I hadn't realized a tear had left my eye, and I was unsure why I was even shedding a tear. "I'm coming right back, I promise." Her words were so soft yet full of emotion. I couldn't understand why I was responding the way I was, but she had to understand it by the way she comforted me.
"Let's do this," she said with excitement. "We got a date to fulfill."
With that, she looked over to Alaric, who was trying to sit further up, but his struggle was just as apparent. It was as though he was being held down with weights when he was merely handcuffed.
"Stay still, Alaric," Lisette encouraged and looked at Star as she began to twirl her umbrella. "Oh, Star?"
"Mewr?"
"Catch!" she shouted and tossed her umbrella that suddenly turned into a flying end of a whip. The little familiar jumped and somehow caught the end of the glowing rope, and as if understanding what Lisette had planned in her mind, she moved behind Alaric and managed to loop the rope around Alaric's handcuffed hands.
"Perfect" she cheered and looked at me. "Ready?"
"Yes," I firmly replied and took one last look at Alaric. "See ya later, Dad."
His eyes widened and there was that fearful gaze once more, but I wouldn't let Charles win by defeating me. I had to return and make sure I helped Bianca as well.
Lisette tugged on her whip before her body began to be surrounded by a pink light. I raced to the opposite side of the cage, moving further back and preparing to dart straight into it.
If an exchange was needed, it meant I'd have to replace Alaric's position and do it at the exact same time Lisette tugged him out of it.
This is probably one of the most dangerous things I've done since shooting myself.
Running into a cage shouldn't even come close, but the red electric shocks around the bars told me this wasn't going to be less painful than having your brains blown out.
At least with a shot to your head, the pain ends when you perish. In this case, I'm going to have to defend myself against Charles during the aftermath. Wonderful.
With one last glance at Lisette, we nodded to one another and I began to run towards the cage with the intention of magically forcing myself into its square walls. My elements rushed to my aid - and I was shocked to see the silhouettes form before me as if they were creating a barrier that would absorb the shocking force.
"DEVA LA RASHE TELEPORTANDA!" Lisette screamed and tugged at the rope with so much force that Alaric went flying backward while I lifted my crossed arms and braced for the impact.
"BROKANDA REVA!" The words surged out without a second thought, and with perfect timing, I crashed into the barrier surrounding the cage while Alaric's body was pulled right through it.
Our screams of pain were in sync, my entire body feeling as though it was on fire as waves of intense shockwaves hit me from left to right. When I landed on the ground, I braced myself against the after currents, my screams echoing around me as I struggled to remain still.
I was gasping for air when the shocks subsided, and I realized Shadow Jade was hovering over me with Minx licking my cheek and rubbing her head against my tingling skin.
"Jade Mommy!" she said with a trembling voice, her body covered with wounds that revealed the hollow glow of her insides.
That indicated she was struggling to remain in her physical form, but I knew from a single glance that she was fighting to remain by my side.
"I'm okay," I assured her and suddenly had the urge to cough. I turned my head over to cough as hard as I could, my arms wrapping around my stomach in an effort to dim the pain the mere action created.
I opened my eyes to see the blood that left my mouth and groaned.
"Fucking barrier," I huffed and slowly sat up. My eyes quickly surveyed the situation at hand. I noticed that Lisette and Alaric were gone, and I was within the cage with Minx, Shadow Jade, and Star.
I spotted Charles with ease and was shocked to see Ceil was still there, defending against the man as his body began to fade in and out.
"Dammit! Be gone, you fucking shadow!" Charles snarled and took a giant step back to make a direct hit against Ceil.
"KILL!" Shadow Jade was gone from my side and before Ceil in a heartbeat - her scythe taking the blow head-on. It sent her flying back into Ceil, who wrapped his arms around her as the two of them soared back towards the cage.
"No!" I screamed and lifted my hand to think of something that would recall Ceil back to Lisette while retrieving Shadow Jade. "RETURN TO THY ORIGINAL FORM!"
I didn't even have the time to add a spell to my words as I pushed as much elemental force as I could into my command to make it a reality. Their bodies quickly shifted into their silhouette shadows, and Ceil's image vanished just as Shadow Jade's energy seeped through the cage and returned right into me.
The retrieval made me grunt as her energy united with me, and I was left feeling sick to my stomach all over again, which resulted in a round of vomiting.
Have I reached my limit? Why am I having these adverse effects?
"What a foolish child you are."
I rolled over to my stomach and worked on going on my hands and knees as I lifted my heavy head to stare at Charles with an intense glare of hatred.
"Your empty insults really aren't doing a good job at wounding my pride," I huffed before spitting out blood that pooled in my mouth.
"You really fell into my ultimate trap? Foolishness!" He actually laughed in glee as he approached the cage in question. "Excellent. Fucking excellent!"
I watched him in confusion as his cynical smile grew and his eyes sparkled like he was rejuvenating himself.
What is he doing?
"Still don't understand what's happening?" he asked as the complexion of his pale skin grew stronger and the withering aura that wrapped around him suddenly strengthened immensely. "Do you think I created that cage for no reason?"
I still wasn't following what he was trying to make me realize.
"Mewr!" Star began to jump up and down, and I looked at her and noticed how she was hopping all over the dry floor beneath me.
Wait? Dry...I just...oh, flying fuck shits!
The mere realization of what he was doing made me queasy once again, but I forced myself to keep whatever contents desperately wanted to escape my mouth inside as I looked at the approaching man with furious eyes.
"Ah. Do you get it now?" he asked with a chuckle as he spun his daggers that morphed into red guns. I gathered all my strength to stand up and corrected my stance when my body tried to wobble in place.
"Bloodsucker," I cursed, realizing that he'd sucked every ounce of blood that had left my body to rejuvenate himself.
That's why Alaric looked as though he was completely drained. He'd sucked out the blood from his wounds! Why didn't I figure this out sooner?
Minx stood in front of me while Star moved to stand between us. She wasn't in full defensive mode, unlike Minx, her hissing loud and clear.
"Resorting to name-calling now?" he questioned and stopped before the cage. "How does it feel to be a trapped butterfly?"
He began to laugh as he prowled around the cage. My eyes were glued onto him as I rotated my body follow his every move.
"You think you'll stop me from remaining in this world? How pathetic to think you of all people can stop me. I've killed you once. I can now kill you again without a doubt in my mind. Once your heartbeat stops, this whole light show will come to an end, and I'll be free to live my life."