Niklaus point of view

I stirred, looking around my environment. We were in some kind of abandoned factory, the great spot for a big crime.

"Welcome to the party," I heard someone say and turned around to meet my dear cousin, Eden.

"You're still alive?" I chuckled, " I thought he had killed you by now,"

"Oh, he tried but your annoying call saved my life,"

My brow raised inquisitively, caring for more details.

"He planted a bomb in my car, detonated at the wrong time," He grinned.

It was somehow satisfying to know that I saved someone's life for once, not cause the end of one.

"Can you think of what your father has in store for us?" he asked.

"Death, no doubt," I replied blandly.

"Can you be a bit more specific?"

"Probably pit us against each other, it would make a good cover-up story for the press and our family members. Moreover, it would please him as he watches us beat each other's asses,"

"How are you so sure?"

"I'm my father's son. He's trained me over the years and I must have been so stupid to think I could beat him - a follower can never beat the master," I released a sigh.

"I don't normally pep talk but if I hear that shit come from your mouth once more, I'll bash your head against the wall. You knowing everything about your father gives us the advantage here - think of something before we're sacrificed," Eden incited me.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, "

"What is too late?" He raised his head as the door to the warehouse screeched open

"That is what I'm talking about," I referred to my psychopathic father making his appearance.

"Figures," Eden groaned, throwing his head against the wall. Well, none of us wanted to die anyway - I still haven't married Reina and she would kill me even in the spirit world if I don't fulfill that

Adam made his way over to us, "How are you doing, gentlemen?" He asked in a sing-song.

"Why don't you untie us and you'd know," there was an obvious threat beneath my word.

Father focused his attention on me, "I gave you everything, Niklaus," he began the guilt trip lecture, "I built this great legacy so you could carry it on but alas, this is what I get in return - you trying to kill me? This is what I get for training my son!"

"Is quite funny because if I remember clearly, that legacy was supposed to be mine if you haven't ruined my father's life," Eden reminded him.

"Oh right Eric, my brother. The chosen one, the apple of my father's eyes, the golden child. I helped my father build Spencer Group to the level it is today. b

But in the end, they all voted my younger brother to be the head while I, the eldest, served under him? " he laughed, "Impossible!"

"So that's why you set the accident, even risking your own life in the process. How desperate could you get?"

"You can't be successful if you don't take risks. Moreover, your father was a goody-two-shoes and a stupid martyr, I knew he would protect me in that clash. So I risked my life wisely - how's that for a teaching?" Adam mocked him.

Eden looked at him with disgust," You really are a monster, "

"No," Adam disagreed, " You have to be a monster to gain absolute power. This world is a power struggle and only the fittest would survive, the rest are below the food chain,"

"Get him on his feet," Adam instructed two of the men with him.

"What are you planning on doing?" Niklaus tried to get on his feet too but he was kicked back down.

"Let me go," Eden strived as expected, a punch in the stomach silenced him at once.

"Now, listen," Adam began, " I would have you untied and hand a gun to you which you would use to shoot Niklaus,"

"Great, you'd kill your son now," I groaned, not even surprised at the outcome.

"You have proven to be nothing but a waste of my resources and time, hence Isabella would take your place and I would groom her to be the perfect heir,"

"You wouldn't dare!" I growled, veins bulging in my head and neck from extreme anger.

"You're about to die so your threat's useless," Adam waved it off.

"So if I kill Niklaus, you'd kill me afterward and then wrap the whole thing up and sell it to the world as a case of a cousin killing the other out of jealousy. You're a great master planner, Adam, but what makes you think I would pull the trigger on Niklaus - I know you're not that stupid," Eden found the whole thing suspicious.

Adam laughed, a boisterous one that whacked his body, "I thought you might say that so I brought a motivation, "

Adam snapped his finger and a man rushed forward with a phone in his grasp, playing a video.

Eden's eyes widened," Anabelle?! "

"Father, save me," The video showed Anabelle strapped to a chair while a man had a gun pointed at her head.

"I cut my birthday celebration short just to come for this special occasion, did you think I was joking?" Adam picked the gun to hand over to him while the men untied Eden.

"I would kill you! " Eden hissed out

"I'm sure there's ample opportunity for you to do that when we finally meet in hell. But before then, you might have to go there before me," He replied nonchalantly.

Immediately the gun was handed over to Eden, he focused it on Adam but the four men available all pointed their weapon at him.

"Don't be stupid, Eden. Before you'd even get a shot at me, my men would rid you with bullets and don't you love your daughter anymore or maybe I should let her watch this so she would understand where your love lies. That way, when you eventually die, she wouldn't even shed a tear on your grave, "

Eden's chest rose and fell, the hand holding the gun shook greatly, he was vibrating with anger.

"Do it," I urged him.

"Shut up!" The stupid bastard pointed the gun at me, hesitantly.

"I said do it!" I instigated him.

"I said shut it!" he turned and pulled the trigger at Adam but nothing happened.

They gave him an empty gun.

Adam laughed to the point of tears escaping his eyes, "You didn't actually think that I would give you a loaded gun?" he laughed once again.

It dawned on both of us, we just fell into another of my father's traps.

"I just needed you to get captured in that camera pointing the gun at Niklaus, the rest I would take care of,"

"No... no... no..." Eden was forced to his knees.

"Having gotten what I want, it's time to wrap up the loose ends," He gestured to his men to take care of us.

"I guess this is goodbye," I said to Eden with a wry smile.

"Yeah," He acquiesced, "Let's meet as lovers in our next life," He joked.

"In your dreams," we teased each other while staring death in the face.

I began a mental countdown to when my life would finally be snatched away from me.

"Five... Four... three... two... one.."

Bang! Bang!

Why does death feel painless?

That was when I opened my eyes to discover there was no bullet hole in my body. Was it Eden that was shot then?

But when I turned to the side, Eden too was staring at me with the same amount of confusion. Huh? What was going on?

Then we saw two of my father's men drop to the floor. A shootout began.

Everything happened too fast that we took cover behind heavy-duty machinery - none of us wanted to become the collateral damage in this incident.

The shootout lasted for about ten minutes and Eden helped untie my hands with that opportunity. We didn't know who just saved our ass, an enemy of Adam or not, we are so grateful.

We were still in our hiding place, waiting for things to cool off when someone came up from behind us. Thinking it was one of Adam's men, both of us - Eden and I - were set to attack this adversary when I got the greatest shock of my life.

"Judy?!"

How is this possible?

"You died!" My eyes widened to the size of saucers, pointing at him.

"That was what you were meant to believe. Adam tried to kill me but I survived," he narrated.

"God, I'm so happy," I hugged him tightly. His death alongside Maya's had been a huge blow to me the past seven years.

"Your highness," some group of men appeared before him and bowed, " We couldn't find him but the rest of his men are down,"

"Your highness?" I heard that one clearly.

"I'll explain later," Judy said to me when he saw my questioning look, then turned to his men, "He should not be far from here so keep your eyes open,"

"Yes, your highness," they all bowed and dispersed.

Eden was in a haste to leave, "I'm grateful for your help but I need to find my daughter,"

"Don't worry, your daughter is safe. My men rescued her on time," Judy informed him.

Eden let out the breath he was holding.

"How did you know about all this?" I was surprised, he was so prepared.

"Emily sensed something was up with your sudden touching, emotional, inspirational talk at the party,"

"Oh," I should have known.

He added, "Moreover, I've been keeping tabs on all of you since I came back - I have a score to settle with Adam. We should get out of here," He said.

I nodded and was about to leave when Adam emerged out of nowhere shouting, "No one is going anywhere, you would all die together!" He had a grenade in hand.

Uh-no

"Horrified," couldn't define what I was feeling. There was no way out of this one, we were all going to die.

We were prepared to run, but just as my psycho father was about to pull the safety pin before throwing that stuff at us, one… two… three…four… five… six bullets pierced into his chest. The grenade fell from his hand without exploding, what a great relief.

We all turned our heads to look at the drawbridge in the factory where the bullets had come from and saw Sakuzi blowing off the smoke from his gun. He threw a salute at us.

You're welcome.