The Villainous Cruz Family

Later that night, when everyone else had gone asleep, Albert arose from his bed. Besides him, Ian was in deep sleep as usual and showed no signs of being disturbed by the noises Albert was making. A gentle hand was placed on the child's head as Albert brushed aside the hair in Ian's eyes. He then got out of bed quietly and wandered the room aimlessly. There were many things bothering him and despite thinking over them, a solution hadn't popped into his head yet.

Justin...He could still vaguely feel his presence in his mind, an elusive mist that never dispersed. Albert clenched his fist in rage. He had fulfilled his side of the bargain and yet Justin still persisted.

Albert recalled that fateful moment wherein Justin gathered all his strength to take control of his body despite Albert's protests. Holding onto a rusty knife, he watched as Houston flung fireball after fireball at the evercalm Kin. Then, in a final burst, he sprinted forward and stuck it into his back. He twisted it, lips arching in malicious p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

Albert had to admit that it was somewhat cathartic feeling the blade go through his back, and hearing the pathetic yelp of surprise that Houston let out. Yet, the fact that Justin had f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y taken command of his body to do so left a bad taste in Albert's mouth, especially considering that his own life was on the line for Justin's own act of vengeance. Well, their collective act of vengeance, Albert begrudgingly admitted.

BASTARD, Houston had screamed with rage like never before and swung his arm at Justin, or rather, Albert. As they flew in the air, Justin continued to glare at Houston, even as Albert eventually regained control of his body, he never stopped cursing him.

Then, as his body weakened, Albert's sight faded into black. However, he could still hear Houston's cursing and finally, the moment it came to an abrupt end. He knew, at that moment, that Houston had breathed his last.

'He's dead…' Albert spoke in his mind.

It was silent for a bit before a cry was heard. '...no, I don't want to disappear.'

And he didn't. Even till this day, he persisted. His spirit remained still in Albert's mind.

Albert chewed his nails in deep thought. How was he going to drive Justin out?...Thinking back, he remembered Justin mentioning that he was from this city. He often bragged about his achievements in the local arcades as if it meant anything. Perhaps...Albert clicked his tongue and stomped his feet. He changed into a clean set of dark clothes and briskly walked out of his and Ian's room. Wandering over to the room opposite to Victoria's, he rudely opened the door without knocking.

"Cain. I need you to drive me somewhere."

"Albert???" Cain arose the moment Albert opened the door but he was clearly not fully awake yet seeing as he called Albert his name rather than 'young master' as commanded by Victoria.

"Take me to the city." Albert demanded.

"The city? Why?��� Cain's eyes widened at the sudden request.

"I'm just going to play, don't worry." Albert assured. "If you take me, I'll pay for your share too. I still have a lot of allowance left over."

"Did you tell Boss?" Though the boy appeared calm, Cain could feel the anxiety exuded from him.

"He's sleeping right now." Albert channeled Victoria and hmphed impatiently. "Are you going to take me or not?"

"Boss will be very worried if you go out this late." And angry at me for taking you.

"If you don't take me, I'll go myself."

"W-what? You can't do that! That's too dangerous!" Cain protested in a fl.u.s.ter.

"I don't care. I'm leaving now." Albert turned with a puff.

"W-wait! I'll take you, so please, just wait, young master!"

"Then I'll wait for you in the living room."

As he sat upon the couch in the dark of the night, Albert let out a sigh. 'What am I doing?' He wondered to himself. 'Hopefully, seeing familiar sights and reliving his life would wake Justin up and I can convince him to f.u.c.k off.' He ran his fingers through his hair. 'If that doesn't work, I'll…'

"Young master, I'm ready now." Cain called out quietly.

Albert glanced over at Cain and headed for the front door without a word. He was lucky that Cain was dumb and didn't think to inform Kin himself. Otherwise, Albert wouldn't have been able to explain himself to him.

Along the way, Albert watched the dark yet bright streets going by. Cars filled the streets, either going into or out the City. He could hear Cain calling his colleagues and ordering them to set up station in the City before they arrived and also the bustling of people and cars. The entire time, a sense of impatience and anxiety plagued the boy. He couldn't help but to wonder, 'what if Justin never leaves'. However, Albert clung onto the hope that his tactics would succeed.

Thus, in the dead of the night, the thirteen year boy dragged Cain in tow and wandered the lively streets of Zinc city. They dodged the drunk men and women that were hopping from bar to bar, club to club and finally arrived at the biggest arcade in the city. It was located in the vicinity of the most popular casino as well, so naturally, it was both rowdy and filled with people.

Albert exchanged money for a few tokens and began his quest to play all the machines at least once each. However, even after he played over half the games, Albert didn't feel any signs of Justin waking up.

"...If I was that good at crane games, I would be happier, damn it." Cain grumbled quietly as he crouched down to collect Albert's fourth plushie. The boy had already started playing on the machine beside it nonchalantly but with a frown on his face.

"Hahhh, another one." Cain sighed with envy.

When he conquered all the machines, Albert stared down at his hands in frustration. "What do you want to eat?"

"Hmmm? You shouting?"

Albert clicked his tongue at the grown a.s.s man trying to get a child to treat him but conceded as he did promise. "Yeah. Give me some recommendations."

"Then how 'bout some pho?"

"Actually, let's go for some Waccas." Albert suddenly remembered Justin saying that he loved Waccas.

"Why'd you ask if you weren't going to listen?" Cain grumbled bitterly.

Albert shot him a look that effectively silenced the bodyguard. Cain sighed to himself once more and signalled for one of the hidden bodyguards to hold the plushies and followed Albert to the nearby Waccas.

A family meal later, Justin slumbered still, much to the dismay of Albert.

"Come on, let's go watch a movie." Albert refused to give up and was on the move again. He was determined to awaken Justin and rid him from his mind.

The two wandered through a shortcut through the city. Albert had learnt this from one of his classmates during their excursion through the city and memorised it to rid himself of the shame of getting lost last time. Cain tried to dissuade him from walking through the dimly lit alleyways but the grumpy boy simply ignored him and continued to walk.

"Oi, hands up where I can see 'em." As Cain had expected, some lowlife was lying in wait for them. The greasy thug held in his hands a dollar store knife and was waving it around like some amateur.

It was all too familiar to Albert, especially now that he had just gone through his past experiences in his dream. The scrawny drunk's image overlapped with Houston's towering figure. The scene of the man inflicting cuts into his body one by one while laughing maniacally repeated itself over and over again.

Albert clenched his fists and shook his head. "Piss off before I kill you."

"..." Cain shot a meaningful glance over at Albert.

"Whaccha say!?!" The thug was angered, so enraged that his face reddened and veins popped out of his head. "Even a f.u.c.ken kid's making fun of me, damn it! Each and every one of yous think I'm a joke! Well, I'm not! And I'll f.u.c.k.i.n.g show 'em!"

Cain could see that this was the typical case of some lowlife projecting their problems and frustrations out onto the world. They preyed on the weak in order to feel better about themselves.

Albert directed an irritated gaze at the deranged man. 'Seriously...should I just kill him? Justin will get stronger from the death but...he might not leave again...but there's no way the other plan was going to work…he's pissing me off anyways, I should just go for it.'

"Cain, give me your knife." Albert ordered.

"Excuse me?" Cain unconsciously handed Albert his knife. It was his personal weapon that was sharp and durable enough to pierce through a skull if thrown with enough force. Cain had planned to put a swift end to the man but was left without his trusty weapon.

Now holding the knife, Albert took a deep breath. The enemy was clearly untrained. His gait was tipsy from the alcohol and his eyes were unfocussed from illicit drugs. With his training and experience, Albert would have no problem going up against the taller and stronger a.d.u.l.t. In fact, he felt that he would be able to defeat him with ease even if the man was of sober mind.

The young boy steadied his position, putting strength onto his toes. He pushed forward, surprising the thug with his speed and before the enemy noticed, Albert was already right in front of him, knife in hand and ready to strike. The sharp knife easily glided across the man's throat, and a splatter of blood erupted thereafter.

"???" The thug tried to speak but all that escaped his mouth were gurgles of blood and groans of pain and confusion. He wrapped his hand around his neck in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding however his weakening hands only slipped from the blood spraying out from the wound.

The little devil that slit his throat proceeded to lift his knee and stretch his leg, effectively giving him a good kick. In the end, the thug hit his head on the ground and proceeded to bleed to his death.

Albert watched the entire process with an unnerving look on his face. It was the very picture of apathy, as if he was imitating Kin. Ultimately, however, it was but a mere mask. Cracks showed in the look of indifference.

"It didn't work. He's not responding. Why? Was it not enough? No, that's impossible." Albert mumbled ominous to himself. The boy staggered over to the corpse, knife in hand, and viciously plunged the blade into the dead man's c.h.e.s.t multiple times. "Why. Isn't. It. Working!"

"Wow! What's wrong, young master?" Cain flinched in surprise.

"Come on! Please. Just f.u.c.k off already!" Albert begged, his voice trembling with desperation. "Give him back…"

Deep down Albert understood that Justin was never going to wake up again. That day, when Houston died, Justin had died along with him. However, the Ability he used in his dying moments was like a c.o.c.kroach, stubbornly carrying out the final commands of its dead master. Albert wasn't sure how he'd be able to rid himself of the spirit…He was afraid he'll never be able to.

Albert stood up. "Let's go home, Cain."

"Pardon? Weren't we going to see a movie?"

Albert smirked wryly and spread his arms wide apart. "You think we can go see a movie like this?"

His black hoodie and white shirt was stained with splashes of still warm blood. It was very clear that it wasn't just a tomato sauce accident.

"Alright, for now, wear my jacket to cover it up." Cain dr.a.p.ed his jacket over Albert and zipped it up, clearing the blood on his face while he was at it.

"...Don't tell Father or Mother about what I did tonight."

Cain paused and spoke with hesitation. "...I won't be able to conceal it from them."

"...Just, don't tell them about how I behaved, they...they don't need to know."

"...Alright."