Hayley's back was turned to Isaac when he asked her, but when the blonde turned to look at him, he would see a pair of red, demonic eyes staring back at him, emotionless, foreign and certainly not hers. That sight lasted but for a second for, when she blinked, her steely blue eyes returned. "Huh? What? What are you talking about?" Hayley asked, finally noticing that they were out of the arena. "Isaac, how did we get out? Did something happened?" she asked in confusion, a brow raised quizzically.

Isaac felt himself reel back slightly upon seeing Hayley's eyes, but they vanished quickly, replaced by her regular gaze as she asked him what happened. Thinking that his mind was playing tricks on him, he then wonders, What's she talking about? She doesn't remember? Vincent replies, It doesn't look like it. Suddenly angry at him, Isaac says, You shut up, Vincent. You and I are gonna have a talk later. He then looks back at Hayley, his brow furrowed in confusion as he asks, "You don't remember those hands appearing out of nowhere? The ones that helped us escape?

Hayley hummed as she tried to recall said sights in her memory. It didn't take her long to find an image that matched Isaac's description, but it was a massive blur to her. "Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember seeing what you told me, but I only saw them emerging from the shadows. I don't remember what happened afterwards until we get here. By the time those crazy hands have come out, I saw nothing but black all over..." Looking back at Isaac, she sighed and asked, "Are you sure you didn't drag me out here? It's not like I could run if I lose my consciousness, if that really happened."

Isaac looks at Hayley for a long few moments. Then, unable to figure out what had happened, considering the hands and her eyes, he decides not to worry her and says, "Yeah, I brought you out here. I guess someone was watching over us and decided to help out." You sure it's a good idea to lie? Vincent asks. No, I'm not sure, Isaac replies. But, until it happens again, I don't wanna worry her needlessly.

"Ah, that makes sense," Hayley replied, quickly accepting his explanation with her own common sense. After all, it was very hard for her to find other explanation to what had happened. "I guess someone in the audience wants us to live and fight another day, huh? I must've lost consciousness from shock, fatigue or both, so I'm not entirely sure of what happened..." Taking a deep breath, she remembered what happened before the whole fiasco and looked at Isaac. "Now then, can you explain why you let your other personality almost turn me into mince meat? And your powers too... What's with you and that rock gorilla?"

Isaac looks at Hayley for a few long minutes before sighing. Thanks for getting me in this mess, he tells Vincent, who replies, You're welcome! After awhile, Isaac says, "Like I told you, there are plenty of people out there like me and Vincent, people who can use these kinds of abilities. People like me, we tend to stay in the shadows, wanting nothing more than to live as much of a normal life as possible. People like Vincent and that guy, though...they love using their power for their own purposes, either money or just to use them. As for why Vincent went after you..." Tell her I'm sorry, he says. The heat of battle was in me and I couldn't stop myself... "...He's usually very respectful of women, other than the comments he makes. He was just caught up in the fight and lost himself when you headbutted him. He, uh...apologizes."

"You don't expect me to easily forgive a man who nearly butchered me, right?" Hayley retorted with an angry frown, not intending to simply 'live and let live'. "Still, thanks for letting me know. Next time I see him, I'll just kick his ass outright." Sighing and rubbing the back of her neck, she looked at the sky and muttered, "I'm heading home... I'm gonna need a new SIM card tomorrow and I'm gonna need a new job. Those people underground don't take it very kindly when someone messed up the match and they'll certainly put a nice bounty on my head."

Listening to Hayley mention that she needed to get a new SIM card, as well as a new job, Isaac instantly feels a wave of guilt wash over him, even though he technically wasn't the one at fault. However, said person didn't seem capable of feeling guilt, leaving Isaac to feel enough for the both of them. "I'm sorry," he says quietly, looking down. "If it weren't for me and Vincent, you wouldn't have to completely revamp your life..." He then looks up, into Hayley's steel-blue eyes, and, even though he'd rather not do so, says, "I think it'd be best if I were to leave. You'd never have to see me again and I wouldn't mess up your life anymore than I already did..."

"To be fair, those things are the least of my worries. I've survived on my own for years by now, so I'm not going to let them drag me down." Hayley stopped herself and thought further about what she had in mind. However, recalling the flurry of insanity she saw in his eyes and the glint of sharp, iron claws that almost severed her neck, she decided that it would be best for both of them to part ways for now. "Not to sound rude... but I agree. I really need time alone. As much as I like you, I'm not ready to carry all these baggage on top of my daily struggles, not to mention your crazy other self. It's best if we go our separate ways for the time being."

Although Isaac wanted to protest as much as Vincent already was, he knows it'd be the best course of action. The last thing he'd ever want would be to push Hayley even further by reneging on his own idea or put her in even more danger because of him. Sighing as he realizes just how much he'd come to enjoy her company over the past week, he says, "Alright. I understand." Turning away from her, he slides his hands into the pockets of his overcoat and, without turning around, he quietly calls back, "I'll see you around, Hayley..."

Despite having told herself that she wanted nothing to do with his personal issues, Hayley had to admit that she had grown fond of his company and having to cut that off herself made her feel somewhat guilty. Nonetheless, she decided to favor her own welfare and let them work on their own life. "See you," she replied as she turned away to the direction of her home. She now had a litany of things she must take care of lest retribution came knocking on her door.

----------- One Month Later -----------

"Shit shit shit shit shit shit!!"

Hayley made a mad dash for the path in front of her as the noises of soles against the asphalt road crept closer towards her direction. In the month she had spent resuming her solitary life, she learned that the fiasco she, Isaac and Vincent caused at the underground fighting arena had ruffled the feathers of several parties, one of which had both the manpower, money and willingness to eliminate them for their antics. The deafening noise of a gunshot paced her to run faster, evident from the way she was hastily leaping over any fences or objects on the road. Making her way to an abandoned building, the blonde promptly used the empty skeleton of concrete, steel and abandonment as a hiding place with her pursuers on tow. As she ran into the building, she could hear a feminine voice yell out with a heavy hint of Italian accent.

"I don't care if we have to reduce this place to rubble. I want that zoccola brought to me, dead or alive!"

Meanwhile, not too far away, Isaac sighed for the nth time in the past month, making Vincent say, Dude, if you're that torn up about it, go see her! You know where she lives, moron!

I can't do that, Isaac replies as the sounds of footsteps begin to sound behind him. I don't wanna put her in anymore danger. I mean, we've already made her almost reset her entire life because of what happened at the fight... Vincent sighs and, just as he begins to say something, someone walks out of an alley in front of them, saying, "Buongiorno, sir. You wouldn't happen to be Isaac Ryder, would you?" Isaac eyes the man warily, aware of the footsteps coming to a halt behind him. How many? he asks Vincent. Three, all together. Want me to take them out? Instead of answering, Isaac says, "Uh, yeah. Something I can--"

Before he can finish his question, one of the men swing an aluminum bat at the back of his head. It was only thanks to Vincent that he was able to coat the back of his head in carbon, nullifying the attack and making the man drop the bent bat in surprise. Turning around, Isaac looks at him and says, "You know, it's pretty rude to interrupt someone..."

---

A few minutes later, he's standing over the groaning bodies of all three men, saying, "That took a bit longer than necessary." Suddenly, the rapport of a gunshot sounds throughout the city, making Isaac instantly look for the source as Vincent says, Probably a street gang having it out with the cops. Let's go watch! Isaac, a cold seed of dread sitting in the pit of his stomach, says, I don't think it was...Those men trying to kill us after what happened last month, the fact that they knew my name, and the gunshot is all too coincidental. Without even realizing he was doing so, he begins running toward the sound, suddenly worried for Hayley.

Panting and feeling her body beginning to slow down, Hayley leaned against a wall as she listened to the noises and jumbled Italian now reverberating in the building. She had taken a refuge inside one of the many empty open rooms and precariously used two adjacent walls to heave herself up close to the ceiling. "Fuck! This is bad," she muttered and looked around like a prey animal seeking an escape she could run into. A glance to her side gave her the view of a skeletal staircase and, after waiting for the men to leave that particular floor she was hiding at to the ones above it, she climbed down and tip-toed her way down, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Once she made it to the lower floor, she immediately looked for a way out, only to feel a flash of searing hit on her thigh, causing her to crumple to the floor in great pain with a scream of agony. "Well, look who came back~!" Hayley growled and turned around to look at her assailant. "You aren't very smart, are you?"

A woman with a shotgun now stood behind her, dressed in a white strapless top, scarlet suit and matching pants with a pair of sleek black pumps with broad heels. Her bright green eyes looked at the injured blonde with a sadistic glee and her long auburn hair, tied into a French braid, gently swayed behind her back. "Now, let us not waste any more time. Stay still and I shall send you to the other side soon." Hayley, still defiant despite her injury, crawled on the floor and retorted, "Huh, I don't thi- Isaac?! What the fuck are you doing here?!"

Believing that her other quarry had found their location, the woman turned to where she was looking at and pointed the barrel of her gun, but then quickly found out that the blonde had tricked her. By the time she turned her attention back to her, Hayley had taken a plunge of faith out of an open gap reserved for windows to the ground below, landing on a pile of sand that broke her fall. Gritting her teeth in anger, she shouted in Italian and continued her pursuit while Hayley, with buckshot fragments inside her bleeding thigh, hobbled away in search of safety.

Hearing yet another roar of gunfire, this time from a weapon larger than the pistol fire he's been hearing (how he knows the difference between the shots, he has no clue), Isaac makes a quick right and finds himself facing a rundown building, which seems to have been abandoned for the past few years. It's coming from in there! Vincent yells, to which Isaac replies, I know! Carbon coating his arms and chest, he sprints for the building, only to stop after glancing small, red circles of blood. Immediately fearing the worst, he starts following the trail, sprinting as soon as he hears people exiting the building. Hayley, he pleads, please still be alive!

Panting heavily and losing her consciousness from gradual blood loss, Hayley was forced to stop after the pain of her wound became too much to ignore. She could hear the auburn-haired woman and her men now closing in on her. Trapped and with no escape in sight, she tried to push herself despite the pain and wavering vision, only to feel another searing pain as one of the men spotted her and shot her in the arm, narrowly missing her chest. Now with two gunshot wounds, she fell to the ground as her assailants had her surrounded, blood seeping to the dirt under her body. The auburn woman wasted no time and pointed the barrel of her shotgun at her head, her finger twitching on the trigger.

"Addio, Hayley Summerland."

Suddenly, thin blades of iron erupt from the ground, slicing the barrels of the woman and her men's weapons clean off. "I'd back off if I were you," a voice calls from a short distance away. Stepping around a corner, Isaac locks eyes with each of the men, the woman, then Hayley, who, for the moment, still seemed to be alive. Dude, that was badass! Vincent cries. I never would've guessed that you were capable of that! Fucking awesome! Ignoring him, Isaac tells Hayley, "Don't worry, Hayley. I'll get you out of this, I promise."

"Isaac...? Isaac?! What the fuck are you doing here?!" Hayley shouted, fear and anger in her cracking voice, as the woman discarded her useless gun and looked at Isaac in the eye. From the smile on her face and her confident posture, she clearly didn't fear him as much as her men did, evident from their panicked murmurings and skittish body language. "Buongiorno, Isaac Ryder. It appears that intel's words on you are no exaggeration," she said to him, then asked, "What business do you have with Signorina Hayley? Don't you have other priorities to attend to?"

Taking a step forward, which nearly made the men run off in fear, if not for their fear of the woman trumping their fear of him, Isaac says, "Sorry, but there's nothing I hate more than a bunch of people ganging up on someone else, especially with guns. Now, if you'd all be so kind as to leave, I promise I won't hurt any of you...Even more importantly, I promise my friend won't kill you." You're talking about me, right? Vincent asks. Sighing inwardly, Isaac says, Yes, I am, which makes Vincent giggle crazily.

"Sì. Signore Vincent, is it not?" The auburn-haired woman replied calmly, seemingly unfazed by Isaac's presence or intimidation. "I'm quite aware of what your amico could and would do. After all, video records of him making a fool out of that foolish rock head are already out and about within my circle. I can't afford to let you two go, but I would be very merciful towards you. If you consent to being my servant, I'd be more than happy to take you in." Glancing at the bleeding blonde, she shot her a dark gaze and said, "The girl, however, has to die. She's becoming too much of a pain to keep around."

"Guess the ringleader finally thinks I've outlived my usefulness, huh?" Hayley snarled and furiously glared at the woman as she nonchalantly replied, "To be quite fair, you're becoming too expensive to pay anyway. That fiasco you caused finally gave him a green light to get rid of you. I'm just working for the best interest of the business. Don't take it personally."

Isaac takes a deep breath and says, "Sorry, no deal. Even though I'm not as proud as Vincent, I still have enough dignity not to become anyone's servant. Plus, I just can't stand by and let you kill her." That said, his body turns pitch black as carbon encases him from head to toe. Seeing the sudden transformation was enough to make the men take off running, one of them shouting how he didn't get paid enough to deal with freaks. Taking an offensive stance, making a note to ask Hayley who exactly this woman was and who she worked for, he says, "Since you find it so necessary to kill her, I won't go easy on you, even if you're a woman." You just surprise me more and more, Vincent says, deciding to let Isaac handle himself this time around.