Dusk had fallen in the city, and due to worsening weather conditions, most people were staying inside. Joggers, runners, and walkers had cut their exercise routines short, and drivers were minimising their time on the road. It had been a clear day, but as soon as the sun had started to set, storm clouds had rolled in, and thunder could be heard in the distance. It was a flash storm, and the weather reports were saying it had the capabilities to be the worst one the entire province had seen the entire year thus far. They even went so far as to issue flood warnings near rivers and low-laying roads, if the predicted rainfall was even somewhat accurate.

Sadly, this meant that what was happening on a desolate bridge right now had happened at the absolute worst time for one of them. One was a male, one was a female, and the former was clearly assaulting the latter... in a horrid way.

She was Desiree McCormick, a well-known and loved children's performer, famous for her child-friendly shows, her awe-inspiring levitation magic, which she secretly accomplished with her wind mana, and her relationship with the mind-bending illusionist, Jaden Sherwood. Unbeknownst to many, she was also in possession of a rare and powerful Hunter's gift, the Eye of Judgement, now known as the Discerning Eye. Her mother and brother had held a violent grudge on her for a very early age, and her father had left her life a while ago, in an effort to try and protect her from himself, also a holder of the Eye, and distance herself from the wife and son he had grown to detest. And her assailant was none other than her brother, surviving their mother, who had been killed years ago... and he seemed determined that this would be their final stand.

Her phone and specially-made hearing aids (which looked like massive over-the-ear headphones, and had many functions that connected with her phone), had both been stolen from her, and they had been knocked over the side of the bridge. And with how high up they were, Desiree was sure that they two were smashed beyond repair, and she would need new ones from her technologically-gifted friend... assuming she'd survived.

Her brother had attempted to ambush her, but she had heard him at the last minute. He had used his special crystal dagger, a rare Mana Hunter relic, and had managed to scratch her with it. While it hadn't managed to cut off her mana completely, she was having difficulty concentrating in using it. Normally she would have used her mana to teleport away, but he was not giving her the chance. The two stood near one of the edges of the bridge, Deryck looking sharply into her eyes with his own. In the past, he'd looked much like a proper young man... well-kept short jet-black hair, and average clothing... jeans, tee-shirt, nothing special. Now his hair was messy and unkempt, down to his shoulders, and dirty. His clothing was old and worn, torn in places, and his eyes were that of a crazed man. Not one that would ramble to himself harmlessly, but those of one that would stop at nothing once his mind was set on something... and it was something dark.

"THIS IS IT!" he yelled to Desiree, as the rain started to fall on and around them, quickly puddling at their feet. "You and me! Right here! Right now!" he continued, gripping the dagger in his hand. The two had been fighting and struggling for close to 25 minutes... and it had been intense and violent. He was sporting cuts and slashes from Desiree's wind, when she managed to use her mana to defend herself, but he didn't seem to care he was bleeding.

"Only ONE of us is walking away from this bridge!" he vowed. "Either way, THIS! ENDS! NOW!" he hollered.

Her brother, Deryck, growled when she said what she did, made her offer, and spat at her, his saliva more blood than anything else. He was injured as well, and that proved his injuries were more than just superficial. But he did not seem to care at all. He then gripped his dagger more tightly, and she could see him gnashing his teeth as he continued to look her over.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "I'll have a proper life when YOU'RE gone!" he told her. "My 'proper life' was supposed to be that of a Mana Hunter, using my own eye of justice to find the freaks in this world and destroy them!" he declared. "My life was to be a solo one! One that made the world a better place by getting rid of those like YOU!" he spat further. "And I would return home to mother, who would dote on me and call me the hero I was..." he went on, almost seeming to be in a dream world now... before he snapped a glare at her again.

"Don't you DARE presume to try and HELP me! You self-righteous hypocritical COW!" he shouted further. "Mother is DEAD! I can no longer come home to her where I will be praised for my efforts, and scolded for my failures!" he went on.

"I have NOTHING now! And it's all because of YOU!" he ranted further.

"But once you are gone... I WILL HAVE EVERYTHING!" he shouted as loud as he could, before he started to run right towards her, aiming to run her through with his dagger.

Deryck seemed to be stunned when she said that. His eyes were shaking slightly, as what she said seemed to sink into his mind. He looked like he was now a bit lost in his own world, questioning his reality and worldview... lost and scared. But just as she took a small step towards him, he held the blade out towards her, point first, and almost got her in the chest.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled. "STOP IT!" he shouted, taking a few steps back.

"Stop lying!" he told her. "I am NOT a freak like you! I am a Mana Hunter! I am an avenger! I am normal!" he cried out, tears starting to flow from his eyes... not that it was easy to see, given the heavy rain. "Mother always had the best of intentions for me! She had my life planned out! YOU are the one that's corrupted! You're dark! You're evil!" he continued.

"You'll say ANYTHING to save your own skin!" he then cried out in sheer anger, as he continued to take small steps back, not seeming to realise just how close he was to the edge of the bridge.

"So just SHUT! U-" he started to say further, before his foot slipped off the edge, and the wet concrete sidewalk gave him no purchase of which to use to grip with his other foot.

With a cry and an exclamation of shock and horror, he fell off the side of the bridge, but managed to grasp at it with his free hand, dangling precariously over the rushing and rising torrents of the river below, though sharp and pointed stones still seemed to be jutting up from the violent waters.

Deryck was silent for a moment, as he heard what she said, and saw she had dropped to her knees. He saw that she was offering up her life so that he could live... and he wouldn't lie... the thought sickened him.

"...you..." he growled.

"You listen here. And you listen good." he said to her, though she could only tell from his lips what he said. "Heh... get it?" he then asked. "LISTEN!? Because you're DEAF!?" he yelled at her.

"Read my damn lips." he then said. "...you WILL get what's coming to you. On this, I vow." he told her with a threatening tone in his voice, not that she heard it, but venom in his eyes.

Then, before she could say anything, he quickly flicked his other wrist, and the dagger flew towards her, sticking into her side.

Which was when he let go of the bridge, plummeting to the depths before.

Laughing maniacally as he did so.

She made it off the bridge, and had been walking for 30 seconds afterwards, barely making it a block or so, when she saw someone. Someone in the distance. They were a bit obscured by the rain, but they were a big person. And they will running right towards her. In fact, it seemed like they were purposefully making their way specifically towards her.

Before she could really formulate any idea as to what to do here, they came into view as they got closer and closer... it was Zeke. And he looked VERY worried. That's when she recalled that Zeke had previously been her guardian angel, and although he had been taken off her case, and she removed as his charge, they still had a connection. And he would get signals when she was in real danger. In this case, he'd received an 'emergency alert' when her mana had been cut off completely.

"DESIREE!" he shouted, but he could see that she did not have her headphones on.

"Oh my God, what happened!?" he asked her when he was close enough... and then saw her wounds.

"Deryck..." he growled, but then shook his head.

"Desiree, we need to get you medical attention!" he told her.

"...." Zeke was silent as he saw the dagger. He knew that weapon well. She'd been wounded by it many times in the past, and it was proof that it had been Deryck that had brought her to this sorry state. His mind was racing right now, but he knew she needed help. She was gravely injured, and her mana was inaccessible by her right now. The main thing was that she needed medical help, and she needed it NOW.

But where? OLA? The Unit? Somewhere else? They were in Winnipeg, Manitoba right now... and if she were put into the system anywhere else, surely suspicion would be raised? What should he do?

In the end, he chose her own home. He would call Rene Calder when he got there, and he would decide from there. So, he looked at the crystal dagger on the ground, growled at it, and then decided that it couldn't be left here. So he wrapped his left hand in his shirt, while still holding Desiree, and picked it up as best he could. Then the two of them disappeared from where they were, and appeared in Desiree and Jaden's suite, where he saw they were alone. Jaden was probably out doing a show, or with Kalin or something.

Desiree looked around, as she realised where she was, as Zeke dropped the dagger to the floor, and laid her down on the couch.

"Wall ph-phone." she said. "Three. R-R-R-R-R-R-R-R..." she stuttered further, before looking frustrated. "Fish." she said, conveying to him that Rene was number 3 on the speed dial.

Zeke nodded and rushed to the phone, making the call and telling Rene what had happened. After he was told that the doctor would be there in less than a minute, he hung up, turned on the main light of the room, rushed back to Desiree, and started to pulse his mana into her, in an effort to try and heal her a little before Rene got there.

"You'll be okay, Desiree." he told her. "Dr. Calder will be here in less than a minute, he promised." he said further.

Zeke didn't say anything more, and just continued to use his mana to try and heal her. He knew he couldn't do it completely... archangel mana wasn't necessarily meant to heal, and he was a nephilim. In the end, all he could really manage to do would be to heal up some of the smaller cuts she has sustained, dial back some of her internal bleeding, and make it to the grievous wound she received from the dagger wasn't as bad. It wasn't a whole lot, but it was something. He kept it up until Rene appeared in the suite, and raced over towards them.

"Been using your mana to try and stabilise her?" the lantha asked.

"Yeah." Zeke replied.

"Good." Rene responded. "Means it'll make my job go a lot smoother." he told him. "Thanks. I'll take it from here and make sure she recovers fully from this." he said further.

Zeke merely nodded and stepped away from Desiree, allowing Rene to examine her and take stock of the situation. The nephilim then lightly kicked the crystal dagger away from Rene and Desiree, towards the kitchen. Once it was a suitable distance away, he found an old dish towel that looked like it was ready to be replaced, and grabbed it. He picked the weapon up with it, wrapping it completely, and setting it down on the counter.

"That will need to be given to either the Triad or the Council...' he thought, before looking at the wall phone again. When he'd called Rene, he'd noticed that there were other speed-dial labels on the phone, one of them being for Leo. He pondered something again, before going to it and pressing the button that would dial Leo's number. Desiree's headphones and phone had been missing, so this was something Leo needed to know.

As he did this, Rene continued to do emergency tending to Desiree, cursing lightly at the one he knew had inflicted the damage to her.

"I think you'll be all right." he said to her, making sure she could read his lips, if she had the capacity to focus on that. "Zeke managed to lay down solid groundwork, and despite the heavy injuries you seem to have sustained, I'm confident I can make it so you'll have a full and complete recovery." he assured her further.

Rene paused for a moment as Desiree said what she did. He almost lost focus on what he was doing, but such statements from those he treated weren't altogether uncommon. He'd been called to do 'stealth treatment' a lot for his friend circle, and by this point, he was all but numb to it. Almost. Statements like that would still catch him off guard if uttered by the right/wrong person.

"Get back?" he asked. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but when the nephilim called me, he said that he had to find you in Winnipeg, yeah?" he asked. "I DID hear that right... right?" he asked further.

Desiree merely nodded in response.

"I'm not going to ask why you were in Winnipeg in the first place." Rene said. "Really, that is none of my business." he continued. "However, as your doctor, I feel I am entitled to know the reasons why you need to get back, ASAP, assumingly." he went on. "You just suffered a very serious assault, and with intent to murder, given that it was Deryck." he told her. "Don't get me wrong, I have to tools and medication to get you back on your feet, quite literally, in the next hour or so, but after what you've gone through, bed-rest and dedicated recuperation time is HIGHLY recommended." he then reasoned.

"So tell me... WHY do you need to get back?" he asked her.

"I'm not saying 'no'. Not yet, anyway." he then stressed. "Just give me a good enough reason, and I'll make sure you can get back to Winnipeg as quick as I can make it possible." he finished.

"..." Rene wasn't sure what to say at that moment. A wave of emotions rushed through his mind, and a dozen responses came to the tip of his tongue, but he had to be careful here. Desiree was still physically hurt, yes, but he had NO idea how she was doing, emotionally. The wrong thing could really trigger some bad reactions, so he had to tread carefully.

"...I see." he then said. "I'm not going to lie, the fact that he's gone? Not going to shed any tears for him." he told her bluntly. "However... you are correct." he admitted.

"You outright skipping town would be very bad. It'd shine a poor light on you, to understate it." he reasoned, continuing his work.

"That being said, because this will fall under Council and Triad law, you won't have to hide where you got medical attention." he then said further. "You CAN tell the truth, and say you were brought here, healed up, and then brought back." he went on. "And records WILL be given so that the general public and police force will be satisfied as well." he added.

"...but... all right. I said to give me a good enough reason, and you gave it to me." he admitted, before something came to mind.

"...and those cameras will need to be looked at." he realised and vocalised. "I'm willing to bet that, even if there's no audio, there's video footage of you using mana." he said further. "...question is, is it obvious enough, or should we really just play it safe, regardless...?" he wondered.

"Hm. I see." Rene responded quietly. "Well... I suppose that DOES simplify things a little..." he went on, as he continued to work, and Zeke returned to where they were.

"Do you mind if I speak to Desiree while you work?" he asked.

"Just so long as you don't get in my way." Rene replied.

Zeke nodded and stood in such a way that Desiree could see him clearly, and he didn't get in Rene's line of sight, or cast a shadow or anything. He looked at her worriedly, and then sighed.

"I called Leo." he told her. "Explained the situation. He said he was going to go to the bottom of the bridge and gather all the tech remnants he could." he informed her further. "However, he's already 100% sure that you're going to need a new pair of headphones built from the ground up, and a new phone to pair with them." he continued.

"Said he'd take care of both of those, though." he added.

"Of course." Rene sighed.

"Whenever Deryck goes after Desiree, her headphones are usually the first victims." he commented. "Though it seems like he REALLY wanted this to be his last stand, no matter what happened." he added.