~~~~~~~~~Gabe's POV~~~~~~~~~

Every part of me had been boiling in anger, a hatred that I had never felt before. I gave everything I had, everything I could do, and even so, I could barely even stand now.

Falling harshly on my side, I gripped my arm, coughing out blood as my lungs struggled to get the air they needed. Everything that made me was in agony, and I was so exhausted. Wes definitely had gotten a lot stronger than last time, but I wasn't gonna let him defeat me so easily.

Easier said than done though..

Grabbing me by my neck, he lifted me up from my feel as I clawed for his hand to be off, struggling to gasp for air.

"Poor little Gabriel.. So tired, so weak, so pathetic.." A chuckle escaped his lips as he tightened his grip around my neck, shortening my breathing even more. "You should've just given up when you had the chance~.."

"N- n-never.." It was a pain to let out a sound, my vision was already started to get hazy, and it wasn't because of my broken glasses.

I had noticed something during the time we fought, and that was that as time went on, the burning marks on his hand kept spreading and spreading up his arm and all over his body, which now covered both of his arms, neck, and part of his face.

It was painful to even see, and I questioned how he wasn't even able to feel it.

Still, my anger, though slowly, was dying down. We could find a way to fix things, somehow, I knew we could. I remembered how Lara had been in the exact same shoes, and I didn't defeat her fighting.

I simply talked, and then listened.

A bad person isn't bad, only broken and in pain. That's how Bill was, that's how my mom was, that's how Lara was.

"You... a-are d- dying..!"

"Hah, as if!! I've never felt more powerful in my entire life!!"

Coughing my words out, I could feel my strength slowly fading away. "W- Wes, th-this power...! It's k- killing you...!!"

"We're just being a sour loser, aren't we?!" He tightened his hand even more before slamming me harshly against the ground, forcing whatever air was still in me to leave.

I blacked out for a little while, quickly able to come back to my surroundings as I gasped for air, and he then harshly pressed a foot against my chest.

"I will say I'm greatly disappointed, I thought Ciphers were suppose to be powerful, but oh well."

Trying to collect whatever strength I had, I yelled at him. "L-look at yourself!!! Most of your skin is practically gone!!!"

"Jeez, did I hit your head too hard? You poor thing."

"LOOK!!!"

He growled a little, then looked down at his arm, his eyes widening. "W-what the..?!"

Taking his foot off of me, he took a few steps back, staring at his arms. "What the hell did you do to me?!?"

"I didn't do anything.." Forcing myself to stand up, I took a few deep breaths. "Your new powers are destroying you, and you can from feel it.."

His breathing became heavy, and I could see the fear grow on his eyes, hands now trembling. I was able to stand up straight, though it only sent jolts of pain through every part of me.

"Don't you see..?! Courtney's using you!!"

"No, we're partners!!!"

"She doesn't care about you, she never has!!! I don't know why, but she just wants us all dead!!! You have to see that!!!" I walked a little closer, trying to calm him down. "But we can help you..! We can bring you back to normal, as if none of this ever happened, and you can go back home..!"

"You don't get it!!!" He looked back up, eyes glowing pink as his glare sharpened. "Even if things go back, I don't have a home to go to!!!"

I could see it clearly.

The pain and the hatred that swirled in his eyes, like two endless pools of despair.

"We're not all as perfect as you, Gabriel!!! I don't want that life back, I hate that life!!! I don't have any happily ever after, even if this all goes back to normal, that's why I agreed to this!!!"

"That doesn't give you an excuse to ruin other people's lives!!! I know that things can get really difficult sometimes..!!" I raised a hand, a blue orb forming on my palm.

"But this isn't the way to handle it, you have to think before you act.. Trust me, I know what it feels like to be lost and alone.. My situation might've been different to yours, but I have an idea what of what you're going through.."

He stared at me in silence, his glare turning into a gaze of regret, all of the things he had done slowly coming back to him.

Just like everyone else, he's a person. He feels pain. He makes mistakes.

He just needs someone to listen.

In the end, he took a deep breath, and lowered his hands, hanging his head low. "I.. ... I-I'm sorry..."

Placing another hand over my own, I made the orb grow. "We all make mistakes.. Believe me there.."

I barely had any energy in me, but I had to fix the world. I'd probably be asleep for days again, but it was better than letting people suffer in this misery.

However, a scream suddenly filled the air, followed by a sudden force knocking both of us far back. Grunting a bit as I sat back up, I could see Courtney storming over to an injured Wes, who had pink sparks flying around him.

"You useless bitch, you couldn't even be worthy enough to die.. Oh well! More fun for me!" A sword formed in her hand, raising it up about to slice his neck open.

...

I know all he's ever done is go out of his way to make me suffer, but...

... I can't let him die... I just can't...

With the little strength that remained in me, I ran over was fast as I could, barely just managing to reach the scene...

And feeling the sharp sensation pierce through my chest...

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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