He hated blindfolds.  

Bukod sa hindi niya talaga maintindihan kung anong saysay ng mga ito, ayaw na ayaw niya ang pakiramdam na naisahan siya ng kung sinumang hudas ang naglagay nito. How dare they make the King feel vulnerable?

They'll pay for this.

Maya-maya, naramdaman ni Evil ang presensiya ng mga taong nakatayo sa kanyang likuran. Even when they approached him as silently as possible, the immortal could easily distinguish the shift of weight on the concrete floor.

'Especially since I will never forget the evilness brought by the mere presence of this bastard.'

Pero imbes na gayahin ang mga walang-kwentang mortal at maging melo-dramatic sa pagpupumiglas, Evillois Neverwood remained calm.

"We both know I can get of these chains if I wanted to."

Isang malalim na pagtawa ang sumagot sa kanya.

"Hahaha! Mabuti naman at mukhang wala ka pa ring ipinagbago, Evillois. Kamusta ang mga kapatid mo?"

"Nag-iisip pa rin sila ng paraan para i-torture ka. In fact, I'm certain Joker wants to stitch a permanent smile on your face and Knight wants to cut off your limbs right now," he answered in an uninterested tone.

"How about you? Ano naman ang plano mong gawin sa'kin?"

That made a devious smirk crawl up the youngest Neverwood's lips...

"Believe me, you don't want to know."

Kasabay nito, narinig niyang may kinaladkad na naman ang mga tauhan nito. Evil didn't even flinched when he heard the woman being gagged and tied to a chair next to him. Nakatuon lang ang atensyon niya sa lalaking aamagin na muna bago niya maibigay ang reaksyong hinihintay nito.

"Kung ganoon, bakit hindi mo subukang kumawala sa mga kadenang 'yan at tapusin ang pinunta niyo rito sa Eastwood?"

Hindi nakaligtas sa pandinig ni Evil ang aliw at pagbabanta sa boses nito. No, he's not stupid enough to take the bait. Especially after finding out the truth...

"But you already made sure that you'll be invincible, didn't you? Mukhang hindi lang kami ang 'hindi nagbago'. You're still up to the same twisted schemes."

The air shifted with every step he took until Evil was sure that the devil stood directly in front of him.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm afraid we have a special match to prepare for. Sayang nga lang at hindi mo makikitang lumaban ang pinakamamahal mong kapatid. Will the Knight finally be the hero this time? Such a pity."

Hindi pinahalata ni Evil ang pagkabigla niya sa sinabi nito. At nang tuluyan nang lumabas ng silid ang "boss", doon lang niya hinayaang kumawala ang kanyang inis sa sitwasyong ito.

"Don't screw this up, Everick."

Yes, he could easily break out of these chains if he wanted to.

But he won't.

At least not until he proves his little theory.

*

"Does anyone have any questions so far?"

Everick's storm gray eyes scanned around the table where the four serial killers and his brother kept their eyes on the building's layout. Hindi na niya matandaan kung ilang oras na silang nasa "meeting", but thankfully none of them complained about the setup or about the plan itself.

From the corner of his eye, he saw the Puppet Master with a satisfied smile.

'Ano ba talagang binabalak niya?' Sa hindi maipaliwanag na dahilan, ayaw nitong magsalita sa meeting kahit noong pinag-usapan na nila ang tungkol sa gagawin sa mga escape routes ng EKT.

It's like he wasn't telling them something.

May sarili kaya itong agenda?

Everick scoffed, 'Ang importante naman mailigtas namin sina Kleo at Evil.' Nang akala niya wala nang may balak magtanong, Poison Ivy brushed his leg under the table and rested her chin on her hand.

"At paano kung dumating na naman ang mga pulis?"

Joker laughed and rested his feet on the table. "Nah! Late naman laging dumating ang mga pulis ng Eastwood. Pusong-Pilipino sila. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Nobody laughed.

"And what will happen to the audience after you capture the boss?" Black Sheep broke the silence. Bumaling ang limang pares ng mga mata kay Everick, hinihintay ang isasagot niya. To be honest, he was already debating whether they should spare those disgusting elite or not. Tutal, hindi naman sila maituturing na "inosente" dahil alam nilang ilegal ang EKT at pinipili pa nilang pondohan ito.

'Pwede naman namin silang patayin katulad ng ginawa ni Evil last season.'

That was a blood bath. Hindi na niya naabutan noon ang pagmamanipula ni Evil sa audience para patayin nila ang isa't isa, but the aftermath is something straight out of a gore film.

"Hindi ka pumapatay nang walang dahilan."

His Sadako's voice repeated in his mind.

Napabuntong-hininga na lang si Everick. "We'll figure out what to do with them after. Unahin na muna nating asikasuhin ang paglilitas kina Kleo at paghuli sa boss." With that, everyone muttered their own words of approval. Napansin naman niyang isang makahulugang tingin ang pinukol sa kanya ni Joker.

And even though his elder brother couldn't read his mind, Everick was convinced that he knew what was running in his head.

"We'll save Miss Creeps, Knight... As fucking cheesy as this sounds, alam kong kakayanin mong kontrolin ang sarili mo para sa kanya."

Everick smiled in appreciation. Bilang lang niya sa kanyang daliri ang mga pagkakataong hindi sila nag-aasaran o naglalamangan. But at the end of the day, they were still brothers---bound by blood and by immortality.

CRASH!

Heads snapped to where the noise came from.

Kumunot ang noo ni Everick nang makita sa bukana ng pinto ng kusina sina Kesa at Raff. It looks like one of them accidentally knocked the nearby cookie jar on the counter.

Knight crossed his arms over his chest in amusement.

"Eavesdropping, are we?"

Namutla si Raff at sinubukang magpaliwanag. However, Marquessa Legazpi stood up straight and met their eyes. Kapansin-pansing napapitlag ang ilang serial killers nang pumasok siya sa silid at hinampas ang kanyang mga palad sa mesa. Well, why wouldn't they when she's the one who actually killed most of them behind the Joker's mask last season?

"There's no way I'm letting you rescue my best friend without me!"

Imbes na sumagot, Everick glanced at Joker. Dahil dito, wala nang nagawa ang kanyang "kuya" kundi tumayo at buhatin na parang sako ng bigas ang dalaga. Because of this, the entire kitchen erupted with her screams of protest and his boisterous laughter.

"Sweetheart, bakit parang bumigat ka yata? Sheesh!" He even spanked her ass on the way out. "Did you miss me that much, hmm?"

Agad na namula sa galit at kahihiyan si Kesa, clearly ready to snap the lunatic's neck if given the chance.

"Argh! Let me go, you weirdo!"

"Me? Let you go? Too bad. That's NEVER gonna happen~!"

Another spank.

"T-TANGINA MO, JOKER!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

Natahimik lang ang kusina nang tuluyan na silang makalabas.

Everick cleared his throat to catch their attention, again. He hid a smile. Will Kleo be proud that he's being playing matchmaker, now?

"Let my brother talk to her. Balik na tayo sa meeting."

Sa kabilang banda, nagpakurap-kurap naman si Raff, pero nanatili pa rin siyang nakatuod sa kanyang kinatatayuan. He visibly gulped before finding the courage to speak up, "Hindi rin ako papayag na wala akong gawin para mailigtas si Kleo. She's our friend, and whether you like it or not, Kesa and I will be part of whatever plan you have."

Friend, huh?

How interesting.

'You better make sure that you just treat her as a 'friend', mortal.'

Everick shook his jealous thoughts aside. Hindi ito ang oras para intindihin ang ganoong mga bagay. No matter what the cost and how high the risks are, they need to ensure Kleo and Evil's safety.

"Then have a seat, Raff. I have the perfect role for you."

Raff nodded and took Joker's vacant chair, not minding the fact that he was sitting at a dining table full of killers.

---

Tell me, how many tears should I shed
before my river of pain is dry?
Tell me, how many promises should I keep,
before my heart escapes the lie?

---Everick Neverwood