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~ Nate's log cabin in Switzerland ~

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Carrying an oil can with him, Cole flew in direction of Nate's log cabin in Switzerland. He followed Nate's tracks in the snow from where he had started walking. In another situation, Cole would've enjoyed walking on the hard snow with warm sunshine shining down on him and the soft powdery snow layer carpeting over the hard layer underneath. He would've admired the way the snow sparkled in the sun. He would've relished every breath of crisp, cold air and would've welcomed the scent of evergreen trees, forest, pine, snow, and fresh air.

But Cole was entirely focused on what he wanted to do with Nate. As his fleece-lined black and white Nordic winter boots walked steadily in the snow, his blue hoodie keeping him warm underneath his black Abercrombie winter coat, he placed his gloved hand in his pocket where he kept a vial of Tori's knock-out spray, along with a small handkerchief.

He saw Nate ahead of him, about to leave the log cabin. He already had a backpack on with all the stuff he needed and was getting ready to head back to the glass building when he sensed movement and glanced to where Cole was, but Cole had already disappeared behind a tree, his breathing steady and calm.

Nate looked at the tracks in the snow, but Cole had been careful to step exactly into Nate's tracks, that way he wouldn't leave a second pair of tracks in the snow. So lucky we're the same shoe size, he thought. He's about the same build as me too.

After a moment of careful inspection, Nate spread his wings and ascended. Not a minute after he was in the sky, he heard movement and turned slightly just as Cole collided into him, slamming him towards the ground while pressing the vial-soaked handkerchief to Nate's face. Cole was careful to wear a face mask that covered his nose and mouth, to prevent himself from breathing it in. The last thing he wanted was to knock himself out while knocking Nate out.

Nate immediately fell unconscious after breathing in the chemicals. Cole dropped the handkerchief and held Nate firmly as he descended, landing clumsily on the ground, the additional weight slowing him. He thrust open the door to the log cabin, breaking it open with his leg. He carried Nate inside and set him on the bed, slinging his backpack off and tossing it on the floor. As he turned back, the unconscious Nate in his peripheral vision, Cole faced him fully and thought in surprise, Wow, he sort of does look like an angel.

Nate's wings were spread out, his hair tousled, his eyes closed with delicate eyelashes, his beanie hat lost in the snow outside. He looked innocent and angelic, youthful, like a lamb being led to slaughter.

Cole's hands shook as he considered what he was about to do. He had no real hate or dislike towards Nate, only seeing him as a symbol of Tori's happiness. He wanted to crush whatever it was that gave her joy, and that happened to be Nate. Though Cole had no beef with the guy, because Tori took everything from him, he wanted to take everything from her. Nate was her everything, so he would take him away from her.

The vial would keep Nate unconscious for a whole day, but Cole didn't intend for him to live that long. He took Nate's cell phone and easily got through the locked passcode: Angel10. Angel, his nickname for her, and ten for the number of months they were together. How cute, Cole thought sarcastically, scowling as he initiated a video call with Tori, hitting the record button so that everything would be recorded as well.

Tori's face appeared soon after she answered the call, her happy expectant look turning into confusion when she saw it was Cole and not Nate. Justin appeared in the background, standing near Tori as he included himself in the video call. Tori's laptop computer was able to receive video calls from Nate's cell phone. She was in her office with Justin when Cole video called her.

Before Tori could speak, Cole said gruffly, "Hello, Tori. You took everything from me. My life, my college degree, my future job, everything I ever worked towards – all gone. You took away my happiness and turned it into misery. So now, I will do the same to you. Since you took my girlfriend away from me, I'll take your boyfriend away from you."

Cole turned the camera towards Nate lying peacefully on the bed, unaware of the danger he was in. Tori gasped when she saw him. Justin's eyes widened, thinking, What is he doing?

"What did you do with Nate?" Tori asked. Cole was pleased to hear the worry in her voice.

"I knocked him out," Cole said coyly, levelling the camera. "Your precious Sleeping Beauty will never wake up. You'll never kiss him nor hold him again. You'll finally feel what I feel: pain, loneliness, anger, despair. Relish it, for now it's forever yours."

Cole allowed one last look at Nate, not just with the camera but with his own eyes. He turned away before he could start getting sentimental. Ignoring Tori's pleas and worries, Cole encouraged it to fuel him as he went outside. Making sure the camera was showing the log cabin very clearly, Cole went over to the oil can he had placed behind a tree and started pouring it around the inside of the cabin.

Tori was freaking out now, but her desperation only added on to Cole's own desperation to get back at her for what she had done to him. He worked quickly, having dumped it all out in under a few minutes. He then lit the fatal match that would not only alternate Tori's fate, but also his own.

Justin stood stunned as Cole threw the match in the log cabin and fled, the camera zooming out while watching the log cabin catching fire at the same time. Tori's face went white. She screamed, the irangels gathering around the computer as they all watched the log cabin start to burn with Nate inside.

Justin put his arms around Tori, Tori subconsciously leaning back into his supporting arms, allowing him to hold her in an embrace at the same time the log cabin burst into flames. Elisa gasped, Eamon jumped in startlement, Millian looked away in horror, Velo just stared, Keith's mouth dropped open, Camdren exclaimed, "What!" and Tori burst into tears.

Cole's face showed as he held the phone up. Justin expected him to dance around in triumph or say something sarcastic. He was genuinely surprised when he saw Cole's shoulders start to shake, tears starting to flow down his face. Cole's hands shook as he gripped the phone, his face expression a mix of anger, sadness, horror, and distress.

"Go ahead, Tori," Cole said, his voice panging with mockery and heavy anger, underlined with a personal heartbreak of his own. "Kill me like I killed Nate. There's nothing left of me anyway." He began crying hard, shaken by the act he just committed. He looked as utterly broken as Tori felt, the stress of committing his first murder hitting him at full force.

The irangels were utterly stunned. Even though Justin hated Nate for being Tori's love instead of his, he hadn't expected to feel sorrow for his death. He thought he'd be rejoicing that he had another chance with Tori now that Nate was out of the picture, but instead he felt shocked. Cole actually went through with it, he thought, petrified by what Cole had done. He was sure the others were feeling the same.

Cole's terrified thoughts echoed in his own mind as he stood crying, repeatedly thinking, I just killed someone. I killed Nate. He dropped the phone, making it land at an angle where the camera still showed the burning log cabin in the distance.

"This is all your fault, Tori!" Cole suddenly yelled, anger cutting through his tears. "I had everything and you took it away! I have nothing now! Do you hear me? NOTHING!"

Cole walked away from the phone, his sobbing increasing as his emotions spiraled out of control. He was in shock, unable to fathom what he just did. He thought taking away Tori's happiness would bring him joy, but instead it terrified him with the full realization of what he just did, still yet unaware of its implications on himself, his future, and the future of the irangels. His body shook, his pulse running wild as his heart raced.

The irangels were just as terrified and in shock, though Cole was feeling it a whole lot more than they were since he was the one responsible for it. Elisa sobbed onto Camdren's shoulder as Eamon said quietly, "He killed Nate."

Tori was unable to stop crying, feeling as though her own life had been taken in that fire along with Nate's. Justin kept holding her, surprised by the tears falling from his own eyes. Eamon walked away, hiding his own tears that fell, turning into heavy sobs. Elisa wept as Camdren stood panged with a severe case of 'what in the world just happened?'. Millian began crying. Keith and Velo kept staring at the screen as if waiting for Nate to show up somehow, but he never did.

After a few stunned minutes went by, Tori detached herself from Justin's arms. Her tear-soaked eyes saddened Justin. He watched her as she suddenly left the room, flying out of the glass building with urgency. When Eamon heard the entrance door snap shut, he tried to open it, but Tori had locked it. Frustrated, he got on the floor and sat against the door, his arms around his knees as he continued to cry.

Justin knew exactly where Tori had gone. He sighed, feeling depressed. The irangels went to the bed room, either wanting to cry in private like Eamon or trying to comfort the other like Camdren. Everything feels so wrong, Justin thought ruefully as he joined the others in mourning the first loss of their kind.

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Cole cried until he ran out of tears. Emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed, he decided to return to the glass building. He was at the point where he didn't care if Tori killed him on the spot. He felt no triumph, just tired and worn out.

Tori was long gone by the time he returned. Guess we took different routes, Cole thought, taking off his winter boots, coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. The irangels stared as they watched him shed his outer clothes. Each person's face was varied, a certain degree of shock and astonishment pictured on them like various stages of grief.

Millian just stood stunned, as if frozen in time and unable to speak. He was still trying to process the shock of the first irangel death.

Camdren was in denial and had a definite look of disbelief, as if saying, Did this really happen? Did you really just kill someone? He was the very image of denial.

Elisa was still trying to work through what she just saw, trying to get to the upward turn where she was getting past the shock and denial.

Eamon glared at Cole, saying, "How could you kill one of our own? Nate shouldn't have died. He did nothing wrong to you. Your pathetic revenge quest turned out to be way more than you bargained for." Now that the initial shock had gone, anger took over.

Keith stepped back, clearly terrified of Cole. If only he stayed here in the glass building, he wouldn't have died, he thought, stepping into the beginnings of bargaining. He was such a cool dude.

Justin was simply depressed. Tori's grief and loss had a profound effect on him. He felt pain and guilt for what happened, wishing he would've stopped Cole had he known he was on his way to kill Nate. I didn't know exactly what he was going to do, but murder was definitely something that didn't cross my mind, he thought, his rueful feelings turning into sadness. Nate was a rival at first, but became somewhat of a friend to Justin, who'd accepted his relationship with Tori and allowed things to be. Now Nate was dead, and Justin felt his loss almost as keenly as Tori did.

Velo said with hint of admiration, "That was sick, man." He had reached acceptance, being quick to move on to a life without one of their kind, yet also somewhat reflecting on Nate's death.

Eamon gave him a look, disgusted by his attitude. He turned to Cole and said as if reprimanding, "Cole, you killed one of our own. What made you think you had the right to take the life of an irangel? I know you hate Tori, but Nate was an innocent. You shouldn't have killed him. That was so stupid of you." He hit Cole, slapping him on the face. Camdren and Millian jumped, startled to see him hit another irangel.

Cole evenly met Eamon's eyes, not moving to touch his cheek or anything. The irangels were sure he would fight back, but Cole accepted the slap and made no move, saying, "I simply took what was needed to be taken. She stole our lives; I stole hers." He went over to lay down on a couch.

Eamon looked hard at him, but didn't slap him any further. He turned to the others, saying sternly, "Let's go."

The irangels followed him out of the room, leaving Cole alone on the couch. Justin glanced at him one more time before leaving.

None of the irangels knew just how much of a repercussion Nate's death would be for them, or how much of a turning point it would be for Tori. Their lives would never be the same anymore: neither for the irangels nor the world, not even for planet Iredescent.