NP in Vincent's Playlist: The Lie Eternal by Poets of the Fall

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All illusions broken in your embrace.
I'm here, I'm now, arrived I fell into your love,
I fell into your lie eternal

We dragged Cairo all the way back to the castle. Once there, Belial took care of the nutcase. And I, with nothing left to do, headed for my master's room.

Vladimir was gone when I arrived. For what seemed like hours, I sat beside Vincent's bed, watching him. Just... watching.

Over and over, Adrianna's words rang in my head. A cycle of death, suffering and more death. I remembered the room full of portraits in Sinclair Mansion and imagined Vincent painting every one of them in the hope that they would always be remembered. When I thought about it that way, I realized it could only be the saddest thing in the universe. To bear the burden of the past, that is.

"Hey," Vincent whispered.

I was so spaced out I didn't even notice he had already come to. "How are you feeling?"

He tried to get up, only to fall on his back again. "Ugh, like hell. Fires and all. You?"

I shrugged. Honestly, I didn't know. After everything that happened, it was getting hard to feel anything. And this hole Alessandra carved inside me, it was just there, growing, eating whatever of me was left.

He scanned our surroundings. The second he realized we were inside one of the castle bedrooms, he went straight to panic mode. He began pushing himself up, groaning in pain as he did.

"What're we still doing here?"

"Relax," I told him. "It's okay."

"Okay?" he echoed. "How can it be okay, Aramis? We're in my father's lair, right where he wants us."

I dropped my gaze. "They're... uh... talking right now. Everything should be... alright."

"They?" He knitted his brows. "Since when did talking ever solve anything with us?"

I was about to explain when he began limping towards the door. Before he could reach halfway, blood already seeped into his white shirt. The pain had him doubling over.

As much as I wanted to help, I couldn't even touch him. I ran out the door and saw Amyr and Alexis coming.

"Guys! Some help, please!" I shouted.

They came in, scythes ready.

"Where's it?" Amyr asked, flaunting his broadsword.

"Guys," I hissed. "Seriously? You think Jason X broke in? Unsummon those before you poke somebody's eye out!"

The two of them exchanged meaningful glances before letting their scythes falter.

"Well someone's crabby," Amyr muttered. "Is it that time of the month already?"

Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest. "You mean that time of the month when I just can't wait to kick you in the crotch? Well that's every day. Now help Vincent up."

He made a face. "You didn't say the magic word."

I sighed. "Please."

"With pleasure."

"I've a better idea," Vincent panted snidely. "Get a room, you two. And work that poison-thing of yours on him, will you?"

Alexis and Amyr helped Vincent back to his bed. He was trying not to let the pain show on his face, but the sweat on his forehead told me otherwise.

Amyr gave me an elbow-nudge. "S'that a permission slip? Think he's serious?"

I threw Amyr a shut-up look. "It doesn't work that way, Vincent. For some reason, it only seems to work on you and your dad."

"We will see about that," Alexis held his hand up.

Rolling my eyes, I pressed my palm against his. Nothing happened.

He motioned Amyr to do the same.

For their amusement, I looped my arm around Amyr's. Again, nothing.

"There. Are you happy now? Or do we hold hands all day?"

Alexis paused to think. "No, Aramis. That sounds... uncomfortable."

"I was being sarcastic, Alex."

"Oh... of course." He looked around, clearing his throat. "I knew that."

Vincent sighed. "You were saying?"

"It's just a theory." Alexis fidgeted with the button on the tip of his sleeve as if to gather his thoughts. "It appears it only affects people with a direct connection to your soul. Since your soul is a portion of Father's and you are linked to Vincent as his familiar, you can easily spread the poison to both. What we need to do now is to find out if you can control it. From now, do not establish the link with Vincent. Just as soon as we find a way to... 'cure' you."

"So I'm wraith-bait until then. Nice," I groaned.

Vincent was busy staring daggers at Alex and Amyr when the door opened again. It was Luci. Grimy. Bruised. Wounded. Still looking like she would rip the face off of the next poor soul that would get in her way.

Mechanically, Alexis warily peeked through the windows. He pulled down the drapes and closed the door. "Where are the others?"

"Still in the labyrinth," Luci sighed, giving Vincent an apologetic look. "We couldn't defeat it. It's too... fast even for Levi and Belial. If only Cerberus wasn't injured, we could have had a better chance. It's afraid of him as it's afraid of hell."

Alex kept wringing his thumb. "Where is it now?"

The girl dropped her gaze, shaking her blond head. "We do not know."

"How can you not know?!" Alexis' tone turned up a notch. Then, inconspicuously eyeing Vincent, he lowered his voice. "How can you not know? You had every man available as backup."

Vincent was caught up in the conversation. "What happened to Adrianna?"

"The harlot?" There was a hint of disbelief in Luci's voice. "It has a name?"

Vincent's expression went from incredulous to annoyed.

"The Swarth it occupied had a name. When it was alive at least," Alexis corrected, his eyes shifting quickly in contemplation. "Now, it calls itself... Legion."

"Legion..." Luci repeated, falling into a pensive silence. "The Legion?"

Alexis didn't answer. Instead, he went across the room to pour himself a glass of bourbon. With a trembling hand, he drank it straight up.

"I think... she escaped," she explained mostly to Vincent. "The last of her trails vanished near a Door."

"That's... impossible," Vincent murmured.

"Not entirely," Alexis butted in. "You killed it. Twice. And it came back through a Gate."

Vincent's brows puckered. "What're you saying? That she can somehow go realm-hopping without a scratch? S'that it?"

"Who knows? Maybe." Alex took another swig from his glass and grimaced with the bourbon aftershock. "It doesn't make any sense, though. Why would Cairo release Legion from the Abyss?"

"Uh... This is Cairo?" Vincent pointed out. "It's what Cairo does?"

Alexis cocked an eyebrow. "If you don't already notice, that thing is all-intent on destroying Father. This is Cairo we're talking about. He worships the man."

"Not exactly Son of the Year material," Vincent agreed. "But, the guy's got issues. Maybe he just... flipped out."

"Why Death?" I blurted out. Suddenly, all eyes on the room were on me. Probably the 'D' word. "Uhm... I mean why would Legion target him?"

"Revenge," Vincent answered before anyone could start thinking. "I mean he's the one who locked them up in the first place. At least, when he was still hands-on with the job. Question is, how'd it turn so goddamn alive."

"I have another theory." Alex glanced at his brother then began pacing the floor.

"Well? Talk to us, Einstein."

"It pains me to inform you, Vincent. Einstein is long dead," he answered flatly.

Vincent's mouth opened and closed. "Just... tell us."

"All the wraiths we kill, the Doors pull them in, segregate them from the souls and store them away in the abyss. They accumulate and continue to disintegrate."

"If we killed them, they should be dead," Vincent said dryly.

"Yes. Yes." Alex grazed the back of his nape. "But there are instances when wraiths are hauled into Doors alive."

Vincent appeared just as stunned as me when inevitably, our eyes met.

"W-wait," Vincent shifted on his bed. "I've been shoving tons of those bastards inside Doors for years, Alex. And as far as I'm concerned, they get in, they're toast."

"That's the theory," he admitted. "Assuming you crammed in a large number of wraiths into a Gate. Say a whole swarm. Can you be one hundred percent certain that they all had perished?"

Vincent blinked. Twice. "So what?" He cleared his throat. "You're saying these survivors-if any-got a relocation program and grew comfy in the new neighborhood?"

Alex looked like he was in the brink of hyperventilating as he pressed his ear on the door to make sure no one was listening. "Pretty much. Plus, they ate the dead ones, melded together and became one enormous... disaster."

"And you're pinning this whole thing on me?" Vincent complained.

Without warning, Alex downed another shot of bourbon and went across the room to give Vincent a nice whack on the head. "On us, you moron. On us. Don't think just because you and Aramis have that thingamajig with Doors, you can go on blaming yourself for everything like you're the center of the universe. We can open Doors too, Vincent. The old-fashioned way. And we've shoved as many of those things in there as you did."

"You must be real proud." Vincent forced a one-second smirk before rubbing his temples with an expression between surprised and annoyed. "Now that we can all agree to blame ourselves all at the same time, what do we do?"

Everyone seemed to know the answer. Vincent just needed to hear it.

Alex sat beside Vincent, squaring his shoulders. "We destroy it."

Vincent's eyes were steely when he said, "Then, count me in."

"For real?" I shook my head, unable to hide my frustration.

He shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"

I pretended to think. "Oh, maybe because Legion is inside Adrianna? And let's be realistic, Vincent. You can't kill her. Or technically, you won't."

Again with the nonchalant façade. "I can. And I will."

"And you seriously want me to believe that?"

"You can believe anything you want to, Aramis. But I'm going to do it." His decisiveness was almost convincing.

I crossed my arms in front of me. "Okay."

"Okay?" He narrowed his eyes. "No objections, violent reactions, whatsoever?"

"It's called trust, Vincent. Look it up."

That must have pulled a string in him because his jaws tensed alternately. "Look, Aramis, if this is about what happened-"

"No," I cut him off. I looked him in the eyes, wishing I could read his mind, wishing that I could somehow get through to him. "It's just... I trust you to do the right thing."

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So the last poll's winner is... *drumroll* D!!! It seems a lot of you have a love-hate relationship with Vincent, although some goes to TeamAmyr and TeamAlex! I feel for you! And thanks for the overwhelming number of comments! It does make me happy reading all of em!

Poll of the Update: If Rosario was still alive, who do you think would she end up with.

a. Vincent. She kinda did have a thing for him.

b. Amyr. She made a point to always prove that she hates him so maybe that's reverse psychology.

c. Vladimir. She sacrificed her life for him.

d. Mei. Yuri action FTW!

e. No one. She only loved herself and making other people's lives as miserable as her.

f. Zayne Malik. She was actually a 1D stalker-fan and was willing to do anything to be a 1D wifey.