Carl jumps from the rooftop that he had been perched on, soul weapon summoned and ready for action. Pretty boy lands lightly on his feet from the straight drop, not a single hair on his well coiffed head out of place. And even though Carl's wearing a large fur lined coat over his shoulders without using the sleeves, the drop doesn't ruffle the coat out of place. That garment might as well be glued on to his body.

"How does he do that?" I mutter in amazement.

"Practice, my delinquent friend." Carl says plainly, "And more than a fair bit of natural talent."

Sara purses her lips but her face is flushed. My best friend's eyes are positively devouring Carl as he leisurely saunters forward, interposing himself between us and the limo.

"Keep your head in the game." I whisper to Sara, "Now's not the time to be fantasizing."

"Sorry, Robbie." Sara bows her head apologetically in embarrassment. I had criticized Yvonne for being thirsty before and that problem seems to be spreading like a contagious disease. Must be something in the water at Paul's penthouse.

Paul summons his own soul weapon, the sudden release of energy stirring up a small cloud of dust. Gripping his halberd securely in both hands, Paul points the business end of the weapon at Carl.

"Finally ready to get your hands dirty?" the boss demands at our ridiculously fashionable opponent.

"Maybe." Carl shrugs indifferently, "Its getting late and I've got a dinner appointment."

"Robbie, I'll deal with Carl." Paul commands, "Make a break for the car with Sara and Yvonne."

"How're you going to escape with us while fending off Carl?" I object with a hushed voice. Carl doesn't seem to mind the two of us carrying a conversation in front of him as he casually taps a foot on the ground.

"I'll think of something." Paul reassures me, "At any rate, you need to secure the car first for the escape to even happen."

"Got it boss." I give a thumbs up.

In the background, Sara swallows hard as she overhears the discussion. There's a strained, frightened look on her face now but she nevertheless appears willing go through with Paul's plan. The problem is Yvonne. The majordomo had finally lost her long battle against whatever Carl had doped her up with and begins snoring away contentedly.

"Shit, Yvonne's out like a tranquilized elephant." I curse while pulling Yvonne up to her feet. Carl must have hit her with some really strong stuff. I'm not going to be able to awaken Yvonne anytime soon.

"We're going to have our work cut out for us," Paul's mouth hardens into a line, "but I believe we can do it."

"Yeah." I nod absently, realizing how silent Carl had become. Its almost offensive how pretty boy's letting the boss and I prattle on in front of him like this. As if Carl doesn't really see us an actual threat to him.

Then I realize something. Carl's not paying to us at all. His eyes are darting back and forth, frantically scanning the shadows for something. Contrary to Carl's listless stance, his gaze is sharp and focused, almost snakelike. Carl's letting us talk because he's waiting for something. As the pieces begin to fit together in my mind, Carl's eyes lock onto the shadows behind me with laser like intensity.

"Down!" I yell and push Paul to the side. Surprise floods the boss's face but he trusts me enough to go along with my instructions. Paul and I scatter, just in time to avoid the jumpsuit wearing lunatic torpedoing past where we were standing. The flash of Yaksha's knife barely leaves my eyes as she breaks her botched lunge by dropping into a roll.

Too close. A second later and several inches of steel would have been buried in my back. Hell of a way to go.

"Now!" Yaksha shows into the gloom.

"Holy crap." I mutter, staring up into the sky aghast. Kajay materializes above Paul, free falling though the air, her knife poised to strike.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Paul's eyes narrow with a vicious glint, his senses roused to full alertness thanks to Yaksha's botched ambush. The boss stamps his foot hard on the ground, bracing himself while raising the halberd in readiness. With a single twitch of his arms, Paul arcs the flat of the halberd's blade upward, intercepting the downward stroke from the second member of the jumpsuit duo. The impact bats Kajay away and she spins gracefully through empty space, bleeding momentum and landing safely on her feet.

"Disappointing." Carl notes blandly as the duo ready themselves to attack again.

"Hoping to take both Robbie and I out at the same time?" Paul wipes the sweat from his face with his shirt sleeve, "Not going to be so easy."

Kajay grunts softly as Carl clicks his tongue in irritation, her breath catching as she gently pats her own torso. Getting smashed by a large piece of scrap metal hadn't done her any favors. Kajay nevertheless gives a curt nod to jumpsuit assassin number one, signaling that she's ready to continue the fight.

Yaksha graces her tag team partner a brief look of concern before hardening her expression. Despite the resistance Paul has been putting up, the jumpsuit duo still feel fairly confident in their chances. The night gives them a hefty advantage over us, thanks to the unique brand of magic the duo employ. And more importantly, Paul isn't in tip top shape either at this point. He's been hit with several minor wounds, the cumulative weight of which has started to weigh him down. Several unsightly red blossoms already stain the boss's clothes thanks to all the nicks and slashes he's been accruing.

"The plan doesn't change, Robbie." Paul calmly states with incredible confidence.

"How're you going to take on all three of them at once?" I mutter back, the hackles on my back rising as Yaksha and Kajay begin closing in again on us. Carl merely stands behind the duo, content to watch them whittle the boss away to nothing before he personally commits to action.

"That's the smart part." Paul smirks, "We won't need to fight the two crazy broads."

"That's very optimistic of you." Carl stays a safe distance away from the jumpsuit assassins, nevertheless ready to back them up at a moment's notice.

"Here's the thing about gimmicks Carl," Paul grins as he sweeps his halberd in a wide arc, entire body tensing like a spring, "no matter how clever it is, a gimmick only works once."

With a guttural cry, the compressed energy in Paul is released all at once and he charged forward with the unstoppable force of a freight train. Yaksha and Kajay sneer derisively, rapidly falling back into the safety provided by the shadows. But to everyone's surprise, Paul simply blitzes past them without bothering to course correct.

There's the loud clang of the boss's halberd biting into a metal object. And without further ado, a nearby streetlight is slowly topples like a felled tree, flickering weakly before guttering out. The darkness spreads, swallowing all of us up.

"Ah, I see." Carl nods in acknowledgement.

"Yaksha and Kajay can only hurt someone while standing in the light, can't they?" Paul cracks a cocky grin, "Well, they can sit out the rest of the fight from now on."

"You think you're so smart." Kajay coughs out as the duo materialize under another streetlight further down the alley. A trickle of blood emerges from her mouth but her voice remains proud and defiant.

"You can't get at us." Paul shrugs as he turns back to me, "Robbie, get ready to make a break for the car."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Yaksha pipes up, smugness dripping from her voice. This causes Paul to start, confusion clouding his expression.

"We're carrying guns for precisely this reason." the jumpsuit duo draw their pistols, levelling them straight at me.

"Blast!" Paul snaps as he springs to my defense. The duo fire a tight, controlled burst which is easily deflected by Paul's whirling halberd. But Yaksha and Kajay nevertheless have the boss right where they want him.

With his back facing Carl.

Pretty boy's face cracks into a nasty smile. I only have a few seconds to act.

"Sara, take care of Yvonne." I grit out, raising both my arms in preparation for what's to come. It probably won't do much good but if Paul falls, we're all screwed anyway.

"Robbie?" Sara murmurs fearfully, "Are you sure about this?"

"No." I admit freely, "So I'm going to do it before there're any second thoughts."

"Interesting philosophy." Carl comments, "How has that been working out for you?"

"Could be better, could be worse," I crack my knuckles and try to hype myself up, "can't complain overall."

"Shall we start then?" Carl slides one leg forward, bending slightly like a sprinter. His soul energy churns so violently that I can feel it from where I'm standing.

"Sara, you got any sweets with you?" I suddenly ask while keeping a careful eye on Carl. Sara hands me a small box of mint lozenges and I down all the contents at once. Carl merely raises an eyebrow at my antics.

I clench my jaw tightly, holding the lozenges in my mouth the same way a hamster stores its food. A sickly sweet taste flows over my tongue.

"Done with your last supper?" Carl says, his voice filled with deadly intent, "Then its time to end this."

Pretty boy's body is a blur, I can barely even see him properly. My fist lashes out blindly, plowing impotently through the air.

"Nothing personal," Carl pronounces, "you're just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Sharp, tearing pain rips through my torso and I see Carl standing next to me, his soul weapon coated with my blood. I keel over as a sinister chill floods my body alongside the pain.

"Sorry for your luck." Carl commiserates with me as he gently pushes Sara to the side.

My vision begins to blur as the stars come out of their hiding places, eagerly watching the battle unfold.

Eagerly watching as Paul screams in agony.