The function known as the Pit had chosen an inconspicuous building stuck in the dark orange canyon wall of the Ravine. People were shuffling in with wide smiles and drunken walks as if they were going to a concert. There was even a sturdy man in a black business suit and dark sunglasses standing at the metal barn doors. He was mainly there to confiscate weapons, but he was also there to check identification cards like he was a regular bouncer at a nightclub. It was such a mundane sight that Vermillion knew it was a fighting ring the second he looked at it. Nightclubs in the Ravine did not have as much security as a warehouse with working cameras and guards hiding in every nearby shadow. The Pit was extremely illegal, but it was well-protected. It would not be easy to take it down in one strike, especially not after Vermillion's last attempts at crumpling the whole system.

"I'm going up. I'll jump through one of the top-level windows like a fucking badass. The rest of you will have to go through the front door. The main fight of the night hasn't started yet, but it won't be long. The fighters should be underground in a fucking basement or boiler room. Be where you're supposed to be, and don't get caught. I'm not coming to save your dumbasses, and you shouldn't consider saving mine if I'm fucking stupid enough to get caught," Vermillion explained, pointing at the the corner of the warehouse. Although it looked like it was entirely in the rock from a front-view angle, Vermillion knew there was a small opening that was outside the canyon wall. There would be a small window that Vermillion could access by jumping from the neighboring balconies where people lived.

"And we'll meet up back in Logstedshire when we've completed our individual objectives or decide it's time for a tactical retreat," Thorn said with a smile rising on her lips. Vermillion rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure they all knew he was lying when he agreed to that plan.

"Have fun, pussies," Vermillion told them before he walked away. He walked down the street along the opposite sidewalk of the Pit. He kept walking until he was far enough away to be unable to hear any of the commotion. He crossed the street then. He used his powers to lift himself into the air. He kept the wind surrounding him as he landed on someone's balcony. He pressed his hand against the canyon wall as he jumped to the neighboring balcony with only a little boost from his powers. For the next balcony, he had to grab onto the railing to heave himself over the side. He rolled on the new balcony, continuing his path from one person's home to the next. Considering how poor the people of the Ravine were, there wasn't any door or window separating the balcony from the interior cave where people lived. Vermillion tried to be quiet, but he noticed one person rush into their living room to see what was going on. He gave them a slight wave, and their eyebrows shot up as they held a cutting board as if it were a baseball bat. Vermillion made it to the next balcony before he could get hit. Two balconies more, and he was facing a sleepy cat laying on the railing. The cat barely opened its eyes to look at him. He petted the cat's neck before jumping to the final balcony.

The warehouse the Pit was using tonight came out slightly, the dark metal rusting along the edges. There was a window for every level, getting smaller as it went up. The highest window was obviously the smallest, but it was big enough for someone to shimmy through if they put their heart and soul into it. Vermillion hoped he could make it, at least. He needed to be at the highest level. That was where all the information would be. And he had to get through the window because the highest level would also be the most guarded.

"Good luck, you little shit," Beau said through their earpiece. Vermillion half-smiled. He would never admit it, but he missed Beau. Sneaking into the Pit with her voice echoing in his ears made him nostalgic. They used to do this nearly every night. Vermillion remembered being so close to finally taking down the Pit. That train of thought delivered him to the last conversation he had with Beau. People would say that time heals all wounds, but their argument still dug deeply into his heart like a knife hellbent on killing him. Vermillion shook his head. It wasn't time to reminisce. He had a mission in the present moment.

Vermillion walked to the railing of the balcony before turning around to face down the warehouse. He took a deep breath. He started running forward, and he vaulted over the metal railing with his powers lifting him high into the air. Vermillion kept himself from flailing around as the wind wrapped around him. He grabbed onto the ledge of the window as his toes hit the metal. He winced in pain, barely holding back a scream as pain shot up his legs and his shoulders seemed to pull apart. Thankfully, his powers softened the sound of him hitting the warehouse wall. He held completely still, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, Vermillion dug his nails into the ledge as he carefully pushed the window inward. The glass pane swung open at a sickeningly slow rate, and Vermillion waited to hear the creaking of wires or people rushing towards the room he was in. When no sound came, Vermillion was able to pull his body upward. He rolled into the Pit's office room, landing with complete silence.

"I'm in," Vermillion whispered to Beau as he slid back, waiting in the shadows beneath the window. He wanted to make absolutely sure that no one was coming his way. If someone entered the room, Vermillion would leap out the window without a second thought. He couldn't afford to be caught right now. The civilians of Logstedshire and the heroes knew Vermillion was alive, but the criminal underworld might have missed the memo. Vermillion had to pray that his reappearance was being kept secret.

"I can see that, dumbass," Beau told him. Vermillion might have forgotten that his goggles allowed Beau to see what he was seeing as well as what he was hearing... and he might have forgotten that she had access to the security cameras. Vermillion shook his head, standing up now that he was sure no one was coming.

He found himself in a small office room. There was a cluttered desk in front of an even more cluttered shelving unit that was as tall at Vermillion's waist but covering all of the walls. There were two doors on one wall. One of the doors was made from wood with a thick, foggy glass window that allowed pale yellow fluorescent lighting from the hallway to pour in. The other door was made entirely of dark wood, and there weren't any lights shining from underneath the door.

Vermillion leaned down, immediately checking the shelving units. There were dozens of books about hybrids, medical procedures, mythology, and ancient systems of fighting. There were a handful of world atlases with brightly colored sticky notes peeking out from the pages. There were a couple outliers in the bunch like one book on botany and one on astrology. The main thing in the shelves were paperbound books with black plastic spiral spines. Vermillion pulled a few out to leaf through the pages. It was all intense notes about every fighter that had ever crossed through the Pit. Checking the dates, Vermillion realized that some of the books were very recent. Vermillion smiled to himself. "Look at all this fucking juicy information."

"You aren't useless for once," Beau admitted with a genuineness in her tone that made Vermillion scoff like a disgruntled bird. "Continue to be useful and try to find something to put it in."

He looked around the office until he found a backpack underneath the desk. He rummaged through the contents of the backpack. There were crumpled papers that had been squashed down to the bottom by a silver laptop. Vermillion kept the papers and the laptop in the backpack as he slid the most recent books in the backpack. He couldn't take all of them, so he hoped that he had taken all the ones about the members of the Pit who were still there. He really hoped that the laptop had a digital copy of all these paperbacks. He highly doubted it, but when did hope ever stop people? The people of Logstedshire were known for being hopeful creatures, and he was, apparently, the pinnacle of what Logstedshire stood for. He was bound to be more hopeful than logical.

Vermillion slung the backpack over his shoulder before going into the dark room. He made sure to close the door behind him before flicking the light on. Although this room didn't have a window, it was far larger and more organized than the one he had just exited. Vermillion supposed that he was just in the secretary's waiting room, and this was the main office that everyone wanted to get into. It had a large desk in the middle of a wall with two plush chairs in front of it. There were some landscape pictures hanging on the walls. Vermillion smiled to himself, and turned his head toward the camera in the upper corner of the room. "You'll make sure they won't see this footage, right?"

"If you question my intelligence one more time, I'll fucking turn on the alarm and sprinkler system. I'll laugh my ass off when you are caught by them, soaking wet and cursing me out," Beau threatened him. Vermillion wanted to say that Beau was bluffing, that she wouldn't jeopardize a mission as important as this, but he knew Beau. He knew her so well that he knew she would do all of that even without him explicitly pissing her off. He supposed he should be proud that someone had enough trust in his ability to avoid getting caught, but he really didn't think he would be able to do it this time. He was rusty, and he was trying not to make himself known.

Vermillion didn't mention this as he continued to trifle through different objects. The desk didn't have anything important on it, just an empty calendar that was from the previous year. The drawers of the desk were locked, and Vermillion tried to brute force his way through. He used the wind to shatter the lock, pulling the drawer open. There were some folders in the drawer. Vermillion didn't even check them as he shoved them into his stolen backpack as he turned towards the next drawer. He attempted to do the same thing, but before he could break the lock, he heard a noise.

Vermillion dropped to his knees. He held his breath as he waited for the door to swing open. It wasn't swinging open, and the noise sounded like it was already inside the room. Vermillion peeked around the desk to see that someone coated in a golden yellow light was pulling themselves up in the middle of the room, their upper body and legs being pulled from the carpet. Vermillion narrowed his eyes as the person phased right through the floor. When the figure stopped phasing, the light around them dissipated. She was wearing a bodysuit that seemed a little too big for her. The top half of the suit was in a pale yellow color with the waist and leg area being a faded blue color. She wore a matching faded blue mask over her face and pale blue gloves. Her brown hair being tucked into a fly agaric mushroom designed cloth that completely covered her bun like a miniature hairnet. She looked around the room with a determined look in her golden eyes.

Her expression changed when she locked eyes with Vermillion. She yelped before she became invisible. Vermillion raised his hand, using the power of wind to push the invisible woman towards the wall. She became visible again when she hit the opposing wall. She looked like she was going to beg for her life before her eyes widened in recognition. A large smile appeared on her face. "Vermillion! It's me! The Shadow Queen... oh, wait, you probably don't know that name! Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually Shubble! Do you remember me?"

Even without the confirmation of her name, Vermillion knew that voice. How could he not? Shubble was one of the many people he had befriended when he was still a vigilante for Logstedshire. She had been a hero-in-training at the time, but Vermillion had never doubted she would make it. Even though she was a little naive and easily frightened, she was extremely positive, hardworking, and had an insane mastery over her powers. She was one of the people who helped Vermillion open his heart to the world, one of the few people he could never truly hate even if she told him that she murdered everyone in Logstedshire. Not like she would. Vermillion remembered Shubble being the kindest person in the hero industry. She was so compassionate that she instilled Vermillion's faith in heroes. She was the reason he believed heroes weren't all bad, and he wondered- not for the first time- how crushed she was when she learned he had died.

"What are you doing here?" Vermillion asked, letting the wind drop away. He pressed the side of his earpiece as he whispered to Beau. "Check on the others while I deal with this."

He walked in front of the desk to look at Shubble (the Shadow Queen? Who gave her that name?) more clearly. He didn't realize she would grab his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. She buried her nose in his shoulder, ignoring the armor that protected his joints. She pulled back without letting go of his arms, not the least bit upset that Vermillion technically didn't hug her back.

"Siren took me on as his sidekick until I can officially become a hero. He told me this was to allow me to get familiar with hero work since my biggest weakness is my lack of experience. Crowfather recently started a huge mission to eradicate the Pit. Siren and I, along with some other heroes, are in charge of reconnaissance. Crowfather wants to know everything about the Pit before we make an effort to take it down so that we can swiftly deal with it all at once. I'm not entirely sure what our whole plan is. I just know I'm supposed to be getting information right now. I'm assuming you're here for the same thing," Shubble said with a light-hearted giggle. Vermillion sucked in a sharp breath, trying his hardest not to break down. Shubble was acting so sweet to him. She had even mentioned Siren... Vermillion didn't want to think about Siren.

"Not... Not completely. I'm here to get information for the heroes. I thought you guys wouldn't do your fucking jobs unless you had some sort of substational proof. I'm going to retire again, so... so I needed to fucking do this before I went away," Vermillion told her, trying his hardest not to explode. She didn't deserve to hear any of the thoughts in his head. All Shubble was doing was being herself. All she was doing was being insanely kind to him.

"Wow. I guess great minds really do think alike," Shubble said with another giggle. She didn't acknowledge that Vermillion questioned heroes or that he was going back to retirement. She instead looked at him with those bright eyes and soft smile that he missed. It reminded him of everything he had given up: Video games with Ender and Kamikaze. Training sessions and literature lessons with the Blade. Baking with Nemesis and Halo. Card games with Minotaur and Croupier. Flying with the Crowfather. Board games with Unfound and Combust. Exploring the city with Dream. Pulling pranks on everyone with Blaze and Kitsune. Talking with the Warden while he worked in his lab. Listening to music with Siren. Swimming with the Captain and Ankh.

And learning how to be a true hero with Shubble at his side.

"Have you found anything? We can bring it to Siren right now," Shubble offered. Vermillion's grip tightened on the backpack carrying the stolen information. He looked down at it before tossing it at Shubble. She was barely able to catch it. When it finally settled in her hands, she hugged it to her chest like it was a precious treasure that she couldn't afford to break. Vermillion supposed it was since it would help them figure out who was still in the Pit, and where those people belonged once they were freed. "Amazing, Vermillion! Siren will be so happy! He should be in a room down the hall. I'll scope out what the hall looks like, and we'll sneak you over to see him."

Vermillion's heart dropped into his stomach. He couldn't do that. He physically could not see Siren. If he did, everything he was trying to hide would fall from his lips. He would beg for Siren's forgiveness, and he knew that Siren would forgive him. He could feel the phantom warmth of what Siren's hug would be like as Siren promised that he would fix everything. Vermillion couldn't let that happen. He wasn't going to involve the heroes in his mess. He wasn't going to involve Siren.

"I fucking can't, Shubs. I'm sorry," He whispered to her, forcing his voice to come out even when he felt his throat tighten painfully. Shubble looked at him with worry arising in her golden eyes. She took a step toward him, her hand coming up to touch his cheek. Vermillion didn't have the strength to push her away, but he made sure that he didn't break down. He kept his tears, whimpers, and the brutal truth all to himself.

"When you died, I was absolutely crushed. I stopped being a hero for a long time because all I could think about was how the system had failed you. I wouldn't leave my apartment or answer anyone's calls. Siren was the one that found me. He was just as broken as I was. Even more so, really. He hardly looked like a functioning human being. Still, he made me get off my butt to make myself a meal and drink some water. He washed my dirty sheets, and he ate with me while we watched something random on the TV. He reminded me that everything you did was because you wanted to be a hero... a genuine hero that saved his people. Siren told me that your dream couldn't die with you. He told me that we needed to carry it on. I believed him... I still believe those words," Shubble told Vermillion with tears starting to form in her eyes. Vermillion felt his heart ache as the confirmation that Shubble went through hell after learning he was dead. "I don't know why you faked your death. I don't know why you disappeared. I don't know why you left Logstedshire in shambles. What I do know is that for as long as I've known you, every action you've taken was for that district because you're a hero, through and through. I'll believe that you faked your death for a good reason. I'll believe that you thought disappearing was what was best for Logstedshire. I'll even trust that your new retirement and refusal to see Siren is what needs to happen. I just need you to know that I'm here for you whenever you need me. Once I become a hero, I'll be going to Logstedshire. I'll work there until you decide it's time to come back, and then we can be partners. Good luck, Vermillion. Remember that people love you."

Shubble sunk through the floor with the backpack, disappearing before Vermillion could fully process her words. Vermillion dropped his head into his hands. For a moment he was able to keep himself under control, but that moment passed when he heard Beau's voice return to the earpiece. "People do fucking love you. They love you so much that they nearly killed themselves when they thought you were dead. Some of us raged, some of us cried, and some of us didn't know what to do with ourselves. Now that you know this, can you please tell me why the fuck you abandoned us?"

Vermillion tore the goggles he was wearing and the earpiece across the room. He watched as the goggles snapped in half, sliding to the ground. He glared at them both. He could still faintly hear Beau's voice from the earpiece. He snarled at the device. He stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He jumped out of the window he entered through. He landed on the neighboring balcony with enough force that it startled the cat awake. The feline glared at him, and he glared right back at it. He jumped down from the balcony, hitting the ground with barely any wind to cushion his fall. His legs hurt as he continued walking, but he couldn't stop until all his anger and sadness and confusion and the pain of thinking ebbed away.

Although he told himself he wasn't going to meet back up with them, Vermillion found himself at the alleyway where he met up with Thorn, NA, Indigo, and Afreet. They weren't there yet, but the fact that he showed up had to mean something. Vermillion kicked the brick wall of the alleyway when he felt like his emotions were beginning to bubble out of control. He didn't want to stay there any longer, but something was keeping him tethered there. He loathed the idea of talking to the other four, especially without Beau. He knew that he needed to. He needed to make sure that someone understood that he wasn't coming back to the hero scene no matter what. Thorn- as Rosa- would tell all the heroes not to hold their breaths. She had to because there was nothing that convinced Vermillion to go back.

"Are you done throwing a tantrum?" A voice from his nightmares echoed in the alleyway. Vermillion turned around with enough force that the wind around him spiraled out. She easily avoided the wind, a smirk coming to her face. "Oh, please calm yourself, dear. This will be a long night if we're constantly fighting with one another."

Vermillion felt bile rush up his throat, and it was strong enough that he physically gagged. He didn't want to show her weakness because he hated the way her red eyes illuminated with amusement... just like what they looked like now. "If you are to puke, do it over there. I have more important matters to attend to than to clean up your vomit."

Vermillion took a few steps towards her, going against his base instincts. When he was close enough, he released everything in his gut onto her shoes and pants. She made a disgusted face as she tried not to look at the vomit or Vermillion. "You are still the little brat you were all those years ago. You always have to go against everything I say. I tell you not to puke on me, and you do. I told you not to run away, and you did. I told you not to be a hero again, and you do. It seems that your self-preservation is as low as your willingness to keep your friends safe."

"You won't be able to do shit to them. You may be a bitch, but you're no fighter. They'll kill you before you can even give them your shitty monologue," Vermillion said, looking up at her as he wiped the vomit off his mouth.

"If you sincerely believed that, you wouldn't have disappeared like I told you to. You would have remained as the hero of this stupid district. We both know that you value this place more than your own life," She told him. Vermillion took a step back. He didn't want to be near her anymore. She glared at him now that they were face to face. "That isn't the reason I'm here, though. Even if you hadn't gotten involved, I would have come for you. It is time for you to fulfill your mission."

"I'm not doing shit for you," Vermillion told her. He would never again be her puppet.

"You are so quick to deny your purpose. You were created for this. And it aligns with what you want. We'll take down the corrupt hero society that left this district to rot. We'll get revenge on all those heroes who didn't even try to find out what happened to you. You'll become king of this new world. The people of Logstedshire can have all the riches you want to give them while you condemn the other districts. Isn't this what you want?" She told him with an exasperated expression.

"I don't fucking want to be king. I don't want to damn anyone or kill the heroes. Those heroes that you keep talking about? They're my fucking friends... they're my family. I just want everything to be fair, and you don't want that. You and your shitty organization want power," Vermillion told her with a newfound conviction rising in his voice. He was getting drunk off the bravery that was coursing through his veins, finally finding the strength to tell her exactly what he thought.

"You truly are an ignorant child. The world will never be fair. The people of Logstedshire will always be made up of the poor, the discriminated, the forgotten. They will never know peace or happiness the way the world is. And the other districts? They will continue to thrive with their shining heroes and biased politicians. They will continue to steal from Logstedshire while calling it a rat's nest filled with sickly, uneducated, and violent imbeciles as if they aren't the ones damning us to that fate! How can you not see that the world would be so much better for everyone if the heroes of today were gone?" She started yelling at him with the supernova trapped in her red eyes blazing to life.

"The world will never know peace under your rule. If I'm an ignorant child, you're a naive, self-obsessed, shitfaced motherfucker. I don't know what fucking mission you have for me or what your goddamn plan is, but I want no part of it. You might as well fucking kill me now. Actually... I'll do it for you," Vermillion said, pulling out one of his daggers. He had forgotten all about them when he saw her standing there, but now that he was aware of them, all the pieces began to click together to reveal the full picture. Vermillion pressed his dagger to his throat. He pushed it hard enough that pain coursed through his body. Blood slid down the length of the blade to drip over his fingers.

She growled at him with her fists closing tightly. She looked seconds away from an aneurysm. Instead of dying, she took a few deep breaths that seemed to calm her down. "Fine. If you want to be an idiot and kill yourself, go ahead. I won't stop you because I don't need you. The plan will simply move on without you. Mark my words, Patient Zero, the world as you know it will come to an end. Arch will topple hero society. We will save the people of Logstedshire in a way you never could because you are too weak and too stupid to realize that this is the only way. All your precious family members will die, regardless if you're alive or not."

She walked away, fading back into the shadows as if she'd never been there at all. Vermillion smiled to himself. He would have rather learned what exactly her plans were, but he had the funny feeling that she had given him enough information to figure it out. Perhaps he could learn what it was all about if he combined his information with what the heroes had. That thought became a fuzzy memory for Vermillion as his body fell to the ground, his bloody dagger clattering against the ground. He hoped the heroes would find and stop her. He hoped the heroes would realize what Arch was doing. He hated that he could only hope, but the black spots dancing across his vision reminded him that hoping was the only thing he could do.

Before everything went dark, he was pretty sure he could hear his name.