V.I.R.A.L

Chapter 163: The Gift

Alton woke to a cold shock as a bucket of water was thrown over him. His head darted around as he found himself chained to the wall with steel bars. Hans stood in front of him, sipping a glass of water from a straw. "Finally awake, are we? Superb."

"You threw water on me? Either you're batshit insane, or you honestly think you're more powerful than me."

"Think? No, no. Don't be absurd. More like know." Hans jokes, pulling up a chair close to Alton. He leaned in on the chair, staring at him. "It's funny. Seeing you here. The myth, the legend Avalanche."

"You knew me from before?"

"How could I not? It was because of you; you took everything from me." Hans held a picture in Alton's face. One of him and two little girls, both had a resemblance to Alice and Iris but not quite. "They were my pride and joy. They share the same names as my daughters now. Alice and Iris Hawthorne. Even with their mother gone we, we were happy. For a while, anyway. We lived in a small apartment just south of Sunset Peak. We, of course, were the first to be hit by what I can only describe as pure horror. The power of the Child of the Garden." Alton stared conflicted at Hans as he leaned in closer, forcing Alton to look at the photos. "There was nothing I could do. All the power and communications were wiped out in seconds. Any sign of help dwindled as an entire city fell. Thousands died, and now all that separates that is a frozen lake and a wall."

Alton didn't respond as he stared blankly at Hans. "Is this what it's all about then? Revenge?"

Hans jumped from his chair, pacing back and forth, shaking his head. "No. Unlike you, I'm not so barbaric in nature. This might come as a shock, but I don't care about killing you. I don't seek vengeance for what occurred that day. I just want you to understand. Understand the feeling of losing both my daughters. Their lives fading in my arms. Leaving them to be buried by the storm. I left everything behind that day. I was left with pain and suffering. But even after all that, I found a diamond in the rough. The focus changed when I discovered it." Hans walked over to the other end of the room, pulling the curtain down to reveal a chunk of a titan. The purple liquid flowing through. This sent Alton into a panic. "Look at you, you already know what this is now don't you. A relic from your homeworld. A piece of a titan."

"How, how did you find this?!"

"I would say it more found me. While I was on the edge of giving up. When all hope seemed lost, it found me. Hidden beyond the storm at the edge of my mind. A monument of the old world. Whether it had always been there or it revealed itself to me for the first time is unknown. What I did know was it chose me. Those six years ago changed everything, the titan taught me wonders. It granted me knowledge and wisdom. Showed me things no mere mortal has seen in thousands of years. It chose me."

"The Garden doesn't just choose people like that. It's no saint. It's using you."

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Hans placed his hand on the bark closing his eyes, letting it talk to him. "No, it's not. You see, we are in a neutral agreement. A contract was sealed that day. I would be granted untapped power and the tools to carry out my vision. In return, I was to aid him in his own accords."

"Bargaining… One of the five stages of grief."

"So, you two are already aquatinted? No matter. My life was nothing then. I had lost everything, but he gave me so much more. Not only was I given a chance for my daughters to live once more. To be reborn under my wing with the Garden giving them power but I was allowed to start anew." Hans insisted. "I could be whatever I wanted; those dreams I gave up on were given a fresh start. The Garden gave me the chance to be whatever I wanted to be. I don't see that as a curse. I see that as salvation."

Alton bit his lip disgusted. "You're living in a dream world. One from which you cannot wake from. Instead of learning from your mistakes, you just make them all over again. You lost your daughters back in the storm yet you refuse that. Having these replicas take their space because the pain hurts too much. So much so you are already pushing them away desperately trying to cling onto the past you never had with them."

Hans held his hand up as purple flower petals and leave formed floating around his arm. "You have so much fear for this power. You make it out to be that of pure evil. That only those of greed and sin can wield it. I want to show you otherwise. The dark replicas. The Children of the Garden. All of that is just a temporary stepping stone to a better tomorrow. For you see to harness these powers, I had to make a deal."

"What the hell did Bargaining want from you?"

"Something straightforward. He wanted me to fuse the DNA of the Gatekeeper into my daughters. To give life to the fallen legendary hero. Whoever would accept the powers could live. I don't care what it took; I needed my family back. With the Garden used by me, that was a reality. To keep it, V.I.R.A.L must fall. You may see that as a bad thing. The world might see me as a monster but just think about it. With V.I.R.A.L gone the powers of the Garden are mine to fully harness. I believe I can use them for good. Stop families from going through the same pain as I did. To stop what happened to Sunset Peak ever happening again. No crime, no streamers. A perfect Utopia. Does that make me a villain?"

"You're delusional. No one can control the Garden; it's not possible. No matter how pure your motives may seem on paper, the Garden corrupts and twists your mind until there's nothing left that's pure."

"You mean like yourself?" Hans taunts. "A Child of the Garden… Even just one of you could spell the end of Victoria. I've seen first hand what you can do. You are a hypocrite to dare call me evil when you stand right in front of me. Have you ever stopped to consider if your existence was a mistake? That without you, the world would be a better place?"

"There's not a day that goes by where I cannot escape that thought."

Hans cackled throwing the chair across the room. "Every word that has come from your mouth Alton is a lie. Look at you falling apart to your demons. Manipulating and using your so-called friends for your own use. How long will it be until you leave this city to be a wasteland like so many others? The way I see it, killing you here would make me a hero. Shall we see how far you can go?"

Summoning all the Garden powers, he beckoned he held Alton's head back, gripping his hand tightly against him. The Garden began tormenting Alton drawing out his Garden form. Alton screamed in pain, trying to hold back the demon within him. His veins bulging purple and the remaining eye slowly being consumed into a sharp yellow. Hans stopped stepping back in pain as both were exhausted. "You still cling onto the lie. You clutch onto your humanity like a plague. It's all disgusting. To even think our paths would cross. To think my daughter's memories of you would consist no matter how many copies I created. It's like fate is drawing us here."

"You go on about how much you care for your daughters, yet you happily brainwash and order hits on them without a second thought."

"I see what you're doing here. Making me out to be the bad guy. While it's true, I have done these horrible things. And it tears me apart from how I've treated them, especially Iris. But it's needed. Until my end of the Bargain is completed, we can never be a true family. Until then, I must push on and achieve my goal."

Alice emerged from a portal bowing to her father. "You called the Alice father…" She turned to Alton looking slightly troubled by did her best to hide it. "The others posed a slight threat. Bargaining took control of the Rhapsody girl and battled me. He was still no match for me."

"Bargaining… The hell is he doing going out of his way to mess with our contract? No matter. We have what we need. To fully resurrect the Gatekeeper, we needed the blood of another Child of the Garden. That is your purpose here."

"The Alice thought you said you wouldn't kill him."

"Do not get so attached daughter of mine. We cannot succeed without his blood. His death will be a necessary sacrifice for our cause. Surely you understand daughter?"

"I… I do…"

"How long have you had this copy for then?" Alton hissed. "How many before this, Alice, did you butcher before you got the perfect clone? How many?!"