Slowly, deliberately, Jack dropped to the floor in a sitting position, groaning as he tried his best to make himself as lax as possible. The energy pouring out of him and into his goblin companion felt like syrup, thick and viscous and more than anything he’d ever felt. He was too worried about losing Gobby to remove his hand from their head, though. He just waited as the strange magic inside of him poured through him, gritting his teeth as he did so.

He cursed inwardly, wondering why the hell a skill would be so painful… Did the others have to suffer this kind of thing? The pain overwhelming him, he ripped open his eyes to watch what was happening, anything to distract him from what was happening in his body. The strings were no longer attached, flailing around like a snake with their head cut off. A good chunk of Jack’s strings were torn off, separated and whipping around as they burrowed into the goblin like a bunch of hungry worms.

Gobby wasn’t actually reacting in any way, though. He didn’t even slump over, just staying in his kneeling position, occasionally even tilting his body to the side to stop himself from falling over. It was interesting to see the goblin stay awake despite its disconnection with him, almost enough to ignore the growing, dull ache of his brain being squeezed. He could understand on a basic level what was happening. His body was forcing its control onto the goblin, making it so it had almost as similar control to its own fate as he did.

He was basically giving the goblin a brain. Whether Gobby could actually use that brain or not would become apparent soon after. Eventually, the pain stopped, along with the string’s elaborate movement’s, both his and Gobby’s new set. The goblin stood soon after, with a fluidity that wasn’t there before. It was still a bit shaky, but no longer was there a hesitance to its actions. That was promising.

Though, he didn’t stop there. First, he tried ordering it mentally, like he had been able to before. …Nothing. It seemed he sacrificed some connection with the monster in order for better autonomy. That wasn’t too bad a trade, especially depending on the actual extent of its movement. “...Gobby, drag the puppet to Charlotte. Err, the blonde, small one.” It nodded, the first time it had done so to show it was listening. That was nice.

He patiently walked alongside it as it only moderately struggled to drag the new puppet to Charlotte. It was a bit cathartic, having something to do his work for him. He hardly even needed to do anything in that last fight, and that had only been with one. Neither of these demons were especially cared for, either, so he could send them out to do things he couldn’t ask of his friends. Well, maybe he’d treat Gobby just a tad nicer…

In a way, these demons that had just tried to end his life were much more trustworthy than the people he’d made friends with all his life. He could probably ask Gobby to jump into a group of demons and they wouldn’t even blink before doing just that. As he thought this, he made it to Charlotte, who was having what seemed to be a pleasant conversation with Arturo. The two seemed to have become quite close to each other, he’d have to take that into consideration next time he talked to them.

“...Anything happen while I was distracted? You didn’t get hurt again, right?” Arturo laughed, before putting a hand on Jack’s shoulder. It was much heavier than he remembered. “Not this time. Though, Abby did trip up a bit in the end. She shot Elijah with a bolt.” Charlotte laughed, probably remembering the scene. “The idiot was jumping around all over the place so who could blame her. You should have seen her face when it just bounced off him. It's a good thing his class protected him from magic.”

Jack winced at the revelation. That was right… Elijah was a Spell Breaker, something about how magic affected him less. Things could have gone smoother had he been there, his skills enough to keep the team together. He hoped neither of them had a grudge on each other for what had happened.

“...I see. Charlotte, do you mind healing something for me?” Charlotte turned to him with a smile, before looking behind him to find his two puppets behind him. Her smile became a bit strained after that. “You… You want me to heal the dead one” …It wasn’t dead, hopefully. He turned to look, and refocused to make sure the red string was still attached, it sure was. “It's not dead. I knocked it out. Please heal it.” She hesitated a bit, before reaching out an arm towards it.

“...Healing Bolt.” It had been the first time he’d actually caught sight of the spell. A green light swirled around her arm, spiraling down it until it formed a small ball in the palm of her hand. He flinched back when it shot out at extreme speeds, smashing into the knocked out goblin and exploding like a water balloon. Some of the contents of the healing bolt almost touched him, and Jack jumped back in response. “Jesus, watch out with that stuff.”

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The two looked at him weirdly. “It's… it's not going to hurt you, Jack.” Charlotte said. Arturo nodded along, the only other one in the group who had felt the healing effect first hand. Jack could understand their different opinions on the spell, but still kept clear of it. “...I don’t enjoy how it feels when that magic touches me. Unless it's critical, I’d rather not be healed through that spell, if you mind.” He didn’t bother looking at their reaction to his words. If the healing spell of a princess with broken magic could give him such a high… then what would happen if Charlotte used it on him?

He shuddered, trying not to think about it too hard. He instead turned to his still fainted goblin. “And what about him? I thought the spell was meant to wake him up?” She shook her head. “It just fixed its concussion… Right now it's just sleeping. I’m sure he’ll wake up if you-”

“Gobby, kick him.”

Gobby nodded, taking his bare feet and bringing it down on the unconscious puppet’s stomach. Jack would have smiled if his two friends hadn’t been there. Gobby sure was an overachiever. The new puppet had woken up, and it tried turning to the side to stand up before Gobby landed a kick on it’s side, tossing it back onto the floor. The process repeated for a couple more times before Charlotte realized what was happening. “Jesus… Jack, stop him. He isn’t stopping.”

He wasn’t.

…but there was something amusing about what he was seeing, like a box that turned itself off after you flipped the on switch. He wasn’t about to just refuse her request, though. She was an essential part of the team. “...Gobby, stop. He’s awake.” The goblin stopped, and for the first time in a while he noticed its ragged breath. It seemed much more alive than it had been before… Was that a case of it being trained? The puppet on the floor hadn’t even reacted to the abuse, standing up as if there had been nothing done to it.

Without asking, Charlotte had sent another healing bolt to it. “Poor thing… It didn’t deserve that, you lousy goblin!” Gobby’s eyes turned to her, derision on his face, and she flinched back in surprise. Even Arturo raised an eyebrow. “I thought that thing was like a zombie. Why’s it acting like a person now?” Jack grinned, placing a hand on Gobby. “He’s quite the specimen, huh? I had a skill that trains them to be better. Now he’s a lot faster, smarter too, I think.”

He was proud of this new power, something that would allow him to stay away from the messy fighting that came from the front lines. Arturo and Charlotte didn’t seem as impressed as he had hoped, though. “That’s… nice.” The healer said, in a not so genuine tone… Arturo just straight up scoffed. “You only have four skills, right? Two of them are for catching monsters? Doesn’t that seem a bit redundant for you? That means you only have two skills to fight with.”

Jack didn’t respond. It was better to have numbers rather than strength in most cases, so why would it be any different here? It was… frustrating, to hear Arturo say that. After all, “Last thing I remember, you hadn’t exactly done so hot against two, measly goblins?” Jack knew it wasn’t in his best interest to aggravate the giant man, but he couldn’t help himself. Arturo reacted badly, standing up so he towered over him. “We can’t all be emotionless pricks like you, Jack.”

…He couldn’t tell if this was serious or just a joke the big man was pulling, but he didn’t give it any chance. The strings of magic inside Arturo were still, but he’d make sure they wouldn’t randomly attack. At least, that had been the plan until Charlotte stepped in. “Wait! We shouldn’t fight in here!” Even though she stood between them, Arturo didn’t stand down. His eyes did soften a bit, though… which was good for Jack.

He seemed to have a soft spot for the girl.

“...You’re right. It isn’t a good time for this. Or ever. I’m sorry about what I said. It was rude of me to act like tha-'' Wrong word of choice, apparently. He was shoved back, just like with Liam. “Don’t fucking act like your better than me. We’ve known each other for years, Jack. You don’t act like that with me.” Jack cursed. This was completely different from the time in their old world. This was a world of savages, and people with inferiority complexes, apparently.

Or not. Arturo’s eyes were cold and unforgiving. There wasn’t any sense of frustration in those eyes, only a huge sense of disdain. It was as if there hadn’t been any friendship between them in the first place. In a sick, twisted way, Jack realized there never was. “I know when you start thinking like that. It’s always like a switch flips in you, you cold bastard.” He walked forward, the strings of fate showing the hidden anger underneath. Arturo was dangerous. Charlotte rushed in front of Jack, aiming to come between them, which was a kind effort but a fruitless one since she was pushed aside rather easily.

Jack was pulled up by his shirt.

“You never did that with me. Why now?” Jack gave a smile, as honest as one as he could. He had to be truthful right now if he didn’t want this to turn into a fight. “Because you scare me now, Arturo. I’m scared.”

The big man looked shocked, before a snarl appeared on his face. “You son of a bitch.” As he saw the strings pull back on Arturo’s arm, as he saw the big guy aim a fist at his face. He realized maybe it had already been too late to talk this out. He heard Liam behind him shout out, presumably as a warning. This was a critical moment, something that would change their relationship for good. He had to protect himself.

Just because this would answer a question that had been itching at him didn’t mean he wanted to. He hoped that’s what the others would think, at least. “Capture Puppet.”

He really hoped something spectacular would happen.