Arc 3 : Ch. 16 – An Immortal Dance Pt. 3 – Jeff
Strong. He had to be strong. That was the only way he’d survive in this world. Jeffrey knew that as well as Karla. No matter what it took, they had to be strong. Stronger than the people trying to tear down everything they’d been trying to build. For Boss’s sake. And, though he desperately wished she had lived to see it, for Harley’s as well.
Fight on. I have to fight on. Boss is counting on us.
He shook off a heavy daze, pain gradually subsiding as he tried to focus on the task at hand. The soldiers who’d momentarily stopped shooting at him to shoot as Karla’s illusions. Mutated cats and undead corpses had risen from the grave to provide a decent distraction. But Jeffrey knew even this wouldn’t last very long.
For as scary as her tricks and powers were, even she had a limit. And as the undead vanished one after the other, he could see Karla doubled over next to the still frozen Gingee.
Sweet hell. Fight. Fight on. I have to fight on.
His gaze locked ahead, the mages in front of him all standing at the ready. He leapt skyward moments before he felt the air shifting under him, winds blowing past that he narrowly avoided, though he couldn’t say the same for the gun shots which followed. Jeffrey winced, biting back pain as he dove for cover, fallen sections of concrete acting as temporary barriers to avoid getting decimated.
“Hold the line!” one of the humans shouted. “Soldiers, close in on that phantom! Mages, take out the lizard!”
Jeffrey hissed. As much as he wanted to correct the assumption, he was too busy fleeing to bother with that. Shining symbols began to appear on the ground, of which Jeffrey took great care in avoiding. He didn’t understand them completely, but Boss always said to not step on strange lettering. Gingee had found that out the hard way.
“Hsaass!”
He screeched as something came slamming into his side, knocking the reptile clean off his feet. A concrete wall was ready to cushion his fall, but it only made the pain more evident.
“Hss. Ow.” As he tried to get up again, he felt a wave of anguish wash over him, his gaze falling to where there had once been the side of his hip. “Oh. Oh no.”
The hole in his torso only seemed to laugh off his struggle to stand up again. Pain and blood were a constant reminder that jumping away again was out of the question. Or running at all, for that matter. He tried to glare back at the mages closing in on him, but even that was only a scare tactic.
A reptile knew when he was outmatched. He hissed in defiance as a ray of light began to shine from above, the burning sensation lasting only seconds.
It was cut short by a burst of darkness.
“Huh?”
He tried to lift up his head, but that didn’t change anything. Even letting his pupils dilate to drink in more light did nothing to fix things. The world itself had suddenly become jet black, not even the light of the moon reaching them. Or the fire from the one or two soldiers he could hear attempting to use lighters to see.
“It’s not working, senator!” one shouted.
“Senator? Orders?” another called. “Senator?”
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But the human had grown quiet.
“Senator?”
“Senator? Please respond!”
“Senator? Chief?”
The voices seemed to grow around Jeffrey, the reptile gradually noticing his ability to see returning, along with light from the lighters. The moonlight. The mages who had been attempting to use magic to gain some visibility. As the world became bright once again, Jeffrey became all too aware of a familiar scent in the air. His tongue flicked out involuntarily, though he didn’t mind it as much this time around.
He was too busy staring up at the frozen human dangled in the air, his entire frame shattered as Boss gave it a squeeze.
“Senator!”
Pieces fell to the ground one by one, Jeffrey trying to stand once again only to remember the gaping wound in his side. Even Karla was too tired to move, only managing to offer Boss a small wave as her constructs faded one after the other. But that seemed to be enough for the hellspawn, who waved back with a smile, his gaze eventually falling on Jeffrey as well.
“Are-” His words were briefly cut short as gun fire reigned upon him, though he didn’t seem to mind the bullets much. One hand raised to meet them all, moving in rhythm with the attacks as he continued speaking. “Are you alright, Minion Jeffrey?”
Rays of light shined down on him, but his gaze never wavered. Even with the injuries Jeffrey could see leaving scars across his body, Boss had no reaction to the magic attacks. He didn’t even flinch. Both the soldiers and mages stopped their assault, all eyes staring at the unfazed hellspawn. Their Boss. Jeffrey couldn’t help but laugh.
“Now that you’re here, I probably will be, Boss.”
The humans all seemed to look to each other for direction. Any semblance of a plan. Whoever the Senator had been, it didn’t seem he’d prepped them for how to proceed if their ace failed. Or if he died shortly afterwards.
Boss lowered his hand, eyes shining with intent as he called out to all the humans.
“All of you,” he said. “Get out of my city. Or die.”
That seemed to be enough to spur the humans back into action.
The mages who’d once been pelting them with spells instead began to retreat towards the exits. Soldiers looked to the fallen pieces of their leader and opted to go in the opposite direction. Some of the humans that remained appeared to have some level of leadership, signaling to the others not to engage further. The Felissa woman among them.
Though she seemed to be limping with another mage carrying her away, she had to sense to whisper warnings to those around her, of which Jeffrey was much too far away to make out. Boss stared after the group as they fled, but he didn’t stand idle for long.
“I said, to leave.”
He flicked a hand and shards of ice came flying at the humans, though they seemed to miss their targets.
“Leave!” he commanded. “And never return!”
He slammed his hand to the ground, creating icy pillars that rose around the lobby. They chased the humans as they fled outside the tower, the leaders now shouting louder for everyone to retreat. It even scared Jeffrey a bit to see the Boss so angry. So aggressive. He even shot at their vehicles as they were escaping.
It was only when the final human had fled that Boss seemed to calm down. Almost like a switch had been flipped in his head. Jeffrey’s sat back as realization slowly began to dawn little by little. The Boss’s plan. His fight. The fact that he would yell at them in the first place rather than freeze them all solid.
It all became clear as day when Boss fell to the ground, panting and coughing blood. As strong as the immortal hellspawn was, he’d already reached his limit.
“D-dammit.”
He wiped his mouth, once again looking to his two wounded accomplices. And the one currently frozen in a block of ice.
“My apologies,” he said. “Jeffrey. Karla. The humans shouldn't be a bother any longer.”
They both looked at each other, concern soon replaced with relief as they seemed to draw the same conclusion.
“We won, then?” Karla said. “Great.”
Jeffrey fell to the ground. “I could really use a meal now, Boss. And some bandages.”
The hellspawn chuckled.
“I will surely see to it, Minion Jeffrey. I promise you that.”