Once again, thank you AvaMarieSchneider for the help with the nightmare scene in this chapter!
Now, this chapter was really fun to write, honestly. I hope you all enjoy it!
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Third person point of view-

The emperor sat on his throne, sipping from his chalice that was once filled with red wine. He felt as the sensation of liquid on his tongue stopped. He lifted it up, displeased to see only the golden bottom of the chalice. He lifted up his hand, waving it as if he was greatly board.

  "Get me some more wine!" He demanded one of his servants.

A female took the chalice from his hands, and bent her knees, bowing to him. "Yes, sire." She said, before turning on her heels and began walking to the palace wine pantry.

The emperor crossed his legs, and looked down at the elves sitting by his side. "Today is a boring day, is it not?" He asked.

One of the elves with black hair spoke, knowing that when the emperor asked something, you must answer. "Yes, your highness."

The servant came back, holding out a dish with his chalice on it. She bent her knee, bowing as she held it up, closing her eyes and putting her head to avoid eye contact with him. He took it in his grasp, and waved his hand to her, telling her to step down and move along. She nodded, and left the great hall, into the grand kitchen to clean the dirty dishes. The emperor swirled the drink around in his cup, speaking as he looked at the wine inside of it.

  "Well, worry not. My new little prize should be arriving today."

The trophy elves did not look up at him. They remained sitting there, with only their thoughts to comfort them. Then as if on cue, all of their heads shot up, and gazed upon the large palace doors as they swung open. The emperor put down his drink, and placed his hands on the armrest of his throne, as he watched his new found prize being dragged into the main hall.
Drake walked, still blindfolded and gagged, being pulled by the long chains and shackles on his wrist. His body was shaking, and he was having trouble breathing from his illness, but he was also in pain from the constant beatings he had received on the airship, and as they were dragging him off of it. The emperor stood, walking closer to the bound Enderman hybrid, with a wide smile and a devious expression in his eyes. The mercenaries kicked Drake behind his legs, forcing him to fall down to his knees. The hybrid fell with a grunt.

  "So marvelous!" The emperor said, bending down so that he was at eye level with the hybrid.

His fingers rose up, grabbing Drake's chin with his thumb and index finger. He lifted up his head, and lifted up the blindfold so that it rested on his sweaty forehead. He was delighted to see such a creature in the flesh. Drake glared at him, eyes full of anger and hatred, but deep down inside of them, there was despair.

  "So all of the stories I've heard are true! You do have the eye of the malevolent one. Him. Still, I wonder if you truly possess his destructive power."

For a second, his smile faded, but it quickly returned. "No matter. You'll be my most valuable trophy! First off, for the first few days, you'll be living down in the dungeon. You'll be taken to professor Gidion's lab every two hours for experimental purposes."

Drake only stared at the vile man, filled with disgust with the knowledge of what this man had done to his best friend. His heavy breathing was shallow. Each breath burned the inside of his mouth, as it came out and brushed on the emperor's face. The emperor brought up his other hand, tracing Drake's skin where Ender and human met. The strange texture of his Enderman side was almost reptilian, and rougher than the skin on his human side. The dark circles around his eyes made they sight of his mismatched orbs even more menacing yet intriguing. Drake winced, disgusted with the man's touch. He wanted to spit on his shoes but the gag prevented him from doing so. He wanted to attack him if he could, but the mercenaries and the guards would react, and surely make him pay the consequences.

  "You're little friend Grayson should be on his way to rescue you. You're going to be my key to so many wonderful things!" Drake hated the glimmer of joy in his eyes.

What if Grayson and Mia weren't coming for him? What if Grayson was so mad that he ran off, or because of how dangerous he had become, that he decided to leave him to his fate? What if he was so scared to set foot in to empire territory, that he was hesitant to make the effort? Perhaps it would be for the best if Grayson and Mia just left him. Forgot about him. Drake tried to shake his head, to get rid of the thoughts, but the emperor's grip on his chin tightened, only allowing it to move slightly. He let out a growl.

  "Before I hand you over to the professor..." He held his hand, signaling a guard to hand him a long, leather whip. "...I'd like to set an example."

Drake's eyes widen, knowing the emperor's intent. He pulled at the chains, desperate to escape, but knowing that the action was useless. The man standing before him, smacked the curled up whip is his hands, as he began to walk behind Drake. He looked up at the elves sitting by his throne, eyes filled with sympathy for the hybrid. He looked back at Drake, happy that his other trophies were watching, learning about the punishment that he was willing to put anyone through, including them.

  "If you step out of line, I won't think twice about punishment. So let this be a lesson."

With that, his held up his arm, letting the end of the whip fall behind him, holding the other end firmly in his grasp. Drake's body tensed, as he shut his eyes tight, waiting for the pain to come upon him. The emperor swung his arm, letting the whip lash out, striking the hybrid's back. Drake let out a scream, muffled by the gag in his mouth. As another strike came down, tears began to come out of his puffy eyes. He could feel the skin ripping; blood beginning to seep from the small welts. His body trembled more violently, as he held back cries. Three more lashes followed in the others pursuit, forcing screams from their victim. Drake sat there, his back stinging and burning as it became red. A look of fear and horror was plastered on the elves faces. The emperor walked up to his right side, bending down to his Ender ear.

  "Do I make myself clear?" Drake nodded, still biting into the gag from the pain.

  "Good." He turned to the mercenaries. "Take him to the lab. I'm sure the professor would love to begin right away!"

Drake's eyes widened again, when the guards pulled down his blindfold, and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him up to his feet. Their hands dug painfully into his shoulders, as they pulled and dragged him out of the hall. He waited and waited to be struck with an unpleasant blow, but not such thing came. He smelt the fresh air get masked with the scent of blood and sweat as he pulled down a set of stairs, and the sound of a large door shutting and locking behind them. There was another bitter and toxic aroma in the air. Chemicals.
He heard the sound of an iron door opening and closing, before he was roughly thrown onto a wooden surface, back lying at an angle. Drake struggled, screams rising in his throat. Before he knew it, his head was grabbed, and metal clasp were closed around his forehead and neck, binding him to the blood soaked table. The mercenaries removed his blindfold and gag, allowing him to see and speak. The hybrid squinted from the sudden light, blinking until his eye adjusted.
Once he was able to properly see, he took in the world around him. The walls were white, but looking closely, you could see the paint beginning to chip off. There were counters covered with test tubes and cabinets filled with strange serums and chemicals. A table with a tray was next to him, with tools on it, such as a scalpel, syringe, and other things Drake didn't know. He coughed at the scent in the air, struggling to breath as if the room was filled with toxic fumes.

Drake's point of view-

  "You two may leave now." A grating voice said to the guards.

They both left the room, shutting the iron door behind them. A man then came from behind the object I was strapped onto, and smiled down at me with a wide, creepy grin. He had shoulder length ginger hair, and amber eyes. He wore a white lab coat with lots of straps and buckles on it. He had black pants, and clear goggles that looked more like strange glasses. Looking closer, I could have sworn I'd seen brown stains on his coat, looking strikingly similar to that of dried old blood stains.

  "Amazing... I've been waiting to finally get my hands on you." He said, lifting up his gloved hands, moving my lips to examine my gums and teeth.

  "I've never seen anything like you." He said in awe. "Do you have a name?"

I growled. Why does he want my name? It's not like he really views me as an individual. He only sees me as a monster and his test subject. I knew that I would only get him upset, but it doesn't matter. He's going to hurt me anyways. I just knew that he would.

  "Why should I tell you my name?" I asked, not intending for an answer.

He closed his eyes, grabbing a scalpel on the tray next to me. He lifted it up, and opened his eyes, looking to the side in order to look at me without not moving his head.

  "Well, I won't hesitate on cutting you open, or possibly cutting off a few limbs. So tell me what your name is." He threatened.

I felt fear rise inside of me. "Drake! My name is Drake!" I yelled out.

He nodded, putting down the scalpel, and then scribbled on a notepad in his other hand. He put the pen on his ear to hold it. His fingers grasped the syringe on the tray, slowly lifting it up. I felt my heart racing with terror and fear.

  "Nice to meet you Drake!" The syringe kept slowly getting closer.

I felt another panic attack coming on. I hyperventilated heavily, looking at everything in the room. My thoughts were bundled up, making me unable to think straight. I felt my mana beginning to burn in my veins, aching to be released. I can't let any magic go. I know the cost. I know that it could kill me at any moment. Despite that knowledge, I still couldn't control it anymore. The magic energy began to manifest in my hands, an intense pain shooting up in my chest. I started to choke and cough, until drops of blood flew out, splattering on his goggles, face, and coat. The magic energy died down to nothing.

He wiped off his goggles, and spoke. "So how long have you had that problem?"

I looked down at the scalpel, remembering his threat and the lashes I had received minutes ago. "About a month." I answered.

He put down the tool, then wrote it down on his notepad. He set it aside on a counter, then came back to me. His hand took the syringe again, raising it up over my head. My heart pounded in my chest, aching from fear. I tried to look away from it, and distract myself, but I kept finding myself looking at the pinpoint of the needle hovering above me.

  "I'm just going to take a few blood samples using a new method. Let's see if your eyes heal faster than a human's. I heard that Enderman have fast healing."

He grabbed a metal device on the tray next to us. He put them over my eyes, then opened them, forcing my eyes to stay open. I couldn't struggle to escape, as the needle inched closer and closer. My eyes filled with tears that rolled down my cheeks, as I gasped, desperate to hold back screams. The needle pierced through the gelatin layer of my white eye, and sunk deep into it, piercing the small veins. I couldn't help but let out a scream of agony.

Mia's point of view-

The day came and went quickly. It's hard to tell how close were are to the empire. I'm honestly both upset and relieved to not know. I want to get there so we can save Drake, but then again, it's still the empire. The place that treated me like an antique. I'm terrified of that miserable place. I tried asking Grayson a few times, but he always said that he didn't know, or he was too distracted by Luke. The newly laid layer of snow crunched under our feet, not allowing us complete silence. The flakes continued to slowly fall from the sky. I turned my head, facing the boys as Luke spoke.

"Do you even have a plan?" He asked.

Grayson, who held his map and compass, turned his head sharply. "I told you to stay quiet!"

Luke turned his head, looking away from Grayson with a doleful expression. The two hardly spoke, and when they did Grayson instantly became hostile towards him.  A part of me felt bad for Luke, but then I remember the horrible things he did to Grayson. Still, he does seem truly regretful for his past deeds.

  "Grayson, he's right. We need a plan." I said.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but he closed it again. He knew that I was right. We couldn't just walk into the empire not knowing exactly what to do. We'd be way too exposed. He let out a sigh, looking over his shoulder at Luke. I could see movement on his throat as he growled. He had all of Luke's supplies and weapons in Luke's backpack, that was slung over his shoulder. He had no trust in the man. It was more than just distrust; it was complete abomination. He let out a deep breath and turned back to me as I spoke up.

  "Perhaps we could have it seem like Luke captured us, and he can lead us to the palace." I saw a spark flash in his eyes.

  "H**l no! He's a f*****g traitor! He could stab us in the back at any moment! I'm not taking the risk."

I felt disappointed in him. Did he really forget what was truly at risk? "Grayson..."

I stopped in front of him, making him bump into me. I stepped back from the force, but continued to look him in the eyes. I could see this gaze soften, and the fire of rage in his eyes begin to douse slightly.

  "We're doing this for Drake. He needs us now more than ever. I understand that you two have a bad past together but..."

He cut me off. "Okay! Okay... I understand, and you're right... Rescuing Drake is all that matters now." He looked down at the snow covered ground. "Rescuing Drake is all that has mattered. I'm sorry."

I turned around, and continued on. I continued with the conversation. "It's okay. Now, let's do my plan. It seems like the most logical thing we can do at the moment."

Then the sound disappeared yet again, leaving only the sound of the crunching snow. My thoughts kept drifting away, thinking about the plan, and helping Drake. I wondered what was happening to him, and hoped that it wasn't as bad as I could imagine. I snapped myself out of my own thoughts, looking ahead on the white path. Once again, the dreadful silence took a hold, leaving only the dense sound of crunching of the snow under our feet.

Drake's point of view-

My right eye was covered in bandages from the experiment. It didn't hurt anymore, but the memory now scared me. My chest was heavy from having my arms suspended in the air for so long. The shackles dug and cut into my wrist, barely lifting my body off of the ground, but they still made it harder for me to breathe; making my chest struggle to move, thus, making me struggle to breathe. I knew that it had been too long since I was last in the lab. They'd be here to get me soon, and I dreaded that fact.
The only company I had were the voices in my head, that I couldn't understand. I looked up, hearing a door in the distance open and close. I readied for guards to come and take me, but when a figure appeared in front of my cell, it wasn't the guards like I had suspected. It was a girl, with a strong mana level. She had bright blue eyes, and shining lapis hair. She wore a blue cloak, with gold on the edges. Her hood rested over her head, casting an ominous shadow over her face.

  "Hello, I'm Lalea. The head Mage of the imperial magi guild." Her voice was soft and soothing.

I chuckled. If the empire weren't my enemy, I would have loved to join that guild. She lifted up her head, the shadow lifting, and allowing more light from the torches outside of the cell to shine on her.

  "The emperor and professor Gideon told me to come check your mana level, since you said that you were having problems with your magic." I nodded, her facial expression shifted, seeming almost cheerless and concerned.

Her eyes closed, and she looked away from me. "Your mana levels are alarmingly high."

I tilted my head, my neck cracking, and feeling a pain that I hadn't noticed before. I ignored it. "What are you talking about?"

She opened her eyes and sighed. "You're a Mage. You should know these things."

I shook my head. "Well, unfortunately, I don't."

She put her right hand over the one of the bars of the cell, stroking it as if to distract herself. She stopped, then looked back up at me. "I've only heard stories. It's incredibly rare."

  "When a magic users mana gets too high, they lose control of their magic and become incredibly ill. Eventually, the mana in your body will over take your blood cells and..." She trailed off.

I understood perfectly. I was right the whole time. I am slowly dying, and I know who's to blame. It has to be Herobrine. It's always him. He's doing this to my body so he can have control, but of course, I figured that out a long time ago. It surprised me to hear that I wasn't the first victim of over multiplying mana levels. I thought it was just Herobrine's tricks, but I know that he's why I have this...can I call it a disease?

  "Thank you for the information." I said, hanging my head down, depression taking a hold of me. I already knew that it could kill me, but what do I have to be happy about? Well, there's the fact that Grayson and Mia are still alive...I hope.

There was a silence, until Lalea spoke. "You know, you don't seem like a bad person, but your aura...it's...troubled." She let her arms fall to her sides, then rubbed her right arm.

  All I could do was chuckle, not knowing what to say. The thought of my demise was constricting my mind. My eyes suddenly felt heavy. At least I'll be able to see Armen and meet Grayson's family soon... No. What am I saying? I can get through this! I won't die as long as Grayson and Mia are out there, and by my side. They'll help me. They promised. And I abandoned them...
I was snapped out of my thoughts, when the door of my cell opened. The guards came in, unlocking my shackles, and roughly grabbing my arms. I still felt weak, wanting them to drag me across the stone floor. I looked up at Lalea, who had a sympathetic look in her eyes. Something about her made me feel something I hadn't felt in a while. I felt happy. My lips formed a smile as I was pulled into the hall. It hurt my cheeks, feeling like it had been so long since I had last smiled. She looked shocked and confused, as if wondering why I was happy when I knew of the torment that would quickly come to me. She doesn't understand that I've been through worse things than anything this deranged scientists can do to me. I've seen more insanity in those white orbs that I ever will in his amber ones.
I was taken out of the underground dungeon, rising up to a long stone hall was with windows. I looked out of those windows we passed, taking in the sight of the courtyard, and breathing in the fresh air. It didn't have the scent of sweat, blood, and vomit; the aroma I had grown used to. I felt a wave of dread wash over me as we walked down a few steps, and opened the door that knew lead to the lab. That toxic smell replacing the fresh air. They lead me to the large iron door, pushed me inside, then pinned me to the table. They strapped me down, and put the metal clasp on my head to lock it in place.

  "Welcome back Drake!" The professor said, as the guards left the room.

I felt sick at his presence, well, even more sick. I felt scared, annoyed, and angry. What is he going to do to me now? I looked down at the scalpel, the edges of my vision becoming white. His voice became muffled and distant, as the white slowly started to become red. I saw him pick up the scalpel, placing the tip on my arm, and slowly dragging it across my skin, digging it deeper into my flesh. I screamed at the pain, as blood poured out of the wound. I closed my eyes, feeling the strange sensation of metal on my bone, and as my muscles were slowly ripping from the sharp points of the small blade. It was agonizing.

  "Wow. We haven't even done anything and you're already screaming!" I heard his amused voice say.

I opened my eyes, everything back to it's original color. He stood in front of me with a wide smile. My eyes looked down at my arm, still feeling the pain, but no injuries were visible. It was just another hallucination.

  "I must really scare you." The professor said.

My eyes widened until they hurt. A sudden spike of joy and anger ignited within me. He has no idea of my fears. And he isn't one of them. I started laughing, hardly noticing that it didn't even sound like me. It was high pitched and long; it was like it belonged to an insane person. Like Herobrine. Like who I'm slowly becoming...

  "Scared? Of you? You have no idea the h**l I've been through."

He only smirked, a reaction I hadn't expected. Fog from his breath clouded his goggles. He took them off of his head and wiped it off with his sleeve. He chuckled, not looking up at me.

  "Well, I'll make you go through a lot more than h**l if that's the case." He said, putting the goggles back on and grabbing a scalpel.

I laughed again. He doesn't know what I've done. He can't plague me with the constant reminders that I basically killed my best friend. He can't constantly remind me that my soul purpose in life was gone, or that I shouldn't exist, or that I abandoned my friends and left them all for dead out of my own selfishness. He can't torment my soul. I laughed until my lungs hurt and I couldn't breathe. Tears were going down my face already. I could hear him scribbling on his notepad.

  "You're not mentally stable, are you?" He asked, looking up at me.

He's right, you know. You're minds filled with crevices, each one eating away at your sanity.

I'll kIlL yOu...

I wanted to scream at the voices in my head. I wanted to shake it away, but I couldn't move. I was breathing heavily again, feeling my body burning like fire. The table rattled from my shaking body, filled with illness and nervousness. I don't want to go through anymore pain, mentally or physically.

"I guess that's good. The mentality unstable feel less pain than an average being, right?" Wrong. He has no idea how wrong he is.

He grabbed the bandages on my head, and began to unravel them to see the results of his previous experiment. I opened my eye, squinting until it readjusted to the light. Everything looked fine, like it was never stabbed with a f*****g needle. He stood back, rewrapping the bandages around his wrist. I was puzzled as to why.

  "Wow. You do heal at a remarkable speed. Well, your eyes at least. You don't have any blurry vision, or sensitivity to light, do you?"

  "No." I made it simple.

He nodded, writing it down. I could see sweat beginning to form on his forehead, as if he was suddenly troubled. He began tapping his pen in the notepad, making me even more annoyed.

  "I ran a few test on your blood samples, and..." He hesitated to continue. "I injected some of it into another human being."

My eyes widened. Doesn't he know what the wrong blood transfusion can do? It kills. He chuckled, making me feel sick to my stomach.

  "I thought that I could possibly transfer some of the powerful mana of yours, or Ender DNA, or perhaps...even some demonic power like Armenbrine."

I growled, despising the name he mentioned. They are separate individuals, one kind and brave, and the other malevolent and disgraceful. Don't associate the two as the same being. Armen doesn't deserve to be only known as a monster. He was far from it. The professor examined a scalpel in his hands, running his fingers across it to see how sharp it was.

  "Don't call him that!" I shouted, not caring what he would do to me. Rage boiled inside of me.

  "Or what? The only thing you can do will end up killing you eventually." He referred to my magic. "Or you could use your power, oh great Drakebrine." He said it mockingly.

He knew of what had happened that day I lost control at the base of the mountain. I wondered what else he knew about me, and how he got his information. My eyes were becoming filled with burning tears. I pulled at the restraints holding me down, wishing that they would break. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted to kill him and never let him call us that again.

I growled, trying to hold back my threats rising in my throat. I failed. "Don't ever call us by that mother f****rs name again! We never deserved this! He never deserved to suffer!"

His smile faded, his expression looking confused. He started tape his pen on the notepad again, making my eye twitch with the irritation.

  " Us? He? We? Who are you talking about?" He asked. "He must be important to you."

I only growled in reply, trying to control my rage and my breathing. Of course he was important. He was the one that I was willing to go through this h**l for. I don't regret that, and I never will.

He shrugged. "Oh well. I'll get answers from you eventually. The emperor's also planning on getting a few answers of his own."

I remembered the pain of that whip making contact with my skin. My flesh beginning to rip. I still felt sore from the experience.

  "Anyway, as I was saying a while ago, I tested some of your blood on a young woman. She only lasted a few seconds before her inevitable death."

No. No...Not again! Not again! Another person died all because of me! The tears were returning to my eyes, threatening to come out like a river. I'm tired of the death and bloodshed. I'm tired of myself being the cause. Why does everything have to be my fault?
Suddenly, I felt cold metal on my Ender ear. I looked to the side, seeing him standing there, holding his scalpel against my ear, with his white smile once again present. I could feel the tool slowly cutting my skin, beginning to draw blood.

  "Still, even with the casualty, I won't give up until the emperor orders me too. Next time, I won't hold back on dissecting you."

Before I could wrap my head around it, he swung his arm. The small blade tore through the thick skin; blood beginning to drip down my face. I screamed as the scalpel traveled through the flesh, making the tears escape my eyes. More than half of my right ear...gone...

Luke's point of view-

I kept falling behind Grayson and his elf friend. Mia, I think he called her. I still felt tired from not getting proper rest last night. Falling asleep and getting knocked out have completely different effects on the body, and getting knocked unconscious does not let your body produce a proper amount of energy.

  "Luke, keep up!" Grayson yelled.

It hurt seeing that rage and hatred in his eyes, but who can blame him? What I did is something you can't just forgive with a simple "I'm sorry". Grayson's right. Those two words alone won't change any of the wrong that I've done. I can't even forgive myself.
I ran to catch up with them. I looked at Grayson, as he glared daggers at me. For some reason, for the first time in awhile, I felt small in his gaze. I looked away, looking at the snow on the ground. It kind of felt strange not attacking him on instinct. I had spent so long trying to kill him out of fear that every time this fear creeped upon me, it felt strange not reaching for a weapon to kill him. I'm not doing that again, not only because Grayson took all of my weapons, but...maybe I do deserve death.

  "Guys. Do you see that?" Mia said, pointing above the trees. "There's smoke coming from the Forest!"

I looked up, seeing the grey smoke rising from the trees. Perhaps it's some more mercenaries? It's going to feel strange killing people who work for the empire, instead of wanted criminals for once. My eyes looked back at Grayson, who was also looking up at the smoke. He'll never trust me. He'll never forgive me. I have to do whatever I can to make it a least a little right, but no matter what, I know that once this is all over with, he'll be after me. My...change of heart, I guess I could put it, isn't going to be accepted. I wish I could change the past so desperately, but what's been has been done.

  "We should go check it out. For all we know, they could have Drake." Mia suggested.

Grayson shrugged. "I doubt that they're going to have Drake, but I suppose we could check it out. We might be able to get more supplies."

I nodded, agreeing to his plan. We walked into the trees, making our way to the ominous campsite. A plan came to my head. Grayson's going to be p***ed, but I know it will work. I know that no matter what, he'll despise me, so what do I have to lose?

Grayson's point of view-

Smoke rising from the forest is hardly ever a good sign. They have to be either bandits or mercenaries. Luke, Mia, and I hid behind the trees, slowly making our way closer to the campsite. I could see boxed up carriages, ment for containing prisoners. That made no doubt in my mind that theses were mercenaries. They looked like they were beginning to take down their camp to get ready to set off. I hated the thought that Drake could have been in there only a day before.

  "What do we do?" Mia asked. "Is it safe to attack them?"

I examined the camp, seeing that they were nearly done with the clean up. I saw another boxed carriage hidden behind the trees, because room had run out. There were about four mercenaries, each well equipped with swords, bows, and arrows. A part told myself not to engage in a battle, but the thought of Drake came to my mind. I was filled with anger. I reached for my sword, but my hand grasped nothing but air.

  "Wha...?" Before I could turn around, I forcefully pushed out into the open.

I pushed myself up, hissing with the pain of falling on some stone hidden by the snow. I looked over, seeing Mia on the ground as well with her weapon missing like mine. I saw a pair of boots behind us, walking ahead of where we laid. It was Luke who had hit us down. He had our blades in his belt, and didn't look down at us.

  "I got the dragon egg thief and an accomplice. I could use assistance in transporting them back to the empire." He said.

Before I could  get up, the mercenaries were upon Mia and I, hitting us in the head to buy them enough time to tie our arms behind our backs. They pulled us up, and began dragging us to separate carriages. I struggled against my bounds, desperate to get to my friend. I hated hearing her scream, her past at the empire must have been eating away at her memories. Luke began to walk beside her, stopping the mercenaries. He grabbed her by the chin and leaned to her ear. I could see his lips moving as he whispered to her. He stood up straight, and stepped back from her.

  "Don't worry fellas. I was just telling her not to cause any trouble. She caused some problems for me." What was he talking about? She saved his a**!

I was suddenly hit in the cheek, and roughly pulled forward. As I recovered from the hit, I was tossed into one of the carriages. I was then hit in the bottom of my chin, then in my stomach. I coughed and gasped for air, feeling liquid going down my chin. I hoped that it was saliva and not blood. While keeping my hands tied, they chained my arms in shackles on the wall, and put my neck in a clasp. It pinched my neck, the pain making me shake my head in attempt to get rid of it. I looked back up as they left, seeing the traitor assassin standing there staring at me.
I couldn't believe it. To think that I was starting to believe that he really was regretful for what he did to me. He betrayed me again.

  I growled and hissed, before screaming "You son of a b***h!"

He stepped up into the carriage and began to walk up to me. "Calm down, please." He said.

I let out a growl. He bent down in front of me, and pulled down the mask over his mouth, revealing his soft cheeks, with two scars, one fresher than the other. "Grayson, I have a plan. We'll get to the empire faster this way."

My gaze on him softened, only for a second. "Why should I trust you? You're just turning us in for your bullsh*t money!"

He didn't speak for a moment, letting silence come between us. I waited for him to say something. As he opened his mouth, the mercenaries came and told him that it was time for him to leave. Luke stood and turned around, looking over his shoulder at me before he jumped out. Before the door was closed and locked, I was sure that he winked at me.

Drake's point of view-

I opened my eyes after I blacked out, slowly. But when I saw a glimpse of my surroundings, my purple and white eye shot open in extreme fright at what I saw in front of me. Thick blood was pouring down from the stone wall to the left of me, huge drops dripping onto the dresser below it. My mirror was shattered to pieces, also stained with oozing blood. The floor around me was scattered with items that were once organized on my shelves. Blood. Blood was everywhere. Dripping on everything.
Then I saw a glance of what was in my hand. My eyes widened with more fear flashing into them at what I saw. In my grasp was my diamond sword, the handle and the long blade blemished with blood, including my hands, arms, and shirt. All stained with blood. What the h**l....
Then I looked down. That's when my breath stopped and my brain stopped receiving oxygen. My eye twitched and I immediately started uncontrollably shaking from fear. My eyes teared up I started breathing heavily from lack of air in my lungs at the devastation of what I saw.
Lying at my feet only about two feet from me, was Grayson, his green eyes wide with terror, staring up at the ceiling, .... and his body motionless. His chest wasn't moving. A large deep gash was stabbed into his stomach and chest, blood quickly running out from the extreme wound, circling around his body. I could see bones and organs from inside of his cut open stomach.
By him, Mia was sobbing uncontrollably, her cries so loud that someone could probably hear them from miles on end. Her face were buried into Grayson's chest were there wasn't a terrifying gash through his heart, her shoulders jerking up and down quickly.

I could hear her whispering over and over his name, "Grayson......"

No. No. No. No. No. No. No... No... No... Nonononnonono!!!!
I suddenly dropped my sword in my hands and clawed at my scalp and face, breathing heavily and digging my fingers into my tangled hair. My eyes were still huge with horror.  I just killed Grayson. I JUST KILLED GRAYSON! MY SECOND BEST FRIEND IS DEAD! I KILLED HIM!
No, this can't be happening. This is just another nightmare. Another freaking horrible nightmare. But this seemed so real this time, more real than it has ever been.
I saw Mia move her head up from Grayson's chest and look me in the eye, her soft usually happy eyes now pained with the most extreme sadness, red from sobbing.

"D-Drake......" She whimpers. There is fear in her voice when she looked at me. Like I was going to hurt her too.

"No,no,no," I whisper softly as I start to back away. "No. No. No. No. No!"

I run out of the room as fast as my long tall legs can carry me and start to head down the steep mountain, hot tears starting to pour from my eyes. Suddenly, I tripped over a rock and slipped sliding down the mountain a little bit. But I got back up when I stopped and continued running. Running away from everything I just did.

"I'm a monster." I said out loud to myself. I panted. "I'm a monster!"

Suddenly when I saw a cliff face right beside me, I quickly rammed myself into it, hoping to hurt myself. I deserve it all. I deserve it all! I picked up a sharp rock next to my feet and tried to cut myself. Then I got a good idea. I created a strong fire magic from my hands and aimed it at myself, then letting it explode off, hitting me hard in the ribs, definitely giving me a great deal of pain. When I looked down I saw that I was burnt.
But I didn't care. I didn't care if I got hurt.
I continued to run farther, going into the woods. It started to rain hard once I hit the trees. Soon, I was dripping wet from freezing water. It started to rain harder by the minute, but I didn't stop running. I tripped and fell into the slushy deep mud as the storm grew, making myself look probably terrible. But I couldn't care less.
After a while of trudging through the wet dirt, my legs started to get weak and eventually collapsed into the thick mud. I got down on my hands and knees and sobbed. I sobbed so hard my body jerked and shaked like it had never before, heavy rain getting dumped on me. My murky brown hair stuck to my face and into my eyes as I looked up at the sky.
What in the living h**l have I done?
...

Third person point of view-

The chains in the cell rattled violently as he shook them, the screws in the wall slowly, but surely giving way to the force. He chuckled in the darkness, being sure not to wake the sleeping guard as he stirred in his sleep. For a second, he stopped shaking the chains, until the guard stopped his movement, and began snoring once again.
He wrapped his hands around the chains, his palms burning in white energy. They sizzled, the metal glowing a bright red and orange from the intense heat. The chains snapped in half, letting his body fall onto the stone; half of the chain still on the wall, and the other still attached to his wrist. Blood from his ear was dried on his face, neck, and shoulder. His mouth opened, letting the white mist-like illumination. His eyes opened; his left eye glowing in a blinding light. A long chuckled escaped his throat, as he crawled along the floor, making his way to the sleeping guard.
He put his right hand through the bars on the right side of the guards head, then his left hand on his left side. His fingers traced the chain as he took a hold of them, and pulled it over the guard's neck. The guard's eyes snapped open, as the chains slowly suffocated him. The demonic being behind him laughed as he struggled, waking another guard at the end of the hall.

  "Dude, what's going..?" He stopped, seeing his friends struggling body suddenly go limp, as a loud crack echoed throughout the hallway.

He stood up, his heart skipping a beat with fear. Suddenly, the cell door opened, letting the tall captive walk out. The key chain fell from his hands, hitting the stone ground with a loud clang. He turned his head to the live guard, his neck twisting into an uncomfortable position. The guards shaking hands pulled out his sword, swallowing a lump in his throat as his face was drenched in sweat. That glowing eye... Only when you see that and learn that the stories are true, do you truly understand fear.

  "St-stay back!" He demanded.

A loud, chaotic laugh echoed in the hall, almost ear piercing. The possessed man charged at him, his arms behind him as if the shoulders were broken. The guard let out a scream as he held out his blade, only for it to shatter into pieces as it made contact with his chest. Other guards from above charged down into the dungeon room, but stopped at the horrific sight of the possessed man ripping apart their comrade.
His stomach was torn open, with his guts and blood spread across the floor. The demon laughed, taking pleasure in ripping out his throat, and tossing it aside. The guards cringed, listening as he broke each individual rib. Their eyes widened even more, when the being before them ripped out the man's entire spine.
His head fell back, looking at the men upside down as he continued to laugh. One of the guards turned his head, as his other comrade by his side began to vomit on the floor from the horrific sight.
The laughter grew closer, as he looked back ahead of himself. Before he knew it, his lower jaw was ripped from his body with one blow from the demonic being. His fist quickly made another strike, punching a hole straight through his chest. The other man screamed as the body fell, never to stand again. Drake jumped on top of him, knocking him onto the ground. The hybrids fist collided with the man's head repeatedly, his blood splattering everywhere. Minutes passed, until the being was satisfied, standing up and leaving the body with his skull smashed in, and face barely recognizable.
He left the dungeon, going up to the long hall that lead to multiple royal places surrounding the palace. The sun was setting, with only an orange glow visible from behind the distant mountains. The vessel looked around, searching for the path leading to the main hall. He didn't really have an intended target, he just wanted to shed as much blood as he could.
Two more guards were making their way towards him, holding torches and carrying their iron swords. A wide smile creeped on his face, as his back slouched and his arms hung limply by his sides. His head tilted slightly, before he dashed at the men.

  "Prison break!" One shouted, alerting some nearby guards.

Drake's fist collided with his shoulder, shattering the bone. His body went flying, and rolled on the ground, tears streamed out of his eyes from the agony. He looked up, watching as the demon tore his friend's body to shreds. Guts and limbs being ripped from the body and spilled onto the ground. The hybrid's body twitched, licking some of the blood from his hand.

  "ReaDy tO JoIN hIm?"

He stood, walking to the injured man. He chuckled, as he stomped down on his injured shoulder. The man screamed, before the possessed Drake lunged down at him, digging his fingernails into his flesh, until he was able to rip out his throat, and left the man there for dead. More guards that heard the dead man's call charged to take down the rouge prisoner. The demon's smile only grew wider. He waited as the got closer and closer, letting out battle cries as they readied their weapons. His white eye glowed brighter, as he held out his arm, with a ball of white energy forming and growing in his palm. Finally, he let it fire at the charging men. He stood completely still, as the ball of energy exploded, consuming the men in a blazing white fire. He enjoyed the screams of anguish, before they lowered down, becoming nothing.
...

The emperor stood in the great hall, with the mercenaries that had just come back from another assignment within imperial territory. Others stood around as well, including the head Mage, Lalea.

  "Good work boys! Another threat taken down!" They bowed to the emperor, happy with his positive remark.

  "If only you could get Grayson that easily." The mercenaries lost all sense of joy.

The emperor turned, looking over at professor Gideon. "So what new information did you get from the hybrid? Has there been any luck in your test?" His last question sounded doubtful.

  He shrugged. "Subject has been showing some psychotic behavior, such as laughing at inappropriate times, but it's nothing major."

  "What about the blood tests?" 

The professor answered. "Well, I took a flesh sample in hopes of getting more results in a DNA test with the old times technology we found."

  "Have you been able to do what I requested?"

The professor shook his. "Unfortunately sire, we haven't been able to find any DNA of Armenbrine in him, it's as if...he doesn't even have his DNA."

The emperor glared at him. "He has too! You and I both know of the power he possesses."

Professor Gideon pulled on the collar of his shirt. Sweat rolling down his forehead. "Yes sire. I'll continue with the test, but..." He trembled at the emperor's gaze. "What if he only got that power because of his high mana level?"

An objection rose from the crowd. Lalea pushed a mercenary beside, and made her way up to the two. She pulled down her hood, showing her respects to the emperor as she bowed to him.

  "May I speak, sire?" She asked calmly.

It took a few seconds for the emperor replied. He nodded his head. "You may, my dear."

Lalea nodded, and turned to professor Gideon. "That can't be possible for just his mana levels to be the cause of the destruction he was responsible for last week. Even with an incredibly high mana level like his, it wouldn't be able to last longer than a few seconds. We know from witnesses that it lasted longer than just a few seconds."

  "Not only that, but his eye was glowing. That isn't possible for normal Magi."

Suddenly, there was a loud cry outside of the palace doors. The doors opened, letting a man limp inside of the hall, with blood pouring out of his mouth, and a gaping wound in his stomach. The people, with an exception of the emperor, gasped in shock. His body fell over, letting the tall figure behind him become more visible to the crowd.
The hybrid stood there with his glowing eye sparking terror in the people. His body covered with his new victims blood. The guards and mercenaries pulled our weapons, ready to defend their ruler. The hybrid began to walk sluggishly, with his arms still hanging limply, and back slightly slouched over. His legs kept crossing over each other, making him stumble, but he did not fall.

  "All oF YoU... I'Ll kILl... AlL Of yoU!"

The guards charged first, then Drake's possessed body stood up straight. He charged, letting out a piercing deranged laugh. He no longer moved sluggishly like his body was broken, but now he ran with intense speed, only looking like a blur in the guard's eyes. His form became visible to the eye once again, only to reveal a scene of gore. His hand tore through the armor of one man, and ripped out his heart. The body fell over, as Drake's foot kicked it down, ripping the veins. Blood squirted everywhere, receiving screams from servants and the elves chained to the throne. He crushed the heart in his grasp, before lunging at the next man, grabbing the sides of his head, and turning with force. There was a loud snap, as his neck broke. He let the body fall, then turned to the next man, a dug his thumbs deep into his eyes. The man screamed in pain as blood ran down his face. The vessel pulled his thumbs out, and looked over at the last guard that refused to cower. He sung his leg up, letting the guards blade snap in two as it made contact with it, and kicked the man on his head. His neck bent, breaking under the force, as blood spilled out of his nose and mouth. As he fell over, energy formed in Drake's hands, and he fired it at both of the men's heads, making them explode.

  "I was right!" The emperor laughed. "I was right!"

As the possessed Drake charged at them, Lalea stood in front of the emperor, her hand glowing a bright blue.

  "That's not him..." She mumbled quickly. "That's not him..."

Powerful lightning shot from her hand, firing at the vessel. Just as it was going to strike him, his body vanished. Lalea gasped as the Lightning crashes onto the floor, and Drake's body reappeared about a foot from where it previously was. She stepped back, fear consuming her that this was their fate. Lalea looked away, as he charged one last time. No strike ever came.
She looked up, gasping when she saw Nathan pinning Drake's body on the wall. Drake barely put up a struggle, as his eyes dimmed and the light in his mouth disappeared. His eyes closed, and body went limp under Nathan's grasp. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, his heart racing and blood pressure rising. He never thought he'd ever do anything like that.
He stood up, letting Drake's arms fall to his sides. His eyes looked down at his hands, seeing some of the blood had gotten onto his own body. This was the blood of his comrades. This blood was drawn by someone he thought he could trust. Someone he protected. Regret washed over him, hating that he had been so nice to this man and stopped his team from hurting him. He should have just let them hurt him. His hands trembled, unable to take his eyes off of the red staining his hands.

  "Nathan, my boy!" The emperor called out, as he walked up to him, and put his arm over his shoulder. "You've done the kingdom well! You shall be honored as a hero!"

Nathan didn't hear a word. He was lost in his thoughts and regrets. The emperor shrugged, and took his arm off of him. He singled for two surviving guards to pick Drake up and not hurt him; his unconscious body hanging limply in their arms. The emperor put his fingers under his chin, lifting his head up as a grin creeped on his face.

  "So you do hold the power of Him."

His hand moved up his cheek, and moved it under his black hair. Drake cringed in his unconscious state when his fingertips touched the tender wound on his ear. The emperor felt that it was shorter than it once was, and messed with his hair that was matted down with blood. He pulled his arm back.

  "Disinfect his right ear and stitch the wound." He ordered. "I want him to be cleaned up."

The guards bowed, and began to drag the hybrid away. The emperor gave one last glance at Nathan, lost in a trace, before he turned away. He looked at Lalea, with the professor standing by her side.

  "Good effort Lalea. Go to your quarters and leave the professor and I. We have some business to attend to."

Lalea bowed, a look of confusion hidden in her eyes. "Yes sire."

She began to walk away, the thought of the hybrid eating at her mind. That wasn't his life force that she sensed... What she sensed was so much more evil...

  "What are we going to tell the families of everyone who's died tonight?"

The emperor replied, "Simple. We tell them the truth. A prisoner escaped and attacked. Then we'll tell them that Nathan over here was able to kill them, that way no one will ask for a public execution."

The professor nodded in understanding. He looked over at Nathan, as he shook his head and snapped out of his thoughts. He turned to the two men, with wide eyes. He closed his eyes, then opened them again as he rubbed his blood covered fingers together.

He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Sire? Will he be punished?"

The emperor turned to him. "He'll be taken to an interrogation tomorrow and whipped."

Nathan shook his head. "Forgive me if this isn't your will, your highness, but... Can his punishment be separate, and in public? It will break him more, which will help bend him to your will." He suggested.

  "I suppose. I don't exactly need an explanation for it. Very well then. Now, leave us be."

Nathan nodded, and slowly made his way out of the palace. His eyes kept looking at the blood covered ground and pillars, and bodies that servants and guards began to clean up. He gagged as bile rose in his throat, and eyes filled with tears. An innocent mind once again tainted with the bloodshed of the world.

  "Your highness?" Professor Gideon asked, making the emperor growl from being swarmed with questions. "You didn't flinch. Why so?"

The emperor chuckled. "Because..." He looked down at his hand, seeing a bit of blood and flakes of dried blood on his fingers. "This is what I wanted."