[Despite the paranoia and the selfishness that Wonderland is doing its best to draw out of him, there's a part of him that wonders about Maya, what she's been through, how well she knows what that's like. And frankly, he is scared—he's terrified that he'll have his whole world shattered all over again, for the fourth or fifth time, that he'll never be able to tell the difference between friend and foe, that he won't ever have a place or people he can call home. She says he deserves it, and he grits his teeth in the futile hope of holding back tears.
His response is almost choked out as a result, his throat threatening to close around the words as he lowers his weapon. It's a realization that was forced onto him when he wasn't ready for it, and he hates it:]
People don't get what they deserve. Me being here... all of us being here proves that.
[And him trying to fix that, trying to help others with their problems, reaching out and trying to be part of a team—that was always a mistake, as much as he craves the company and can't stop himself from caring. And more than even the fear of what others will do to him, which is no small matter, what about the other side of the equation? A shadow takes the form of a caped man on the broken husk of a building, gleaming yellow eyes beneath a mask and a wicked smile. The deep voice returns through that form.
Of course they don't. But we're going to fix that, my dear.
Ferran has wondered for months now what would have happened if his universe hadn't been destroyed at that pivotal moment. Knowing that he was taken in by the same man he'd been trying to fight... Onyx must have had a reason. The ends of those ethereal chains appear in the clawed metal gloves of the shadow figure, and he pulls at them with clear delight as Ferran moves accordingly. The young man looks stricken, but as if his emotions were frozen in a moment before any true realization could happen.
Show me just how well I've trained you.
Maya will have to worry about the shadow monster later. For now, she has a Ray of Frost to avoid.]
no subject
His response is almost choked out as a result, his throat threatening to close around the words as he lowers his weapon. It's a realization that was forced onto him when he wasn't ready for it, and he hates it:]
People don't get what they deserve. Me being here... all of us being here proves that.
[And him trying to fix that, trying to help others with their problems, reaching out and trying to be part of a team—that was always a mistake, as much as he craves the company and can't stop himself from caring. And more than even the fear of what others will do to him, which is no small matter, what about the other side of the equation? A shadow takes the form of a caped man on the broken husk of a building, gleaming yellow eyes beneath a mask and a wicked smile. The deep voice returns through that form.
Of course they don't. But we're going to fix that, my dear.
Ferran has wondered for months now what would have happened if his universe hadn't been destroyed at that pivotal moment. Knowing that he was taken in by the same man he'd been trying to fight... Onyx must have had a reason. The ends of those ethereal chains appear in the clawed metal gloves of the shadow figure, and he pulls at them with clear delight as Ferran moves accordingly. The young man looks stricken, but as if his emotions were frozen in a moment before any true realization could happen.
Show me just how well I've trained you.
Maya will have to worry about the shadow monster later. For now, she has a Ray of Frost to avoid.]