"What if I told you that the Rebellion has the technology to revive her?" 

Conversations shouldn't be replayed. Like hell no. Evil refuses to believe that that blonde woman's words stuck to him. Ginamit pa nitong alas ang siraulong si Everick para kumbinsihin siyang makipagsanib-pwersa sa Rebellion. The way she talked to him so casually irked him. Sino ba siya sa inaakala niya para kausapin ang isang imortal nang ganito?

Evillois Neverwood survived historic wars and sipped tea with Satan on a regular basis.

He does the blackmailing, not the other way around.

'So what if she knows about Everick's failed love life? That doesn't concern me, anyway.'

Evil has his own principles.

If it doesn't directly concern him, it doesn't even exist in his dictionary.

Wala siyang dahilan para makaramdam ng guilt sa mga nangyari kina Everick at Kleopatra. It was an inevitable tragedy given that girl's true identity. If anything, the only moment where he so much as "felt" an ounce of goddamn guilt is when he stabbed Marquessa Legazpi's eye and manipulated Joker to his own bidding. Although the two of them had already agreed to an unspoken ceasefire, hindi pa rin maipagkakailang kung hindi lang sana sila magkadugo at parehong imortal (which makes attempting to unalive each other a waste of time), Joker would've had his head a long time ago.

But that doesn't make Everick less of a threat, either.

"What the fuck do you need now?"

Walang emosyong pinagmasdan ni Evil ang iritableng si Everick.

His hair got a lot messier, as if he just woke up from slumber. Gusto sana itong asarin ni Evil dahil alam nilang tatlo na kailanman, hindi sila nagkaroon ng matino at mapayapang tulog mula noong isinumpa sila. But seeing the dull look in his brother's eyes paired with that grumpy attitude, pinili na lamang ni Evil ang pinaka-strategic na maaari niyang gawin:

Hindi sumagot, at hayaan na lamang si Joker ang makatikim ng galit ni Everick.

In three, two, one....

"HEY! Anong meron, Knight?! Did you accidentally woke up on the wrong side of bed or got infected with our baby brother's grumpiness? SMILE, A LITTLE! Tatanda ka niyan~ HAHAHAHAHAHA get it? Imortal tayo kaya 'di tayo tatanda--"

"Shut it, Joker."

"How entertaining! Hmm, but you know what's more entertaining?" Evarius Neverwood leaned closer against his staff prompted on the cemetary ground. The bastard looked out of place with a blue smiley face necktie and top hat. Isang nakakalokong ngiti ang sumilay sa mga labi niya.

"KNOCK! KNOCK!"

Everick glared. Oops.

'Rest in pieces, Joker,' Evil nonchalantly watched the scenario unfold. Sa mga pagkakataong ito lang nagkakaroon ng pakinabang ang pagiging imortal nila. At least if these two idiots end beating each other, none of them can die. Evil glanced at his wristwatch, they have enough time to spare before the meeting starts.

Might a well enjoy the show, don't you agree?

"I swear I'll drive a knife to your chest and skin you alive--"

"Luh, sasabihin mo lang 'who's there', ba't may kasamang pagbabanta? Jeez, didn't anyone taught you how to give the highest form of respect to a knock-knock joke?!"

Joker pouted.

Everick sighed. "I'm not in the moo--"

"WHO'S THERE? EVERICK! EVERICK, WHO?"

"What the fuck...?"

"Hoy, you're welcome, ha? Ako na nag-adjust sa'yo, ako na sumagot sa sarili ko!"

"Malala ka na talaga, tangina."

Joker ignored him and cleared his throat. "Well, Everick kasi gusto niyang... MULING 'EVERICK' ANG TAMIS NG PAG-IBIG~ MULING PAGBIGYAN ANG PUSONG NAGMAMAHAL!"

Sintunado.

Either that, or the joke actually insulted the Knight so much that he produced an arsenal of weapons from his magical black leather jacket. Napahagalpak naman nang tawa si Joker nang mapansing nakapalibot na sa kanya ang "babies" ni Knight---which includes a switchblade, throwing knife, drop point, bowie knife, trench knife, dagger, and several others that Evil can't memorize.

'When it comes to knives, he really formed an obsession.'

Just like how Joker is obsessed with his self-proclaimed job of "turning a frown upside-down", even in his most morbid ways.

Evil glanced at his watch again and sighed.

"Save the killing for later," he commanded them. "Marami pa tayong kailang pag-usapan. Nagsasayang lang tayo ng oras sa biruan ninyo."

Everick snapped his head to look at him straight in the eye.

"How interesting. Since when were you concerned about time? Kung hindi mo pa nakakalimutan, we have all the fucking time in the world."

"As to why we're having this meeting."

Evil witnessed how destructive Everick can be once he lets his demons loose. Not surprisingly, he has the most self-control. Sa kanilang tatlo, siya ang kalmado at efficient sa pagkilos. He learned to reigned those demons in and it became beneficial to them in the long run. Iyon ang rason kung bakit ipinagkakatiwala ni Evil sa kanya ang ilang undercover missions at assassinations. Well, he was womanizer and sadistic bastard, but Everick Neverwood has always been a reliable soldier in this war against the Boss.

Nagbago lamang ang lahat ng ito mula noong namatay si Kleopatra Claveria.

And with his healing abilities, Everick failed to save her because he was one second too late.

Alongside immortality driven by their bloodlust, the Neverwoods were blessed with extraordinary and unique powers. Evarius can take the memory of a deceased person through his staff, Everick can heal anyone with any injury or illness within a strict one hour limit, while Evil can hypnotize and command whoever he wants---both mortal or immortal.

"How are the killers?" Evil asked before his thoughts can wander any further down unchartered territories.

With this, Joker whistled and sat on a thombstone. "They're fine. Poison Ivy and Nica are the ones keeping the house clean and all. Can you really expect those other buffoons to work around without blowing up half the neighborhood? HAHAHAHA! Mas chaotic pa ang mga 'yon kaysa sa'kin!"

Evil doubts it.

"May rason ba para patirahin pa rin natin sila sa bahay ng mga Claveria?" Everick soon interrupted. Evil silently observed him like a specimen under a microscope. Alam niyang sore topic pa rin ito kay Knight, but he'll get over it.

Get over her.

'Hopefully.'

"Well, first, we don't have any other place to keep them. Hindi naman pwede sa cabin ni Joker, sa treehouse mo, o sa---"

"Lalong hindi pwede sa underground bunker mo, we know." Everick seemingly calmed down and slumped against a leafless tree. "It's just that... I can't trust them hanging around the house where Sadako is still sleeping. No doubt, when she wakes up she'll be thrilled to see them but I'm more concerned about her health."

Nagkatinginan sina Evil at Joker.

From the serious look in the Joker's eyes, Evil knew he too understood what was going on here. Ilang buwan na ba ang nakakalipas? Shit. Pero mukhang tumigil ang oras ni Knight mula noong mawala si Kleopatra. Up until this day, he never left the dead girl's side, making sure her body is well preserved and kept safe. Tuwing bumibisita si Evil sa bahay na 'yon, mula sa siwang ng pinto, palagi niyang nakikita si Everick na pilit pa ring binubuhay si Kleo. Kinakausap niya ito na tila ba hindi permanente ang pagkakahimlay ng dalaga. Evil silently witnessed how his brother desperately tried to revive her, again and again, failing every single time.

And every single time, Everick passes out from exhaustion, walks out of the room a few hours later and pretends everything was alright.

"What if I told you that the Rebellion has the technology to revive her?"

No. Evil closed his eyes and breathed deeply. 'It will only do us more harm than good. Walang anumamg teknolohiya ang tao na kayang buhayin ang patay. It'll only crush Everick if he gets his hopes up.'

Taking a few seconds to regain composure, Evil put on that blank expression again.

Void of any form of emotion that can be used against him.

"Moving on to the second agenda of tonight's meeting..."

---

"Trust is a heavy baggage
to carry around everyday;
So I left mine in the drawer,
stored and locked away."

---Chayse Dayanghirang