Sam looked out of the window, seeing that it was a stormy night.
"Y'know, back in highschool when we went exploring abandoned buildings on a stormy night for halloween?" Sam asked, a small smile creeping up on his lips. "Yeah… I remember being really happy that night. Why don't we talk about this outside? Feels… dramatic, y'know? Especially since I feel like this is probably the biggest moment of our lives."
After all, their lives were on the line. Neither this man nor the creature before him had their lives guaranteed to them.
Sam hopped out the window, escaping out into the stormy night sky. The creature followed, ending up outside as well. The rain beat against them, soaking their bodies and clothes, as the human felt a dark chill across his entire body.
The temperature plummeted drastically in the span of an instant.
"Yeesh. Listen, Aubrey…" Sam said, looking at his friend in what he guessed were the eyes. "Even if you've hurt a lot of people, I still… I want to help you. I told myself this a bit ago, but I didn't know how exactly to act on it. But now… yeah, even now, I still don't know how. But I do know I will. Absolutely, I am going to save you."
Lightning struck the ground a few miles away, the sound of its thunder reverberating over their heads. The Black Wraith, hatchet in one hand, gently held out its other. Looking down at the pale white skin and black nails it had, it noticed the trembling of its body.
"Save me…?" The Black Wraith asked, to which Sam nodded his head.
"Yeah. I'll save you. If you want to fight, we can fight. I'll beat the piss out of you like always, we can talk about it, and call it a day. Because, even if you changed… you were the only person I had. Let me tell you something."
The creature's shadowy head tilted upwards.
"I… I've killed people too," Sam admitted. "My first 'victim' was my step-dad. I'm not gonna go into too much detail, but he wasn't… the best."
His voice shaking, laced with the pain of a secret he had kept hidden for years, Sam had to force the words from his throat. "I killed him one night. He was hurting my mom again, and I just… I couldn't take it. I killed him. It's actually how I figured out I had powers to begin with."
The creature remained silent, listening intently.
"Ah, no… basically, what I'm trying to tell you, Aubrey, is that… I know how it feels. I've killed a lot of people myself. But I promise you, you do not have to do it. I myself am struggling to fight my more… dark, urges. It doesn't fulfill you. I bet you know that, don't you? We can struggle together. If I can be saved for what I've done, then I think you can too. Aubrey, I am going to save—"
"Save… me?"
Its voice raspy and laced with venom, The Black Wraith spoke thus.
"Yes, save. I'm not asking for perfection, I'm not asking for any of that. All I want is for you to be happy. For us to be happy. I don't know what happened to you when I left, but I promise you, it doesn't matter. You're not too far gone, you're never—"
"But I am," the creature spoke harshly. "I am too far gone, I am beyond saving. I am."
"No, that's not true, that's not true—"
"Bullshit. Sam, I hate you, y'know. I really, really hate you."
Spitting its anger out, the creature took a step forward. "Tell me. If the woman of your dreams, the person you love most in the world, shrieked at the sight of you and ran away, how would you feel? Better yet, take the one goal you've had, the ideal life you can live, and rip it away from you. I lost everything, Sam. I don't have a future anymore."
"Yes, you do, I know—"
"I DON'T! I DON'T HAVE A FUTURE!"
Screaming with absolute wrath, The Black Wraith balled up its fists, revealing its face to Sam. The cracks in its skin, the patches of hair he'd lost even in just the short moments since killing the sleeping boy, the pale-white body of his and the eternally widened left eye.
Seeing such a face, Sam grimaced, taking a step back.
"LOOK AT THAT! LOOK… at… that," it sobbed. "You looked so disgusted, just by looking at me. Just from the sight of me, you felt violated and disturbed. How can you say you're going to save me, despite me looking like this? Don't you get it?"
The nonhuman hugging his head, having dropped its hatchet to the floor out of weakness, whispered.
"You…" it growled, looking up at the tall man. "You just have everything, don't you? You're easily lovable. You're attractive, rich, got a certain vibe to you which catches attention, and you're even strong on top of that. You were born blessed, given superpowers that can overcome everything! Even if someone pulled a gun on you, you could just snatch it from them before they fire, or dodge the bullet with ease. You have more potential and strength than any monster I've ever met, yet you just sit on your ass, hunt the occasional monster, and call it a day."
The frozen rain hitting the ground, the scene for a fight was set up.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" The creature taunted. "Because you can't. There's nothing I can do to fix myself or my life, and you know it. Go on, Hero. Try to save me. Try to fix this. Try your hardest. But you can't. Of course not."
"That's not… listen. I don't know everything, alright—"
"No, nonono, you don't 'know everything,' you know NOTHING! There's nothing to fucking do about my life! I'm fucked beyond compare, my life is ruined—everything I've worked for since the age of 17 has crumpled before my eyes. No matter how nice I am to people, no matter how hard I try to befriend them, who will accept me when I'm like this?"
"I WILL, DUMBASS!"
Having enough of his friend's complaining, Sam roared his intent, tears welling in his eyes. "I… will."
"Oh?"
"Back then, it was just us, wasn't it?" Sam told it. "It was just the two of us, being dumb teenagers. If you were satisfied back then, then you shouldn't need anything new! If you make new friends, great, but acting like everyone in this world won't accept you is wrong—because I will."
"...Liar."
As if offended, the creature took a step back, a face of revulsion upon it.
"How… how can you say that when you grimaced at me? How can you say you'll accept me? Don't you know what I am? How can anyone accept me when I'm like this? That doesn't make sense. It's illogical, utterly stupid, of your mind. How? How does that even happen? How can you say that with a straight face, you idiot?"
"...Seriously, stop."
Clenching his fists, Sam walked over to the creature, who grabbed its hatchet from the ground.
"You're acting like a fucking idiot, saying all sorts of bullshit. But that's fine. I'll just beat the stupid out of you," Sam spat.
"Try it, you spoiled bastard."
The next move was almost instantaneous. In a flash, the creature was punched in the throat, sending it backwards to the wall, as it then dropped to its knees.
"C-clghh, cghah!"
Wheezing, The Black Wraith held its throat in pain.
"That was the first punch. You said it yourself; speedsters usually have to be nerfed, because they're too strong. You sure you want to keep going? Cause I can beat you a lot harder if I have to."
"Shut… up."
A growling tone, the creature shot up and swung its hatchet at Sam's head, missing entirely. Then, it was punched 30 times in the span of 3 seconds, a flurry of left and right hooks delivered to the stomach in such quick succession it was incomprehensible to the monster being beat on.
Each punch being delivered with full force, the ribcage was broken easily, as The Black Wraith was grabbed by the ankle and spun around until it was let go, flying through the air and crashing into a lightpost, breaking it in two.
The monster fell to the concrete, holding its stomach and convulsing in pain.
This was exactly what it feared from Sam. The fastest man in the world, who could solve all his problems in a flash. Untouchable, and would never miss.
"You… fucker."
"C'mon, get up. Since you're not willing to talk it out, we have to fight it out. If you just accepted my side, then this wouldn't have to happen."
Pressing its fists into the ground, the creature stood up, breathing heavily.
"I… hate… you."
"You always said that when I killed you in a game. Seriously. I don't like beating on you, I literally just want you to calm down and stop trying to kill me."
"..."
Using Muscle-Boost, The Black Wraith moved faster as it leapt towards Sam, but was ultimately too slow, getting a counter-punch to the chin. It stumbled down the street, before collapsing to the ground.
"How much do I have to do to get it through your head? I'm here for you. Your life isn't over, you still have hope. Because even if the rest of the world won't accept you, I will."
"You can't… you absolutely, cannot."
The Black Wraith stood up, having lost its hatchet from its grip after the punch. In its hands, the Bloodless-Knife formed, gripped tightly.
"Why? Why can't I accept you?"
"Just… look at me."
"I've seen you. And even if your face isn't as good as it used to be, that doesn't mean I can't accept you."
"...Yes, it does. I can't blend in with human beings anymore because I'm like this. Eternally, there's no one who can love me. That's why…"
Lunging at the man, the creature continued. "—I have to kill you."
Of course, using his power to slow down time, Sam was able to evade and simply kicked Aubrey back 10 feet, sending him rolling down the pavement until his body came to a halt.
"Tell me, genius. How do those two things correlate?"
"Once you're dead, no one can reveal the truth. I'll be able to live on. Even if I don't blend in, at least I can go into hiding, or at least survive."
"...So dumb."
Sam rushed the creature down, grabbing it by the collar and lifting it up, slamming it down onto the concrete sidewalk with one hand. Its neck resembled a scorpion-tail, and it laid there on the ground for a moment.
"I just… want… to disappear."
"..."
"I've lost everything. The love of my life is eternally out of grasp, I'll never be able to be accepted into society again… I am… alone."
"...Now you're just trying to piss me off on purpose, aren't you?"
"You can't accept me. I'm jealous of you. What you have. Everything."
"I don't care if you're jealous, man. We've got good ass jobs. We can pretty much be unemployed and do nothing but hang out all day. Then, when we need money, we hunt monsters together and feel cool doing that."
Rolling over to its stomach, The Black Wraith tried to stand.
"...They won't accept me. I've already killed humans."
"Then just stop? It's not that hard. I feel like the most dangerous monster you've ever fought is basic common sense."
Though, Sam was at least happy that the creature was actually responding to his arguments instead of blindly saying they were wrong.
"...Still. Isn't it the truth? The only way I'll ever be accepted is by blending in. After all, eventually, you'll leave me, won't you? Eventually, I'll be abandoned. And once that happens, I'm all alone. I hate being alone. I can't stand it. The loneliness, the feeling of not being connected to anyone, of being left behind by society… I hate it."
That was the root, then.
"Because I left… is that what it was? But Aubrey, there was nothing I could do about that. I was forced to move."
"I know that, I know that better than anyone. I know that better than anyone! I know… that."
Understanding that it was not Sam's decision, the creature professed.
"And yet… What else could I do? The only person who ever meant anything to me was gone, and I was all alone. With no other choice, after months of being ostracized and looked down on, there was nothing I could do but try to integrate with the rest of society as best I could."
"I don't blame you. That wasn't wrong, Aubrey."
"And yet, because it was all I could do, it was all I clung to. Everything was about blending in, about not being seen, about getting their favor and not standing out in any way. I made sure no one could see my eyes, because I didn't want anyone to even know what I looked like in detail."
"..."
"I lived like that for years. So how, how can you expect me to suddenly change? To stop worrying about what others think of me, whether I'm normal to them, whether I fit in? I can't. And now, I'll never be able to have children. What kind of woman would want something like me? It doesn't make sense."
"Yeah. I guess that's right. But Aubrey, I don't need you to change overnight. I just want you to understand that there's more to life than blending in. You've shown before that you can choose one person above all else. All I want…" Sam said softly, seeing his friend on the ground, unable to stand.
"—Is for you to choose me."
Looking up at that extended hand, The Black Wraith responded by—