Wyatt winced as Royce's leather boots dug into his side and he put his hand over it, hoping to numb the pain. Like everything else he tried, it didn't work.

Royce walked around the room, pacing. He reached for the switchblade on the floor that Wyatt had dropped. Royce ran his finger delicately over the blade. He put it under Wyatt's neck.

Wyatt could feel Royce's breath in his ear as Royce harshly whispered, "Never, EVER, come in here again, or I will kill you instead, do you understand?"

Wyatt felt the blade start to dig into his throat and nodded, whimpering, "Yes."

Royce laughed sadistically and let go, walking away. "Final warning, Wyatt Clark. I'd stay still, by the way. Don't want that poison traveling through your bloodstream." He left with a clang of the door slamming shut.

Wyatt shakily stood up, and he was suddenly hit with a wave of nausea.

"This isn't good, Wyatt." Thane murmured. "I can feel the flow of poison traveling through your veins."

Yet Thane's voice was starting to get farther and farther away. Soon, it was no more than a faint buzz in his ear.

He walked around stumbling over everything and pushed the door open. The sight in his good eye was diminishing as he put his hand on the wall and struggled to walk forward. "Get to Cassie. Get to Cassie," he whispered, before falling down and onto his knees. "I have to get to Cassie." He stood up and relied on the wall to get him there.

When Wyatt finally reached the door, he pounded on it. No answer. Wyatt coughed blood and stood up once more, leaning against the wall. "She has to be with Royce."

Wyatt collapsed and he heard the panic in Thane's voice.

"Wyatt? Can you hear me? You might die. There's no way you can get to Royce's room alone anymore. Let me help. I'll take my human form and carry you there. Give me your consent."

Wyatt was panting heavily. "Help, Thane."

There was a sudden disappearance of something. He felt like someone had just taken a piece of him away, like a jigsaw puzzle. His eyesight could only make out a pair of haunting eyes on a dark, human shaped shadow as Thane slung him over his shoulder and walked into a wall. There was a dark, ominous feel and Thane emerged out on a different side, right next to Royce's office. He knocked on the door, and, just as Chase opened the door, Thane disappeared, once more living in Wyatt's conscience.

Wyatt looked up at Chase's surprised face and managed a weak grin.

"Surprise, bro."

Then everything went black.

******

Some hours later...

He woke up groggily and sat up slowly. The infirmary was absolutely empty, except for a feminine shape sitting at his bed. Slowly, his good eye adjusted. There was a twinge in his side and he groaned. "Damn it."

"That's not language to speak to a lady, Clark."

He looked over and spotted Cassie, who raised an eyebrow at him. "Never knew you had such a dirty mouth."

He smiled a little sheepishly and said, "Sorry."

Cassie shook her head and leaned towards him. He froze. She checked his scar, her fingertips tracing lightly over his cheek. Stop that, Wyatt. You've done this a million times before. Why should this time be any different? Stupid hormones.

Cassie took her hands off. She stood up and offered her hand. "Wanna go for a walk?"

He rolled his eyes and took her hand, slowly standing up. As soon as his feet touched the carpet he fell, almost on his face.

"Woah, there, Wyatt," Cassie gripped his shoulder. "Am I so beautiful that you fall the moment you hold my hand?" she joked.

Wyatt played out a quick little scenario in his head. If he'd said yes, she would've either laughed it off as a joke or really thought he was serious. If she thought he was serious...they'd kiss...and then maybe start dating. He shook it off as a childish fantasy. "That'll never happen. Nobody falls in love with Death," Wyatt decided silently.

He decided to keep his mouth shut. They walked to the door and down the hall, chatting mindlessly sand without a care, until someone rammed into Wyatt. He grunted and toppled to the side with the person, confused in a mess of limbs and heads.

When they untangled themselves, Wyatt glared at the person. It quickly turned into shock.

"Chase?"

His brother's eyes were gray again and Chase shouted, "I'm going to die!"

Wyatt grabbed his brother's head with both hands. "Slow down."

"You can't slow time unless you're you! I'm going to die! I'm going to rot away in poison because someone's going to kill me!" Chase took a deep breath and looked at Wyatt with his pleading eyes. Tears formed from them, splashing onto the carpet. "What did I do, Wyatt? What sin did I cause for me to die like this?" He sobbed, uncontrollable tears running down his face.

Wyatt patted Chase's back. "It won't happen, Chase, I promise. I'll always be there to protect you. You won't die."

His brother's sobs died down and Chase looked at Wyatt with his gray, ominous eyes. In a raspy, prophetic voice, he sent a creepy message to Wyatt through his mind that brought up shivers to his spine.

"Not this time, Wyatt."

*****

Cassie Blaze

She had witnessed the entire thing. Chase going insane, Wyatt passing out as soon as his face had paled at his brother's secret telepathic message.

She'd carried Wyatt to his own room, pulled the covers over him, and then left to tend to Chase.

Instead, she found Royce, standing at the doorway. He didn't say anything until she walked past him. His thin hand gripped her shoulder and he bent down to whisper in her ear.

"Meet me in the room at seven. Bring Chase. Not Wyatt, nor Dagger."

Then he'd walked off like nothing had happened.

So, for the rest of the day, Cassie had helped Chase, and then they both walked down to Royce's room at precisely seven.

He was staring out the window when they came in. Royce turned around and smiled. "Have a seat, dear Cassidy. You too, Chase. I have a perfect plan to get Wyatt working for us as the ultimate weapon for Lucius."

As soon as Cassie and Chase sat down, Royce started, "We will use Chase as bait. I will 'kill' him, and Wyatt will be so mad he'll awaken his powers, but he won't be in control. Therefore, I will send him off on a journey. I will wipe Dagger's memories of Wyatt, and my entire team shall serve as tests for him. Cassidy, you will have to be encouragement for him. Pretend you're on his team. In the end, Wyatt will come back to me, and we will have the perfect weapon at our disposal."

Chase paled. "I die?"

With a sickening feeling, Cassie remembered the prophecy.

"Now, now, you two, it's just a faked death. Chase will be coated in a deadly poison. After Wyatt has left, Cassie will give the antidote to him. We can't have a forever mad weapon, but we need that hate to serve as motivation."

"Motivation to kill you. Then he'll become stronger." Chase implied.

Royce nodded happily. He looked like a child who'd just received a life's supply of Dum-Dum Pops.

Chase sucked in his breath through his teeth. "I do get to die, after all."

"When do we start?" Cassie asked.

Royce grinned. "Tomorrow, at dawn. By the time the sun's fully risen, he'll either be dead or on the run."

She hoped it would rain tomorrow.