ARLIS
Arlis was shifting back to a human, slowly. Agonizingly. He crumpled himself onto the ground, curled into a ball. His head was fighting against itself, two parts of him arguing and screaming. The monster beneath his skin and the angel in his head had two very different opinions.

He crawled to a blanket that was in there, laying on the ground. At least he got that. He felt bad for Everly, who was in the cell across from him. Her own boyfriend had betrayed her, giving her and her family up to Konrad. Konrad had been terrorizing her, destroying her mentally and physically.

Her boyfriend had come in, tried to defend himself and she wouldn't listen to any of it. Then... he told Arlis that Kate brought Konrad the notebook. The very notebook Arlis told her not to give him. But... that meant Kate was safe. Because she was safe, his Rogue side retreated back. He wasn't in danger anymore.

He tied the blanket around his waist and stood up, his eyes fearfully looking from side to side. His body was pale and his hair was grey. His skin was wrinkled and showing his age. And he was old. He felt old, useless.

He rolled his shoulders back, realizing he wasn't useless. "You're leaving." He whispered to Everly. She had to leave, she had to go. She could help take care of Kate. Everly didn't belong here.

Everly tilted her head. "Why me? Why not both of us?"

Arlis knew what he had to do. He knew, he had to be there to kill Konrad. If Arlis stayed... it meant that all the necessary things needed to kill Konrad were in the same area as Konrad. "I need to be here to kill Konrad. You don't need to be here at all." He wasn't chained considering... he was a thoughtless beast just moments ago who didn't require chains.

Arlis took a step to the cage and fell, but managed to catch himself. He growled inhumanly as he pulled the bars, the growl covering the sound of the metal bars bending. Alongside this, it covered the strange silence that would cause anyone to be suspicious.

He softly stepped over to Everly's cell. "I owe this to Kasparov. He saved my life in here once, I'll save his nieces's." And that was true. Arlis was dying the first time he was here, Konrad didn't care whether or not he had died. He was starving, lying in silver. Kasparov, her uncle, pulled Arlis out of that and fed him all those years ago. He owed it to the dead man to help his niece.

Arlis pulled the bars aside and crawled into her cell. She was still chained, but that doesn't matter. "He's not done with her yet." He said. In a couple cells over, Konrad was torturing a nineteen year old girl who wasn't even fully supernatural. She had been a double sided spy, working for Konrad and Everly. As if on cue, the girl a couple cells over released a high pitched scream. "You can leave. Nobody in here is going to stop you." Arlis assured.

Everly closed her eyes. "Colin. Clay. Becker." Colin, the boyfriend. Clay Gold, the boyfriend's Dad.

"Don't ever think anything bad about Becker." Arlis begged. He wasn't sure if he trying to convince himself or her. Arlis hates Becker for bringing him here but he wasn't... upset as to the reason why. Because Arlis was here, Constance wasn't. Because Arlis was here, they had a shot to kill Konrad. "Or Colin. That boy was right. Not everyone can watch their loved ones die like you. That's not a good thing to be able to do, Everly. Hunter or not." He referenced something Colin had said to her earlier, that she needed to stop worrying about when and why to sacrifice and just do what was right. Let the consequences matter later.

"But the world-"

"Will always go on. Always. With or without a person. Don't stop the monster by becoming one." He looked down at her chains. "I hope this works." He muttered and grabbed the chains, pulling and screaming.

The chains snapped.

"How did you-"

"I'm the fourth- third," he corrected, "most powerful being on this planet. I'm the only being that can't die from Lotus. I can break some chains." He explained.

"But the ones on you? Can't you break those?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Can't when they're on me because my strength is depleted." He looked to the bent hole in the bars. "Now, you need to go."

"But you-"

"Come back of course." It could've been said light heartedly, but he all but begged it from her.

"He'll kill you." She argued.

Arlis looked back to the screaming. "I still have a couple months left of pure torture before he decides to take my life. By then you'll have come back." He backtracked to his cell and climbed inside, taking a deep breathe.

Everly sprinted away.

Arlis closed his eyes and focused harder than he should have had too. He felt a familiar link in his head snap into place.

I need your help. He pleaded to the woman on the other line.

ARLIS! Are you okay? I heard you got take-

He didn't let the witch finish her sentence. I need you to wipe Everly Dawn off every map that Konrad might use to find her. I know you can. Also, wipe Kate off of them as well.

The witch seemed to think it over, taking a second later to respond. Do you want me to get her to... come this way?

Arlis wouldn't be able to thank her enough. Yes, please. Thank you, Sisca. He had been friends with Sisca the witch for a while.

Anything for my grandson in law. She laughed over the line.

Sisca. Polyphema's sister. Mother of Linda, Kadelyn's mom. Kate. Sweet sweet Kate.

The screaming stopped down the hall.

Arlis rushed to find Kate, but it's not like it took any valuable time. Kate? He whispered through the link.

Arlis! She screamed back, and Arlis nearly cried at the sound of her voice, real or not. She was a blessing. He knew he could last just a little longer if it meant hearing her voice again.

He heard a cage shut and footsteps start walking his direction. It wouldn't be long now.

I don't have a lot of time, I just wanted to say that I love you. And you're safe. You need to run, find Everly Dawn. You're gunna be-

Chains gripped his wrists, cutting him off.

"YOU BASTARD!" Konrad screamed, looking at the empty cell across from Arlis. "What have you done?" Konrad looked at Arlis as his face darkened. "This means Kate's death. As well as Everly's."

He took off from the cell room, upstairs towards the light.

***

Light flashed into the room, a tall boy with dirty brown hair stepped in. His eyes were a shade of brown that was... well... common. However, he had this look in them.

This look, that told Arlis he wanted the world to burn. This gaze that made Arlis want to burn it down with him. And this... sneer that gave Arlis no choice. He admired the kid. Rough look to get at 20.

"Well if isn't Colin Gold." Arlis smiled at him. No matter the relationship between Colin and Everly, Colin once loved her. And now... he had helped Everly escape. "Are you here to thank me?" He asked.

Colin put his hand through the cell bars, pointing at Arlis. "You! It's your fault she's dead!" Colin screamed.

Dead? "Who?" Although the feeling in Arlis stomach already told him who.

"Eve. MY Eve." Colin cried. "You helped her escape and now... she's dead."

Arlis's heart crunched. He didn't particularly like Everly. But she reminded him of himself. The glints in her eyes, the defiance. She was hurt. She was in pain. She was loosing everything. Arlis knew what that was like.

"How did she die?" Arlis asked.

"Konrad tracked her down." Becker, familiar Becker, stumbled into the room, falling to his knees. "He found her at my Aunts." He looked up at Arlis. "Arlis, why?" Becker's eyes were red, dry. "WE CAN'T ESCAPE, ARLIS! The faster you learn that, the faster we all stop dying." His nose was running, and he wiped it on his long sleeve.

Arlis bit his tongue but... eventually stopped. He couldn't bite his tongue anymore. "You both brought this upon her. I did too. But don't blame me because you don't want to blame yourselves. Becker, why didn't you protect her!?" Arlis yelled. "Why did you bring her here in the first place, Colin?" Arlis was blaming himself, just like the other two boys in the room.

The two guys in front of Arlis, blinked blankly at him.

"Why? Because Konrad had me convinced that she killed my mom and that if I came to work with him that he'd release my sister early." Colin was losing his mind. He was 20 and yet Arlis could spot a couple strands of grey in his hair. He wouldn't age more than that, though. "Turning her in was to make sure he could trust me. And until earlier, he could." Colin's little sister was being held by Konrad. She was a Salem witch, just like Becker. How? Well Clay Gold was Konrad and Polyphema's son. Sure, Clay was a Vampire. So was Colin. But Colin's little sister never made it to changing her bloodline, so she was a Salem right now. Considering, you don't have to be 20 to use magic if you're a Salem.

Arlis tilted his head. "Well what changed?" Arlis asked. "Because she's dead you finally realized you made a mistake?" He didn't really know why he was taunting them. Maybe because he was mad at her death and this was him coping? This is what he did after his parents died, taunted and fought with everyone around him.

Colin could barely breathe through his tears. "My Dad told me the truth. And now we're leaving. Eve was right. Konrad won't kill my sister, she wants to be here."

"I don't understand why he needed you in the first place." Arlis admitted. "There's so many things that don't make sense. What does he want?"

Colin looked at the floor. "To end the world?" Colin stared at the ground blankly.

"Something much worse. He wants to rule. Look, I'm close to breaking the vow I hold with him." Becker came closer to Arlis's cell. His face was darkening, his voice lowering. "I don't mean wrongfully. I think I found a spell to undo it. We can kill him."

"Plotting to overthrow me?" Konrad came into the room, proud as to what he'd done, you could see it in in his eyes, in his step.

Becker stiffened, made panicked eye contact with Arlis, and then turned around slowly. "Is that new news? I thought you'd always known we were plotting to kill you."

Arlis couldn't watch his best friend stand there and make himself a fool. He couldn't exactly do anything either, not with the chains on him.

"I have, I just didn't know you were close." Konrad glared at Becker. "How close are you, Beck?"

Becker gulped. "Not close enough."

Konrad flicked his wrist, waving Becker's statement off. "I'll have you know you're all wrong about my master plan."

Was this it? The classic trope of the villain explaining all his plans and then dying? Arlis asked himself. Or was this a twisted version of it, where all the people in the room die afterwords?

"And whether or not you kill me right now, doesn't matter. The vampires have the Hunter's journal. I have sent all my Hunter companions home. Soon, there'll be a war. I'll tell them Everly Dawn gave the notebook away, and that I killed her for it." Konrad laughed, knowing all his plans were falling into place perfectly. "And when the second War of the species comes... well... I have a theory."

"A theory that what? Everyone will come running to you?" Arlis scoffed. "As if." This was one situation where the pride in a supernatural's blood came in handy. No supernatural had enough humility in them to go to others for help unless they really needed. And even then, many would rather die than fall under the command of someone else.

Konrad hummed a short tune Arlis didn't recognize before continuing. "Yes. Among other things. Do you know, what Polyphema told me before she passed? Before I ever thought she'd die?"

Nobody answered. Nobody seemed to be breathing. The entire cell room was quiet. Not a mouse, not a bug, moving. Arlis was surprised Colin hadn't attacked Konrad yet. He was surprised to find the whole room silent.

"That she'd come back, Living or dead, should there be another War of the Species." He smirked, a glimmer of hope on his face.

Arlis nearly felt bad for the dumb guy. Did he really believe that? Even necromancers couldn't make the dead come back permanently. The dead stayed dead. If Konrad believed otherwise... well it was never wise to be a fool.

"And I didn't- well I didn't believe that. That was foolish. To think the dead could come back." Konrad let out a small breath, laughing lightly. "But then... I realized... maybe... she would." His eyes were beginning to water, and Arlis made a note to himself that this was the first time he had ever seen Konrad even close to crying. "The Salem Witches killed themselves because they were too powerful. But the Salem Witches are necessary. They control balances and... entire species. If the Salem Witches are dead, then the Hunters would also be dead. If the normal witch standards apply to them, which I believe they do."

Arlis was confused. Of course normal witch standards didn't apply to them. When regular witches died, any creation they made died with them. But the Hunters were still around, and other things those witches made. The Salem Witches were far more powerful. "You're crazy. The Salem Witches are dead." And if they weren't, it's not like they would take Konrad's side on the war.

Konrad leaned against the bars of Everly's old cell, tapping on them. "You guys aren't old enough to remember her, but there was a Salem Witch named Dayana. Now, Dayana was killed by a vampire. A very special bloodline. A bloodline that... mirrors yours Arlis. Would you like to take a guess as to who that bloodline is?" Konrad asked.

"The Golds?" Arlis guessed.

"What? No. No. Try again. Come on. Think really hard." Arlis hated the condescending voice Konrad held with a burning passion. The last man to be so condescending was Stone.

"Yours?" Arlis guessed again.

Konrad's face fell. "You're so- uneducated. No, the Dawns." Konrad tilted his head at Arlis.

Arlis was more confused than he ever was before. What the hell? "There are no Dawns that are vampires. They've always hated that species. They're hunters for crying out loud."

"Oh?" Konrad rose an eyebrow. "Hunters and vampires are so... closely related. Has it never occurred to you that maybe, Hunters were created from vampires? That the only thing that hates vampires more than Hunters... are other vampires? The Golds and the Dawns have a hatred for each other that go back all the way to my era. Colin, do you know how that started?"

Colin shook his head.

Konrad began laughing so loud it echoed. "Of course not. There's a tale about Dayana, Colin, it may sound familiar. It's been changed over the years, some of the details got changed. But the basis is the same."

Arlis pulled on his chains. He thought Konrad was crazy before, but now he was absolutely certain the old man was positively insane. The Salem Witches were dead, the Hunters were not once vampires, and Polyphema was not coming back.

"Two men fell in love with the same woman, two best friends. One was a Hunter and one was a Vampire, the woman was also a Hunter." Konrad took a deep breath, about to go on a long spiel that Arlis couldn't care less to hear. "The Hunter in the end won the woman, and the Vampire became just an acquaintance. After two months of marriage the Hunter woman fell pregnant with a child. However, when the child was born the Vampire came back and declared the child as his. Disgusted by the accusations, the Hunter attempted to kill the Vampire. In fear, the woman stopped the fight and said that she had indeed been unfaithful and the child was in fact the Vampire's. Furious, the Hunter killed the woman and tried to kill the Vampire. When the Vampire escaped, the Hunter took the child and raised it as his own." He finished and waited for everyone's response, his eyebrows raised

"The first ash rose story." Colin whispered. "I read that! In a boo-" He got a little too excited over a book, over knowing a fake tale.

Arlis had heard that too. His mother read to him once. Konrad wasn't wrong that the story had changed but the basis was the same. In Arlis's mother's version, it was a vampire and a werewolf who fell in love with a Human. It was a little different in the end of course. It was a happily ever after story filled with a little more gore than most six year olds were used to hearing.

"Well it's wrong." Konrad interrupted. "Wrong, wrong. Wrong." His voice was beginning to annoy Arlis. Of course the story was false. It was a myth, just a little nursery rhyme. "Two men fell in love with the same woman. A Vampire bloodline called the Dawns and a regular human named Geoff Goldson, a mason. The woman, was a Salem Of The Old Witch."

"The Dawns were never vampires." Arlis insisted. "This is a children's tale!"

"You're arguing with yourself because I'm right, Arlis." Konrad grinned. "It's not a children's tale. It's a scary story that supernatural's twisted to make fake so nobody believed the true version."

This was madness. Konrad had lost all sanity. Not surprising. He did spend a very long time sitting with Satan.

"The Vampire in the end won the woman. The human became... less than a friend. After a couple months of marriage, the Salem Witch Dayana fell pregnant. When the baby was born, the human came back and claimed it as his. The Vampire tried to kill the human, but instead ended up biting him. Now, the human was a vampire. In fear of embarrassment of her infidelity and her husband losing a fight, she made her husband into a new species all together, the Hunter. The Hunter, stronger with his new power killed the inexperienced vampire, the true father of the baby. Officially realizing his wife was a cheating whore, he tried to kill her too, only to get an ash rose. So, he hired someone else to kill her, another Salem Witch... God I always forget her name. Shayanaira? Something long. But when Dayana was finally killed, all the Hunters powers faded away. The, now human, raised the child alone, as a bastard son. Vampires had gone into the dark, nobody believed they existed and blah blah blah. Years and years later, the vampires resurfaced and began fighting the Werewolves. By this time the child was an adult, able to hold his own."

"You were that child." Colin concluded, his brain working a little faster than Arlis's.

"Yes! Good job, Colin. I was that child. When the first was of the species happened, I had just met Polyphema and Angelica. I was on my way to the Salems to give them an idea. A brilliant idea." He gloated.

"Is that the first and last time you ever had a brilliant idea?" Becker mumbled.

Arlis chuckled. Becker was still himself.

"I told the Salem witches about my mother's husband, the asshole man who raised me. I tell them to create Hunters! They praised me. They turned my "dad" back into one and then their praise switches to him. He's a Dawn, he's the first Hunter. Cool! Whatever. He immediately tries to kill me. He still hated the Golds and all vampires and well... technically I was a Gold. But also a human. My powers were dampened due to that. I fought back against my "dad" and eventually, when we came to a draw, I went my own way, changed my last name. Polyphema followed me, loved me. I loved her. With all my heart. We changed our last name together and had our first son, Clay. Polyphema knew my past and convinced me to name our child with his rightful birth name. Thus, the Golds were back and the feud continued."

Arlis and the others fumbled for words to say. Not only did they learn Konrad's origin story, but they learned that... well the Salem Witches weren't completely dead. They learned he was actually part Salem, with or without Polyphema's powers running through him.

"But you killed Polyphema." Colin whispered. "She is actually really dead."

But Arlis wasn't thinking about that. He was instead thinking about how Becker wasn't a full Salem Witch either, then. His father was a Hunter. He was only half Salem. Becker, in all his all mighty power, still wasn't as powerful as the other Salems. Becker had done things other witches would call impossible. If he could do those things... then what were the limits of a full blood Salem Witch?

"No, Polyphema killed herself, as I explained to Everly. She killed herself because, had my plan gone correctly, Polyphema would still be alive. She killed herself to protect Becker, to give Becker some of her power. What if she didn't kill herself, what if she disappeared just like the other Salems?" Konrad asked them. "I think... they're all waiting for a War to come back."

"This is about getting your wife back. About getting mom back." Becker speculated.

Konrad nodded. "And having complete and total utter power. Imagine it. Killing all the vampires, kill all the Hunters. End their feud. Kill the werewolves, who brought upon the reign of the Hunters, it's their fault for the creation of the Hunters. Kill the humans, the disgusting creatures who-."

"This is revenge." Arlis understood now, finally, everything. From the beginning of it all, he understood.

"This is a lot of things." Konrad's smile was far too bright for an evil man. Maybe that's what made him so terrifying. He could look a man in the eyes, speak about killing their entire species, and go to sleep dreaming about true love. That he could smile in the eyes of genocide, and shake it's hand like an old friend.

Colin leaned forward and tried to tackle Konrad but Konrad flicked his wrist, sending Colin into a wall. His head smacked hard on the stone and then on the floor. Colin fell quiet, his eyes shut. Unconscious.

Becker rose his hand up, ready to attack back, but Konrad swiped his hand before Becker could cast any spell.

"So you are a Salem Of The Old Witch, completely and truly. With or without Polyphema's power running through you." Arlis had a millions thoughts running through his head. What could he do at this moment? How could he help? How could he leave. He made a mistake not leaving with Everly earlier. He tried to break his chains, but the more he struggled, the hotter the chains became.

"Precisely." Konrad laughed as Becker slammed against the ground, his head cracking. Becker tried to get up, but black smoke poured out of Konrad's hands and onto Becker's back, keeping Becker down. "I give it six days before the Hunters are completely wiped out. Give or take."

Arlis blanked out, his mind only focusing on the people he loved. He didn't know what to do anymore.