Alan stampeded through the stairs, leaping through steps until he tripped, barely saving himself with the handle.

Please be there Pristine! Please be there Pristine!

A relentless chant played through his brain as his inner desire slowly peeped through the fence.

He had to admit it; he missed Pristine. He wanted her to be near, but most importantly, he wanted to safeguard her after knowing she had been telling the truth.

Reaching the end of the stairs, his breathing heaved, making him pause briefly to gasp for air. However, his heart pummeled him, indicating how he had already lost quality time to bind their broken relationship.

Alan darted across the wooden-tiled door, halting at his room's entrance. His heart throbbed pangs of uncertainty as it only conveyed one message to the brain: to see Pristine. Even if she avoided him or even slapped him for his negligence, he wasn't planning to rebuke. All his eyes needed was the sight of her, safe and unharmed.

A nervous rifle fired through his body as his fingers turned valiant enough to reach for the door. Without delaying a single second, Alan plunged the handle and entered inside his room.

"Pristine!"

"Alan!" she bolted in his direction and deluged him in a tight embrace. Warm tears dribbled through her skin, seeping through his shirt.This was unexpected for her itself – she imagined her to storm at Alan, slapping him left and right. But there she was, falling into his arms, hoping to never break apart.

Alan had trouble fathoming what happened, nonetheless, he remained mute as he stroked her hair and hugged her tight.

She's safe, and that's all that matters.

Stifled sobs escaped through their embrace as Pristine refused to part; she felt warm and safe in his hands. He might have been a stone-hearted idiot, but he was the only person who cared for her existence.

Soon Pristine released herself from their embrace, providing air for them to breathe. Brushing the residual tears of her skin, she stiffened her face, getting prepared to reveal what happened.

"I am sorry, Pristine," Alan whimpered, "You were right."

"Your sorry is not important, Alan. You need to know what happened."

***

"When Romine said that, Avril turned and we all saw Abigail appearing. She was horrified, Alan. She was on the verge of crying."

Alan patted her arms as Pristine took a deep inhale. She had been through so much, barely making it alive.

"What happened then?"

"Avril got distracted by Abigail, there was a metal bottle on the desk nearby. I picked that and banged his head. He stumbled – I think the bang made his sight blurry. I immediately grabbed Abigail and ran out of the room. Romine followed us but before she could get near, Adrius came out of his room, giving us ample time to come inside."

"What about Abigail?" Alan worried. The fact that his immature sister had almost seen Avril commit a murder brought him to shores of frustration. Things had gone completely out of hand, and now it was up to them to put an end.

"Abigail was stunned. She didn't speak a word, but then I explained to her vaguely, just repeating "don't worry" and "don't tell anyone about me". She gave a mild nod and then I let her go downstairs. I had to assure her that the creepy girl was no more there. She was so –"

"Alan!" A loud strike silenced their conversation. Arabella banged her brother's door incessantly; she had freaked out after seeing Alan's confused reaction. The boy had just ran to his room after seeing Romine, which made her brain raise suspicions.

"Alan, open the door!"

Alan turned towards Pristine as Arabella's screech reverberated through the room.

Pristine clutched his hands, assuring him that his thoughts were right.

"Open, Alan. There's no good in hiding this secret anymore. We'll have to put an end to it."

Her gentle voice stemmed confidence within him, as he sauntered towards the door.

"Why can't you open the door ? What's wrong with you?" Arabella bawled as he opened the door.

"Why did you run away? You were so weird the –"

Her eyes deceived her brain, or that's what her brain told. She gaped at the unusual visitor, who stood up from their place, managing a bleak smile. Tears filled her eyes, slowly trickling down as she ran towards Pristine, engulfing her body.

"Pristine!" she shrieked, joy and jumble mingling with her tears.

"Ara!" Pristine responded as she placed her chin on her shoulder, controlling her emotions.

It was her embrace that reminded Pristine how much she had missed her. Even if Alan had been there throughout her struggle, he can never be Arabella.

***

"My head's spinning!" Arabella rested her head on Pristine's shoulder. Even her abnormally large and smart brain couldn't swallow all the events that happened throughout the past weeks.

"That's how we were," Alan sighed, glancing at Pristine for approval.

"But Avril..." Arabella drowned her tone, "Are you sure it is him?"

"One hundred percent," Alan intruded, defending Pristine's stamina. Pristine flashed a smile; he had learnt his lesson.

"The girl I saw with Avril that day was Romine."

Pristine removed the crumbled paper from her pocket and handed it to the Alteiner siblings. Comprehending each and every letter suddenly became an arduous task as the siblings sweated heavily upon reading the paper.

"My goodness!" Arabella gasped. Even if her brain pretended to understand, her heart couldn't and it would never. Avril was a tiny, harmless sapling in her eyes, whom she nourished with her excessive love and care. Always making efforts to not let him feel low, she had condemned all of the siblings whenever they had a row with Avril, even if he was wrong.

"Every minute we are delaying gives them enough time to plan their next steps. We'll have to get going. We'll have to reveal the truth," Pristine urged the Alteiners.

To give a proper response, Alan stood from the chair, adjusting his sleeves.

"We'll have to tell Mom and Dad."

"They won't trust us."

"We have a proof, Ara," Alan reminded as Pristine handed him the contract paper, "This is enough to confront Avril."

"Does that mean Avril will go to prison?" A dejected tone addressed the final outcome.

Arabella looked towards Pristine, expecting some sort of positive answer to which Pristine remained stoic. Some words are better swallowed than said.

"That's for our parents to decide," Alan solaced his sister, however, the regret within him propelled to reveal the actual truth.

"That's for Pristine to decide."

***

Dinner had been unusually served early that day as Izra shrieked at the ingress of the staircase, calling her lethargic children to come for food.

Weekends were the only time where she was allowed to cook, after her son and daughter had conquered the kitchen. It had been surprisingly relaxing to see her children take over her job, easing the workload. Despite the mental suffering that had inflicted their household, Izra saw that their doomed fate was written for a change to occur.

Settling the plates on the elongated oakwood table, Adrius arrived to aid her, followed by Arthur.

"Where's Ara?" the twin questioned his twin's whereabouts.

"I thought she was with you!" Izra exclaimed, handing over the hot casserole delicately.

"She was with Alan," Arthur piped in, filling the glasses with water.

"Arabella, Alan, Abigail, Avril, what are you doing? Come fast!" Izra's exigent tone reverberated through the first floor.

"Coming, Mom!" Arabella's distant reply returned back to the ground floorers.

"They'll come, Izra," Mateo, who had surprisingly transpired from his cave, advised her to stop nagging.

"It's better to eat these fritters hot!" Izra fretted as she pulled out a chair.

Avril walked towards the dining table, his eyes pushed inwards as his skin sunk into his malar bones. The enormous use of energy had drained his stamina, making him appear queasy. However, the lightning bolt of fire evolved within his body, waiting to explode any moment.

"Why do you look ill, Avril? Are you feeling okay?" Izra turned apprehensive on seeing her son's pallid face.

"I am good, Mom," Avril handed her the plate as he beamed to assure her worry, watching her fill his plate.

"Are you really okay, Avril?" a haughty voice echoed through the dining room, making all the Alteiners shift their attention.

Alan stood with his arms crossed, raising his thick brow, questioning whether Avril was really okay after committing all the crimes. Beside him was the infamous murderer, Pristine, who stood partially covering her body behind her saviour. A terrifying chill ran through her spine as her eyes locked with that of the demon's. Arabella stood on the other side of Alan, clutching the contract paper on one hand and Abigail's shaky wrist on the other, tossing glunches of betrayal at Avril.

The oblivious people sprang up from their seats, leaving their food untouched as they glanced at the eccentric alliance that stood before them.

"Pristine?"Izra gasped, her fingers covering her mouth.

"You bitch!" Arthur beseeched, temper rising in his blood, "How dare you enter our house?"

"Shut up!" Alan defended, extending his arm as Pristine curled behind him.

"Stop cussing at her, you don't know what had happened and what she had been through!" he censured, zipping Arthur's mouth.

"ALAN!" Mateo bellowed, witnessing the eccentric scene of his son defending a murderer, "Are you crazy to support a criminal? And how did she come inside our house?"

"Mr. Alteiner," Pristine stepped forward, clearing her throat, "It's time you know that your son Avril had murdered our classmate Andrei, not me."

"How dare you accuse my son!" Izra broke into vexation, her gentle face leaching in rage. Wrath boiled through her blood as she couldn't tolerate a single word from Pristine's mouth.

"Mom!" Arabella voiced, "She's right. Look at this!" She rushed towards Izra and handed over the contract paper.

Izra's pupils dilated in width as she scanned the contents of the paper, listening to Alan narrate, "Avril had gone to Pandora, employed a shape-shifter named Romine, tricked Pristine and made her kill Andrei."

A drop of tear dribbled through Izra's lean face as she looked helplessly towards her husband. Mateo read her face, instantly realizing that something was wrong.

With a blurred sight, Izra searched for her son Avril, who sat with his head hung low, breathing loudly.

"Mom, don't go near him...he's not himself," Alan warned as he silently addressed his brothers to back away from the table. Arthur clasped Adrius' hands as they both moved away from Avril, after noticing bizarre behaviour.

"Avril," Izra wailed as she gently approached her son, "Was – was it....you?"

A blaring growl erupted from the lean boy's figure, sending chills throughout the house. A searing pain tore through Avril's body, making him rise upwards, tilting his head backwards. His muscles twisted and contorted, agonizing his weak body as black veins bursted throughout his neck.

Avril wailed in pain, as a newborn hunger for destruction and chaos blinded his sight. The demon dominated his mind and soul, devouring all the innocence and goodness, leaving behind infernal debris. His deviant dark eyes elongated in width, fingernails grew longer and the demon ultimately unleashed its real face.

The real Avril curled within his heart, setting foot into the same chamber the demon had been locked in and entered into a deep slumber, leaving love and life behind. The demon, in the form of Avril, cackled upon seeing its innocent prey as the hunger couldn't control it from pouncing on them.

"YES!" the demon thundered, "It was I, Avril Alteiner, who had murdered a worthless human!"

Izra stood appalled as she witnessed her son transform into something inhumane. Something evil.

"Izra, move!" Mateo's warning echoed in the distance as black flames arised from Avril's hands, striving to attack her. Adrius ran towards his mom, his muscular physique sheltering her as  fortitude painted his face. He looked through the dense black eyes of the monster as he extended his arms enveloping his mother.

"Avril!" A shrill stern escaped his mouth, "How can you hurt our Mom?"

The demon chortled at his valiancy as Adrius stood unnerved. Deep streams of ire deluged its body as long black flame-like tentacles sprouted from it's back reaching for Adrius' neck.

"Adrius, no!" Arabella panicked as the demon encircled his neck, clutching it tighter as Adrius wailed in pain.

Arthur staggered towards Adrius as he meekly attempted to break the tentacles, tears flowing from his face.

"Ah!" the demon sighed, laying eyes on the new prey, simultaneously stiffening the grip, "I have been waiting for you Arthur!"

Arthur turned towards the demon, who now slowly neared him.

"How do you feel Arthur? I am more powerful than you! I have all the powers you never had! And you had called me useless, right?" A devious smile flashed through its gruesome face.

"N– No," A feeble stutter escaped Arthur's lips as he panicked for life. His eyes shaked nervously despite the booming screams from Adrius echoed in the background. He knew it, his life had come to its end.

The demon raised its darkened hands and thrashed Arthur, making his body whack the rigid wall as he rolled down the floor. Dark streams of blood covered his unconscious body, as Pristine squealed in terror, covering her eyes from seeing the gruesome sight. Arabella ran towards her brother, making an unsuccessful attempt as she continuously patted his cheeks, expecting him to wake.

"AVRIL!" Alan rushed towards the monster as he seized a chair and tossed it in its direction. "COME BACK TO YOUR SENSES! WE ARE YOUR FAMILY!"

Alan knew deep inside that none of their words reached the real Avril. Avril had turned into an inert piece of soul, residing within a deadly monster, oblivious of all the horrendous events.

The demon dodged the weapon thrown as it viewed its next prey, Alan, and immediately tossed Adrius, his head crashing with the table as Adrius lay on the floor, covered in bruises and blood. The deep marks of the tentacles had incised his neck, leaving painful scars as Adrius' eyes shut its sight. Mateo staggered towards his maimed son, dissolving into a spiteful sea of regret. He wailed soundlessly as he had realized the biggest mistake he had done and what it had led to.

"I have to agree, Alan, I didn't know you were smart," the monster advanced, its large tentacles flaring in the background, hissing at the Alteiners and Pristine.

"You had guessed my actions, confronted me when I was having a happy life and now want Avril to come back? Do you think I am that sweet?" It gave an uproarious chortle, establishing its superiority as it announced for its puny victims to hear, "The Avril you had seen is no more alive. This is the new Avril and if anyone comes in this Avril's path, be aware that your life will not be guaranteed."

"We will bring back Avril!" Alan affirmed, his eyes glowering in valiancy.

The demon devoured the excessive intrepidness his prey had exhibited. He always loved seeing his victims think they were the bravest person in the world, when they were only two steps away from death.

"We'll see that," it sneered as one of its tentacles girdled Alan's body, restricting air to enter. As it coiled through his body, the monster curled his fingers through his neck, his razor-black claws hungry to tear apart the soft skin. Alan whimpered as the twisted tentacles squeezed his skin, making his organs explode in pain.

The demon took pleasure in seeing his afflicted victim; it was this piece of entertainment it had anticipated. As it grew closer towards Alan's face, breathing fumes of fire, a swift bolt of lightning attacked it's abdomen, making it stumble in agony and unconsciously release the twined tentacles to unwind from the tormented prey.

A sleek turn of events witnessed a newborn hero attacking the monster with irrevocable pain.

It was neither Abigail nor Arabella. It was the heiress of Pandora.

A scarlet streak of light that emanated from Izra's palms ambushed the monster's body as it screamed in pain.

"EVERYONE STEP BACK!" A vehement warning made everybody move away as Izra anchored her sight strictly towards the distressed monster.

Every step she progressed with a twist and turn of her fingers, the streak of lightning propelling from her palms soared in intensity, reasoning the monster's high pitched wail.

"ST-STOP!" The demon managed to plead for mercy, yet being furiously ignored as the flaring mother approached its meek figure.

The fervent energy exuded by the heiress of Pandora ultimately wrote the demon's fate as it's menacing body slowly began disintegrating into pieces of dust. The agonizing lament intensified as it's body slowly began withering, burning and finally, destroying. As Izra aimed the streak of energy towards it's face, the demon shed a huge drop of tear, looking desperate to live.

"Mom..." Izra almost paused her blitz, as Avril's low tone reached her ears. But her subconscious barred her from being empathetic as Izra directed the streak of light towards the deadly, infuriated eyes of the demon.

The demon's body had vanished, perished to dark ashes that soared through the room. In its place, a crouched, torpid Avril lay on the ground, sleeping with dreams of being Caperwood's superhero, laughing along with his family.