MLFW Part 6- "Evil To The Core"

"Evil To The Core" is the sixth Part of "Miracula Luxia: Four Worlds". It was released on 12.02.2020.
== Plot ==
Just as Jared and Annie thought that they had eradicated the last spy for Farrar's army and try to get ready for a serious battle, another one comes by- this one being much more dangerous that Ah'Zoth.
It also seems like the new spy is a former helper of the Mayor- something which makes the man even more desperate than he was before.
The heroes, joined by Lancelot and Stephanie face the man and try to kill him. However, not all of them will stay alive after doing this.
== Story ==
As Jared and Annie go back to the City Hall, they see the mayor sitting on a chair, lost in thought.
The man looked up and saw them. He tried to say something, but he didn't know what. Something had definitely happened.
Jared and Annie approached the Mayor and saw that he was looking at the identification card of a person.
"His name was Gary Nixom."- The mayor said- "A very good friend of mine. He was part of Paris's council before Farrar's army attacked. Now he's gone and I can't find him."
Jared shaked his head.
"We see, Mayor. Maybe we can help?"- He said.
The mayor smiled.
"I appreciate your concern, Jared. But it is best if we just leave him be. Maybe he ran somewhere safe, outside the city. We can find him after this madness is over."
Annie looked at the ID card and gritted her teeth in anger.
"This person... I saw someone very similar to him in a raiding party a few days ago."- She muttered angrily.
"Could it be... ?"
The mayor shaked his head.
"No. No. No, it's probably just a coincidence."- He tried to calm Annie- "Gary would never turn against me. Or anyone. He's such a good person."
Jared sighed.
"Listen, Mayor."- He said- "Even the friendliest people might turn out to be traitors. You must never trust anyone at 100%, do you understand that?"
The mayor shaked his head.
"No, Jared. I refuse to believe that."
"He's beyond help, for now."- Jared whispered to Annie- "Let's go find this Nixom and see if he's good or not."
Before they could, though, the door leading to the exit of the building creaked open. A panting scout came in.
"Mayor... "- The man said, trying to catch his breath- "We found Mr. Nixom. He's been captured by Farrar's army."
The mayor looked up.
"Oh my!"- He exclaimed- "Poor man. We have to help him."
"Wait, Mayor."- Jared said cautiously- "This could be a trap. Let's think about this!"
"There's no time to think, Jared."- The mayor responded- "Now is the time to act, not to think. Every second matters."
He turned to the scout.
"Send a scouting party and try to convince the thugs to free Gary. Got it?"
The scout nodded.
"It'll be done, sir."
"Good. Go. And don't let them hurt him."
The scout left the City Hall and headed towards the ruined scout headquarters (where the rest of the scouts were located) and talked to them.
After a few minutes, the scouts were finally ready to go. They entered the City Hall, awaiting the mayor to bless them.
After he did so, the men left the City Hall and headed towards the area where Gary Nixom and his captors were located.
Jared, Annie and the Mayor watched as three thugs and a normal-looking man emerged from the ruins of a building. After a heated conversation, one of the thugs pointed his knife at the lead scout. Suddenly, three of the nine scouts were killed by the thugs.
The rest of the scouts tried to run away, but were attacked by the thugs.
"We have to help them!"- The Mayor said.
"Wait! Mayor! It's too dangerous for us to get out!"- Jared tried to warn him, but to no avail.
He and Annie were forced to leave the City Hall and go after the Mayor.
After a short chase, they caught up with him and stopped him from approaching the thugs.
That's when they saw two more figures. However, the figures did not look like those of bandits, thugs or other such miscreants.
The figures came closer and the trio realized who they were.
They were Lancelot and Stephanie!
Lancelot approached his sister and looked at her.
"Sister, are you okay?"- He asked her.
Annie nodded.
"All good, bro. Don't ya worry!"- She grinned.
Lancelot sighed.
"Good. Now that I made sure of that, we have to... umm... "
"Take down those thugs before they kill Nixom and the scouts."- Stephanie added.
"Most importantly."- Lancelot said- "Are you guys with us?"
The trio nodded.
"You got it, Lance. Let's finish them off."- Jared said.
The five of them approached the thugs and took them by surprise.
WIth a few precise shots, Jared managed to take down two of the thugs while Annie stabbed the last one to death.
The five of them approached a (seemingly) wounded Gary Nixom.
"Gary, old friend!"- The mayor said- "Are you okay? Did those jerks hurt you?"
Gary looked up and the five of them realized that he was smiling.
"Why, of course I'm okay, dear mayor."- He replied stoically- "But you won't be after my new friends take you all down."
It was at that moment Jared realized that there were thugs in front and behind them.
"Watch out!"- He tried to warn his friends, but failed to do so as the muscular thugs grabbed them and restrained them.
One of the thugs tried to grab Jared as well, but he responded with a well-aimed shot in the head.
Gary Nixom smiled again.
"Gary Nixom."- Jared said- "Why... why are you doing this?!"
Gary shaked his head.
"Well, look who it is. Jared. Jared Kaos- son of the famous Aleks Kaos, a really powerful hero. Hahaha."
Jared raised his eyebrow.
"Why are you laughing?"
Gary approached him and grinned. Jared saw that the man had a lot of golden teeth. Horrifying. And unsettling.
"Your father did so much for this little city. And in the end, when the real danger came, he just ran away, telling his family to save themselves."
"You weren't here to protect them, so me and Ah'Zoth decided to drive them out. Poor souls, I almost let them back in."
"Almost."
This made Jared very angry.
"You helped that monster?!"- He yelled.
Gary Nixom shaked his head.
"Now, now. Just because I let your family leave this mess behind them does not make me an enemy to you, right?"
Jared clenched his fist.
"You know well that you are now. Anyone who messes with my family messes with me. And I will mess with them."
He held his staff up, ready to cast a spell.
Gary shaked his head. Again.
"It's sad. So sad. And I thought that he would be friends. Letting that little rift consume your sense of humanity... it's not good, man."
"Well, since you will probably try to hurt me, I must do something to make you feel more desperate. It's for Ah'Zoth, after all."
Somehow, Gary knew about Ah'Zoth's death, even though it happen very recently. Perhaps he knew that the slith would be captured and slain by Jared and his allies and decided to take the matters in his own hands.
Jared looked back, only to see Annie staring at him.
"Look at her well, Jared."- Gary Nixom said- "Because this is the last time you'll see her alive!"
Having said that, he barked a command to the thug holding her hostage.
The huge man immediately pulled out a knife. Annie struggled to break free. She almost managed to do so, but before it could happen, the huge thug drove his knife in her abdomen.
"Annie! NO!"- Lancelot screamed and tried to break free as well.
The other huge man also tried to pull out a knife, but before he could do so, Lancelot bit him in the arm. Very deep.
And, after a few moments, he released his bite, making the man forcefully release him.
Taking the hint, Stephanie pulls out her weapon and wraps it around her captor, quickly choking him to death.
Lancelot ran towards his dying sister and jumped on the huge thug who stabbed her.
Revealing a rage he has never shown before, the young man began punching and kicking the man with incredible force.
An enraged and saddened Jared grabbed the thug's knife and began stabbing the man. First- in the abdomen, second- in the shoulder and lastly- in the head.
Lancelot kicked his chin to ensure that he's dead. After confirming that, he ran towards his dying sister, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"It's okay, big bro."- She said weakly- "J-just a scratch. Just a... scratch... "
Then she passed out.
Lancelot looked at his sister, then at Jared.
"Jared?"
"Y-yes? What is it?"
"Could you please... take care of this idiot while I try to get my sister to the infirmary?"
Jared nodded.
"With pleasure. Go ahead."
Lancelot carried Annie to the nearby infirmary.
He called for a nurse. When one approached him, he told her about what happened and begged her to stitch his sister.
The woman looked at Annie and shaked her head.
"I am afraid that I won't be able to save her."- She said sadly- "The blood she's losing is too much and she's passed out. That makes it impossible for us to help her."
"Please, nurse."- The mayor begged her- "She and her allies tried to help us fight Farrar's thugs. You have to help her!"
"I'm sorry, Mayor."- She said and tried to walk away.
Lancelot told the mayor to hold his sister for a while and grabbed the nurse.
"Listen, nurse."- He said angrily- "My sister is dying. She needs all the help she can get. And I'm not going to take "no" as an answer, you hear me?!"
The nurse shaked her head.
"Sir, you're going too far."- She said- "I am afraid that if you continue acting like... "
"SHUT UP AND SAVE MY SISTER, YOU--- "
The mayor tapped Lancelot on the shoulder.
"Lancelot, language!"
Lancelot looked down.
"Sorry, Mayor."
Then he looked at the nurse again. Now the woman was utterly terrified.
"Listen here, you incompetent woman."- He continued- "This is not a child's game. A person's life matters right now. And you must help her. So, please. Save my sister."
"You just... you just don't know how much she matters to me. A normal person wouldn't know and I am aware of that. Everything we had to endure, how I was forced to abandon her with mom and dad... it's still a huge burden to me that I cannot forget. What I want now is for her to live. Nothing else."
The nurse nodded and two doctors took Annie away quickly.
She said to Lancelot to just stand there and wait. Same for the mayor.
The two men waited in the waiting room for about fifteen minutes.
The two doctors got out first, shaking their heads in grief. Finally, the nurse came out, to tell the two men the tragic news.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Mitchell."- She said sadly- "We couldn't save your sister. She had lost a lot of blood. Fourteen minutes after we started operating her, she screamed and fell limp. She... she's not among us anymore. My condolences."
Lancelot thanked her and sent her away. Then he buried his head in the palms of his hands and began to cry.
The mayor was very saddened as well. It was like he had just lost his own daughter. Annie was very dear to him.
He patted Lancelot on the shoulder.
"It feels bad to lose a person, Lance."- He said- "I know that well. We all have to make sacrifices."
"I know, but... she... I... "
"I need a moment alone. Go... go help Jared... kill this freak. I'll join you later."
The mayor understood Lancelot's pain and decided to leave him alone. After the man left, Lancelot went into the room where his sister died.
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Meanwhile, Jared was holding Gary Nixom by the neck.
"Do you even realize for a second what I'm going to do to you?!"- He yelled at him- "You're going to die for what you did!"
Jared pulled out his knife and looked back just as the mayor returned. 
The man shaked his head. Jared realized that his love did not make it and began to cry.
Gary grinned.
"Yes. Yes. This is what Farrar wants. Suffer!"
Jared looked up, much angrier than he has ever been before.
"I've always had mercy upon everyone. Good or bad. Even for ones who harmed people dear to me. But you're the WORST!"
"You're a monster, Mr. Nixom. And I will make you pay for what you did to Annie."
Gary shaked his head.
"Sorry, man. Orders are orders. The boss said that she should die and I delivered the command to my allies. That's all."
"Oh yes?"- Jared yelled- "Then why didn't you kill ME?! What has Annie done to you? I am the one who has killed all of your pathetic lackeys. I am the one who killed Ah'Zoth. Why didn't you kill me?"
"The boss wanted her dead, so your morale can go down. And so you can become desperate and unable to fight."
Jared smirked.
"Well, that is wrong. The way your thug stabbed my love, you just made me want to fight you more! I promised her that I would fight them to the death, should she die, and I'm not planning to stop. Ever. Not until all of you heartless insects are all dead. Starting with you."
"I don't care if you were a friend of Paris's mayor (as good a friend of mine that he is), I will kill you in front of all these people. And nobody will shed a tear."
That's when the mayor looked around and realized that they were not alone. A lot of people had gathered around in Jared's support, watching Gary Nixom coldly.
Jared turned to the people.
"Dear friends, if you want to say something to this weakling, now is the time. Go ahead."- He said and made him face the people.
The blacksmith approached them first. He was literally in tears when he realized that Annie was dead.
"Annie was such a good friend of mine."- He began- "Such a beautiful smile, she had. And her eyes. Her eyes were so pretty. One of my most favorite customers. And you and your bandits took her life away, without even doubting your actions for a second. Doubt that you would hurt someone by doing this."
" "Orders are orders", huh? A pathetic excuse for someone so popular and treacherous as you, Nixom. I see the sadness in Jared's eyes. How he just lost someone dear to him. And I have only one more thing to say to you- die."
With that, the man lifted his huge hammer and aimed it at Gary Nixom.
Jared held him up and the man slammed the hammer in his abdomen.
The young hero tried to thank the blacksmith, but he put up his hand in a "stop" sign and smiled.
"It's okay, dear friend."- He said- "You don't need to say anything. Your eyes say it all. I will trust your judgement."
With that, the blacksmith disappeared into the crowd.
The baker came up next. She was holding a knife in her hand.
"Annie. Poor girl. She suffered so much, barely found her brother. A home. And even someone to love. She was going to live a normal life. Until you all came here and ruined everything. You and your thugs- those filthy rats. For that, you deserve to be burned to death."
"But since I cannot do that, I will only do this... "
Having said that, she stabbed Gary Nixom in the shoulder.
"Jared, sweetie."- The baker turned to Jared- "Please make the right choice and make him suffer. Make him suffer just like how your love suffered."
"I will. Thank you."- Jared said as she disappeared into the crowd.
Finally, the lead scout came up. He didn't have anything in his hands, just rage and desire to avenge his dead friend.
"We trusted you."- He began- "We thought that you were going to help us after we freed you. Boy, how wrong we were about you. If only I could turn back time and tell Jared and Annie to not try to help us... she would still be alive now."
"I... I must... "- He stuttered and tried to keep his composure. He falied and began to cry.
Then he looked up at Gary Nixom.
"Jared, with your... permission, I want to show him what we, the scouts think about what he did a while ago."
Jared nodded. The other scouts came out and joined their leader in beating up Gary Nixom.
However, in the last moment they decided to let him live and let Jared pick him back up.
Then, they disappeared into the crowd.
"Anyone else?"- Jared mumbled.
No one else wanted to show up and harm Gary Nixom. They just watched him coldly, waiting to see him die.
Jared turned back to Gary Nixom.
"Now you see what the people think, don't you? Annie wasn't just important to me. Or the rest of my allies. She was important to everyone in Paris. And you just took her away from us."
"For that, you are going to die."
Suddenly, the whole crowd began to chant the words "Death to Nixom!" out loud, along with Stephanie.
Jared turned to the mayor.
"Mayor, do you want to say anything?"- The young hero asked him.
The mayor didn't say anything. Instead, he just watched Gary Nixom coldly, pure hatred burning in his eyes.
His soul was quietly yelling the same words over and over: "Traitor!" "Murderer!" "Heartless monster!".
The mayor didn't have to say anything. His look was saying it all.
Jared nodded.
"Understood, Mayor."- He said and looked at Gary Nixom.
Nixom grinned, trying to call their apparent bluff. But he realized, too late, that their intent to kill him was quite clear.
"Wait, man."- He said- "Won't you have any mercy on an old man? I was just following orders... "
"Following orders, eh?"- Jared replied- "Well, what I'm going to do to you is also going to be by order. By the order of the citizens of Paris."
With that, he slammed Gary Nixom into a wall and pulled out his knife.
Everyone watched Jared as he was about to mercilessly execute the thug for his crimes.
Meanwhile, Lancelot sat in the room where his dead sister was and looked through the window.
Then he turned to his dead sister.
"Oh, Annie."- He said- "I would give anything to bring you back. Anything. I would even give up my life. I don't care. I will, if I must."
He held her arm in hers.
"All I can hope for now is that you are in Heaven. That... is what I hope for."
Lancelot continued to hold his dead sister's cold hand and stared at the sky as the sun began to slowly go down.