30 Minutes Earlier...

Nick had thought their talk had gone well, so he closed the line. Nick had saved his image, and looked awesome, as always.

Nick was on the track to Pat's sweet ass, Gods all this work would be worth it. Nick could barely contain himself as he imagined the small boy's body beneath him. He could almost taste the kids lips, almost hear their sweet mo-

Ahem.

Nick really hoped Pat won this thing, Nick wanted the extra time to get to know him.

As horny as Nick was, he really did want to befriend Pat. They seemed like a nice person. And, while Nick would never admit this in a million years, Pat made Nick feel another type of emotion... the type that made his heart race and his cheeks redden.

Nick, unfortunately, had to lock up those thoughts. It was too early to get this riled up. For now, he should just stay put and let everything play out, not do anything rash... yet.

"I volunteer as tribute, so long as you don't start crying, Ben," Ethan said out of nowhere, or maybe not, Nick had been too focused on Patrick to pay attention.

"Oh... uh... k" Ben replied, with a totally hidden blush.

Those two were not subtle in the slightest, everyone was just waiting for them to kiss already. They were always together, Ben in Ethan's lap. Even now they were sitting right next to each other, for fuck's sake they were holding hands.

Gods they were cute, if only they knew the other liked them. They were power-couple material.

Nicholas loved his friends with every fiber of his being, he wanted them to be happy.

***

They were upset, how dare this mortal think about the child like that. They just wanted to help, but even together, they weren't strong enough. To help their friend, they'd need help themselves, to get it would be costly.

"That really depends, how much are you willing to give?"

...What are they willing to do?

What is needed.

***

He... just wanted everyone to be happy.

"So, who do you choose?" Ben asked, looking hopeful.

You don't need to hope Ben, who else would he pick?

"Hm, I don't know..." Ethan said, knowing exactly who he was going to pick.

Fyner, just kiss him already.

"How about... Mr. Mystery over here" he said, gesturing towards Patrick smugly.

Finally, you guys take... wait... what?

Both Patty and Ben whispered "Oh." at the same time, In that moment, they seemed to understand the other.

But as cute as that blossoming friendship was, Nick could only gape at his friend's now slightly punchable face.

***

No one knew what to do, the newcomer hadn't even been an option in this game, not with how Nicholas looked at him.

Off-limits.

A silent message Nick unconsciously sent and none of them were strong enough or stupid enough to disagree. Ethan was both, however.

***

Acting innocent to the staring of his classmates and friends, Ethan strode up to a... surprisingly not nervous Pat.

Patrick just looked calm, perhaps an act?

Nick watched as Ethan whispered something into Pat's ear, so quiet even Ferin's couldn't hear. Patrick didn't react... even when Ethan was an inch away from his face.

Nick's blood simmered, jealously searing it.

I should be the one up there, why is Ethan even doing this? It's not like Patrick's... even...

What Nick had naively mistaken as calm was, in truth, emptiness. A blank stare, dead to the outside world. For all that was left of Pat was locked up in his own mind, trudging through memories and secrets, thoughts that weren't even his own.

A simmer turned to a boil.

What was he doing, surely Ethan must know that Patrick was his.

By now Nick was becoming lost to his anger, he didn't have the care or the sense to correct himself.

True, Patrick wasn't his, at least not yet, but right now that mattered little.

All he could think about was his best friend touching his... sorta crush in ways he shouldn't.

He was just about to intervene, consequences be damned, until...

Ethan, who had just seemed to be whispering sweet nothings in a not-panicking Patrick's ear, grabbed something out of his pocket; something wooden and hand-made.

It was a talisman...

A FUCKING-

***

Jack had no idea what was going on once he awoke.

The people around him were terrified, staring at something... someone? His friends were wide-eyed and alert, as if this game had just become anything but.

He was confused until he saw... a scene.

Nick was there, a fiery, red aura raged around him. He wore a cloak of fire, not a very good sign.

Ethan was also present, holding a shoddy wooden amulet with the smuggest of expressions.

Patrick was... Patrick wasn't there, not completely. His eyes were foggy, and he looked empty; as if he were dead to the outside world. He looked as if you could push him over and he'd just sit there with that blank look on their face, unmoving.

What the fuck happened, how did this happen?

Jack couldn't remember the last hour, the last he remembered was starting the game. What happened after that... he couldn't remember. While Jack would just love to sit for hours and dwell on it, he had a bigger issue to worry about; Nick.

He could be a time-bomb and from the looks of that aura, the fuse might already be lit.

"Guess your crush is a little liar, huh Nicky?" Ethan chuckled humorlessly, unlike his usual snicker. Ethan had this weird look on his face, was... was he enjoying this? This isn't like him at all... What the fuck is happening.

"He..." Nick looked like he could murder, never a good sign.

This was why his friends were so alert, someone had to intervene before Nick exploded... he had to do it. He couldn't let Nick hurt anyone, no matter what.

"C-can I see that?" Nick asked, deadly quiet.

"Sure, take it!" Ethan basically threw it at Nick, who caught it without even flinching.

Nick merely held it, examining it, for a moment. He seemed determined to disprove what his senses were telling him.

That he was holding a scent talisman, which only humans used. That said talisman reeked of Patrick.

Pat was a human...

How did he feel about this?

Does it matter?

Yes, at least Sarah would say so, She always advocated for sorting out emotions...

So, how did he feel about this.

He looked back to Patrick, who was on the path to becoming Jack's friend, he looked into those... empty eyes and thought of the person he hung out with all today. It wasn't that shocking, when he looked back...

It didn't take as long as he expected for him to come to the conclusion that he didn't care if Pat was human, and that was a little scary. The moment he held the thought he banished it as deep in his subconscious as he could.

He resurface it later when his friend wasn't about to break something.

But for now, he wasn't brave enough to let the thought truly surface. Not when Nick could see.

He turned to his friend, he needed to end this before it started. Once Nick got going, it took him a while to stop.

"Nick, I need you to calm down."

Nick didn't respond...

"Nick? Please, let's just calm down" Jack pleaded, appealing to Nick's mortality was easier said then done, as he still didn't respond.

This wasn't working... damn it.

"Nick," he put on his most calm tone "Please, look at me... come on, dude."

Seconds felt like hours as Nick slowly turned around and stared down Jack, his eyes red as blood. Nick grabbed Jack's arm, and nearly broke it with how hard they squeezed.

"H-hey bud, l-let's just calm down." Jack couldn't keep the tremble out of his voice, he couldn't keep the fear from leaking out of his scent and aura.

Nick never liked it when people were afraid, it pissed him off.

He squeezed harder, almost teasing Jack with the promise of a shattered arm. Jack had to place his good arm over his mouth to keep from screaming.

Jack was terrified, he hated when Nick was like this.

He'd been foolish, he couldn't do this alone. He needed back up before-

"I do wonder," an insidious voice sounded "how many of you're so called friends knew? How many tricked you? lied to you... you arn't gonna just let them go, are you?" The awful voice sounded nothing like Jack's friend, it sounded like chaos. The voice speaking to the... monster inside Nick was like the whispers of annihilation, the sweet nothings of Ervos themself.

Ethan... what's wrong with you?

The monster formerly known as Nick considered this, before slamming his fist into Ethan's face so fast and so hard, his smug expression didn't change until he hit the wall.

"I do wonder..." Nick said, echoing the haughty tone that Ethan never could've had "how you can say that when you knew... friend."

A distraction. For just a moment, Nick's iron grip on Jack's arm slipped, letting Jack slip out.

He mentally reached out, searching for his friends, a plan was needed.

He didn't even have to ask, his friends were already there.

Eliza was to restrain him physically. She was enchanting her arms to overpower Nick, now just waiting for the perfect moment. Ethan and Jack would usually take on that role, Ethan being the physically strongest of them all, and Jack being ok enough. But Jack's arm couldn't take the stress of that, and Ethan...

.

.

.

.

.

While Nick was distracted, Sarah zapped him of stamina, he would slowly grow tired. She was already prepared, her face didn't show any of the immense force she put into readying the cast, the only tell was the flash of her illusions as they ran out of energy.

Jack now had to drain Nick of magic, much easier said then done. It had been hard enough for Jack to drain without a near broken arm, but with his magic all frazzled... he had to try.

He reached inside himself, grasping for the waves of magic inside him. Jack found his core, a hazy ball of heavily condensed magic. Well, at least that's how Jack always liked imagining his magic.

He took from it, let it empower his aura. He did this until his aura was at its max capacity, and just let the magic wrap around himself. His teachers always said it was a inefficient way of imagining magic, requiring too many steps to cast any noteworthy magic. But it worked, that's all that mattered for now.

Jack didn't have the time to heal himself, there wasn't enough time. His magic felt in shock, it was because of his injury. Well... it was because of the man who caused the injury. Nick's magic had painfully collided with his own. It would wear off in about about an hour, but they barely had seconds much less that.

He slowly let his magic envelop Nick's, careful not to get close enough to touch. If the magic touched, it'd either alert Nick, Collide, or both. Now he just had to wait for the right moment, he couldn't trip up.

That's what all of this relied on, a single moment. That was the only way they could win.

As Eliza slammed into Nick, knocking him to the floor, his laser focus scattered a bit. Nick had been focusing sensing any magic, but hadn't been as prepared for a physical attack. His loss of concentration scattered his magic, it was just enough for Sarah to unleash her cast on Nick. He growled as her magic began, but he was too preoccupied with getting Eliza off of him.

He was so preoccupied with tearing Eliza apart, that he couldn't feel the leak in his well of magic. Nick only began to notice once the leak became a hole with magic gushing out of it. Jack couldn't afford to be wasteful, so he collected the dispersed magic, made wild by the leak. He used this to push his cast harder, creating more and more leaks, scattering more magic ripe for the taking.

Nick, even in this enraged state, wasn't stupid. He now put all his effort into reaching Jack, the loss of magic a much more dangerous threat then the angry girl trying to pin him down.

Eliza tried her best, but Nick was on a whole other level o pared to her when it came to physical strength. The enchantments were the only reason she wasn't getting flung off. It was also the only reason that her wrist was bruised, and not her whole arm broken.

He was getting close, much too close... Jack tried not to shiver when he looked into his friend's eyes, where he only saw rage. Nick was way too close. Jack could just feel Nick's hot breath on his skin, when the effects of Sarah's spell and his own exhaustion caught up with him. He dropped onto his hands and knees, breathing heavily.

Those hands had been inches from Jack's face...

Immediatly Jack scooted back, away from the danger zone.

Jack couldn't even let out a sigh, because it wasn't finished. Ben dropped in front of an exhausted Nick, and began to cry.

***

Stupid.

That is how you could describe all his decisions, idiotic.

Although, Ben had always made stupid decisions. Like when he chickened out of confessing to Ethan that he liked him, back at Ben's own birthday party. Or how he joined the student council, only to hang out with his friends more. But letting this go on for so long took the cake.

He'd known for years that Nick hated humans, yet he let one walk in and possibly get hurt.

He'd seen for years, the consequences of Nick's rage, yet he stood by and never took action.

He'd realized for years that pitting their class against each other wasn't a good thing to do, yet he participated in it and laughed at people suffering.

Nick's hatred for humans was like a grain of sand compared to the desert that was Ben's hatred for himself in that moment.

It was supposed to be fake, Nick never could handle people crying around him. It was the perfect way of calming his anger. Ben had planned for it to be fake, yet he could only sob.

"Nick, p-please stop... you're scaring me..." It wasn't a lie, Nick truly did terrify him. Though that wasn't what made his breathing speed up and his chest compress a hundredfold, well... not the only thing.

His own disgust with himself was what did that. But his self loathing wouldn't stop Nick from killing them all.

He looked into Nick's crimson eyes with as much pathetic sadness as Ben could muster.

Those burning eyes dimmed a bit. There we go, just calm down... calm down from your bitch fit.

"B-Ben?" His tone was a question, as if surprised that he'd been out of control. As if shocked that this happened again. Still, he continued the act.

At this point Nick's arms gave out, forcing Ben to hold up his fat ass. Yet he still put on the front, Ben deserved an award for that. He also deserved an award for not shivering when he felt his crush's blood soaking into his clothes, from Nick, of course.

"Nick, you don't have to be afraid, I'm here for you" Afraid, as if Ben hadn't been scared, as if Jack wasn't trembling at the sight of Nick. Almost as if that kid-

Shit.

He glanced to the kid, who was beginning to stir. Ben hoped they were alright, they'd seemed nice enough. Ben could imagine them being friends, in another life.

But my friend just had to hate you and your people for existing.

"Ben... are you-" Ben almost heard concern in Nick's voice, before he saw the kid. Any semblance of care for Ben went out the window as they stared at the k-

...Pat. They aren't 5, they have a name, Ben.

"Slut." Nick whispered, his rage coming back; non-explosively this time.

"What? You mean P-" Ben was cut off by a growl.

"That whore tricked me, they lied to me. Should've known, only humans would wear clothes like that" Nick fumed, like a child. Patrick was wearing a crop top and some ripped skinny jeans, which was apt attire for a party. Nick was just reaching now, He'd even gushed about how hot Pat had looked in those.

Ben was about to say something else, until he saw that Nick wasn't even registering Ben as there anymore. He'd literally put on a Ziat worthy performance and Nick wasn't even aware Ben existed anymore.

Ben dropped him, not caring about the groan of pain he heard he went to his friends. He was just about to ask to do next when Pat woke up.

Ben couldn't bring himself to speak, as no words came to mind. he only felt guilt claw at his throat, guilt and anger.

The boy looked around confused, taking in the situation. They looked around till their eyes found Nick, who now somehow stood with the amulet, staring at Pat with not just anger, but disgust.