Remington typed the address into his phone and activated his GPS. It was a pretty far distance but luckily Vezaias already had a vehicle for them to use which just so happened to be a very nice looking car that he had purchased with some of his money. The instructions were clear, bring back the newest member of their family and do not take 'no' for an answer. Vezaias could not go with, because he thought it would be a bad idea. They were not to mention his name at all while retrieving the person only known by an alias of ‘KillingCasper' on social media, or 'KC' for short. Remington and Lux trotted up to the door and knocked then waited for an answer. Remington feeling rather self conscious about talking to people who he didn't know and with the possibility of having to kidnap someone threw his hood up. Lux on the other hand wasn't worried about this situation at all. He had already been to prison for attempted mass murder, what's another charge for kidnapping going to make a difference? Lux kept persistently knocking on the door progressively getting louder and more urgent and nearly beating with his fist as hard as he could until the door opened finally and a young strange looking guy peeked out of the crack of the door that was still secured by a door chain. It was striking at first seeing his translucent skin and snow white feathery hair, and strawberry champagne colored eyes. It was almost as if Lux was looking at a ghost.

  “Hello? Can I help you?” He said looking suspiciously at Lux who was the closest. Remington stood just behind him trying to stay out of direct view.

  “Yeah uh, sorry to bother you, but we are looking for someone called KC?” Lux said in his raspy voice. The guy seemed to look even more suspicious.

  “There is nobody here named KC.” He said then he shut the door. Lux sighed deeply. Of course this wasn't going to be as easy as he hoped it would be. He knocked again. The door opened quicker this time, still secured by the door chain.

  “What is it?” The guy said impatiently.

  “You sure? KC? Killing Casper? I think you might wanna check again.” Lux said seriously. The guy looked annoyed.

  “Get lost!” He snapped then tried to shut the door. Lux popped his foot in the way, stopping the door with his thick boot.

  “I'm 100% sure you should check again.” Lux said seriously. He was angry now.

  “I will call the police!” He said. Lux immediately removed his foot and the door slammed shut.

  “Welp, looks like we move on to plan B.” Lux said as Remington followed him back to the car. Lux drove the car away and went to a local hardware store. He got out and lit a cigarette as Remington came out looking worried.

  “Why are we here?” Remington asked with his hood up still hoping people wouldn't recognize him.

  “Need to grab something. Trust me.” Lux said as he smoked his cigarette. “Just get back in the car.” Remington got back in the car and waited. Lux finished his cigarette quickly then walked into the store. He walked down the isles until he found what he needed, which was duct tape, rope, and a pair of very sharp chain cutters. He strolled over to pay for everything, swiping the card that Vezaias gave him then took the stuff to the car.

  “We have to wait until the sun goes down.” Lux said seriously. Remington only nodded. He was never involved in crimes the way Lux had been, he trusted that Lux would know how to handle this situation. After the sun set Remington found himself following Lux to the front door to the house. Everything was quiet and it looked like all of the lights were off. Lux jiggled the door knob expecting to find it locked, then he pulled out his card and slipped it into the crack of the door and shimmied it and with a firm jerk the door popped open but there was a chain keeping the door from opening all of the way. Lux pulled out the chain cutters and wedged them into the crack of the door then snapped the chain in half. The door swung open slowly. It was dark and quiet. Lux put the tool in his bag and flung it onto his back then cautiously entered followed by Remington then shutting the door softly behind them. They crept around not finding anyone in the living area or kitchen then they quietly crept down the hall looking in the bathroom and then approaching a bedroom that seemed to be empty. Lux was about to enter when Remington stopped him and pointed further down the hall at a doorway that was lit up. They walked quietly towards it hearing clicking sounds. Lux and Remington glanced at each other then continued finding stairs that led down to a basement. Lux went first slowly, peeking his head to see a large fancy desk with not one, but two large computer screens and a massive brightly lit tower where someone sat at the desk clicking away at the keyboard. Lux slowly crept down the stairs. He then realized the person in question was wearing a set of headphones and most likely could not hear very well what was happening in the room behind him. Lux approached carefully with Remington behind him then motioned for Remington to snatch the person. Remington nodded. He closed in and reached around cupping the mouth and swooping his arm around like a restraint. The person jerked and struggled immediately. Remington hauled him out of the chair forcefully as the headset dropped to the ground and the person thrashed in his arms. He kept a firm hold clamping his mouth shut and keeping his arms secured to his sides so he could not escape. His legs kicked about and he twisted and jerked. Remington could hear him screaming under his hand.

  “Whoa whoa whoa whoa……easy fella! We don't wanna hurt you!” Lux hushed him. The person looked afraid and continued to struggle.

  “Calm down…..calm down…..shhhh.” Lux hushed him. The person stopped thrashing so hard now.

  “Listen, we are really not trying to hurt you. We just need you to come with us. Either you go willingly or we will do it by force. Either way, you are going with us.” Lux said softly. The person shook his head desperately.

  “Yes…..there is no way around it. You are coming with us. Now take it easy and you won't get hurt. Trust me there is no way you can escape.” Lux said softly. The person suddenly bit down and jerked away from Remington but with a quick smash to the back of the head he was unconscious.

  He woke up with his eyes covered, his mouth tapped, his wrists bound behind his back, and his ankles tied together while it seemed like he was floating and the weightlessness he felt was very unsettling. He could hear voices around him, who must have been the two assailants that had kidnapped him.

  “Do you have any idea who this is?” It was the voice of the guy who tried to calm him down.

  “I have an idea.” It must have been the one who restrained him. There was an odd familiarity to this voice

  “Take him to the safe room.” The first assailant said. He floated more. Soon he felt the floor against his body. He was still too groggy to move.

  “I will go find him, you wait here.” Assailant number two said. It got quiet. He felt more alert now and began to struggle to free his hands.

  “Ah! You're awake! Now take it easy. Let me remove that tape.” Soon he felt the duct tape rip away from his mouth.

  “AHHHuuughhh!” It hurt his sensitive skin. He cringed and tried not to cry as he felt panicked and afraid of what these psychos would do to him.

  “HELP! HELP ME!!!! SOMEONE HELP!!!!” He screamed hoping someone would come to save him.

  “Hey, easy now. Nobody is going to hear you!” The first assailant said reassuringly.

  “HELP! HELP ME!!!! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!” He struggled to wiggle against the floor. The blindfold was now slipping away from his face and he could see the swirly red haired assailant looking at him in irritation as he plugged his ears at the volume.

  “Accept for me. I can hear you.” He said in annoyance.

  “PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!”

  “Shhh hey listen we aren't trying to hurt you okay! It's gonna be alright!” The first assailant tried to calm him. Just then the other assailant returned. He hadn't seen this guy yet and as soon as he came into view he was completely stunned.

  “I had to wake him up. He was asleep. He is coming.”

  “Mystery?!” He shouted in disbelief. He had both assailant's attention now.

  “You know me?” The second assailant asked nervously.

  “You're from that band!….” He paused. “…but then that means….” He said in disbelief.

  “Come on now, we can't have our newest family member all tied up! Release him right now.” A very mature but familiar voice said as the mastermind behind the kidnapping walked in looking very much like heaven personified. The two assailants quickly unrestrained him and hauled him to his feet then released him and backed away.

  “Hey…” His familiar voice said then paused waiting for a reaction. Of course there would be no immediate reaction as he slowly processed what was happening with his mouth hanging open. A long moment later his muscles unfroze and he was moving quickly towards his target.

  “Vezaias?!” He shouted as he charged forward. Vezaias only smiled softly but didn't move to do anything besides take the full force of the fist he threw right in the jaw. He didn't stop at one punch, he repeated while grasping him by the chest of his shirt and smashing his fist over and over. The first two assailants jumped forward to help but Vezaias seemed to wave them to stop.

  “You fucking asshole!!! You left me!!! You left and you never came back!! It's been six fucking years!!!! Now suddenly you're here again!!!” He punched repeatedly until he was on the floor over top of Vezaias and too exhausted to continue to punch anymore. “Where did you go?! Why didn't you come back!? I needed you and you just disappeared!!!!” He began to sob and collapsed into Vezaias's chest.

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  “Eph…” Vezaias said softly. This only made him cry harder. Remington jolted. This was Ephraim. He watched as Vezaias closed his strong arms around Ephraim's shoulders. They all let him cry until he was able to calm down.

  “I'm sorry Eph. I couldn't come back. Your parents demanded I stay away from you. They made some deal with the court. I had to go to a different school, they put a restraining order against me. I wasn't allowed to go near your house or your school and it wasn't like I could just happen to catch you walking down the street. I never wanted to leave you. I had no choice.” Vezaias soothed him, rubbing his back tenderly.

  “I'm sorry that I punched you.” Ephraim said softly as tears slowly poured out. Vezaias seemed to chuckle beneath him. He snuggled harder into his neck.

  “You know I can take a punch better than anyone, right?” Vezaias said, sounding very amused. Ephraim smiled delicately and nodded softly with a soft chuckle. Vezaias sat up still holding him and helped him stand. He stayed tucked under Vezaias's arm.

  “Come here, I want to introduce you.” Vezaias said. Ephraim stayed clung to his side in fear of letting go as Vezaias brought him over to his two kidnappers.

  “This is Lux, and Lux this is Ephraim.” Vezaias said in a smooth and cordial voice. Ephraim shifted to look at Lux again.

  “Hehhello..” He stammered. Lux only looked at him curiously, but there seemed to be a suppressed sadness in his eyes. Lux looked distracted for a moment now and shifted his sad eyes away from Ephraim.

  “What is it, Lux?” Vezaias asked mildly.

  “They said I'm not very good at comforting people. I tried to get him to calm down but…” Lux said looking even sadder now.

  “Lux you fucking kidnapped him. Of course he isn't going to be calm.” Vezaias pressed. Lux looked irritated now on top of sad.

  “But you calmed him down!” Lux rebuttaled angrily.

  “That's because he knows me Lux. He has no idea who you are.” Vezaias highlighted in a delicate voice.

  “But he is still kidnapped!” Lux pressed in irritation.

  “If I gave you the option to leave right now Eph, would you go?” Vezaias looked down at Ephraim who was cramming himself into Vezaias's ribs. He only shook his head 'no' very urgently.

  “So now you are here willingly?” Vezaias asked softly and curiously.

  “I am.” Ephraim said meekly.

  “See, he wants to be here now Lux. It's okay. You have to also consider that he is probably still afraid of you.” Vezaias said mildly. Lux seemed to consider this, then he was suddenly very distracted again and then he began to examine Ephraim more closely.

  “What now Lux?” Vezaias said flatly.

  “Heh, well, this is doing a number on my sanity but…….they said he is dead because he doesn't have any color. He is a ghost.” Lux said very seriously.

  “He's not a fucking ghost Lux! If you call him that again I will cut your fucking head off to test and see if you can grow that back!” Vezaias snapped angrily. Lux jolted and was suddenly afraid, then as he struggled to suppress his fear Vezaias softened. He reached out cupping the back of Lux's head and rubbed his swirly hair very lovingly.

  “He cannot help the way he looks and I am very protective of him the same way that I am of you alright? Just don't call him any more offensive names. Got it?” Vezaias instructed. Lux shut his eyes as a few tears slipped out and nodded quickly. Vezaias continued and turned Ephraim towards Remington. He had been quiet looking worried and a bit scared but as Ephraim faced him he looked much more curious.

  “Eph this is…” Vezaias began.

  “Mystery, from your band, 'Nobody in Particular'.” Ephraim interrupted him. Vezaias and Remington glanced at each other looking amused.

  “You know me?” Remington said meekly.

  “Of course I do. Anyone who hasn't lived under a rock would know you and your band. I've watched all of your videos, I've listened to all of your music, I've purchased your album, I know the whole story, I've seen the fan pages, the anti-fan pages, all the pictures, I just ordered some merch not very long ago….” He trailed off looking mildly embarrassed. Remington suddenly felt a bit speechless.

  “So you’re a fan?” Vezaias cooed.

  “Well uh….” He paused. “….the music is amazing, and I can relate to a lot of the songs. That's what got me interested but then I went to look at the band’s social media page and I saw the viral video that was posted of you singing 'I’m Suffocating', I knew immediately it was you. So I guess you could say I was just a fanboy over you, Zay.” Ephraim said meekly. Vezaias smiled harshly at this. Ephraim seemed to pull away from him now realizing that he was probably invading someone else's territory.

  “I thought maybe I could catch one of your concerts just to see you up close again, as long as it was a night time concert, but nothing has been posted about any upcoming shows.” Ephraim said looking very coyly at Vezaias, then he shifted to Remington.

  “It was nice to meet you Mystery.” He said softly, looking unhappy.

  “My real name is Remington. Mystery is just my stage name. It is very nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you.” Remington said, trying to sound friendly but mild. Ephraim looked at him a bit confused now. “Vezaias has told me about you. He has really missed you. That's why he wanted us to come and take you. He was afraid if he went too, that you would be too angry at him to talk to him. So he asked us to do it. So I apologize if I hurt or scared you at all. I was just trying to get you here safely.” Remington said mildly. Ephraim continued to look at him trying to figure him out. He also looked sad and very meek. Ephraim didn't understand the significance of anything that was happening.

  “I'm sorry that I bit you.” Ephraim said sincerely.

  “Don't worry about it.” Remington said looking mildly amused. It was quiet and awkward for a moment.

  “Rem, it's late.” Vezaias said. Suddenly Remington looked unhappy. “I know Rem, but you should get going.”

  “I don't want to go. I hate going back there.” Remington seemed to struggle not to crumble.

  “Rem, it won't be much longer I promise.” Vezaias said soothingly. Remington nodded softly. Oddly enough he glanced at Ephraim apprehensively then at Vezaias as if pleadingly. Vezaias smiled and softened then stepped forward and pulled Remington into his arms and kissed him very deep and passionately, then whispered gently in his ear 'I love you Rem'. Before pulling away. Ephraim watched painfully, very struck by jealousy.

  “I will see you tomorrow Rem. Be safe. Remember if things get hostile you know how to reach me. I will come to help you.” Vezaias said seriously, looking a strange amount of worried. Remington nodded. “Be safe Lux. Take care of each other. Alright?” Lux nodded obediently. Vezaias then turned and took Ephraim by the hand leading him out of the room and up the stairs. He took him into the kitchen and grabbed some bottles of tea from the refrigerator then turned to go to the living room pulling Ephraim into his arms on the couch. Ephraim did not protest this at all but he had so many questions and he wasn't sure if he should ask any of them. Vezaias was content now in holding Ephraim in his arms. It was quiet for a long while. Eventually Vezaias shifted and clicked the TV on and began to channel surf leisurely while still holding Ephraim securely in his arms. He settled on a comedy show and relaxed in his seat.

  “Zay?” He finally worked up the nerve to speak.

  “Hm?” Vezaias hummed. His voice was like listening to the velvety sound of an angel singing.

  “I don't understand what is going on.” Ephraim said softly.

  “Hmph, it's probably very confusing for you. I'm sorry to snatch you up like that. I just had to see you again. Now that you are here, I am going to keep you forever whether you want me to or not. The way things have turned out I will be able to make a nice life for myself and everyone I care about if things go the way they have been. I also really need to increase my number of allies. So of course I would want you here as part of my family.” Vezaias cooed rubbing Ephraim’s back very lovingly.

  “I still don't understand.” Ephraim said feeling lost.

  “All you have to know is how much I missed you and that I want you to stay here with me forever. Everything else you will learn with time.” Vezaias said soothingly.

  “Uh, okay but…..” He paused uncomfortably. “….well I just have so many questions.”

  “I will try and answer as many of them as I can, I just might not want to explain everything though.” Vezaias said mildly.

  “Okay well….” Ephraim gathered up his nerve, there was just so much he wanted to know. “…..First, I haven't seen you in six years, why did you suddenly go through the trouble of sending those guys to get me and bring me here?”

  “Well because before I joined this band, things haven't exactly been all rainbows and sunshine for me. A lot has happened to me and I am just now in a comfortable place where I had the time, resources, security, and ability to find you.” Vezaias said seriously. “….but since the last moment I saw you, there hasn't been a day that I didn't think about you or miss you terribly.” Vezaias continued. Ephraim seemed to flush as his cheeks heated up to the color of a ripe juicy strawberry. “Next question?”

  “Uh! Well….” He paused again. “….I know some of the story. You made friends with Mystery, then the situation happened with his family and he ghosted you. You waited for him for a year. You…..you are in love with him……..I am assuming you two are a couple as suggested by your onscreen appearance’s. I mean his profile picture is of him kissing you on stage, not to mention his very unapologetic songs where he confesses his loyalty and love for you……then you kissed him before he left today…...” Ephraim trailed off delicately. Vezaias sighed deeply.

  “And…?” Vezaias prompted.

  “….and well now you have brought me here, and you are being very loving with me. Won't he be mad? Does he trust you that much?” Ephraim asked cautiously.

  “He knows where he stands, and he is secure in his place with me. Plus he knows how important seeing you again was to me. He knows how important it is to add you to our family. Plus when he confessed his loyalty to me, he was very serious about that. He is so loyal to me that he would do anything that I ask him to do no matter what it is.” Vezaias said almost as if he were smug over this type of loyalty.

  “He is secure in his place….you love him….that means…” Ephraim's heart sank. He paused for a long moment feeling crushed. “I think I should go.” Ephraim said, trying to stand up. Vezaias quickly snatched him back, not letting him escape his arms.

  “Nah, you are going to stay Eph. You are part of the family now.” Vezaias said. Ephraim struggled for a moment, and with a firm shove Ephraim jerked away and stood up.

  “Look I can't do this with you again, hanging around watching you be with someone else. It's absolutely unbearable for me. Besides that, you keep mentioning that I'm part of the family now, and I have no idea what the fuck you mean by that!” Ephraim snapped in irritation. Vezaias only looked at him seriously. “It was nice seeing you again, no matter how unsatisfying it was for me, but I'm going to leave now.” Ephraim said firmly. He turned to walk towards the door. Vezaias got to his feet and followed him then with a quick step he got to the door first.

  “When I said you were part of the family I meant you belong to me, the same way Rem does, the same as Lux, but that means you can never leave. I'm sort of a collector, you know. I want to protect you, keep you safe here with me forever, and I'll give you the whole world that I am building if you stay. If you are not satisfied with that, then fine, you want to leave, then go ahead and try.” Vezaias said seriously, looking deeply at Ephraim. The look nearly melted his resolve to go, he hesitated at first but took the door handle in his hand.

  “Be careful out there. It's dangerous.” Vezaias said smoothly. Ephraim struggled with his decision to go but mustering up the courage he jerked the handle, the door swung open and he moved to take a step but before he could he snatched the wall just in time to catch himself from plummeting into the dark abyss outside of the door because there was in fact, no visible solid ground outside. He staggered backwards in shock then looked at Vezaias who looked smugly back at him.

  “What's wrong Eph? Change your mind?” He said smoothly. He filled with fear as Vezaias took him by the hand and pulled him out of the way as he shut the door and with a wave of his hand the door seemed to fade out completely and vanish before his eyes. “When I said you were family and you could never leave, I really meant it, Eph.”