Nathan rushed back to his house with the notes he had taken from the police station. He threw them down onto the kitchen table before beginning to take a closer look at them to try and find similarities and common points. Nathan knew he wouldn't have long to find the Watcher before Brooks did...and he did not want that to happen at all... Nathan did not know what Brooks had planned for the serial killer, but there was one thing that he was almost sure of.

It wouldn't be pretty.

Private Detective Gabriel Brooks

Gabriel knew exactly where to look... He did not even wait for Nathan to have walked out of his sight before getting into his car and driving to the dumping place of The Watcher, and of course...just as he expected when he arrived...nothing was new. Nothing was touched. He really was good, wasn't he... Coming back from the dead without a single trace...? You should see the look on the detective's face...his obsession over that killer is obvious... I wonder what happened to make him so obsessed... He glanced around once more before spotting something. Something he didn't see the last time he came here. A dirty rag... Brooks let out a small pissed-off chuckle. The damn killer was playing with him... The Watcher in Rags had given him a rag to confirm the fact he was back; he tightened his grip on the rag... He was not going to let this bastard get away again... No matter the cost... Brooks took a final glance around to make sure the Watcher was not there watching him from behind the trees... Brooks was alone, it seemed.

He glanced toward the ground and noticed footsteps that were more than fresh... The Watcher probably saw him park his car when he arrived... This goddamn bastard...

He pulled out his gun, a CZ P-09, putting on the silencer before slowly walking, following the footsteps right into the forest. He knew this was most likely a trap, but...he did not seem to care. This was more important than his safety.

Walking deeper in the forest, Brooks noted how the footsteps seemed to go in weird ways...as if the Watcher was running around aimlessly... That was weird... The Watcher had never been like this in his days. But that did not stop him from following them...and then out of nowhere—BAM.

Right hand of Gabriel Brooks, Nathan Ashcroft

Nathan let out a sigh as he grabbed a bus back to Gabriel's office; he immediately noticed the missing car and rushed inside the building to go talk to Brooks's secretary to inquire about Gabriel's location. The secretary checked the GPS that was on Brooks's personal phone and showed him the ping on the map on her computer. Nathan froze. The dumping site that was mentioned in the files? ...Oh god...What did he get himself into... He could always just let Brooks do this, right? All he wanted to do was find his wife... But...he needed Brooks for that. Nathan let out a small sigh before requesting the secretary to drive him to the dumping site, which she happily obliged.

Arriving at the site about twenty minutes later, Nathan immediately saw that something had happened here; a dirty rag was placed on a branch, and under it were 2 sets of fresh footsteps... Oh god... Did Brooks already find him...or did he...? No, he shouldn't think about that possibility yet. Brooks was definitely alive.

Nathan rushed forward as he followed the footsteps; he headed deeper and deeper into the forest when suddenly. BAM.

Nathan crashed right into Brooks's chest as both of them seemed more focused on the footsteps than anything else. Brooks turned around confused as he looked at Nathan; he definitely wanted to ask him how he knew he was there...but he didn't. He gripped Nathan's hand and helped him up to his feet before, without even asking, simply keeping on following the footsteps until they both found themselves in front of a huge barn.

Nathan followed Brooks inside the barn cautiously, but as soon as they saw what was inside, they both froze in disgust from the sight.

Laid down on a chair before them was a body that was skinned down to the muscle. The skin was still present, though, but flapping in the air as blood pooled down the arms of the chair onto the ground into a soft drip down the pool of blood under the chair. Nathan looked at Brooks in terror as if he was seeking out comfort from a mentor before noticing someone standing on the upper part of the barn simply staring at them.

The man was wearing a long outfit that looked like it was made from a mix of human flesh and bird feathers. He was simply standing there watching them...unmoving. Nathan gripped onto Brooks's gun and quickly aimed it at the pile of flesh and feathers and took a shot. Seems like our little justice freak was more trigger-happy than he himself thought.

The costumed man fell from the upper part of the barn right onto the chair, which broke on his impact. A loud splat was heard. But...Brooks tilted his head. This wasn't the killer they were searching for...nor was this a person... This was...oh god... The Watcher in Rags had stitched up pieces of skin he had skinned off people into an amalgam of flesh that looked like a person...to distract them? Brooks snatched back his gun and turned around, aiming at the door of the barn, where stood the man they had both been looking for this whole time...or was it him?

Private Detective Gabriel Brooks

Brooks went to press the trigger, but before he even could, he heard a small beep, which made his eyes widen. He quickly gripped onto Nathan's arm and pulled both of them behind some huge pieces of hay that were in the barn as the man he thought was the man they were looking for was revealed to be only another trap left by the Watcher in Rags. The "man" blew up into pieces, revealing it was none other than another amalgam of flesh and feathers, but this one had a bomb tied to him.

Brooks let out a soft grunt as he peeked out of the cover he was behind to look out and try and see where this damn bastard was... If he was even here, this bitch was playing with them. He was operating totally differently from the last time. Too different.

Brooks told Nathan to stay put as he walked out of the cover to investigate the barn; he did, of course, leave him his secondary handgun just in case. The barn was quick to investigate. No one was there but them. The damn killer was just playing with them this whole time. He knew that Brooks would come back here, and that meant that...if he wasn't here, then...where...oh no. Nathan saw Brooks run back toward him and simply run past him toward his car, which Nathan quickly followed as they both jumped in.

Brooks sped down the roads and arrived back at his office...but he was way too late. As soon as they entered the office. Nathan almost threw up at the sight again. This was far worse than the skinned body.

The secretary's jaw had been broken and dislocated...her insides were sprawling out of a nasty cut on her chest. The body had been arranged in a pose so that anyone who walked in would see everything.

Brooks slammed his fist on the desk in rage before freezing as he saw a yellow Post-it on the back of his secretary's chair. It was blank. Clearly a taunt. But how did the killer know that Brooks used sticky notes so much...? Oh, this definitely wasn't the Watcher in Rags, was it... This was something far more personal... Someone who knew Brooks's history and was connected to it directly and wanted nothing more than to hurt him as much as possible.

Brooks glanced at Nathan. Nathan was determined to stop this as much as he was. But he knew damn well he couldn't just let this kid be implicated in a case this dangerous yet. He ordered Nathan to wait for the cops here and explain everything that was happening as he tracked down the actual serial killer. Now that he knew this wasn't the Watcher in Rags and that he was certain this was someone with a personal vendetta against him, he was left with one singular suspect.

Ellis Crane himself.

Brooks and Ellis Crane used to be work buddies twenty years ago...but they had a falling out when Brooks caught Ellis cheating on his wife with his coworker, Rowan. The act of him catching him made Ellis so mad because he had to pretend he was dead so that his wife did not seek out any type of payment from him. Brooks didn't know it back then, but that single event was going to change their whole life to this day. Those damn loverbirds.

Brooks quickly got back into his car and recklessly drove down the highway toward the port of the Ignatius Continent that was facing the Ring Continent. He knew how Ellis worked. If he had to kill someone, he wouldn't stay on the same continent after that. He was a scaredy-cat despite just how scientifically perfect he was, and Brooks was definitely not going to let this bastard get away after killing his damn secretary. Arriving at the port. His worst fear was confirmed.

The boat was already leaving...and standing on the bridge facing the port stood that damn bastard Ellis Crane himself with a wide grin on his face. He had played his card perfectly.

Brooks did not know it yet, but...this would be his greatest failure. He would never forgive himself for the things that would unfold just because he had failed to catch Ellis Crane.