The sense of relief was short-lived, an overwhelming sense of dread soon took hold as Jessie watched as a beast rose above and leaped at Lilly. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the monster unfurl his petal-like head revealing rows of blooded teeth, the eyes in between showed pure hunger. Her screams shattered his shock-fueled mind and he held out his hand, not sure he could conjure a tendril in time to save her.

Kill

A single thought crossed his mind before a torrential storm of tendrils burst forth from his hand, easily reaching and killing the monster going so far as to stake it to the adjacent wall. Jessie smiled before he found himself being pulled by the multitude of tendrils now hunting down the Undead Lullaby as if they were alive. He pulled back his hand as he tried to regain control only for the first monster to fall, something was different about this one's death. It had invigorated him, giving him another boost to his smoke reserves.

"Guys, I can't stop them!" Jessie cried out as he was pulled forward by the hungry tendrils he sent out.

He felt another person's arms wrap around him as the next monster fell, he could feel himself grow stronger and a sickening sense of power washed over him. He could feel the pain of those he was killing, every stroke, every death blow filled him with the pain and anguish of those he killed. He cried out as the horde began to run away in vain as his tendrils claimed more lives, every blow devastated Jessie. Tears streamed down his face as he begged for help anything to stop the onslaught of pain he was causing, the pain he was feeling. More arms desperate to pull him back shouted as they struggled against the power of the smoke.

"Jessie please focus, work through the pain. Center yourself to this moment!" Plague said as he grabbed hold of his killing hand.

"I can't!" Jessie screamed. "I can feel everything! I'm not strong enough."

"Find a center, anything to bring you back!"

Jessie turned to see Plague struggling to pull back his arm, gritting his teeth he stared back at Jessie.

"You can do this!"

Another wave of pain reared its head as the tendrils neared the end of the horde, now coming for a horrified Starkiller. The music box now rested on the ground as he stood frozen in place. Seeing the end of their hunt near the tendrils shot forward aiming straight for the short man, in a last-ditch effort Jessie pulled back turning his eyes to his friends desperately holding him back. He looked through watery eyes at the extent they were going through to help, faces battered and broken as they strained to pull back the smoke. His eyes turned to Lilly in the back who had stretched herself thin to be the anchor of the group holding onto the hangar doors behind them.

The same strange feeling of admiration washed over Jessie as the pain suddenly subsided, the tendrils no longer pulled him. The others fell back as Jessie stood, perfectly in control of the smoke, of himself. He turned to see he had stopped them just short of piercing Starkiller's forehead, a thin stream of blood trickled down as he looked up at Jessie. He stared down at his hand before dispelling the smoke, a thin trail seemed to remain as he placed his hand at his side.

In stunned silence, Starkiller looked up at Jessie unable to say a word. As he regained his composure Jessie watched as Travis reappeared before slamming Starkiller in the head with a fire extinguisher, unsure of what to do next Travis walked back through the sea of dead bodies toward the group.

"What the fuck was that." Sarah asked as she helped Toby to his feet.

"He lost control, simple as that. Now let's go!" Plague said as another wave of tremors shook the very foundation of the hangar.

Unsteady as they went, the group pushed past the heavy metal doors into the cold morning air. The biting air left Jessie shivering as he ran through the trees, his whole body seemed primed with energy. He could feel himself gathering speed pushing past the others eventually making his way to the front of the pack.

"Jessie look out!" Lucas cried out pointing above Jessie.

Looking up Jessie saw a large oak tree coming down, directly on top of him. Without the need to focus he held up his palm conjuring a large tendril and wrapped it around the falling oak. He cast it aside hearing it hitting another tree to his left, he watched as the two crashed into the ground.

"We have to get to high ground!" Jessie cried out dispelling his tendril.

"That's for tsunamis you idiot." Travis said as he caught up. "We have to find an open area, once there we need to stay low!"

"There's a clearing up ahead, just up this ridge." Plague said as he conjured two tendrils, one in each hand.

He wrapped them around a struggling Toby and Venom before taking off in a sprint that left Jessie stunned. Turning to face the others he could see he wasn't the only one surprised, he shrugged before conjuring his own two tendrils.

"Who wants a ride?" He asked with a smirk.

"I wouldn't mind one." Lucas said sheepishly. Wrapping a tendril around Lucas he slowly lifted him in the air surprised at how easy it was to lift him.

"That looks like one hell of a ride, count me in." Sarah said as she wrapped herself in the spare tendril.

Bracing himself, Jessie took off running through the woods. Careful not to slam his friends against the trees beside them as he navigated his way through the snowy expanse. The tremors seemed to calm down as the ridgeline appeared in the distance, almost completely disappearing as he stepped over to see a stunned Plague. The two men beside him were pale in the face, a feat Jessie didn't know Venom's green skin could do.

"Looks like we came up here for nothing, the earthquake seems to have died out on us." Lucas said as Jessie carefully placed both him and Sarah on the ground.

Suddenly Toby grabbed hold of Jessie's shoulder, holding on tightly he met Jessie's eyes with great concern.

"What's wrong buddy?" Jessie asked looking down at his hand on his shoulder.

"So no big deal, don't even know why I'm asking this but how attached to your hometown are you." Toby asked trying his best to keep Jessie's attention on him.

"What is he talking about?" Rose asked as the last of the group came over the ridgeline. In her hands was an unconscious Mia, oblivious to the world around her.

Lilly shivered, trying her best to stay close to Rose. Her nose ran as she looked up confused.

"Yeah, what does he mean 'how attached are we to Sherwood'?" She asked moving closer to Rose.

"Holy shit..." Travis said as he suddenly appeared past Jessie. He looked out over the edge of the ridge, down toward their home, and took a step back.

Worried about his friend's reaction, Jessie pushed past a stuttering Toby as he made his way to the edge to see what had caused it. As he peered into the great expanse his heart sank as he looked out to see his hometown sunk into the earth, completely swallowed up by the surrounding mountains. Taken aback he stuttered as he tried to muster any sort of response, he stared out at his home in disbelief as he watched as fires raged on melting the snow around what used to be the town.

No, no this can't be happening.

The mad clown gets what he wants in the end, disappointing the only world he destroyed was yours.

What did you say?

A half-victory is no victory at all, he only managed to end one town. Not his foolish grand design.

"That 'half-victory' was my town, you slimy bastard!" Jessie screamed throwing his hands into the air.

"What?!" Rose asked suddenly worried, she ran to the edge almost falling over as her eyes met the ruins.

A half-choked sob caught in her throat as she fell to her knees, the snow around her melting faster as her sobs washed over the others. Jessie looked down at his friend unable to comfort her, unable to reach her cries in any meaningful way. Travis slowly bent down placing his hand on her back, unable to hold back Rose latched onto him sobbing into his chest.

"They're orphans now arent they?" Lilly whispered to Jessie.

He turned to see her surprisingly calm about everything, her demeanor confused him as he tried to find the words to reply.

"Surprised I'm not more like them?" Lilly said weakly smiling. "I didn't have any family in town, so I'm fine."

Before he could get a chance to ask Travis rose to his feet and strode toward Plague, burning hate in his eyes. Rose clung to his pant leg as he walked desperate to keep him with her, needing him by her side. Pulling past and reeling back his fist Travis swung catching Plague on his jaw, the ring on his finger cutting him.

"Travis!" Jessie said as he moved in closer.

"Step back Cruz! You come any closer and we're done, you hear me?" Travis said as he swung into Plague's stomach causing him to keel over breathless.

"He's the reason all this happened!" Travis said as he grabbed hold of Plague's bloody collar. "If it wasn't for him everyone we know wouldn't be dead."

"You know thats not true Travis, he was taken advantage of by Kazimir. He had no control over himself, just like Venom." Jessie said trying to reason with his friend.

"Listen to your friend Travis, Once Kazimir takes hold your life isn't yours anymore." Venom added trying his best to diffuse the situation.

"Shut up! The both of you! I don't care if he had his brain scooped out, he killed all those people, he killed Damian!" Travis cried out as he raised his fist again.

"He's right." Plague said softly.

Tense silence followed as everyone was unsure of what came next, Travis shook in anger as he stared down at him.

"What did you say?"

"Kazimir may have had me under his thumb, but it was still me who killed all those people. Your brother, her parents." He said as he pointed at Rose. "I killed my brothers for that man, and for that I deserve punishment."

"You're not the only one suffering Travis, we all lost something tonight. Just let him go and we can decide what we do from here." Jessie said taking a step forward.

"Better make it quick because we've got company." Sarah said as she pointed out toward what was left of Sherwood.

Turning to face their new problem Jessie felt a chill run down his spine as he watched as a swarm of helicopters combed through the wreckage, a familiar logo on the side.

"United Together, why are they here?" Lucas asked.

"They're here to do cleanup, and to reclaim any lost assets." Plague said suddenly standing dragging Travis' hand up with him.

"Assets? What do you mean by assets?" Jessie asked suddenly worried.

"Chosen, they're here to reclaim any escaped Chosen. That now includes all of you, so if you'd like to stay out of a testing chamber I'd recommend we make ourselves scarce." Plague said as he looked down at Travis. "We can finish this when everyone's safely away."

"We're finishing this now!" Travis said angrily.

"We don't have time for this anymore! We have to go now!" Jessie said as he grabbed hold of Travis' arm.

Phasing through Jessie's grip Travis disappeared before reappearing beside him landing a blow to Jessie's temple. Disoriented Jessie stepped back to see his Best friend readying himself, his eyes now burning at him.

"Travis!" Rose sobbed as she warmed up melting more snow around her.

"I told you that if you stopped me we were done didn't I?" Travis said as he disappeared in front of a stunned Jessie.

"I don't want to do this Travis!" Jessie cried out into the empty air.

Silence before the blow left Jessie reeling as Travis planted his elbow into his stomach, his Chosen strength leaving Jessie retching before he disappeared again.

"Travis please stop." Rose cried out.

"Lucas stop this!" Sarah said annoyed.

"How am I supposed to do that Sarah? He's not listening to reason." Lucas said annoyed.

"As long as we're shifting blame here, the one responsible for all of this is that bastard brother of yours." Travis said as he reappeared to deliver a blow from above to Jessie's back.

Jessie scoffed before conjuring a tendril from his back and wrapping it around Travis' neck, he gathered his breath before launching Travis into a nearby tree splintering the wood on impact. As he stood he watched his friend gasp in pain clutching his back.

"I understand that Seth was a bad guy, but no one shits talk my family in front of me. Not even you, short stack." Jessie said dispelling his tendril.

"They're going to kill each other!" Sarah said worriedly.

Struggling to his feet Travis smiled as he met Jessie's eyes, a sick feeling washed over Jessie as he watched his friend disappear. Wary of his surroundings Jessie watched hoping to catch some clue of where his friend was, when suddenly a pile of snow behind him shifted. Without hesitation Jessie shot forth a tendril into the snow shattering the tree beside them, it teetered on its stump before crashing down beside him. Suddenly arms wrapped themselves around his throat choking him, falling to his knees he gasped as he clawed at the pink cast digging into his throat.

Clever boy, he knew you'd be looking for signs of life and used that to his advantage. Throwing that snowball to distract you was very smart.

Do you ever shut up?

Grabbing hold of his friend's arms Jessie pulled him off freeing himself from his choking grasp, throwing him aside weakly he struggled to collect himself.

"Guys those helicopters are getting closer." Toby said worriedly.

"That's enough of this." Sarah said as she took off her gloves.

The sudden boom so close left Jessie reeling as he struggled against the waves of pain. With no way to shut out the noise, he fell to his knees struggling to lift his head off the ground. Travis screamed to no avail as he clasped his hands over his ears.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Lucas yelled clasping his hand over Sarah's ending the assault.

"They weren't going to stop, so I made them. You're welcome." Sarah said pulling her hands free angrily.

"You just sent a very clear message of where we are to the damn people we're trying to avoid!" Lucas said angrily. "Boys, stop acting like kids, and let's get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere with this backstabber." Travis said as he shakily stood up.

Shaking off the snow from his clothes Travis took one last look at Jessie on the ground before scowling at him. Turning to face Rose he extended his hand out toward her beckoning her to join him.

"Let's get out of here Rose, I can't stay here with them but I would rather not leave without you." Travis said his face flush.

Confused Rose stared at him through tear-soaked eyes, the snow around her melted faster as her face flushed realizing what was said. She tried to speak but found no words as she stared at her best friend, beaten and bruised, asking her to leave. Jessie watched as she struggled to say anything to get him to stay, a fight he was struggling with himself.

"I-I see." he said as a small flash of pain shaped his features before his cold look returned. Silently he turned and walked past Jessie, who was so stunned tried to grab hold of his friend's arm only for him to phase through. Unable to hold back his friend he watched as he trudged into the trees.

"I've got this." Sarah said as she worriedly rushed after Travis.

"I'm coming with you." Venom said suddenly stunning the group. "I was a shitty person before and I want to do what I can to help."

The distant noises of the approaching helicopters grew louder as the two walked off after Travis, Jessie flinched as the cold winter air picked up around them.

"Wait Sarah, what if we get separated? I can't lose you too." Toby asked nervously.

A rare smile crossed his sister's face, one that didn't have any anger or malice in it.

"We're never separated from each other remember? Besides, if I do lose you guys I'll just meet you at the No Good Motel on Highway Nine." She said landing a playful punch to her brother's arm.

Before walking to rejoin Venom she turned and glanced at Lucas shooting a look that confused Jessie. Her face seemed to flush and he couldn't tell if it was from the cold or...something else. Nevertheless, she left without another word joining a jogging Venom, going after his best friend Jessie felt a twinge of guilt. Being unable to reach his friend, a man he considered a brother had left him seething, unable to accept how powerless he felt.

The air around them grew choppy as the helicopters neared their location, the blades chopping through the air sent a chill down his spine.

"We don't have time, we have to leave now!" Plague said angrily.

Without waiting another moment he conjured two tendrils, picking up both Lucas and Toby before taking off the opposite direction Travis had gone. Frustrated Lilly huffed as she followed, stretching past trees and shivering in the cold. Jessie sighed before he looked down at Rose, who quietly sobbed into her hands. Bending down to her level, he poked her shoulder tenderly bringing her attention to him.

"It's time to go." He said as he helped her to her feet.

"Will you carry me?" She asked sheepishly.

"Of course."

Taking hold of her in his arms he felt her warmth, he felt her sadness as her chest heaved as she sobbed. Planting his feet Jessie took off after the others, careful not to shake or drop his friend.

"Why did he leave, Jessie?" Rose asked suddenly.

________________________________________________________________________________

End of part 1.