MLII:TB P4- "Unspoken"

"Unspoken" is the fourth (and penultimate) Part of "Miracula Luxia II: The Bond".
It was released on 15.09.2021.
== Plot ==
Although Jared has managed to rescue Akira (but not her mother) and he is now on his way to take her to the Kaos residence, a new evil arises as Akira's adoptive father- a very powerful and dangerous bandit leader- has learned about the death of Akari and, thinking that Jared is responsible for this, meets him at the Kaos residence and demands him to return Akira to him, claiming that he will take good care of her... despite how disgusted his adopted daughter is of his attitude.
During the course of those unfortunate events, Adam and his family learn the truth about something that happened many years ago. A one-night stand that led to the birth of a new member of the Kaos family- something that nobody, not even Jared himself, knew until now.
As truths are revealed and more enemies arrive to destroy our heroic family, one this is completely clear for them. Whatever happens next, their lives are going to change. Whether it will be for good or for bad... remains to be seen.
== Story ==
As Jared leads Akira to the Kaos residence, she thinks about how her adoptive father would react if he learned that her mother is dead.
"He will be furious!"- She says to herself- "If he decides that I should go back with him, it's over. I can't resist. He is too... too dangerous!"
Adam notices that Akira is nervous and stops her.
"Son."- Jared says to him- "What is wrong?"
Adam turns to his father.
"I have a feeling that there is something that Akira isn't telling us."
He turns back to her.
"It is about your father, isn't it?"
Akira gasps.
"You... you know him?"- She asks him.
Adam shakes his head.
"On the contrary, no. I do not know anything about him. Neither about the things that he has done, nor his personal affairs."- He responds- "However, me and my father have met many people who have treated their own families horribly and disrespectfully. And I have the bad feeling that your daddy is not different from them."
Akira looks down. She clearly does not want to talk about her father with anyone, let alone people who are not a part of her family.
However, she soon realizes that there is no need to hide anything from them. Soon, they are going to be her new family and they will help her build a newer, brighter future.
"My father. He... he's not a good person."- She says as tears fall down from her eyes- "Ever since I was born, my mother wanted to find a good father who can take care of me. Who will love me. Who will always support me. And she found this person. But he... he never did anything for me. He walked away when we needed him the most. He beat my mother when she rebelled against him. He terrorized everyone around him, telling them to keep their mouths shut and threatening them if they tried to do anything to help us out. "
She sighs.
"This person, he is not my father."- She continues- "He's a monster. And nothing he says or does for me will ever change that."
From the way Akira talks about her adoptive father, it is clear that she blames him for her mother's death and that she views Jared as a better father than him.
Adam and Jared look at each other.
Unable to talk about this anymore, they shake their heads and take a step forward.
"At least he is not here right now."- Adam says- "Let's go home. We'll be safe there."
Akira nods.
"I agree."- She responds- "Let's not waste any time. Every second could be of essence to escape from those fiends... and from him."
The three of them approach the Kaos residence.
Just as they get near the front door, a mysterious man jumps out of the bushes to the right of them and pounces on Jared.
As the hero tries to get the masked assailant off of him, Adam rushes to his father's aid. He pushes the man off his back, grabs him by the neck and slams his head repeatedly into the wall.
Soon, he tries to deal a killing blow. However, the man manages to trip him and he falls to the ground.
Taking advantage of his temporary inability to fight back, the masked man brandishes a knife and tries to stab him.
Fortunately, Akira is there to help. When she sees that Adam is in danger, she rushes forward, not caring about the fact that she is risking her own life and pushes him away before he can get hurt.
When the masked man sees her, he gasps. He takes a step back and points his weapon at her.
"A-Akira?"
Akira looks at him.
"You tried to hurt him. And now... "- She says- "... you will pay."
The masked man shakes his head.
"Don't do it."- He says- "It's me. Your father."
As the person lifts his mask and allows Akira to see him, she gasps.
"What are you doing here?!"- She asks him.
The man shakes his head.
"Whatever it is, rest assured that I'm not here to hurt you."- He says- "I'm here to take you back from those villains."
Akira raises her eyebrow.
"Villains?"- She asks him- "What do you mean?"
She takes a step closer to him.
"Explain yourself!"
The man ignores her. For now.
Instead of responding to her question, he approaches Jared and grabs him by the neck.
"What did you do to her?!"- He yells at him.
Jared shakes his head.
"I fail to understand what you are saying to me."- He says- "Can you please be kind enough to explain it to us?"
The man grits his teeth and continues to stare at him. His eyes are filled with rage.
"Stop pretending that you don't know anything!"- He yells- "You're the one who did it!"
Adam and Akira look at Jared. They are completely confused.
"And, if you think that I did something, care to share your thesis with us?"
The man shakes his head.
"You and your entire family. You're all a bunch of murderers and villains. Nothing more!"- He yells- "I learned about Akari's death a few hours ago. I was informed that you were with her and that you were kneeling when she was wounded."
He stares at him.
"You killed her, didn't you?!"- He yells- "You're the one who's responsible! I'm sure of it!"
Jared begins to say something in response, but his father interrupts him.
"You are a liar! Liar!"- He yells at him- "My father would never do anything like that to anyone, let alone a person that he has always loved."
Angered by Adam's words, the man lets go of his father, approaches him and slaps him.
"Shut up, dweeb."- He says to him- "You don't have permission to say anything to me. I'm talking to your daddy right now and you should stay quiet!"
Just as he is about to turn around, Jared tackles him and slams him into the ground.
"Nobody treats my son like this!"- He yells- "I will make you swallow those words back into your dirty mouth, you miscreant!"
The man angrily pushes Jared away from him and draws his weapon. Then, as Adam and Akira get close to him, he points it at them.
"You killed my wife! You killed her! And I'll make your life into a true nightmare!"- He yells- "I'll kill all of you. And then, I'll take my daughter back! I'll take her away from you and make sure that she never meets villains and murderers like you!"
Jared shakes his head.
"No matter what I have done, there is one key detail that you are missing. Akari is dead and killing me will not bring her back."- He says- "Plus, your daughter hates you, Now that her mother is gone, there is nothing that is keeping her chained to you. She is free and she will do whatever she wants with her own life. As for your whole speech about her, you should know that she has decided to run away from you. She chose me as her father and I am going to treat her in a much better way!"
The man shakes his head.
"No. This is my daughter and there's no one who can tell me otherwise."- He says- "But tell me this, Mr. Loving and Caring Daddy. If you were such a good parent, why didn't you take care of her ever since she was born."
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"It's because her father died in a car accident. Because you have already stepped in when I wanted to take care of her."- He responds- "Is there something that I do not know?"
The man grits his teeth.
"Don't you see it, you fool?!"- He yells- "This girl. She was yours. And you neglected her! You allowed another person to become her parent and make her a different person."
He points his weapon at him.
"And I don't think that you deserve a second chance."- He continues- "Die!" 
Jared draws his weapon and defends himself from the madman.
"Run, children!"- He says to Adam and Akira.
They nod and quickly run away from the scene.
"Oh no, you don't!"- The man yells and runs after them- "My daughter belongs to me! Me!"
Adam looks back and sees that the man is getting closer to them.
"It's no use. He's much faster than us!"- He says to Akira- "I don't want him to take you away!"
Akira shakes her head.
"He won't. I'm right here."- She responds- "Trust me. I have a plan."
Suddenly, she stops and lets the man reach her.
When he does, he grabs her by the neck.
"Didn't your mama tell you that resistance is futile?!"- He yells at her- "I'm your father and you must listen to me! Only me!"
Akira does not say anything. She simply listens to her adoptive father yelling at her.
"Aki!"- Adam yells- "Do something!"
Just as he is about to slap her, Akira pulls out a gun from her pocket.
"What do you think you're-- "
Suddenly, shoots him in the right leg.
As he falls to his knees, she runs back to Adam.
"You traitor! How dare you treat your own father like this?!"- He yells at her- "Mark my words, I will make you pay! Very dearly!"
Akira shakes her head.
"If anyone has to pay, that is you!"- She yells back- "I'm not coming back with you! You're never going to see me again!"
She looks at Adam.
"Come on, Adam."- She says to him- "Let's leave this crazy person where he is."
Adam raises his eyebrow.
"But where... where are we going?"
Akira looks back at her adoptive father, who is silently cursing her. Then, she looks back at him.
"Far away from here."- She responds- "I'm not taking any chances."
She notices that Jared has joined them and is preventing the man from attacking them.
"Mr. Kaos, can you make sure that he won't bother us for the time being?"- She asks him- "I want to take us somewhere safe. And I can't do that when he's still chasing us."
Jared nods.
"Of course, dear."- He says- "I promised your mother that I will protect you. And I will gladly die trying."
As both children run away, Jared points his weapon at the man.
"I do not care who you are, how dangerous you might be or how many allies you might have."- He says to him- "You hurt my family. And I am going to hurt you back."
The man smiles.
"Oh, I'm going to hurt you much more. Mark my words."- He says- "And when I'm done with you, I'm going to find those little parasites and hurt them even more."
He draws his weapon and, despite having a huge wound on his leg, charges and tackles Jared.
"Who's the hero now, huh?!"- He yells- "Oh wait. It's me! I'm the hero and I've always been!"
Jared shakes his head.
"You do not have any of the traits that every true hero has."- He responds- "You are a worthless scum with visions of grandeur. Nothing more!"
The man snorts.
"I'll make you take those words back, you villain!"- He yells and attacks him.
Meanwhile, Adam and Akira are a fair distance away from the city where they reside. Escaping as quickly as possible, they try to find a place to hide from the madman that is known as her stepfather.
"We don't have many options."- Adam says to Akira- "Worse, I have the feeling that he is coming for us. We must hurry!"
Akira nods and points at something in the distance.
"Look at that!"- She says- "It might be a good place to hide. It'll keep us safe, at least until somebody can save us."
Adam nods.
"Well, we have no other choice in this matter."- He says- "Lead the way, new sister."
Akira quickly approaches the building, not caring about whether there are any enemies in the vicinity or not.
Fortunately, nothing dares to attack two innocent and defenseless children. They arrive at the building without any problems.
Once they are close enough, they notice what it truly is.
Those are the massive ruins of a sage's tower, tall and imposing. Surely, it is the perfect place to hide from a madman who is trying to kill them.
"It might be a dangerous place to stay, but... "- Akira says and shakes her head- "No matter. I'd rather take my chances exploring an abandoned tower than facing a crazy person like my father!"
Adam nods.
"Well said, Aki."- He says to her- "But we are still in danger, you know?"
Akira nods.
"I'm aware of that."- She responds and opens the door leading further into the tower- "Let's go."
The two of them enter the tower and close the doors behind them.
Much to their surprise, everything is calm in here. Not even the dangerous monsters roaming the area outside have dared to breach the walls and enter the premises of this sacred place to corrupt it with their presence.
"That's a relief."- Akira says- "At least we won't be bothered by anyone. For now."
Adam nods and sighs.
"Yes."- He responds- "For now."
The two of them sit on the stairs and rest.
Adam leans back and sighs again.
"What's wrong?"- Akira asks him- "Is something bothering you?"
Adam shakes his head. Tears start to fall from his eyes.
"It's just that I... I... "
Akira looks at him.
"It's about your father, isn't it?"
Adam nods.
"Yes."- He says- "Yes, it is."
Akira smiles and pats him on the shoulder.
"You don't need to worry."- She says to him- "I know many things about Mr. Kaos. Some of them are assumptions. Others are truths. But there is one thing that's crystal clear to me. That makes sure that I don't doubt his actions. It's his loyalty towards his friends and family. What happens, he always fights to protect them. And he will always do it, no matter what. He's an honorable man and he'll always be this way."
Adam nods. He calms down... a little bit.
"You are right."- He says- "Thank you, Aki. You are amazing."
Aki smiles and hugs him.
"I'm glad that you think so highly of me, dear brother."- She says- "I'm flattered."
Adam looks down.
"By the way, I can tell that this man wanted to do something to dad. That he is jealous of him for something that he has done in the past."- He continues- "Is there some kind of a conflict between them? I am so confused."
Akira looks down and shakes her head.
"Actually, no."- She says- "The problem is far worse than you think it is."
Akira's response gets Adam's full attention. He looks at her curiously, waiting to hear what else she has to say to him.
"You may already know that this is not my real father. Well, he isn't. He's been my parent, but not my real one. And he's never tried to act like it. Worse, we've never talked in a way a father will talk to his daughter."- She says- "One day, he learned who my real father is. Ever since then, he frequently beat my mother for lying to him and he always hated him and wanted to meet him in person."
She looks at Adam.
"And I'm afraid that my father is someone who we know very well."- She says- "Both you... and I."
Adam gasps. He finally realizes who Akira is talking about.
"Wait a minute!"- He says- "You mean that he... he... "
Akira looks at Adam sadly and nods.
"Yes, Adam. It is true."- She says regretfully- "The one who is responsible for my birth... is your father, Jared. And this means that I'm your sister."
Adam bursts into tears. He hugs Akira and shakes his head.
"I thought that you were gone! That you were dead!"- He says to her- "He lied to me. He hid the truth all this time!"
Akira sighs and hugs her brother back.
"I am sorry, little brother. I really am."- She says- "But now, we're reunited. And I'm ready to protect you from whoever tries to harm us, no matter how many they may be."
Tears start to fall from her eyes as she looks at the sky above.
"I'll never leave you again. I'll always be here."- She continues- "We will make it through this nightmare. I promise."