Bab 16: Chapter 16 - You're our hero!
With complete calm, Jason's hands moved dexterously and carefully, making sure that each movement was precise, controlled, and efficient. It was as if he had done surgeries for years.
'Looks like Joe was right about me needing the power up, but for a different reason. I have little to no experience in performing surgeries, but thankfully, Bruce followed in his father's footsteps.'
Jason went through the procedure swiftly with no errors made, and when he finished, breathed a deep sigh of relief, leaning on the wall behind him. His gloved hands were dyed red in Ai's blood.
'I did it. She'll live.'
[Spectacular job! Do you think I should extract the energy possessing her, now that she's alright? It's quite thick and slimy in person.]
Jason nodded. 'Go ahead. Just don't harm her.'
[Fantastic.]
Wheatley began the process. The dark, cloak-like energy around Ai and the thick tendrils of pitch black energy connecting her and Wheatley's body became visible. What Wheatley said about her being possessed by an extraordinary amount of dark energy was true.
A frown formed on Jason's face because he could feel the ominous and unnerving aura of the energy. It felt like his anger and grief were about to erupt, and it was only his will and control over his emotions that allowed him to stay calm.
'So this is what a malevolent, godlike being's energy feels like?'
Ruby, who he had figured out to be Ai's daughter, knocked on the door and spoke with a trembling voice, "M-mister? W-what is that? I-I'm scared!"
Aqua, her son lying on the floor, began tossing and turning while making grunting sounds.
'Wheatley, the kids are being affected. Shut it off.'
[I-I'm trying. It's as if the energy has a mind of its own and won't let go!] Wheatley struggled to pull himself away, and Jason felt his distress through their connection. [Jason, help!]
'Stay still!'
Jason stood to his full height, summoning the All-Blades into his hands and cutting the tendrils between Ai and Wheatley in one stroke. The energy vanished from his naked eyes, but when the tendrils retracted to surround Ai again, it felt like it was watching him.
'Well, that's a bad sign if I've ever seen one.' He unsummoned the blades. 'Wheatley, you alright there?'
Wheatley slowly backed away while looking at Ai in fear, shifting up and down. [I am absolutely fine now, thanks to you. Anyway, I'm uh, I'm just going to stay as far away as I can for now.]
Jason sighed at his antics, but that really was a close call. 'We'll postpone the extraction until we figure out a way to do it without the kids around or if we figure out a better method of extracting the energy.'
Jason quickly began storing his tools and the breathing mask inside the ring, leaving his bloody gloves for last. 'Why don't you go ahead and go outside? Watch out for any police, ambulance, or anyone approaching the condo. Notify me if you spot any of them.'
[I'll do just that.] Wheatley rapidly nodded his body and rushed outside like his life depended on it.
It seems like he was slightly traumatised by the experience with the tendrils.
"Now what do I do with you two?" Jason muttered as he looked between Ruby, who was still behind the door, and Aqua, who had calmed down.
Having made his decision, Jason approached the door and opened it. The little girl with blonde hair and ruby eyes from the video was slightly away from the door, sitting on the floor and holding her knees. She heard the door open and looked up, flinching when she saw him.
'I guess I do cut an intimidating figure, and I probably look like I just came out of a horror movie.' His days-old clothes had bloodstains all over. From his black hoodie down to his shoes. 'I really need to take a shower and wear some clean clothes.'
"H-hey mister? I-is Mama okay?" Ruby sniffled with teary eyes. "I-I heard your conversation. You said you'd treat her. Is she fine now?"
Jason looked at her with sympathy in his eyes and nodded. He stepped aside, letting Ruby see her mother, who was lying on the floor unconscious.
Ai's chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm, the paleness of her skin almost completely gone.
"Don't move her too much," he whispered to her. "I've done all I can, but your mother is still recovering from all the blood she's lost."
Ruby absentmindedly nodded at his words, walking closer to her mother with unsteady steps. Jason thought she was going to trip, but she eventually reached her mother, kneeling down and holding her hand.
"Mama… I can't believe it. You're okay…!" Ruby's body trembled as she hugged her mother's hand tightly to her chest. Relief filled her voice as she cried tears of joy and whispered, "Thank goodness you're alive!"
Jason watched and let Ai's daughter have her moment with her mother. She deserved it.
'I'm glad I made it in time. If I was late for even a few seconds… These kids would have ended up without their mother.' Jason then frowned as he tried connecting the dots. 'The kids in the video turned out to be Ai's kids, but they look to be around 3-4 years old. That meant Ai got pregnant when she was 16, but... Who and where is their father? Furthermore, how did a murderous stalker find out where Ai lived? They'd surely have taken care and made sure only people they trusted knew her address.'
Jason scanned the condo around him, his eyes picking out every visible detail. Everything was still clean and polished. Even some of the furniture looked newly bought.
'They've probably just moved, then. So how the hell did a stalker find out where Ai moved when they've only lived here for a few weeks at most?'
Was it her manager? The other members of her idol group? Her relatives?
Or was it the unknown father who didn't seem to live with Ai? After analysing the condo, he found no signs of a man living with Ai, which meant he was either dead or uninvolved with Ai and her children.
'I'm lacking in information. I'll need to investigate, starting with the stalker I passed by while I rushed towards Ai.' Jason brought out his phone, displaying the location of the tracking device he stuck to the stalker's back. 'Looks like he's still moving farther away. I'll deal with him after I make sure the kids are safe.'
As Jason searched for more information on Ai and her agency, he felt a tug on his pants. Stopping what he was doing, he looked down and found Ruby staring at him with bright eyes. Her dried up tears created two lines going down her face.
Ruby's lips curled up into a smile of gratitude. "Thank you so much for helping our mother, Jason-san!"
Jason blinked in surprise before he slightly chuckled and shook his head with a smile. He kneeled down, gently patting her head and ruffling her hair.
"No need to thank me, kid. I'm just a stranger who wanted to help."
Ruby firmly shook her head. "Nuh uh. You're our hero!"
"A hero, huh…" A wry smile appeared on his face. "Not really. I only did the right thing. That's it."
Ruby once again shook her head.
"You're really gonna keep calling me a hero?"
Ruby nodded with determination in her eyes.
Jason sighed, but a smile remained on his face. "Sounds like I'm not winning this argument. Alright, alright. I'll be your hero."
"Alright!" Ruby jumped in place. "Are you going to stay with us?"
"It depends."
That seemed to be the wrong answer. Ruby pouted, narrowing his eyes at him.
"No!" Ruby hugged his arm. "You promised Mama you'd protect us. You have to stay!"
'She's trying to hang on to the single current source of safety and security nearby. That's not good. Can't get them too attached to me.'
Jason gently removed her arms with no issue, making her glare and pout more intense. "How about this? You go wake your brother up while I move your mother to a more comfortable spot. The floor's not a good place to lie down on, you know?"
Unexpectedly, Ruby seemed to figure out that he was attempting to distract her, based on how her expression barely twitched. She seemed to be more intelligent than she lets on.
"Fine, I'll go wake up my brother. But be gentle with Mama. She's an idol and her body must be taken care of with utmost sincerity!"
"Yes, yes. I'll follow your orders to the letter, young miss." Jason gestured his head towards her brother. "Now go."
Ruby humphed, turning her head away at his remark, but there was a clear skip in her step as she went to wake up her brother.
Jason gently lifted Ai into a princess carry and walked towards the closest bed, which was in the kids' room, and slowly set her down.
"Ai…? Ai!"
"Brother, calm down!"
The children's panicked shouts echoed from behind him, and Jason sighed.
"Time to be a hero…"
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Author's Note:
Jason's on babysitting duty for now.
Thanks for reading!
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