A Search For Answers ~Ray's Chapter~

Narrator: "This world is surrounded by crime, greed, and many other sins. When people gave up hope for peace there are a group of assassins that would cleanse the world. If you're truly tormented by anyone and want vengeance, then you must call upon The Sweepers and they will take vengeance for you."

A young man is talking to a reporter who writing about the events that happened to him recently.

Jason: "I couldn't believe what had happened what I found out. The woman I thought was my mom wasn't my mom and my dad knew about it and used to drive her to snap only to get her money."

Two weeks ago, the same man went to his parent's house to see his sister.

Jason: "Wendy? Are you home?" He sees his mom and she look at him in a fearful way, staying silent. "Hey, mom... Dad must be at work."

He went to look for his sister.

Wendy: "Big brother!"

She runs up to her brother and hugs him.

Jason: "Did you figure out why mom is always cold to me?"

Wendy: "No... I asked her many times, but she kept changing the subject."

Jason: "Maybe I can figure it out while I'm visiting for a while."

Elsewhere Christiana is walking in the park humming a song to her baby.

Ray: "He really did it he put a baby in you."

She takes out her phone to make it look like she is talking on the phone.

Christiana: "Nice to see you again after so long Ray."

Ray: "Did your vampire force himself on to you?"

Christiana: "Very funny no he didn't."

Ray: "I just assume that since you're pregnant."

Christiana: "Pretty much everyone thinks that."

Ray: "What do you expect when it comes to you and your vampire? He's like a wild animal when it comes to you."

Christiana: "In other words, Meadow is a wild wolf beast and I'm an innocent cat."

Ray: "You innocent? Don't make me laugh."

Christiana: "To think death has a sense of humor."

Meanwhile, Jason is on his way to his dad's workplace. While he is walking, he bumps into Seven and gets a premonition, but it is one from the past of a boy. He sees a woman strangling her son.

Carrie: "You! I knew you weren't my son! I know you were that Russian woman's son!"

The boy tried to fight her off but couldn't, then the maid stopped her.

Maid: "Miss! Stop! Why wouldn't strangle your own son?!"

Carrie: "He's not my son! He's that slut's son!"

Man: "He is your son why would you think he's not?"

Carrie: "I can tell in his eyes! He's not my son!"

The boy is coughing as he is trying to catch his breath and Seven sees who he is realizing who he is.

Seven: "Ray?!"

The premonition ends.

Jason: "Sorry kid. Hey, are you okay?!"

Seven: "I'm fine! Really, I am."

He runs off.

Jason: "I hope that kid is alright."

Seven rushes to the library to look for old articles from the Revenue Witch Trials.

Seven: "These witch trials began in the 1340s and ended in the early 1600s. Many innocent women and men were killed because of the accusation of using witchcraft. This was caused by paranoia and fear of the unexplained. There wasn't much documented about the beginning of the witch trials since the village that accused the victim was burned down by an unknown fire believed to be the cause of witchcraft."

As he is about to put the articles back, he has a premonition of the past and sees Ray as a young man being burned alive.

Ray: "You wealthy people accusing me of something I didn't do! Taking an innocent man's life! I'll make you pay for this! I vow that I will get my revenge! I'll come back from the dead and take my revenge!"

The premonition ends.

Seven: "Oh my God... Ray... That's how he died..."

Meanwhile, Ray is watching people passing by in their daily lives as he thinks back on his past. A flashback to 1332 in a village known as Lakeshore Village before it became Lake City.

Young Ray: "Nanny Ann why isn't Mother with us?"

Nanny Ann: "Oh she wasn't feeling well but I think you should meet someone."

She takes him to the bakery to meet the owner.

Mila: "Welcome!"

She is shocked to see Ray, her son not knowing to Ray.

Nanny: "I thought it would have been best if you two finally met."

She sheds tears as she hugs him, and Ray is puzzled about her since he doesn't know who she actually is.

It is back to the present.

Ray: "I wonder who she was... She felt familiar but that was the first time we met...."

Faith: "Reminiscing the past? It's not like you."

Ray: "And it's not like you to be out here in the living world."

Faith: "I was wondering why you've been letting reapers have a second chance in life."

Ray: "You have your rules and I have mine."

Faith: "Well I did say you can make your own rules of death, but I didn't think you would give reapers second chances in life."

Ray: "Second chances aren't deserved they're earned. I don't tell them about it until they discover it themselves."

Faith: "I see."

Seven notices Ray with Faith he walks up to them. As he gets to them, he blushes when he sees Faith.

Seven: "Oh um h-h-hey Ray who's your cute friend?"

Ray: "This old hag isn't my friend."

Faith: "Old hag?! Take that back you brat!"

Seven: "Huh?"

Ray: "She's fate itself."

Seven: "You mean like how stuff is meant to happen."

Faith: "My aren't you knowledgeable about the supernatural? Sharing the same fate as your dad."

Seven: "Huh?!"

Faith: "Being a hunter you followed your dad's fate and didn't even realize it. Sometimes fate can be unpredictable and sometimes others can share the same fate. Fate is set in stone it can never change no matter what. Everyone must follow their fate their fate can never be rewritten. That's just how I have worked ever since the beginning of mankind."

Seven: (Thinking) "She's that old?! Damn, I thought she might've been nineteen or twenty. I was going to ask if she goes for a high school guy..."

Ray: "She usually isn't in the living world."

Faith: "I had to see how the living world is in this day and age. You almost changed the fate of your friend, didn't you?"

Seven: "How did you..."

Faith: "It was in my book whatever is written in here is set in stone. Nothing and no one can change fate no matter what."

Seven: "O-Oh..."

Faith: "I know you had good intentions, but you mustn't change another person's fate. As you came across it you can't mess with the timeline. It'll have dire consequences of your timeline and create a completely different timeline."

Seven: "I see..."

Faith: "I should get going I think spent enough time in the living world. So long."

She vanished.

Seven: "Hey can I ask you something? I had a premonition I saw a woman trying to kill her son. The boy I saw looked like you."

Ray: "That woman only gave birth to me she's no mother."

Seven: "She killed you, didn't she?"

Ray: "I was burned in the stake an innocent sixteen-year-old killed because of some bitch. My anger was so strong that I got my revenge from those who took my life away."

Seven: "I thought once you die you won't remember how you die."

Ray: "That's just a myth some will believe that they have died one way, but they'll see the truth. Well, that's only in the cases of those who committed suicide and become reapers."

A flashback to 1330 Ray is reading a book until his mom walks in with her friends. She looks at him with a psychotic smile on her face.

Carrie: "Take him... He's a magic user... He must be burned to the stake..."

Her friends grabbed him and took him to the execution stake; they tied him up and prepared to burn him. The village leader and some of the villagers came to stop them.

Village Leader: "You can't just assume he's a warlock! Nobody has seen any witchcraft whatsoever here!"

Village Woman: "Just because it's happening in other villages doesn't mean it's happening here!"

Wealthy Man: "All you commoners are all the same. Watching over other's backs instead of your own in this day in age you only have to look after yourself."

Wealthy Woman: "Honestly, we need a new village leader a better one. One who would agree with us."

Village Man: "More like bribing one rather than listening to reasoning! Let him go!"

Carrie started the fire to burn him.

Carrie: "Burn... Go join that Russian slut of a mom of yours."

Ray tried to escape but couldn't because the ropes were too tight to get loose.

Village Leader: "Water! Go get water! We have to save him!"

The villagers went to get water to save him, but the wealthy villagers stopped them.

As Ray screams as he is burning alive, he sees how the wealthy villagers all smile at his demise as well as his mom.

Ray: "You wealthy people accusing me of something I didn't do! Taking an innocent man's life! I'll make you pay for this! I vow that I will get my revenge! I'll come back from the dead and take my revenge!"

Ray is burned to death nothing, but bones left in the execution stake.

Village Woman: "We're too late..."

Village Man: "We... We couldn't save him in time..."

The wealthy villagers all laugh at Ray's death.

Villager Leader: "How dare you laugh?! You killed an innocent child!"

Wealthy Woman: "Innocent? I wouldn't call a bastard's child innocent. As you must know, his real mom is that bakery girl. Carrie's husband had an affair with the bakery girl and had that bastard child."

Villager Man: "It wasn't an affair that low-life man raped Mila! She was going to run away with her son, but that man took him from her! He killed her just because she was going to take her son and leave the village!"

Carrie: "You lie! That slut threw herself onto my husband and look what happened!"

Ray: "You lying bitch!"

She screamed in horror along with the other wealthy villagers to see Ray as a spirit.

Wealthy Man: "H-H-How?!"

Wealthy Woman: "How is it possible?! He's dead how is it that we can see him?!"

The villagers are confused about why the wealthy villagers are freaking out because they can't see Ray's spirit.

Village Woman: "What's going on with them village leader?"

Village Leader: "I'm afraid that they have gone mad."

Ray: "How dare say that about that woman?! She was a nice woman until father killed her with his chariot horse! I killed him he didn't deserve to live after what he did! Now I'm going to kill you the same way you killed me!"

He raises his hand and sets his mom on fire as she is on fire she screams in pain. Everyone screams in terror seeing her suddenly on fire.

Village Man: "What just happened?!"

Village Woman: "She just burst into flames!"

Ray: "Die wealthy scum!"

He set all the wealthy villagers on fire and made sure not to harm the middle-class villagers. Next thing he knew, half of the village was in flames as the villagers escaped unharmed.

Faith: "I didn't think this was the fate of this village. It wasn't even in my book who would've thought a mere child can change fate like that."

Ray: "Who are you?"

Faith: "Fate itself."

Ray: "Why are you here?"

Faith: "I had to see what happened here to think you can kill with the touch of your hand."

Ray: "So?"

Faith: "So spirits can't be killing people like that. Therefore, you'll become death itself."

Ray: "Death itself?"

Faith: "God of Death you'll be over those who've died to move on that's the major rule there. Other than that, you can have whatever rules you see fit. There's only one thing though you can never move on yourself."

Ray: "Fine I think I rather do that than move on I'll probably would've went to hell after what I did."

Faith: "Very well then."

She hands him a book.

Ray: "What's this?"

Faith: "The book of death."

Ray: (In Narrative Tone) "Next thing I knew I became God of Death I only serve my purpose to have people move on going to where they belong to.

It is back to the present.

Seven: "That's how you became death."

Ray: "Pretty much though I believe that there is a man that is going to share the same fate as me."

Seven: "What do you mean?"

Ray: "He'll be killed by his so-called mother like I was."

Seven: "Oh God!"

He realized that the man he bumped into was going to share the same fate as Ray. Meanwhile, Jason is meeting up with his dad wanting to talk to him about his mom.

James: "Don't worry about your mom she's just been a little stress."

Jason: "Stress? Dad, she looked like she wanted to kill me."

James: "Jason don't worry too much about it."

Jason: "Okay Dad..."

James: "Just talk to her I'm sure everything will work out."

Jason went home to see his mom hoping he could talk to her.

Jason: "Hey mom is everything okay?" She didn't look at him. "Mom, how come you are like this to me? I just want to know if everything is okay."

Before he knew it, she had stabbed him with a knife.

Rita: "You're not my son! I don't know why you here pretending to be my child but I'm not going to let you kill me!"

He fell on his knees and saw his dad walking from the back door smiling before he passed out. Jason wakes up at a hospital.

Wendy: "Jason! I'm so glad that you're okay!"

Jason: "Wendy? Why am I here?"

Wendy: "Mom stabbed you! Dad convinced the police to send her to a mental institution because he told them that she went insane!"

Jason: "What?!"

A man came in.

Wendy: "Uncle Bill!"

Bill: "Hey kiddos... Oh, here Wendy some money to get you a soda at the cafeteria."

Wendy: "Thanks, Uncle!"

He gave her the money and she left the room.

Bill: "There's something you should know..."

He briefly explains the truth.

Jason: "My mom isn't even my mom?!"

Bill: "Felt something wasn't right about my sister's marriage but after you were born it confirmed my suspicions. I had to get a DNA test of you and my sister, and it turned out that you weren't her son, but it showed that you are your dad's son. With that said it meant that your dad had an affair, and he got his mistress pregnant you're the mistress' son."

Jason was shocked to hear the truth and he couldn't believe what he had heard.

Jason: "I can't believe it... Then who is she? Who is my mom?!"

Bill: "That I can't say I have no idea you'll have to ask your dad."

Jason: "Why?! Why would he want to go through this much trouble for?! For nineteen years?!"

Bill: "Your dad is greedy he only married Rita for her money. When our parents died, we inherited a large sum of money. Your dad can't have access to it unless anything happened to Rita."

Jason: "Like her going insane and being sent to a mental institution."

Bill: "It must've been what he planned. He was even going to switch you and Rita's real daughter at birth, but he must not have planned on his daughter dying when she was born. He had to tell your real mom that you either died during childbirth or he gave you away."

It is the next day late at night Jason overhears the nurses gossiping.

Nurse 1: "Have you heard of them?"

Nurse 2: "The Sweepers?!"

Nurse 1: "Yes I saw one of the doctors writing them a letter to send them a request."

Nurse 3: "Really?"

Nurse 1: "Yes it was because of the new nurse she was obsessed with the doctor. She was so obsessed that she even harassed his wife. She even nearly killed his wife and that pretty much crossed the line, so he called The Sweepers. After that, she was never heard from again."

Nurse 3: "Everyone was saying that she just left without notice."

Nurse 2: "That's not true she was killed by the assassins, and they made sure to simply make sure that she just up and vanished like she never existed."

Jason: "The Sweepers... I've heard of them before, but I thought they were just a rumor." He pulls out his phone. "Now if I recall you can send a request through email."

He writes an email to the assassins and is about to send it, but he stops when he listens to the nurses.

Nurse 3: "Do you know the price of their services?"

Nurse 2: "I heard you had to give an arm and a leg."

Nurse 1: "That's what I heard too oh well that's the price to pay I suppose."

He hesitated to send the email.

Jason: "I don't care if I lose a limb no one deserves to be treated like that like how Wendy's mom was driven insane by my dad."

He sends the email and waits for a reply. It is the next day in the evening and Jason is checking out of the hospital as Seven is looking for him.

Seven: "It's you I finally found you!"

Jason: "Why?"

Seven: "I came to warn you that your life is in danger."

Jason: "It's kinda too late for a warning I already got stabbed."

Seven: "Wait!"

As he is walking away, he tries to grab his arm but instead gets a premonition of Jason's Dad killing Jason during a confrontation between the two then the premonition ends.

Jason: "Hey, are you okay?"

He tries to help Seven up and Seven gets another premonition of a Russian woman writing a letter in Russian. He sees what the letter is but doesn't know what it means when the second premonition ends.

Seven: "That never happened before..."

Jason: "What? Almost passing out?"

Seven: "Not that but you gotta be careful."

Seven runs out of the hospital.

Jason: "What a strange kid..."

As he was leaving the hospital, he suddenly found himself at the meeting spot with the assassins.

Christiana: "You requested us?"

Jason: "What the hell?!"

Tom: "You sent us a request, right?"

Jason: "Y-Yeah."

Macy: "So tell us your request."

Jason: "My dad I want you to kill my dad."

Shadow: "Any particular reason why?"

Jason: "He drove the woman who I thought was my mom insane so much that she tried to kill me. He even took me away from my biological mom making her believe that I was adopted. All because he was after Wendy's mom's money. She... She didn't deserve that!"

Christiana: "Request granted."

Jason: "Oh good!"

Tom: "But..."

Macy: "Revenge is a double-edged sword for that you'll have to pay the price."

Jason: "Go ahead and take my arm!"

Shadow: "Don't be silly we only want money."

Angel: "Assassins have to make a living too."

Macy: "Five hundred currencies that's how much we charge."

Tom: "But if you don't pay by the deadline then the request will be nullified after all it's your choice..."

Jason finds himself alone he notices writing on his hand that shows how long he has until the contract is canceled.

Jason: "October 18th so just two weeks huh? That means I'll have to take the money out of my rainy-day fund. If only I remember where I hid it, I better go look for it."

Elsewhere Seven is with Christiana and hands her a letter in Russian.

Seven: "I was wondering if you could translate this letter. I saw it in a premonition I wrote the best way I could my handwriting in Russian kind of sucks. So, I figure you can translate since you're polyglot."

Christiana: "Let's see." She reads the letter and goes to get a paper and pen to write down the translation of the letter. "Here."

She hands him the paper.

Seven: "Wow that was fast."

Christiana: "If you want to learn another language read a book and your right your handwriting sucks."

Seven: "Hey it was the first time I wrote in another language! It's a good thing I have a good memory when it comes to my premonitions but..."

Christiana: "But what."

Seven: "I never had two different premonitions at the same time it's strange."

Christiana: "Had it ever occurred to you that your power is growing."

Seven: "That makes sense I did read that in my dad's journal it said that it's possible to have two premonitions at the same time."

Later, Jason is in his room looking for the money he had hidden.

Jason: "I know I hid it somewhere oh there it is." He finds the money. "Okay, now I have to send the money to them."

He went to send the money to the located mailbox to the assassins. The next day Jason and Wendy went to visit Wendy's mom.

Wendy: "Mom, are you okay?"

She sees Jason and starts screaming and freaking out.

Jason: "Oh no…"

Wendy: "Why is she freaking out?!"

Jason: "It's okay... I know it's not your fault... It's Dad's fault he did this to you..." He holds her hands. "I'll make him admit the truth! You don't deserve this! He'll pay for what he did to you!"

She stops shaking and he realizes that she is starting to piece everything together slowly.

Wendy: "Let's get going we should let Mom rest."

They left the institution and Jason is looking at the date in his hand.

Jason: (Thinking) "Now I have to wait and see if they got the money..."

Wendy: "What were you talking about to mom?"

Jason: "Huh?"

Wendy: "What do you mean that Dad caused this to happen to Mom?!"

Jason: "Dad intentionally mentally tortured your mom all these years... Making her believe that I was coming after her... The truth is that she isn't even my mom her real child died, and dad took me away from my real mom. My real mom is out there somewhere for all I know she must be either looking for me or she believes that I'm dead."

Wendy: "Oh my God!"

Jason: "All because he wanted your mom's money, he must've figured that if she's locked away in a mental institution, he'll get her money. I must confront him about this!"

Wendy: "You can't do it alone!"

Jason: "Wendy..."

Wendy: "I want to know the truth too! Even though we don't have the same mom we're still siblings well half-siblings."

Jason: "Okay... I do believe that you deserve to truth as well. It's not fair to leave you in the dark like this."

They went home and once night fell their dad came home the two siblings waited for their dad to come home.

James: "Oh what's wrong you two? Why the long faces?"

Wendy: "Mom's in the mental institution what did you expect for us the react."

James: "I know it's sad but come on I know your mom would want to put up a brave face."

Jason: "I know the truth! I know that mom isn't even my mom! Who's my real mom?!"

James: "What are you talking about? She's at the institution."

Wendy: "No Dad she's my mom, not Jason's we want to know the real truth! We know that you did this to mom!"

Seeing that he can't keep up with the charade he smiles and admits the truth.

James: "It was for the money I just wanted Rita's money that's why I married her in the first place. When we were dating, I was going to break up with her after three weeks but when I found out that she came from a wealthy family I thought it would be best to stay with her and then marry her so I could get her family's money. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the money the only way to get her money is by manipulating her and that was so easy."

Wendy: "You didn't care about mom at all?!"

James: "Money is all you really need in life. You don't want to be penniless or work at a dead-end job you hate for the rest of your life to make ends meet. Being rich is the easiest thing to be you have no worries whatsoever."

Jason: "Bastard! All you care about is greed!"

James: "About your real mom Jason I bride a nurse to tell her that it was too late for her to change her mind about having you adopted. That same nurse even told Rita that they made a mistake about the baby's gender during the ultrasound and that she actually gave birth to a boy. We were supposed to have a girl, but she died during childbirth."

Wendy: "Bastard!"

Jason: "Then who is my mom?!"

James: "Tracy Amond she was my mistress though she thought that I was a nice guy until she found out that I was married. Afterward, she wanted nothing to do with me, but I made her give me a child."

Jason: "You took advantage of her!"

Wendy: "Unbelievable...."

He pulls out a knife.

James: "Now Wendy go to your room your half brother and I need to finish talking. Since you know the truth, I'll have to silence you and all I have to say is that you were attacked by some stranger."

Just as he is about to attack an arrow is hit on his neck and to his heart. Killing him in an instant as he fell to the ground.

Wendy: "What was that?"

Zachary: "What a piece of shit of a dad."

Zachary came out of the shadows in his mask to retrieve his arrows.

Jason: "What a minute... Who are you?"

Zachary: "Who do you think? Check your hand."

Jason checks his hand and sees that's the writing is gone.

Jason: "Huh?! It's gone?!"

Macy: "Your request has been completed."

Angel: "Have a nice night."

The three assassins vanished.

Wendy: "Was that them?! Are they who I think they are?"

James: "Y-Yeah they are."

Wendy: "I can't believe it..."

Afterward, it's back to the beginning as Jason is finishing up his story for a reporter.

Jason: "And that was it I had recording tape hidden in the living room to use as proof of what my dad did to Wendy's mom. So, after I sent the tape to the police, they were able to let her go since she was manipulated. She got better after a week seeing that it wasn't her fault, and I was able to find my real mom she was searching for me the whole time. I plan to live with her so I can get to know her, but I am going to miss Wendy's mom. She may not be my mom, but she raised me as if I was her own son. I always go visit her seeing how she's doing."

Reporter: "What about your dad? Did the police arrest him?"

Jason: "No... He ran after the police came when he tried to kill me. It's as if he vanished into thin air."

Elsewhere Seven is walking home after school and sees Ray.

Seven: "So you're here again? Is someone dying today?"

Ray: "Just because I'm here doesn't mean someone is going to die today."

Seven: "I had a premonition it was around your time period it was a woman with black writing a letter."

Ray: "A woman with black hair..."

Seven: "From what I could tell she wasn't a native in the country."

Ray: "Was she Russian?"

Seven: "Yeah, the letter was written in Russian. I wrote the letter and asked Christiana to translate it the letter was for you."

Ray: "For me?"

Seven: "Mila Novikov she's... She's your mom you said that the woman who gave birth to you wasn't your mom it is true. Your real mom was a victim."

Ray: "Victim?!"

Seven: "It's all in this letter." He reads the letter. "She was a rape victim your dad kept trying to make advance to her, but she rejected him. He figured that if he got her pregnant with his child, she would be with him. It didn't work, she was planning on leaving the village and taking you with her. After you were born your dad took your way from her. She begged him to give you back to her, but he refused. He wanted to do what he wanted, claiming that he'd get away with it."

Ray: "She owned a small bakery... That nice woman...was my real mom... That bastard killed my mom..."

Seven: "She wrote I'm sorry for bringing you to this world like this. I wanted to live my own life to wed and make a family with the man of my choice. Unfortunately, it didn't happen and I'm afraid that it would never happen. I'm sorry my son Raymond Novikov, this isn't how I wanted to bring you to this world. I love you, your dear mother Mila."

Ray: "No wonder she cried..."

Seven: "Huh?"

Ray: "She was hurting back then... I've always wondered why she felt familiar."

Seven: "Sorry man..."

Ray: "It was a long time ago it's no big deal."

He hands him the translated letter.

Seven: "Well here I'm sure you wanted to keep this letter. Later man."

Seven leaves and Ray is in thought about the truth about his mother as he starts to shed tears

Ray: "Mother...I'm sorry for not recognizing you... If only I knew it, was you..."

He thinks back on the day he met her as a child, and she hugs him.

To Be Continued...