Black Mist awoke the next morning with a slight headache and a bit dizzy. He'd had a terrible dream last night, one where his little Hachi was nearly killed by the demon children. It was just a dream, though, right? Nothing like that could happen, not with Lucia's wards protecting the doors. Right?

Right. He refused to believe otherwise, so like the day before, he stepped out of his room and into Hachi's room to keep a watch over him and make sure he was the first one to see him awake. As he approached the door, though, something felt...off.

Whatever.

Black Mist opened the door and eagerly entered the room, but the feeling of wrongness only increased. Something was wrong, and this time he couldn't ignore it. In the back of his mind, he could hear giggles and laughter. On any other day, he'd pay no heed to the laughter and even yell at the children to shut it, but this time he couldn't just push them away. They were inside, despite Numerronius's assurance.

That's when he noticed Hachi. It was as though he had an aura of darkness around him, and his breathing was rattling and shallow. What was happening to his baby?

Call someone, he thought, but he was frozen to the spot. His hand twitched; that was it. Call someone, damn it!

But he couldn't move. He commanded his body to move, but his body didn't respond. He could only watch as Hachi's chest rose and fell erratically until it slowed down dangerously. He tried to reach the "call" button. His hand twitched, but that was about it. Black Mist cursed himself viciously. Why wasn't he able to move!?

The giggling got louder and louder, and then he could see the three children on top of Hachi's chest. They were the ones trying to kill him, of course, but he never saw them interacting with anyone before! What was going on? The demon children were clearly looking at Black Mist, taunting him and keeping him in place, forcing him to watch as his little boy suffocated from their weight on his chest. With one last maniac laugh, they popped out of existence.

Suddenly his body was free. Suddenly he could reach the stand beside he bed and push the "call" button. In no time, the room filled with nurses and doctors, checking his heart and his breathing. They were talking urgently to one another in medical terms; it may as well have been another language to Mist. In his panic, he couldn't make sense of what they were saying despite having considerable knowledge in the medical field.

The nurses popped up the rails on either side of the bed to keep Hachi from falling out. The doctors were talking into their radios, demanding an operating room be set for the patient. Just as they were wheeling the bed out, the dreaded flat-lining beeeeeep echoed throughout the room.

Mist felt his heart drop. "No..." he whispered. His mind fogged with anguish and sorrow; beneath that, pure rage. "No!!" Tears pricked the corners of his eyes; I could hear the giggling become more intense.

Everything seemed to be in a blur. He only remembered crying, trying to get to Hachi to try and wake him up, but the doctors wouldn't let him. He kicked them away, ignoring the burning in his chest. All he wanted to do was see his little Hachi. He couldn't be dead!

The ones in the way snapped like twigs; their pained yelps were insignificant compared to his grief-filled howls. Hands grasped him, tried to pull him back, but they soon fell off of him. He didn't know how, though. All he cared about was that he finally reached the bed.

"Hachi?" Black Mist called. His voice was heavy with tears; he didn't even realize that the once-white room was red. "Don't do this to me, please. Wake up, baby."

But he wouldn't wake up. His face was so peaceful, but Mist could see the traces of pain. Anger boiled within his chest, but it was soon quenched by his grief. He hugged the body tightly and sobbed. He didn't remember falling asleep.

~.~.~

Hope entered Black Mist's room cautiously. His foster son was still asleep, but it wouldn't hold for long. He knew he needed to be here to keep the 96 calm and to appease the hospital after the murderous rampage that happened in Hachi's room. As much as he didn't like Mist's way of dealing with it, though, he also couldn't blame him. Hachi had been the light of his life, and now that light was quenched.

It was no doubt the curse's fault. What else would suddenly kill a child?

Hope held Mist's hand and gently squeezed. He had a thin glove on so he wouldn't harm his son with his light. "Do you have anything to do with this, Don Thousand?"

A black figure by the door hung back with his hands behind his back. He was encased in a black and purple shell with an eye-like gem (or it could have been an eye) at his waist. A long skirt covered his bottom half. His wings spanned half the width of the room. Though he was usually huge in Hope's visions and dreams, he seemed only to barely touch the ceiling.

"I don't know what you mean, Number 39," Don Thousand said in disgust. His deep voice echoed slightly even though the room didn't have those acoustics. "All I've done thus far is watch. I don't interfere with others' plans."

"No, but you tend to cause trouble. Astral beat you once; don't think he won't again."

Beneath the shelled mask, Don Thousand grinned. His disgust turned into a charismatic poise. "I believe you're getting the wrong impression, Number 39. I've come in my weakest form so as not to harm you fragile Numbers. I believe you and I have a deeper concern than my little plan, and concern is lying right in front of you."

Hope looked down at Mist quietly. "Whatever you want, you're not taking him." He spoke in a low growl. Although he was always seen as a peaceful and patient Number, he wouldn't tolerate it if Don Thousand dared to even lay a finger on Black Mist.

"You're once again mistaken. I know you're leaving in a few years, so his time hasn't yet come. I merely came to check on him, like you did."

This certainly took the 39 by surprise; he physically jumped from the shock. "You're a heartless beast. No one even considered you to have a soft spot for anyone."

"Oh, don't give me so much credit. All I care about is him." Don Thousand pointed to Black Mist. "I couldn't care less about the dead child, but since he meant so much to my little creation, I felt the need to make sure he was okay. That's why I'm physically here."

"Do you plan on letting him see you?"

"Of course not. It would be nice if you could step out for a minute."

Hope felt his inner chaos flare up, but he expertly quenched it. "How do I know you won't try anything?"

Don Thousand's smile beneath his shelled mask widened a bit. "Believe me, it'll be a quick in-and-out."

While he was reluctant to leave Mist in Don Thousand's hands, Hope knew he wasn't going to leave without a "yes" for an answer. Deliberately keeping Don in his sights, he left the room.

Don Thousand waited until he knew Hope was outside and pacing. That was when he placed his hand on Mist's forehead. The 96 flinched under him, but the sedative that was keeping him under was strong, so he didn't wake up. Not that Don was worried. If his little creation caught sight of him, it was a simple matter of erasing his memory.

Secretly, he slipped into Mist's mind and looked into the more recent memories. The flood of grief nearly bowed . Would he be able to erase the memory of Hachi in his mind? Perhaps of his entire existence? Would that even work? Don knew by now that the curse erased the risen children's names and relationships from Black Mist's mind, but could he take it a step further?

Something blocked his mental hand. Don Thousand blinked in confusion but didn't show any sign of distress or confusion. Nonetheless, those were the emotions he felt.

How can a mere curse stay my hand? I'm supposed to be all powerful!

Don Thousand removed his hand with a dissatisfied growl. "Not my problem," he reasoned with himself.

With that, he left in a puff of smoke.