A/N: No spoilers, please!

LORELEI

"LUTHOR! LUTHOR!"

I WAS shaking his body to see any response. But there was none.

I gently slapped his face repeatedly, hoping that would wake him up. But he did not.

Hey, Luthor... If you're trying to pull a prank on us, you've already won, okay? Stop being dead! This isn't funny anymore!

Halos nakasara na ang mga mata niya. Please open your eyes!

Sinubukan kong hanapin ang kanyang pulso, pero sa sobrang panginginig ng mga kamay ko, hindi ko mahanap. Tell me you still have a pulse!

For every second that passed, I was starting to lose hope. I wiped the tears off my face while sniffling. No, no... This can't be happening. He can't be dead yet!

He told me he wants to take down M's organization with his brother.

He told me he wants to protect his younger brother.

How could he do all of that if he's already dead?

"He still has a pulse!" Loki shouted as two of his fingers touched his brother's left wrist. In this rare moment, I saw his once dull eyes come alive. Dati'y walang buhay ang mga ito, na para bang walang kislap na makikita. Ngayo'y napuno na ng pagkabahala. He was also sweating profusely.

My tears stopped from falling as I stared at the unconscious body of Luthor. That was a relief! I observed his chest and saw that it's still moving. He's still breathing!

Loki turned his gaze at the broken teacup. The spilled tea already created a bizarre shape on the floor. "If he's poisoned, we need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible!"

"TULONG! TULONG!" I cried. Hindi ko alam kung maririnig ba ako ng mga taong nasa loob ng bahay ng mga Mendez. I hope one of them has sharp ears and could hear me crying for help.

Anyone? Please hurry!

Tatayo na sana ako para tumakbo papasok sa loob ng bahay nang may narinig akong mga yabag ng sapatos. Help arrived almost immediately as Mr. Vasquez, the Mendez family chaffeur, rushed to the gazebo. He stood dumbfounded at the sight of Luthor on the floor.

"A-Ano'ng nangyari dito?" tanong niya.

"We need to bring him to the hospital!" Loki wouldn't let go of his brother's wrist. "Get the car ready!"

"Yes, sir!" Nagmadaling tumakbo pabalik sa garahe si Mr. Vasquez.

Si Loki naman, sinubukang buhatin ang kanyang kuya, pero sa tuwing inaangat niya ang katawan nito, halos bumagsak siya sa sahig.

"Why the heck is he so damn heavy?" he complained. Walang tigil ang pagtagaktak ng pawis niya. Ni hindi na niya pinansin kahit basang-basa na ang kanyang mukha.

Tumulong na ako sa pagbubuhat kay Luthor. We stood side by side, with Luthor in between us. May times na muntik nang bumigay ang mga binti ko sa bigat ng walang malay niyang kuya, pero tiniis ko ang sakit para mabuhat siya.

"Is he still alive?" natataranta kong tanong. "May pulso pa ba siya?"

"Yes!" Loki yelled. His eyes were already twitching in pain. "Can you please refrain from panicking? Pati ako natataranta na."

Bawat minuto yata, tinatanong ko kung kumusta ang kalagayan ng kanyang kuya. Kung humihinga pa ba siya, kung meron pa ba siyang pulso. Sorry kung medyo makulit, but I'm worried about him. As he should be too.

We dragged Luthor from the gazebo to the garage where the car was already started and the door was already opened. Nakabukas na rin ang gate. We carefully threw Luthor into the backseat. Pinagitnaan namin siya ni Loki.

The car quickly drove away as soon as we locked the door. Tumingin ako sa likuran, sa iniwan naming garahe, at napansin ang isa pang kotse na akmang susunod sa amin. I saw Odinaire Mendez limping his way to the car with one of his bodyguards—Munroe, I think?—opening the door for him. Mukhang maging sila'y inalertuhan ni Mr. Vasquez.

What happened next was a race against time.

Luthor's getting colder as every minute passed. Hindi pa rin binibitawan ni Loki ang kanyang kamay, patuloy pa rin na nakabantay sa kanyang pulso. His brother was still breathing, pero bawat paghinga niya'y malalim at pabilis nang pabilis na tila hinahabol niya ito. Parang naninigas na rin ang kanyang katawan.

Hindi pa kami pwedeng magpaka-kampante. Hangga't hindi namin siya nadadala sa ospital at hindi siya natse-check ng doctor, the worst could still happen to him. We could only pray that we make it time.

I don't want anything bad to happen to him.

"Not..."

Sabay kaming lumingon ni Loki sa kanyang kuya na bahagyang bumukas ang mga mata. Hinihingal na nga siya pero sinusubukan pa rin niyang magsalita. I tried to shush him, but he wouldn't.

"Not... Mag... gie..."

Luthor closed his eyes again and his head rested on the cushion. I bit my lower lip as I watched him struggle for his breath.

"Kumapit kayo, sir at ma'am," sabi ni Mr. Vasquez sa amin. "Baka makagat n'yo ang mga dila n'yo."

He then shifted his gear and the car drove faster than it used to be. Kahit na may mga sasakyan sa harapan namin, nagawa pa rin niyang mag-swerve sa mga pagitan nito. May ilang beses na akala ko'y babangga na kami. That would only make matters worse. Being caught up in a traffic accident was something we couldn't be in right now.

Kahit magte-turn na sa red ang color ng stoplight, Mr. Vasquez went ahead in full throttle. Siya lang ang sasakyan na sumulong. The rest stopped. I bet we no longer cared if that's against the traffic laws. Ang importante'y makarating kami sa agad sa ospital.

"Thank God we're here already!" I heaved a sigh of relief. Halos mapaiyak ako sa tuwa dahil humihinga pa rin si Luthor pagkarating namin doon. Loki didn't let go of his brother's wrist and told us that the latter still has a pulse.

Pagkababa namin sa parking lot, mag-isang binuhat ni Mr. Vasquez ang halos nanigas na katawan ni Luthor. Pumasok siya sa emergency section at doon sinabi sa mga nurse kung ano ang posibleng nangyari. "Nalason yata siya," dinig kong sabi niya.

A gurney was immediately brought in by one of the nurses. Doon dahan-dahang inihiga ang katawan ni Luthor. They wheeled it into the emergency room. Susunod pa sana kaming dalawa ni Loki, but the nurses asked us to wait in the lobby.

Umupo muna kaming dalawa sa mga bakanteng upuan. I looked at my trembling hands. I clenched my fists to stop them from shaking, but to no avail. The trauma of seeing someone almost die has set in my body. I could vividly remember how Luthor looked like when he collapsed on the floor.

Dumagdag na naman ang mga image na ayaw ko nang maalala ulit.

Sunod na dumating sa emergency section sina Tito Odinaire at Munroe. Kahit naka-tungkod siya, pinilit pa rin ng daddy ni Loki na maglakad nang mabilis at puntahan kami. I was still in shock to share anything, so Loki was the one to explain what happened.

Tita Frigette came in next, with an extremely worried look in her face. Tito Odin and Tita Frig met at the center of the lobby. Siya na ang nagpaliwanag sa kanyang asawa kung ano ang nangyari sa kanilang anak. Napahawak sa kanyang ulo si Tita Frig at napapikit ang mga mata. Inalalayan siya ni Tito Odin sa isa sa mga bakanteng upuan at pinagpahinga muna.

Minutes turned to hours. Hindi na namin namalayan na lumubog na ang araw sa labas at sumilip na sa makulimlim na kalangitan ang buwan. I should have taken my gut feeling this morning, that the gray clouds meant that a storm was coming. It came. It devastated us.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine." Loki looked more calm now than he was hours ago. "You know that saying? Ang masamang damo, mahirap mamatay."

Kumunt ang noo ko sabay bato ng matalim na tingin sa kanya. Kumuyom ang mga kamao ko. "Your brother is at the brink of death tapos nagagawa mo pa'ng asarin siya ng ganyan?"

Even if he's just kidding or trying to lighten up the mood, that's in no way acceptable right now. How could he joke about it?

"Sorry," he said. "But seriously speaking, I'm confident that he'll make it through."

"Paano mo nasabi?"

"Have you forgot? I was brought to this hospital after I drank a cup of belladonna," Loki said, his eyes casting glance over the lobby. "Alistair was also brought here when he was in a coma, right? He eventually recovered. That speaks so much about the expertise of the doctors in these types of situation. So trust in them."

Sa sobrang pagkataranta at pagkabahala ko kanina, hindi ko na napansin na parehong ospital lang pala ang pinuntahan ngayon at noon. I should feel slightly relieved to hear what Loki told me, but I couldn't be complacent already. If the dosage of the poison that he ingested was lethal, Luthor may not...

I shook my head frantically, trying shrug that thought off my head. Ayaw ko munang mag-isip nang masyadong negative. This is beyond our control. All we could do was trust the doctors inside the emergency room. Luthor's life is in their hands now. Hihintayin na lang namin ang kanilang update. We're praying for good news.

"Let's grab a drink and walk for a while," Loki said, rising to his feet. "Sitting around here won't change anything."

Tumingala muna ako sa kanya bago ako napasunod sa pagtayo. I followed him across the hallway. Well, I guess we needed some distraction right now. Just staring at the emergency room's door wouldn't save Luthor's life. We trod silently, walking past other patients and visitors on the corridor.

This reminds me. Wasn't this the same hospital kung saan dinala si Stein noon matapos siyang hambalusin ng upuan ni Loki? He was in a coma state for weeks. Naalala ko pa ang nakasalubong kong nurse noong binisita namin si Alistair dito. She told me that Jamie's face was familiar. 'Yon pala, binisita niya noon si Stein dito.

We stopped by the vending machine at the corner. Loki ordered a chocolate drink for me while he took a canned coffee for himself. Sumandal kami sa pader sa tabi ng vendo at tahimik na binuksan at ininom ang drinks namin. A minute of silence ensued between us, as if we're still processing what happened.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, turning my head to Loki. "This couldn't have been easy for you."

Parang nakatulala siya sa bakanteng space sa kanyang harapan. His dry lips touched the mouth of the canned coffee. "I don't know exactly what to feel. It's still kinda vague right now, I know. But... I'm obviously not happy with what happened to him."

He may have denied it a couple of times, but his reaction when Luthor collapsed was very telling of how concerned he was for his brother. He did some things that he wouldn't have normally done under ordinary circumstances.

Sinubukan niyang buhatin ang kanyang kuya kahit nahihirapan siya para madala ito sa kotse. He could have just stood there and let Mr. Vasquez carry his brother. Hindi rin niya binitawan ang pulso nito magmula sa kanilang bahay hanggang sa makarating kami rito sa ospital. He could have just stayed behind and let the driver and I bring his brother to the hospital.

But no. He was there for his brother. He didn't abandon him. Sa mga ganitong sitwasyon mo talaga makikita kung ano ang halaga ng isang tao sa 'yo.

Despite everything that happened between them, I sincerely believe that Loki does care for Luthor.

"All this time, I thought of my brother as a titan who can't be simply slain or a statue that can't be easily brought down," Loki said after taking a sip. Napainom din ako ng aking choco drink. "However, when I saw him fall and grasp for air this afternoon, I've come to realize that my notion of him is just an illusion. He isn't as invulnerable as I thought he was."

Because at the end of the day, we're all humans. At the end of the game, we're all chesspieces that return to the same chess box.

"I'd be lying if I tell you that I didn't worry when I saw him in his most vulnerable moment," Loki went on, his eyes casting a glance at me. He then smirked. "Now you've made me say it. I'm somehow concerned about what might happen to him."

I chuckled. "Finally you've admitted that you care about him."

"Maybe not that much. Maybe just a little. He's not the worst being on this planet after all."

"You know, he also cares about you," I said, tilting my head up. "'Yon ang dahilan kung bakit niya naisipang sumali sa organisasyon ni M, 'di ba? Ayaw niyang may mangyaring masama sa 'yo. At malamang, gusto na niyang matapos na ang case na 'to para magkaroon ka na ng peace of mind."

As what Luthor told us, he's planning to bring down the organization. The moment we bring Stein and his accomplices to justice, only then would Loki be freed from this curse. And his brother definitely wanted to be part of that mission.

Loki frowned. "He didn't have to do that. He didn't have to do anything at all."

"Yet he still did," I said. "And by doing so, he put his life on the line. Naging mas vulnerable na siya ngayon dahil isang maling galaw niya, pwedeng may mangyaring masama sa kanya. He's walking on a tight rope here."

That's why we had to keep his secret very carefully. Once Stein finds out what he's up to, his death warrant might be signed by the mastermind.

Lumingon ako kay Loki na nakatuon ulit sa harapan ang tingin. "I hope you truly understand why your brother did what he did. He only wants to help us solve this mystery once and for all."

"Help?" he scoffed. "If I can be frank, we don't need his help to put the pieces of the puzzle together. We can do it by ourselves."

Bumuntong-hininga muna ako at sandaling ipinikit ang aking mga mata. "You know what? Medyo ironic 'yang sinabi mo. Earlier today, you told Inspector Morales to set aside his ridiculous rule about not involving us in the investigation and asked him to work with us. Together. Ngayon, itong kuya mo ang gustong makipagtulungan sa 'yo pero ayaw mong tanggapin."

"You can't compare apples with oranges—"

"They are both apples," I cut his words short. "Or oranges. The point is, we need to work with the people who are clearly not our enemies to solve these cases."

Iniangat ni Loki ang kanyang canned coffee, sandaling nagawi ang tingin sa akin, bago ibinalikwas ang mga mata at uminom.

"Speaking of cases," he said after taking a gulp, "we now have a new one."

Napabuga na naman ako ng hangin. Dumagdag na naman ang mga tanong na magpapagulo sa isip namin. Who could have been behind Luthor's poisoning (and hopefully, not his death)? We've been busying thinking if he would survive that we didn't give time to think about the one who poisoned his drink.

"Not Maggie..." I recalled as the can was halfway to my lips. "'Yan ang sinabi ni Luthor nang sandali siyang magkamalay kanina."

"He wants us to exclude Maggie from our list of suspects," Loki said. Naubos na niya ang kanyang canned coffee kaya pinaglalaruan na niya ngayon ang lata. "Given that she's the last person with him before we arrived and he collapsed, it'd only be natural for anyone to think Maggie might be behind this."

"But she's not in any way involved, right?" tanong ko. "She is Luthor's most trusted person, and she seems to reciprocate the same level of trust. Parang napakaimposibleng isipin na gagawan niya nang masama ang kuya mo. Unless she's been acting all long that she's his ally."

"Don't underestimate Maggie's intelligence." Loki threw the can into the trash bin as if he was a basketball player going for a free throw. Mabuti't suwak sa basurahan kundi ipapapulot ko sa kanya 'yon. "Even if she's capable, she'd be dumb enough to poison my brother in our residence."

He had a point. Sa dami ba naman ng pwedeng paggawan ng krimen, bakit sa mismong bahay pa ng mga Mendez? She could have been easily caught there. Kung may balak akong lasunin ang ibang tao, I would have done it in a place where there could be other suspects.

"So she's in the wrong place at the wrong time, huh?" Tinapon ko na rin ang wala nang lamang inumin ko sa basurahan. "If not her, then who? Posible kaya na ang third party ang nasa likod nito? O kaya si Stein mismo?"

"That's what I've been asking myself." Loki folded his arms and reclined his back against the wall. "Whoever poisoned my brother, that person's so bold, he did it at our own home. Oh, I didn't mean that as a compliment. There are security cameras everywhere. My dad is sometimes paranoid. Having many enemies in the past, he wouldn't sleep in that house without adequate security."

Kung ang third party ang nasa likod nito, posible kayang inosente talaga si Sir Friedrich Rivera sa krimen na inamin niya? There's no way he could have done this. He's been at the campus police station since lunch time. Inspector Morales wouldn't easily let him go. So if the third party was someone else, then that person could have moved freely.

As for Stein... maybe he thought that Luthor was already compromised so he had to silence him before he could spill more secrets of their group? But how did they do it? Sabi nga ni Loki, secured ang kanilang residence. I bet they wouldn't let anyone inside, unless Luthor says so. Baka may iba pang bumisita kay Luthor maliban kay Maggie? That's definitely an angle worth looking at.

"You also warned your mom not to accept any package, right?" I recalled. "Narinig din siguro 'yon ni Luthor kaya malabong basta-basta siya tatanggap ng package lalo na ngayong araw."

"Whatever poisoned him is in his tea," Loki replied. "We need to have that drink examined to identify what poison was used and how it got poisoned. If no one illegally entered the premises of our house, then the culprit must be someone inside. That's the only explanation on how the poison ended up in his afternoon tea."

Natatambakan na talaga kami ng mga case na iso-solve. Pwede bang isa-isa muna, huwag sabay-sabay?

"We should ask the security kung sino-sino ang pinapasok sa—"

My words were interrupted when Loki took out his phone and placed it near his right ear. Someone called him.

"My dear, where are you?" I heard Tita Frig's shaking voice. "Kakalabas lang ng doctor mula sa emergency room."

Halos malaglag ang puso ko nang mapansin ang tila ninenerbyos niyang tono. She wasn't like that. Tita Frig did not flinch this morning when she confronted the Clarion people. Her voice was firm back then. But right now, she sounded so worried, her voice cracked.

Pati tuloy ako, hindi napigilang kabahan. Kahit malamig dito sa kinatatayuan namin, nagsimula akong pagpawisan. Muli na namang bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko, parang gusto nang kumawala sa sobrang lakas ng pagkabog.

Luthor, please be fine.

Pagkababa ng phone ni Loki, sandali kaming nagkapalitan ng tingin bago nagmadaling bumalik sa lobby. We quickened our steps, almost running across the hallway.

Luthor, please be fine.

Pagdating namin sa lobby, nakita namin sina Tita Frig at Tito Odin na magkaakbay at nakatayo sa harap ng pintuan ng emergency room. Napalunok ako ng laway nang makita ang kausap nilang doktor. He shook his head slowly and shut his eyes for a second as he spoke.

Teka, ano'ng meaning ng pag-iling niya?

Luthor, please be fine.

"Loki! Lori!" Tita Frig hugged her son as he came close. Maging ako'y niyakap niya nang mahigpit. Her eyes were welling with tears.

"W-What happened?" tanong ni Loki.

We all looked at the doctor who looked tired already.

"As I was saying, we still don't know what poison he ingested, but we already tried pumping his stomach," the doctor said. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I waited for the next words that would come out of his mouth.

"He's now in a stable condition, but we still need to observe him and run some test. He's fortunate that the poison's dosage wasn't lethal, or else he wouldn't have survived."

I felt like a heavy weight was lifted off my chest. Hindi lang ako ang nakahinga nang maluwag.

Thank God, Luthor's still alive.

q.e.d.

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