"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Nate yelled repeatedly as he paced around the shop. I stood with Jade, helping her sweep up the broken glass while Nate had his breakdown.
"Nathan calm down! Freaking out right now isn't going to solve anything." Jade snapped. Nate slammed his hands on the u-shaped counter and looked towards his wife.
"Freaking out is the only thing I can do right now Jade! Thanks to him the red dragons are going to come back and kill us all!" Nate yelled.
"If it wasn't for him Bo could have been badly hurt or worse when he snuck out. The same could be said for you just now." Jade rebutted.
"The second in command of the red dragons have a bounty on him and he just killed a red dragon's splicers, Titan! His evo is still eating it outside!"
As everyone turned to look out the window to the street Bone-lasher looked up from his meal with a big hunk of meat hanging half out of his mouth and turned to look at us. He paused for a few seconds then quickly gobbled up that piece and cooked his head to the side.
[Want some?] Bone-lasher asked.
[Nope, I'm good. Enjoy.] I replied. Bone-lasher purred happily and turned back to his meal and tore into the carcass.
"He's living his best life." I said with a shrug.
"What the fuck does that even mean?!" Nate yelled and slammed his hand down on the glass counter. Jade walked over to her husband and rubbed his back.
"Honey I need you to calm down. If Bo sees you freaking out he's going to freak out." Jade said. Nate huffed and shook his head then looked at me.
"Look, thank you for saving my son and keeping me from getting my ass kicked but it's time you leave. When the red dragons come back they'll be looking for you. With you gone maybe we can apologize or figure something out." Nate said.
"If I'm what they'll be looking for won't they just trash the store worse to make you tell them where I am?" I countered. Nate clenched his jaw as he looked at me and a vein started throbbing in his forehead.
"We wouldn't be having to think about that if you'd just minded your business!" Nate snapped.
"If he'd just minded his business we'd probably spend weeks wondering where Bo was only to find him dead if we ever found him at all Nathan. Those red dragons probably would have beaten you to death…and you probably know what that splicer was planning to do to me." Jade said softly.
Nate opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut then turned and looked away from Jade. His body shook with anger as he clenched his fists.
"What does it matter?! Either way, we're dead! They've killed people for less!" Nate snapped and slammed his fists down on the counter again, shattering the glass. "I can't fight! I can't protect my wife and son! I'm a normie! All I can fucking do is beg on my knees like a dog!"
"Nathan!" Jade exclaimed. She grabbed her husband's hands, which were cut up thanks to the glass, and quickly wrapped them up in a rag she tore to make bandages.
"I don't know what to do…" Nate whispered.
"You don't do anything…" I spoke up.
I popped my claws and poked my finger. I used my blood to write a spell sigil on my arm and channeled mana into that arm. I started casting a utility spell sigil and an orb of green light formed in my hand. I walked over and pushed the light into Nate's chest. His entire body glowed slightly then the glow focused on his hands, face, and belly. The bruises that had formed on his face and his busted lip glowed the brightest and then healed. The same happened with the cuts on his arm.
"...I'll give the red geckos something else to worry about." I said with a devious smile.
"Wait are you actually thinking about going and attacking the red dragons?!" Nate exclaimed. I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Attacking…causing massive property damage in an attempt to move a large group of them out of the area and forget about you and your family for a bit…potato, patata." I said
"The red dragons are gangsters! Not the pampered nobles up at college! They will kill you!" Nate exclaimed and grabbed my shoulders.
"Chase you don't have to do that. We will find another way." Jade said. I smiled softly at the couple and stepped back.
"And I will give you the time to figure out that other way. I'll be fine. It's not like it's the first time I've had my life threatened, I know when to run." I said.
"That sentence and the confidence in which you said it…terrifies me." Jade said. She shook her head and turned to head back to the back room. She paused just before she reached the door and looked back at me. "If you're determined to do that then there is nothing I can do to stop you. But please don't let your confidence in your abilities lead to your death."
"It's not confidence that makes me want to do this…it's a promise I made to the woman that made me who I am today. You all need help and I'm able to help you. It's not much but it's better than doing nothing." I replied. Jade nodded slowly then after a brief pause walked back into the back room.
I looked over at Nate and saw that his fists were still clenched and his body shaking with anger. He looked away from me but I knew he was gritting his teeth to try not to scream.
"Bo is lucky to have you." I said softly. Nate stilled and looked up at me.
"What do you mean? I'm his normie father who can't even stand up and protect him!" Nate exclaimed.
"You still cared enough about him to bow your head and scrape and endure every insult and slight just to secure the smallest glimmer of hope that it would keep him safe." I said then smiled sadly. "It takes so much more strength to endure silently than it does to lash out. I can see Bo gets his bravery and tenacity from you. You might be a normie Nate, but you're far from normal."
There was a long moment of silence between the two of us. He turned away from me and pointed to the east.
"The Bloody Jaguars used to control this area. Their main meeting hall was a large warehouse to the east at the edge of the silver city line. When the red dragons took over they killed everyone in the jaguars and set up shop in their old warehouse. If you want to cause some chaos you'd best start there." He said.
"Thanks." I said. Nate shook his head.
"No, thank you."
I turned and started to leave the shop. I was at the door when Jade came bursting back into the sales floor in a panic.
"BO'S GONE!" She screamed.
"What?!" Nate and I exclaimed.
"He's not in his room and I checked all over! Oh gods! Gadget's not in his cage!" Jade exclaimed and pointed to counter. Gadget's hamster cage was empty, it looked like the door had come unlocked and he scurried out.
"WHERE THE FUCK DID HE GO?!" I roared.
[Tiny evo escaped while you were fighting humans. Ran to his master and they left.] Bone-lasher said. I froze and snapped my head around to look at the liger shark through the window. He'd all but finished the titan corpse and was now making short work of the bones.
"HE WHAT?" I roared. Bone-lasher stilled and turned his head towards me. "Why didn't you tell me he escaped and snuck out with Bo!"
[You were fighting! More important!] Bone-lasher defended.
"What's going on?!" Nate demanded. I looked over my shoulder at Nate
"Bone-lasher said that he saw Gadget break out of his cage while I was fighting and sneak back to Bo then the two of them snuck out." I repeated.
"Where did they go?!" Jade and Nate demanded. I looked back at Bone-lasher.
[The same way that loud human was pointing at a minute ago.] Bone-lasher replied.
"Fuuuuck! Can you still see them?" I asked. Bone-lasher shook his head.
[Too far away. Been like that for a while.]
"Bone-lasher said he was heading towards that warehouse you told me about but he can't see him now because he dropped out of range." I repeated.
"I have to get him!" Nate exclaimed then rushed towards the door. I moved to stop him and shook my head. "Out of the way I need to get my son!"
'If he goes and he runs into a group of red dragons he's dead. I need to keep him here at all costs' I thought.
"I'll go get him! I'll get him!" I said. "I have evos and magic, and I can catch up to him a lot quicker than you can! Hopefully, before he gets to the warehouse. If not I will burn the place to the ground looking for him!"
"He's my son! It's my responsibility to keep him safe!"
"You're wife is also your responsibility! Are you just going to leave her here by herself after what just happened?"
Nate froze and stopped trying to push past me and Jade took the opportunity to walk up behind her husband and hug him.
"He's my son…I don't care what any of you say I'm going to get him. The longer we argue about this the further away he's getting." Nate said in a low and dangerous tone.
"Fine…" I said, softly shaking my head in defeat. I pulled out my wallet and retrieved those two rings and handed them to Jade. "…those are enchanted items but they are highly unstable. They are more like magic bombs. Just channel mana into them and throw it…and prey you don't get caught in the blast radius."
Nate rushed past me and out the door while Jade's eyes bugged as she looked at the rings.
"Why do you have unstable enchanted items?!" She demanded.
"Doesn't matter now! Mana, throw, pray! Just remember that! Mana, throw, pray!" I yelled as I ran out of the store after Nate.
World Fact: Police forces in the United States originally started out as gangs wanting to protect specific territories. In 1823 Samuel Addams started a union that brought most of the gangs in America together. This new gang came under government oversight and was called the United Sherrif department.
[HUTEXA_THE_DJINN HERE! Another new chapter coming at you! Hope you enjoy it! if you have, leave a comment or review or a power crystal. It all helps!]