Cecilia carefully yet deliberately approached Chris as he continued to torture the human who tried to shoot at him. "Ca-Captain?" she asked, her voice trembling from fear.
A low grumbling roar was his answer. Slowly, Chris turned to face the human. Cecilia's hands flew to her mouth as she beheld the captain's face. His once-pointed nose is now hooked and beak-like. His lips now cracked, and his pristine teeth darkened with tar and what smelled like blood. His masculine brows disappeared beneath rough ridges, and his well-kept hair was now all bristled and coarse. His eyes, though, showed something akin to sorrow and recognition
The captain raised his hand as if to strike Cecilia down, but the chief officer pushed her out of the way and was caught by the captain's grip instead. The demonic Chris lifted Bustamante high above his head and then threw him across the room. Cecilia ran to aid the Chief Officer. "Chief Bustamante, are you alright?" She helped the man get to his feet. "What do we do now? Is he too far gone now?"
"He is not beyond saving," Bustamante confidently declared. "Despite being buried by wrath and fury, the captain is still in there. I saw it in his eyes."
"His eyes?" Cecilia questions the logic in the Chief Officer's statements.
"Her recognizes you, Miss Bermudez!" He stated, which confused Cecilia, "Miss Bermudez, you need to call him out, you need to reach in his heart…that is the only way we can save him." He then glanced at Chris, "But before that, I know you will hate me for what I am about to say, but we need to save those humans first. I will distract him while you free those humans. After that, we will try to reason with him."
Chief Bustamante ran, waving his hands, "Captain over here," he shouted as he jumped up and down.
Chris turned around and started to follow Chief Bustamante, leaving his quarry unattended. Cecilia took advantage of this distraction to free the bound men.
Bustamante darted around giving chase to Chris. After a while, he turned around and noticed that Chris was no longer pursuing him. "Miss Bermudez," he then doubled back
Cecilia had just freed the pawnshop owner when she felt someone breathing down her neck. She slowly turned around to see who it was, only to stifle a scream when she saw Chris angrily snarling at her. Ceclia closed her eyes as Chris stepped forward, closing the gap between them. She let out a tiny scream when Chris reached out.
Cecilia, however, felt something different when Chris's hand touched her face. It was gentle and warm, not the touch of a raging demon. She slowly opened her eyes and turned towards Chris. "Captain?" she softly whispered.
"Pi-nk?" The captain called out with a raspy voice.
Tears streamed from Cecilia's eyes as she held out her hand and gently held Chris's face. "You recognize me?"
Chris slowly nodded in reply to Cecilia's question. In her joy, she leaped and hugged Chris tightly. "I thought we lost you," she told him. "I thought I lost you," she sobbed.
Bustamante arrived panting, but a smile was etched on his face when he saw Cecilia and Chris hugging each other. "She did it, she saved the captain," he said, smiling.
The celebration was short-lived; the pawnshop owner's mind started to clear. When he saw the demon being pacified, he quickly crawled to a gun he spotted. He picked it up and pointed it at Chris and Cecilia.
Three gunshots rang through the air, startling Cecilia and Chris. When they turned to the origin of the sound, they saw Bustamante, arms outstretched as he used his body to shield them. Chris snarled and rushed at the assailant, his clawed hands open and with lethal intentions.
The demon Chris raised his claws high above his head and let loose a powerful strike aimed at the man's neck. All the pawnshop owner could do was close his eyes tightly and wait for the fatal blow. After a while, the man opened his eyes, wondering why he was still alive. He lifted his gaze and saw a woman shielding him from the rampaging demon.
Chris was able to stop the attack; his sharp claws were so near Cecilia's throat that they made a minuscule puncture on her skin. The captain snarled at the woman who put herself between him and his quarry. "Not like this, Captain…I won't lose you like this!" she bravely declared. "Please remember who you are. You're not a rampaging demon; you are Captain Chris! You are the captain of the Twilight!"
The words seemed to have reached the demon's heart, for as soon as he heard those words, he lowered his claws. A small trickle of blood came out of the puncture wound, and when he saw it, a flood of memories came crashing down on him like a tsunami.
"You're human?"
"What is wrong with you? Are you really that miserable and devoid of any warmth that even perceiving happiness from other people irks you to no end?"
"He said she is going to give me peace."
"Captain, please… please respond!"
"Thank you…you saved me yet again…Captain Chris"
"Thank you, Captain, for saving my life."
"Captain, just leave, go, don't mind me."
"Captain? Have you stopped to look at the stars?"
He remembered her smile directed at him as soon as the music faded; their eyes met, and when the only light remaining was directed at her, he recalled the sweet smile she had given him.
"I don't want to die…I don't want to die! Please, somebody…anybody help me."
Her words from that time rang through his head. Somewhere in the deepest and darkest recesses of his mind, Chris, the true Chris, woke up from what seemed to be a long slumber. He stood and looked at his surroundings. he heard a voice, an angelic and melodic voice. "You are calling me, I guess I lost my way. Don't stop calling me so I can follow your voice home." He then walked towards the light, where Cecilia's voice was coming from.