**UNEDITED (I'll try to update again tomorrow to make up for my absence xx)**

NOTE: Aarón Díaz in the gif above is how I picture Gavriel. Tbh, I have no idea who he is, but Gavriel's character is Mexican/Spanish so I googled actors... Thought he fit nicely, lol. Just a tidbit if any of you were interested ;)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

AXEL KEEPS HIS VOICE low as he speaks with Gavriel while waiting for Knox's scouts to return with the doctor. He's surprised Wolf is letting Gavriel stay in the room when the doctor arrives, nonetheless be apart of the conversation. Axel isn't sure how Gavriel will handle himself, truthfully. It's very well known among the experiments that Gavriel and 748 were two hands on a clock--take one away and suddenly the clock doesn't work anymore.

Though Gavriel seems to be mostly himself still, Axel isn't quite sure how he's genuinely holding things together. If he's been separated from 748 since the experiments began making their own factions, then he hasn't seen the first experiment in nearly a year. Back at the lab, it was unheard of if they went a day without being side-by-side, an unbreakable friendship.

"What do you know of Ed?" Gavriel asks, bringing Axel back to reality. He hasn't heard of 748's real name in a long time, and it took him a moment to remember who they're talking about.

"Last I heard, Doctor Stevens operated on him again. Better senses, bigger teeth, that sort of thing. He escaped, but then he was obviously captured again. Some of the experiments say he's gone mad, or halfway there, because of what the doctor's done to him," Axel all but whispers, eyeing the hallway carefully outside of Wolf's office.

Gavriel clenches his teeth. "You haven't seen him, though."

"No."

"He's always been the strongest out of all of us," Gavriel remarks. "I'm sure he's fine."

Axel, for Gavriel's sake, hopes Wolf didn't overhear that comment.

Confident their conversation is over, Axel clasps his hands behind his back and leans against the wall next to Wolf's office door. He closes his eyes and inhales through his nose, keeping his heart rate calm. He reminds himself that there's no need to get worked up. The doctor will be in his territory this go around--he has no say over Axel here. Axel can't be worried of a man temporarily powerless.

Despite his self-reassurance, he jumps slightly when he hears footsteps approaching in the distance. He braces himself, straightens his shoulders, and opens his eyes to glare down the hallway. He won't show an inch of fear or anxiety around that man; the man who literally thrives off of other's weaknesses. He can't give him that ego boost. He certainly doesn't need any help.

For a moment, Axel regrets not requesting Gavriel to be in chains, not that it would do much help, but it would at least remind him of reality. It's so easy to get lost and distraught amongst all the rage and hatred that's piled up for years. He knows how difficult he is. If Gavriel were to lash out, Axel wouldn't blame him for it.

Surprisingly, yet expectantly, Gavriel composes himself into a cool calm, one that most interpret as a breadth away from a killing spree. He tosses Gavriel a wary glance, but Gavriel as his murderous red eyes locked on the man emerging from the corridor, being hauled by two of Wolf's buffest men. As if the doctor would really stand a chance against any of them without his own tools around. Even he isn't stupid enough to think that being on unfamiliar grounds would reward him a victorious fight.

Axel tries to remain indifferent to no avail. Perhaps he would have managed if the prick didn't have a sadistic, almost nostalgic smirk on his old, wrinkled face.

Gavriel, actually, has to bump shoulders with Axel to stop him from baring his fangs in warning.

Clenching his jaw, Axel doesn't bid the man another glance as he opens Wolf's office door, announcing the arrival. He pushes the door open completely, stepping aside to let the guards and the doctor in first. He and Gavriel follow close behind, shutting the mahogany door the instant they're inside.

Wolf is all for the dramatics. He'd purposefully been sitting in his big leather chair with his back to the door for some time now, waiting for the moment to exude utter authority. Now, he stands and walks towards the panel of windows lining the wall. He folds his hands behind his back, his face partly in shadows due to the sun being opposite of them. The perfect picture to prove he is the one in charge here.

"Love what you've done with the place," the doctor says, quite bravely in fact, as he glances around the room. The two guards still keep a firm grip on his frail upper arms.

Just barely, Axel can see Wolf's lips quirk upwards.

Never a good sign.

"Tell me, how did you get the Normals to comply so easily? I saw them working out in the fields, tending to the crops. A fine establishment indeed. Well, I--"

"Oh, do shut up." Wolf rubs his temple.

The doctor smiles gently, but shuts up nonetheless.

Wolf clicks his tongue, turning to face them finally. He strides into the light, his eyes narrowed on the doctor. "What are you doing here?"

Almost nervously, the doctor laughs. "Why, to be with you, of course. That was our plan, after all."

"No. You're not meant to be here for another..." Wolf pretends to calculate, squinting his eyes, though, he already knows the precise amount of days. "Forty-three days, give or take. So, don't make this difficult and simply cooperate by answering truthfully."

"Now, 90--"

"Don't you dare," Wolf snarls, across the room in a split second and gripping the doctor's throat.

The doctor nods, face noticeably red, but he clarifies, "Wolf," and Wolf releases him, taking a step back. The doctor exhales with relief. "Wolf," he says softer, "Plans change. Having no way to communicate across states makes situations rather complex."

Wolf snaps his fingers and the guards instantly drop the old man, who crumbles to the floor with the sudden bolster removed. The guards exit, leaving only Gavriel, Axel, Wolf, and the man who started it all in the luxurious office. The sun shifts, illuminating the room entirely.

"I need explanations, or you may find yourself dangling from the flagpole on the rooftop," Wolf says.

As if trying to buy himself time to come up with an excuse, the doctor rubs his neck and pushes to his feet, his knees cracking and popping with the movement. He glances sideways at Axel and Gavriel, then back to Wolf. That same smirk, almost mocking this time, spreads across his aging face.

"Gavriel. Haven't seen you in quite some time, how are you holding up?" He speaks in an even tone, a confident tone.

Gavriel curls his fists, but answers just as coolly, "I'd be better if your heart were to stop beating."

"Most people would be." The doctor tilts his head, still keeping his gaze set on Wolf, who watches with curiosity and suspicion. "Any luck finding your friend?"

It takes Gavriel much more effort this time to stay by the door. "You tell me. He keeps ending up on your doorstep, after all."

"Indeed he does. He's grown to be an even bigger pain than before, if you can believe it."

"I count on it."

"Of course you do." He looks over to Gavriel then, a somewhat eerie smile replacing the smirk. "It's cute how you miss him, scavenge the ends of the world for him. Funny how he hasn't mentioned you at all. Almost as if he's forgotten your existence."

"Mind games don't work on me, dickhead."

"He's got another companion anyways," the doctor adds, waving his hands dismissively. "One he seems much more interested in."

The girl, most definitely. The girl who somehow keeps intertwining with an experiment's business. Is it fate or poor luck?

Gavriel grits his teeth, and Axel can hear them grinding. He stifles the urge to cringe. Thankfully, Wolf intervenes. "Enough. I didn't call you here to let you be consistently annoying, though I know that's your only dominant character trait. I called you here for matters between us. Gavriel is here for his own benefit."

"And that is?"

"None of your business." Wolf levels his stare with the elder. "You're quite lucky your head isn't detached from your shoulders right now."

The doctor purses his thin lips, obviously dissatisfied to be in a vulnerable position. He wrings his hands together in front of him, but keeps his eyes solely on Wolf, as if Axel and Gavriel pose no threat whatsoever. He's wise enough to know that they only move if Wolf does. Well, Axel is under Wolf's command anyways. It may be foolish to overlook Gavriel.

Especially when Gavriel's temper is already restrained on a fraying leash.

Axel tries to meet the experiment's eyes to bring him back to a clear head, but Gavriel won't look away from the man who stole his life and his best friend. Axel chews the inside of his cheek, calculating the different scenarios in how this meeting could go very, very wrong. The positive outcomes are slim to none.

Axel steadies his hands for a fight just in case.

"Are you going to answer me of your own will or do you need a little encouragement?" Wolf quirks a taunting brow. "You're not in the best position to refuse."

It's so painfully obvious how the doctor is despising the situation. Despising that he couldn't have the meeting on his own time, in his own place, with his own people. It's so clear Axel holds his breath, waits for the explosion.

The doctor steadies himself, rolls back his shoulders. "Last time I checked, Wolf, I do not owe you an explanation for all of my actions. After all, you still work under me."

Oh no. This is going to go very bad, very quickly.

Wolf offers a smirk of his own, twice as menacing and terrifying as the doctor's. "Is that right?" His voice so quiet, Axel instinctively steps back against the door.

"I understand your threats are in fact promises, but perhaps you forget why we ever allied in the first place. The deal we settled on." The doctor pinches his forefinger and thumb together, shaking his hand as if he should be holding something and emphasizing what it is.

Wolf understands, and he laughs. "Turns out I don't need to hold up my end of the bargain anymore."

"And why is that?"

"Gavriel just so happens to have the exact thing I'm in need of. You remember how some of your precious experiments dabbled in medicine for the battlefield. I'm sure with their heads together they can recreate the serum."

The doctor is taken aback, but only for a moment. He shows no more surprise than a brief flicker in his beady eyes. He looks over at Gavriel. Snorts. "So that's who tripped all of the alarms in my laboratory and still got away unseen."

Gavriel dips into a mocking bow.

"It doesn't matter," the doctor adds. "I've personalized the serum myself. It cannot be recreated."

"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it," Wolf replies.

"Suit yourself. When you realize you need me, I'll be waiting."

"None of us have ever needed you."

The doctor gives the three of them one last wry smile. "You've needed me every day of your lives, no matter how hard you try to deny it. I am your Creator, and I will always be needed, whether you like it or not."

Wolf growls.

"Do not fret, child." The doctor walks towards the door, a daring move, but no one stops him. "Unlike how all of you insist on betraying me, I will never betray you. When you come to my doorstep, I shall take you in with open arms. All you have to do is admit you need me."

Axel and Gavriel step aside, the doctor striding out into the hands of the bulky guards. Then he is led away, out of sight.