Impact: Regenesis Part 59

"Leave it alone Rachel and get out of here."

She picked herself up and tried to approach him once more but he only lashed out and told her to flee. Rachel frowned and told him she would not. "You know I never meant to harm you, right?"

"That is not important now Rachel"

"Yes it is," she cut in. "Vladimir, I would never do anything to harm you."

He paused and lowered his head for a moment. Vladimir released his grip on his shoulder and asked what she meant earlier when she said she wanted to be with him. "What do you want Rachel?"

She hesitated to say anything. Her pulse raced at the thought of confessing her feelings for him, and doubted she could say anything romantic or overly heartfelt. She simply repeated what she told him at the museum, "I meant that I want to be with you."

Vladimir looked away and asked her in a whisper, "Do you love me?"

Her heart beat faster at his words and with all the courage she could muster Rachel admitted that she did love him.

Vladimir only let out a sigh and told her he never meant to mislead her. "I do not care for you in such a manner Rachel."

Her heart stopped and she felt as if she was. .h.i.t by a truck. It took everything Rachel possessed to avoid tearing up and bawling, but she managed to contain herself and say, "I-I thought this was what you wanted."

He shook his head and told her she misread the situation. "I should not be here, and neither should you. In fact, you and Jordan"

"I hate that a.s.s," she spat. "I broke up with him because I wanted...I want to be with you."

"And I cannot be with you."

"Why not?"

"Because I do not love you Rachel." He watched her start to cry and tried to console her by restating their friendship.

"Why won't you at least try?" she asked. "Couldn't we just see where it went? I mean, just to see if you could love me?"

Vladimir rubbed his eyes and told her things were not as simple as she believed they were. "This situation, my state of being, that is, is far too complex for love. And I must add, not that I mean any harm or disrespect to you, but you and I, or myself and anyone else for that matter, will never be."

"Why not?"

"I..." he stopped himself and tried to find the words to tell her what he needed to say without revealing anything, but could only manage to tell her that his life, the reason he was even in Washington State, was too complicated for him to explain to her.

"Could you at least tell me why you're flat out rejecting me Vladimir?" she asked while she wiped tears from her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I do not know if I can," he hissed, "That is why this entire situation irks me and is why I cannot simply tell you why we cannot be together."

"Why not?"

"I have no idea Rachel!" he finally shouted. "I wish I knew why I was even here in this city, or at that school, or why I even know who you are. I really do. But I am as lost as you are."

"Then perhaps it is finally time to set things straight."

Light emerged from the s.p.a.ce behind Rachel and a stranger in radiant armor descended to the rooftop. The area returned to normal and the man lightly touched down and joined Vladimir and Rachel.

The stranger smiled and spoke in a quiet, yet strong and resolute tone, "I am sorry that it has taken so long for this arraignment to finally come to fruition, but alas, all good things come in their due time."

Rachel felt a sudden familiar sensation at the end of his sentence. The clamor of the city stopped along with all of the traffic on the streets far below. Leaves hung alongside the birds, midair and motionless. All wind and motion died in an instant. She watched as the armored fellow and Vladimir readied for their conversation and beckoned that she joined them.

"Who are you?" she finally asked.

"We have met twice now," he reminded her. "I am Pyotr."

"Vladimir's host brother?"

Pyotr chuckled and admitted that his role of host brother was nothing but a ruse. "You see Rachel, Vladimir and I have been friends for a very long time. Comrades even before our common goal presented itself."

Vladimir frowned. "Pyotr, does she truly have to learn about all of this? Hasn't"

"Vladimir," the armored man stopped him. "Now is not the time to argue. I have my orders and I am here to fulfill them. This should not come as an astonishing turn of events; you suspected this from the moment you met her."

Rachel scowled and asked for clarification. "What are you talking about?"

Pyotr said, with a smile, "When I told you that Vladimir and I have been friends for a long time, I may have been too coy. I know this may come as a shock Rachel, but Vladimir and I are both roughly just over two centuries old, though to be correct, physically we are much younger, but we have tarried here on this earth, some more than others, for a little over two centuries."

Rachel shook her head and muttered, "That's not possible."

Pyotr agreed that the claim seemed outlandish, "But I a.s.sure you it is true."

"How can anyone live that long?" she asked. "Is that some sort of super power?"

The armored man laughed and told her she wasn't too far off from the truth. "I am an angel of"

"You're an angel?" she blurted out. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

Pyotr frowned. "Stopping time, appearing out of nowhere, flight, and the incandescent light which emanates from within me isn't enough to prove who I am?" He smirked, "I guess times are changing and a super hero would sound more believable now...but I guess you will have to take it on faith that I am precisely who I claim to be."

She turned to Vladimir and asked if he claimed to be an angel as well. "Or are you some kind of cherub or something?"

Pyotr chuckled again, "No no, Vladimir is a vampire."

Rachel only stared at him without a word. Vladimir however was quite tired of Pyotr's intercession and broke in, "I am aware of how frustrating this must be and I am sorry we are burdening you with all of this"

"No," Rachel stopped them, "No, this, this is absolutely insane." She started walking away from them, and muttered, "Most people who have super powers want to make the world a better place, but you two think it's funny to set up elaborate lies and use your power to threaten and intimidate others."

"Rachel," Pyotr called out to her. "I apologize for the manner of my introductions, but I am not sure how I could better enlighten you." She turned and waited for him to continue. "But please, allow me to share something with you that may allow you to better trust in my words."

Pyotr slowly approached Rachel, who recoiled as he reached for her hand, but upon his touch she felt a serene peace and calm overtake her. Warmth surrounded her like a midsummer's evening and in an instant the anxiety and unrest from the conflict at the museum fled and she felt her body relax. For a moment Rachel believed she was outside her body and that she floated unconscious in a near-slumber like state of mind. All of the stars above her shone bright through the ambient city light and the cosmos unfolded before her. She could witness and feel the universe expand and retract, she trembled with excitement as the universe collapsed in on itself and moments later burst and bloom into numberless celestial ent.i.ties, and Rachel heard each mortal soul in the universe gasp for life in a collective sigh.

And in that moment Rachel was right back where she stood with the angel and the vampire.

Pyotr offered a sincere smile and a.s.sured her she was among friends. "I am so sorry I troubled you before Rachel, but time is so very vital in all of creation, and as you can now imagine, creation is a very expansive and detailed thing."

The young woman only barely brought herself to nod in affirmation. "So...what is it that you need me for?"

"Do you recall everything we spoke about at our second meeting? I told you about your ability to heal yourself and others, though that was only but a part of your power Rachel." He took her by the hand and walked with her back to Vladimir's side and set her down on the rooftop. "Your gift is divine in nature, which is why you injured Vladimir when you tried to heal him."

Rachel frowned. "You're saying he's evil?"

Vladimir glanced away from them and admitted it was true. "Rachel, there is a very great deal you are not aware of. I have committed grievous sins and I only work alongside Pyotr for two reasons: to firstly redeem myself for those past crimes, but more importantly to locate and utterly obliterate a greater evil."

Pyotr intervened, "A long time ago, Vladimir and I were both mortal and average people. We lived in London and had a very close group of friends. However we all failed to notice one in our midst was struggling and deeply troubled. A young man named Constantine slowly grew apart from our tight-knit group and he began to become violent, moody, and angry. One day we discovered how violent he had become and it sickened us. We tried to...reason with him, but there was no use. Constantine used immoral and unspeakable means to steal immortality and immense power for himself. Our circle of friends was forced to flee our homes, out of fear, and later we all resolved to either find him to bring him to a reckoning of the crimes he committed, or to ultimately bring about his end."

"However it was not that simple," Vladimir told her. "Constantine was immortal and we knew we would be unable to combat him if necessary. Our decision then was to find a way to gain that needed, or rather, that desired power for ourselves so we could fight him. Yet even that proved to be a corrupt and vile endeavor."

"Though not all of our circle chose to pursue immortality and supernatural abilities," Pyotr added. "A few of us elected to live out the rest of our lives without the confrontation." He cracked a small smile and admitted that they were all cursed from the start. "None of our friends managed to remain separated from the supernatural and over time each one of us either found immortality or perished. And one by one the power corrupted our ranks and many of our dear friends turned on one another and eventually allied themselves with our great enemy."

"Pyotr and I are all that remain opposed to Constantine," Vladimir murmured.

Rachel mulled over their claim before she asked what Constantine's ambitions were. "Why did he want immortality in the first place?"

Pyotr heaved a heavy sigh and told her the power tempted him. "Constantine wanted strength, as he was fragile and weak. He was and is filled with hatred for the world and wants to bring misery and absolute desolation to mankind. If Constantine has one goal it is to either eradicate humanity or to enslave all of humankind to his will. In either case, it is unholy and cannot be allowed to pa.s.s. And that is why we require, well...That is why we ask for your help."

She looked at him sheepishly and asked how she was to aid them. "I don't know what you want out of me. I don't think I would be able to stop him, especially if neither of you could. I mean, can you even kill an immortal?"

Pyotr laughed and told her it was quite simple. "Immortals are nearly as vulnerable as any regular person, in most cases. It merely depends on how they gained immortality; from there you simply need to select a method to end their life."

"For instance," Vladimir joined in, "Since I am a vampire, you would only need to drive a wooden stake through my heart, cut off my head, carve my heart out with a sickle and then burn it, or any number of other traditional methods that could kill a vampire."

"Yes, and I believe Constantine is just as vulnerable," Pyotr a.s.sured her. "And if not, there is always a surefire way to bring about his demise."

"And what is that?"

Pyotr only grinned and told her she would have to wait and see. "But alas, my time is nearly spent and I must return to my work elsewhere. So allow me to extend this invitation, or rather, this appeal." He looked her in the eyes and asked, "Are you willing to help us?"

Rachel wasn't sure what reason she could offer to deny their request, though she was also unaware of how she could possibly aid them. Yet she knew that what they said was true and felt in her heart that she needed to agree to their appeal. She agreed and asked what she needed to do.

Chapter 23.

September 23rd, 2029 7:53 AM.

Both.e.l.l, Washington Nick couldn't reach Mizuno after the incident. All evening and through the night he tried to call him, and even Bruce and Kyle, but no one answered. Strom didn't either, which worried him even further. Nick took Lauren to his hotel room in Both.e.l.l while he waited for Mizuno or someone within Impact to contact him. Lauren didn't voice a word of opposition or a word whatsoever. She asked who he was once or twice and asked who the killer was, but mostly cried. Nick tried to console her, but knew there wasn't anything he could do to help her.

She fell asleep around three in the morning but woke up periodically. Nick knew she didn't trust him and might have even been afraid of him, yet even through his constant promises that he would never harm her, Lauren stayed on the defensive and tried her best to protect herself. When she was asleep, Lauren occasionally mumbled to herself in another language and seemed upset. Nick never slept at all. He sat in a chair with his cell phone in his hands opposite where Lauren wrestled with sleep. Every time Lauren woke up she found him exactly where he was before she dozed off. He never moved.

"Did you know he was going to try to kill my family?" she suddenly asked him.

Nick shook his head and said he would have stopped him if he had known. "I was supposed to keep you and your parents from making it to the Seattle Art Museum because the Dafu were going to attack."

"How do you know that?"

Nick told her it was complicated but that his leader knew a lot about their organization.

"Why would the Dafu want to attack a museum?"

He only shrugged, "I don't know why they do anything."

She sulked and muttered that they just hated people. "I don't know what else would prompt them to do anything like that." Lauren looked at him and asked why the killer targeted her family.

"I don't know."

"Did they want everyone to die?"

"I don't know."

She looked away from him and cried for a moment before she asked if the killer would find her.

"No," he told her without any hesitation. "He won't find you."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"What if he comes after me?"

Nick didn't know how to convince her she was safe. He knew she would eventually be on her own and if the a.s.sa.s.sin did try to find her she would die. Nick told her he would protect her, but he felt his words failed to resonate with her.

His cell rang and he answered it without a second's hesitation. "Mizuno?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't"

"We couldn't stop him Nick."

Nick stopped talking. He sat silently while Mizuno recounted the event and the attack by Dalton. Lauren watched him sit rigid in his seat and saw his eyes wet upon hearing some unfortunate news.

"Everyone's fine though, right?"

"More or less," Mizuno muttered. "Strom won't be doing much beyond recuperating for weeks, but he'll live, as will Kyle."

Nick let out a breath of relief and ran his fingers through his hair. "Why was he even there?"

"I'm not sure. I would normally/ hesitate to a.s.sociate Dalton with the Dafu, yet it's evident he was aware of the entire plot."