slip into unconsciousness...but a figure appeared behind Leven, kicked him in the back of the head, and he fell to ground holding his hand.
Wade's vision wavered as he attempted to get to his feet. He fell to one knee as he saw Leven turn around on Nikita. He threw his hands around her neck and pushed her to the ground. He wrenched harder and harder as Wade stood to his feet.
Nikita choked and sputtered.
Wade saw the axe laying on the floor and swooped it up in his left hand.
Nikita's eyes rolled into the back of her head.
Wade positioned the axe as best he could in his crippled right hand, gripping it tight with his left.
Leven shouted as he wrapped his hands tighter around her throat.
Wade swung the axe and fell backwards in unconsciousness.
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
*buzz-static*
“So how do you think our story goes, Grayson? Are we nearing the end now? We're almost there. We're almost at the end...and it doesn't end so well for you. You see, the nice guy does finish last...because you care too much. You're too hungry...but your plate isn't full. Your pushing your food around on the plate pretending there's something here you want...but it just isn't there.
“You're done Grayson. It's over. You're finished. I'm finished with you.
“But my story? It's getting better now. Come a little closer, Pierce, and I'll finish it for you...”
*buzz-static*
CLYHNHK-RREGGSGSERT
Part V: The Waning Tides
Wade's eyes began to flutter. How long had he been out? Minutes? Hours? Days? Maybe he was dead? A sharp pain in his right hand told him that he was still alive...because death was supposed to be the end of misery. The end of pain upon this Earthly vessel, this sack of water. Wade's eyes fluttered once more, and he looked up at Nikita kneeling over him, her eyes a bloodshot red.
Wade couldn't tell if it was from being nearly suffocated to death, or if she had been crying over his body, not knowing if he was dead or alive. Wade sat up and pulled his shirt off, wrapping it around his wounded hand, attempting to stop the circulation of blood. A lightheaded feeling told him that he had already lost too much. He quickly scanned the room and saw Leven laying on his side, the axe stuck out from his spine.
“Is he...” Wade started.
“Dead?” Nikita replied, “I'm not sure.”
“Are you...ok?” Wade asked, turning to her, genuinely wanting to know.
Nikita smiled, her green pupils lighting up underneath her bloodshot eyes.
“I'm ok...” she replied, and she kissed him on the lips.
Wade returned it with passion unbridled, but a throbbing in his hand brought him out of the moment.
“We need to get out of here”, she stated, “You need to get that thumb stitched up.”
“I'm fine”, Wade lied as he started getting to his feet, “I need to finish this.”
Wade limped across the room where Leven lay on the floor...and as he got closer, Wade could see his chest weakly heaving. His mouth was dripping little droplets of blood. Wade knelt in front of him, and Leven's eyes looked up to meet his.
"I-I never wanted any of this", Leven's voice rent through the wind chilled chamber that was as dark as the grave.
"All I ever wanted...", Wade replied, his voice cooed and met Leven's in the stars, "Was a brother."
“I-I'm s-s-sorry” Leven said, blood oozing out of the corner of his mouth with each word, “Th-this is a f-f-fitting puni-ish-m-m-ment.”
A trail of dark red blood dripped from his mouth and Leven's eyes widened in pain and fear.
“Why did you do this Leven?” Wade asked, “We could have been...brothers. Why?”
“I-I-It's not m-m-me”, Leven replied cryptically, “I d-d-didn't w-want this. I w-w-wanted the s-same th-thin-ing.”
Wade could only stare at his dying brother.
“Th-this is how it w-w-was s-s-s-supposed to happen, r-r-ight?” Leven asked, the blood now pooling on his face, “We we-weren't meant f-f-for ha-happiness.”
“You're wrong”, Wade replied, looking towards Nikita, “I think our destinies are our own, Leven. We carve our own path. Nothing is set in stone. Nothing.”
Leven held his left hand out towards his brother...and Wade took it in his, closing his hand around Leven's.
“U-use it”, Leven replied, his eyes lighting up for a moment, “M-ma-make y-y-your own f-fate, Wade. Y-y-you ha-have m-made me a pr-proud broth---er.”
“Leven?” Wade called.
Leven's eyes darkened and his hand went limp. Wade felt him leave.
“Wade...”, Nikita called to him, “We've got to go. It's over.”
But Wade knew that it had only just begun.
