According to the high schooler, it wasn't Jack or Yumiel, but Poppy who burst out laughing.
« Pouaahaha, you ahahah. Stop it, they're really dangerous, just go home. »
The high schooler must have felt his ego bruised, pointing his weapon at Yumiel. Marie drew her Colt and emptied his head almost instantly.
« Wow, you really have no heart, making a child carry a weapon, seriously. Ohlala, I'm scared. »
Jack pulled out his Glock and put a bullet in his head, before starting to shoot all of them. Yumiel opened her flask, creating five daggers flying around the room, cutting them down unilaterally. She stepped in front of Marie just in case.
Poppy ran, then lay flat on the ground. The high schoolers were so surprised, inexperienced, and frightened that they didn't hit anyone while shooting.
Forty seconds—that's how long it took them to kill them all, and this time there were no escapees.
Moving forward to go upstairs and reach Andrew, one last one was still alive but in bad shape. Yumiel wanted to finish him off but had a better idea.
« Pocahontas, come here. »
Poppy slowly joined Yumiel, looking around her.
« Yes? »
Yumiel picked up a handgun from the floor and handed it to Poppy.
« Kill him! »
Poppy held the weapon in her hand, trembling slightly before pointing it at the man, trembling more and more.
She eventually lowered her weapon.
« I'm sorry, I can't. »
« TSS! »
Wanting to grab Poppy's weapon to finish him off, she suddenly heard a gunshot, then the high schooler fell to the ground with a hole in his head.
Yumiel turned to see smoke coming out of Marie's gun, who gave her a big smile. Yumiel's eyes widened, remembering that exact scene. Then she muttered.
« A child observes and repeats the actions of their parents… »
Jack was beside her, having heard Yumiel mutter; he stepped closer and put his hand on her shoulder.
« At least she has a better chance of survival than the others. » he said, casting a glance at Poppy.
Marie was waiting to be rewarded, moving closer to Yumiel, who stroked her head.
Going upstairs again with the same traps, Jack didn't slip this time, gripping the railing firmly.
They arrived in front of Andrew's door; this time Yumiel knocked instead of making a key to open it. After about a minute, the door opened.
« Yumiel? What do I owe your visit to? »
Andrew looked at Yumiel, then Jack, before turning to Poppy and Marie.
« Andrew, I had a request to make of you. »
« Of course, please come in. »
They entered Andrew's apartment and sat down on the couch; his children and his wife were right next to him as he settled into his armchair.
« Would you like something to drink? »
« Thank you, Andrew, but not this time. I have a huge favor to ask of you. »
Yumiel looked insistently at Marie; Andrew quickly understood.
« Kids, how about you play with our guest? She must be about your age—take her and bring her to your room. »
Once they were gone, Andrew signaled to his wife, who went into the kitchen.
« I'll be frank—I'd like you to keep Marie, the little one. »
« That shouldn't be a problem. For how long? »
Jack spoke up.
« Forever, Andrew. Forever. »
Andrew's wife came back, bringing appetizers.
« So I'm supposed to leave with the intention of adopting her… Tell me what happened with this little girl. »
She recounted, in broad strokes, her meeting with Marie and everything that had happened.
« My God, the saddest part of the story is that there's no one to blame. »
Poppy reacted to Andrew's words: « Sorry! Uh, I mean yes, sorry. »
One of Andrew's children approached his father.
« Dad, the girl is weird, she doesn't talk, and she just keeps cleaning her gun. »
Andrew turned his gaze to Yumiel, who was already staring at her.
« Okay, I'll take care of it. »
« Thank you, Andrew, do you have a container? »
Andrew, surprised, signaled to his wife, who brought a small basin. Yumiel opened her flask and poured out the entire liter, pouring it into the basin.
« When you call me for help, pour this on the ground. »
Andrew looked at the basin of blood.
« Uh, okay. »
A brief silence settled in; Poppy took the opportunity to speak.
« I'd also like to ask if I could stay. »
Andrew refused categorically.
« I'm sorry, I already have one extra mouth to feed, so two… »
« Tough luck, Pocahontas. By the way, here's what I'll need for my outfit. »
Andrew took the paper, glanced at it quickly, and put it in his pocket. Yumiel stood up, followed by Jack, then Poppy.
« Thanks again, Andrew. With that, we'll leave you—take care of Marie. »
As they were leaving, Andrew's children and Marie came out of the bedroom. Yumiel wasn't necessarily against saying goodbye to Marie, even though she would see her again—Yumiel would have to come back to pick up her outfit.
Marie ran to Yumiel and hugged her; Yumiel gently pushed her away.
« From now on you'll live with them. It's too dangerous for you to stay with me. »
Marie said nothing, but as Yumiel left, she held onto her; Yumiel pushed her away, but Marie continued, slowly starting to cry.
« Come on, that's enough, it's not a final goodbye—we just won't live together anymore. »
Marie became more insistent, almost clinging to Yumiel; Andrew intervened, holding her back.
Marie began to cry profusely, then screamed as Yumiel walked away.
« MOM! MOM! »
Poppy beside her was shocked, holding herself back and muttering: « My God, that's horrible. »
Yumiel turned back and spoke to Marie, looking her in the eyes.
« It'll be okay, and besides, I'm not your mother. We're just saying see you soon. »
With those words, Yumiel kissed Marie on the forehead before leaving. Yet Marie kept crying, screaming "Mom!" Her trauma was really deep, Yumiel thought.
Nevertheless, she knew that leaving like this would only make things worse, so she made a decision.
Yumiel turned back and slapped Marie, then spoke to her bluntly.
« I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER. I KILLED YOUR FATHER IN FRONT OF YOU. I FORCED YOU TO FOLLOW ME. YOU CAN HATE ME, DESPISE ME. BUT THE WORLD IS LIKE THIS—it will test you, break you, but despite everything you must remain standing! »
Marie stared into the void, showing signs of absence.
« You've got some nerve saying that to her after what you did to her. »
Yumiel instantly turned around and grabbed Poppy by the throat, lifting her as she spoke at the same time.
« YOU DARE JUDGE ME! »
Tightening her grip, her trachea could be heard starting to crack. Andrew quickly defused the situation.
« Yumiel, calm down please, not in front of the children! »
Jack put his hand on Yumiel's arm.
« I'll take care of it. »