"Free to live your life," I barked back. "You've BEEN free all this while and now that the room was getting a little hot, you decided to lead us on a goose chase and dared to hurt my family!"
"Family," he whispered and laughed. "A family of weaklings. If I knew taking out that pink-haired woman would make Alaric crumble to the ground, I would have done it ages ago."
Another wave of laughter left him as he shook his head.
"Love. Utterly pathetic. It's funny how the organization makes it seem as though Hives are powerful beings, and yet, all you have to do is hit one domino to knock them all down. He made the mistake of marrying that broken woman who can't even have children. What's the point of a woman if she can't bear a child?"
What? Bianca...can't have children?
I always thought it was a mere choice of hers, seeing as they were so concentrated on raising me. I never questioned the idea that she couldn't conceive.
"Oops. Didn't know that fine detail?" he inquired and giggled like a mad lunatic. "I guess she didn't tell you the story of being raped in the alleyway you found her in. The revenge in her past. Her hands are stained with far more blood than mine."
One of the guns in his hands disappeared as he came to a stop and aimed the other gun straight at me.
"She could have been the perfect villain, really. She had the drive and motivation to seek revenge on all those who hurt her, and she did exactly that, but the moment the Dark Organization offered her a deal, she met Alaric. What a waste of a decision to give her an invite to our powerful organization and yet leave me hanging in this world when I couldn't accomplish killing you!"
He flipped the safety off as his lips grinned in satisfaction.
"She chose to love two men. One because he was hot and powerful and the other because of bisexuality. She let go of a position that would ensure no one messed with her to be with some pathetic Hive that couldn't even protect her from little old me."
Shaking his head, he laughed as he continued, "Now they've left the child they spent years trying to raise abandoned in another world with me. How amazing fate is to finally give me my moment's glory to finish what I should have done years ago."
His eyes locked on mine, and all the emotion drained from them as he prepared to shoot.
"This time when I shoot, I'll make sure all your brains are blown right out."
There was nothing I could do, as my elements struggled to even reach the surface. Shadow Jade was trying to materialize, but nothing would be faster than the bullet that would leave the barrel at any second.
I was literally doomed, and the thought frightened me down to the core. I was Jade Storm, a Junior Tracker who was somehow entwined in a prophecy that led me to this very point in time. It couldn't simply end here and now.
I can't die...
He was seconds from pulling the trigger, and when the shot fired, all I could do was close my eyes.
"MAWE!"
My whole body flinched in agony, but the hit wasn't from the bullet that should have hit my head. My eyes flashed open in time to see Minx fall down from the jump she'd made - the bullet hitting her directly.
I was frozen in my spot as my jaw dropped and I watched her fall to the side as white and black liquid began to pour from the bullet that went right into her head.
"M...inx?" My hands were trembling before I scrambled to be at her side in a second. I scooped her up quickly, putting her in my lap and hovering my hands over the very wound. "Minx! Hang on!"
I called to my light magic, only to realize I had none at all. The action triggered the realization that I'd sacrificed my light magic to heal Bianca, rendering me absolutely useless in this very moment of need.
My familiar...Minx...she's going to die!
"That dysfunctional cat somehow found you?" Charles dramatically sighed and closed his eyes. "How intriguing that you seem to attract all the imperfections in my life. First was my defective son. Then this waste of a familiar. And, of course, my trapped butterfly, Lisette, who clearly believes she'll be accepted when she's just a failed experiment. The only successful thing about her was changing her gender."
"Changing her gender," I whispered, trying to remain calm as my emotions began to rile up inside me as I watched Minx slipping away from me.
"You'd be surprised how easy it is to manipulate a woman into a male," he declared, leaving me both speechless and confused all at the same time. I lifted my head to stare at him with the thought he was merely saying shit to throw me off, but his eyes were flooded with triumph as he looked at me with pity.
"Oh. She didn't dive into that?" He lowered his gun just slightly, mentally deciding I was suddenly worthy of an added explanation of the truth. "You believe in her crazy antics and fluttering dresses? How foolish your grip is to not realize what I changed her into. I'm sure it's easy to get away with it seeing as I never found the time to cut off those breasts of hers. But follow the path down under and you will realize she carries a cock and not a pussy."
"T-That's impossible," I whispered.
"How would you know?" he inquired. "You haven't seen that yourself, seeing as you're too busy swooning over my imperfect son. It obviously doesn't matter now because the moment I kill you, your Hives will soon follow, but at least the secret she's fighting so hard to hide is out of the bag, and I'll make sure she knows you found out before your impending death."
He lifted the gun again, and I held Minx against me and glared at this man with all my might. If I was destined to die, I'd make sure he remembered the hate I had for him.
"You'll meet your end. Just you wait," I whispered.
"My end? You're right. I will reach the end of my suffering but guess what? It won't be by you!"
He readied himself to pull the trigger, but another being emerged before me, and suddenly Charles was frozen solid.
Who...who is this?!
My eyes were like saucers as I took in the little girl standing before me. She had long silver hair with rainbow-colored highlights. She wore a white dress, and I noticed the fuzzy, white tail that shifted to a rainbow color and stood up like static was coursing through it.
Her tiny fists were clenched, and I could only imagine the look she was giving Charles as he stared at her in bewilderment.
"Y-You?" He acted as if he'd seen this little girl before him.
"Evil man hurt Minx!" she declared, sounding exactly like Silver, but her voice was a higher pitch. "Return the pain!"
She lifted her hands up, mimicking Charles's stance, and before any of us locked onto it, a bullet was leaving the gun that was still materializing in her hand. There was no way for him to escape the attack, but due to the height difference, the gun shot into his chest.
He gasped in pain as he fell backward, the gun in his hand dropping to the floor and beginning to fizzle like the cage around me.
Within seconds, the fortress of red charged bars dispersed, leaving me free from captivity, while Charles struggled to stop his blood from pouring out of the open wound.
The girl quickly twirled around to face me, and I took in her large blue eyes that were identical to Silver’s, while ears popped from her head at that striking moment.
"I have to go!" she declared as if time was truly running out, but she dropped to her knees and reached out to Minx. "But first. Minx!"