Last Chapter of the Goldy Pond arc. Letsa go!
"Words" Speaking
'words' Thoughts
"Words" Demon Speech
'Words' Demon thoughts
Scene change
"What, what the hell happened!" Aubrey exclaimed as she walked into the treatment room of the base.
Around her were Gillian, Oliver, and Zack, all being treated for their severe injuries.
All around, the other children were working hard to save their comrades.
"They were lucky to survive the encounter with Bayon," Pepe explained.
"What happened to Sonia's team?" Lucas asked as he worked.
Aubrey was taken out of her shock and horror, remembering why she came here.
"We need some strong people! Three people are really injured and will die if we don't get them treated!" Aubrey announced.
About five kids who looked to be between nine and twelve stepped forward, ready to help.
"Alright, good, all the monsters in the forest are dead, so don't worry. I'll tell you where our friends are, and then I'm going to help the others with the last one." Aubrey explains, to which the children nod.
"I'm going to help with Leuvis too. We need numbers if we're going to take him down." Pepe says.
"Before I go, I need to tell you something, Lucas!" Aubrey said, looking at the older man.
Pepe was already up the stairs and in the windmill, on his way to the front door.
"Adam! Please open the door, would you?" Pepe asks.
However, when he got to the door, he saw the board that kept the door shut on the ground, and the giant, muscular boy was nowhere to be seen.
"A-Adam?" Pepe said again, in both confusion and worry.
With Emma and Leuvis.
All the guns fired, but Leuvis didn't even try to run. Instead, he easily caught all the bullets in his hand.
'He's so fast that he can catch bullets?!' Kel thought in shock.
"So that is your first stage of the plan?" Leuvis questioned. "Finding an advantage point..."
Emma was hiding in a nearby alleyway. 'It's just Kel and me. What we need to do is smash Leuvis's mask!' She thought.
Emma is drawn out of her thoughts by Pepe approaching her.
"Pepe, I have an idea," Emma said quietly. "He's going to try to go after you and Kel first, trying to make me more bloodthirsty. If you and Kel distract him enough, I can use contingency plan E to paralyze him long enough to try and get his mask off."
"Right, I'll go tell him," He said, running off towards Kel.
'I know you are going to attempt to destroy my mask. You must have the means to do so if you killed Bayon and the others… but I doubt you only have one way of doing so.' Leuvis thought as he walked in the direction of Emma.
"What will be your plan? Will you implement it soon? Should I make a counter-strategy?... Or should I just kill you and your comrades?" Leuvis said out loud.
Emma was hiding in a house down the path Leuvis was on. As the demon passed, she put on the rubber glove Oliver gave her earlier.
Pepe was behind one of the buildings, holding on to a high-caliber rifle.
Kel was in a building not too far down the path, sniper in hand and ready to shoot Leuvis once he was stunned.
That's when he heard the demon approaching.
"Found you," Leuvis said darkly.
Pepe tensed. 'It's now or never!' He ran out of his hiding spot and tried to shoot Leuvis. But due to his injured arm, he couldn't aim properly and hit the ground instead, exposing electric wires.
"Looks like you can't even aim properly with one arm," Leuvis commented.
Emma suddenly took one of the exposed wires in the glove covering hand. She then jabbed it at Leuvis.
Immediately, Leuvis was shocked, spazzing out. 'Electricity?!'
As Emma backed away from the spasming demon, she thought. 'I was never good at thinking ahead or about the opponent's moves.' Remembering playing chess against Mom, Norman, Spencer, and Ray. 'But I was surrounded by those who are! This time, I won't lose. I won't let anyone die.'
'Now's the time!' Kel thought as he looked down the scope of the gun. 'I will not miss. I'll kill the bastard with one shot!' As he pulled the trigger.
But unfortunately, even being shocked by electricity was not good enough to stop him from catching it.
'H-he can still catch it?!' Kel thought in shock.
Leuvis grinned. 'That was the first time I've been attacked with electricity, what a rush! however, I'm not keen on doing it again!' He lunged towards an open Emma.
"Well done! Using my lack of knowledge of the environment to catch me off guard!" Leuvis praised.
"Emma, look out!" Kel shouted.
But then, another bullet suddenly came towards Leuvis's mask, shattering it.
'What?' everyone thought, as they then turned to see where the bullet came from.
On top of the roof of one of the houses, Mister and Ray were standing there. Mister was aiming his sniper rifle.
"Long time no see, Leuvis," Mister said darkly.
'Mister! Ray!' Emma looked at them in happiness and relief. 'They're alive! I'm so relieved.'
'Emma's friends?' Pepe wonders. 'That adult, he looks to be about Lucas's age…'
'That man, he broke Leuvis's mask!' Kel thinks in amazement.
'My mask, you actually did it!' Leuvis thought. "Well done! This is turning out better than imagined!" Leuvis said.
Pepe took what looked to be a grenade out of his pocket and, using an injured finger on his right hand, unpinned it and threw it at Leuvis.
'A grenade? I see, utilizing as many forms of combat as possible!' Leuvis thought, preparing his body for the detonation and shrapnel.
However, as the grenade approached Leuvis's face, the grenade split in two. Inside the grenade was a smaller cylinder.
A blinding flash of light emitted from the cylinder.
'No! A flashbang!' Leuvis thought as his vision went white.
'It's a good thing that flashbang was so far from us. Otherwise, we'd be blinded like Leuvis,' Mister thought. 'That flashbang has hampered him, disguising it as a normal grenade was genius, Lucas.'
Leuvis fell to his knees, bowing his head and placing his hand over his face.
'Very impressive trick!" He said, trying to regain his composure.
Emma held up her gun and shot the demon, who dodged it. He then made a burst of wind with his arm, blowing bits of debris on them.
"Ahh!" Pepe winced.
Hearing the sound, Emma turned to see Leuvis sliced Pepe by the left shoulder.
"Pepe!" Kel screamed. 'How'd he do it? He can't see!' He thought in horror.
'Sound. This monster, he was able to attack that guy by just that small sound he made! He's using his sense of hearing in place of his sight!' Ray thought.
'Shit... I'm gonna need to change position to kill him!' Mister thought as he bolted to the edge of the roof, jumping to the adjacent house.
Quickly, Mister aimed at the demon's face and shot twice.
Leuvis heard the shots and moved his head to dodge one shot and grab the other bullet in his teeth.
Leuvis grabbed some more debris and tossed it in the direction of Mister, who was able to dodge it.
"This is it! This is it, This is it, this is it this is it this is it this is it this is it this is it!" Leuvis repeated.
"Waaaahahahahahaa!" Leuvis cackled madly.
"We need to go!" Mister shouted at Ray as they bolted to another roof.
Leuvis punched the building that Mister and Ray were on. Luckily the two boys jumped to another one before the building toppled over.
Leuvis rushed to the building housing Kel, punching it like the previous building, moving at speeds resembling teleportation.
'Shit, I gotta get to the others!' Kel thought as he bolted to the other side of the house and jumped out the window.
"This is thrilling! It's been one thousand years since I felt this!" Leuvis bellowed as he continued his onslaught of destroying the surrounding buildings.
Once rubble and dust filled the area, Leuvis stopped his attack. Luckily the humans had escaped his vicious attack. He stood still, taking a deep breath and bathing in the afterglow of his near death.
"Palvus!" the Archduke called, causing the demonic monkey-like pet to run from his hiding place with the demon's hat on top of it.
"Ahh, thank you, my friend, come here," Leuvis said, picking up his hat and reaching out for his pet to jump onto his arm.
"It appears the effects of the flashbang have yet to go away. My head is still spinning considerably. It really does feel like I'm young again, waking up in the morning with a hangover from the drinking and debauchery of the previous night." Leuvis said, looking into his pet's single eye.
"Despite the discomfort, I have had so much fun." The demon said with mania. "I saw death standing before me. However, I prevailed! I am alive! Blood pumping through my veins! This is incredible!" He said with his arms outstretched.
Meanwhile, with the humans.
"Pepe… Pepe…! Wake up!" Emma shouted, shaking the dark-skinned boy.
"Emma!" Ray said, getting the attention of the orange-haired girl.
"We've stopped the bleeding, but we can't do anything else for him," Ray explained. "If we leave him here, he should be safe enough."
"..." Emma did not reply, knowing Ray is right.
"Damnit!" Kel swore. "How much will it take to kill that monster!" He questions.
"Everything was going smoothly. We broke his mask, we stunned him, and were so close to killing him!" Kel vented.
"Well, what do you want to do now?" Mister questioned the children.
"All I can think of is to keep up the pressure… try from another angle that he's not expecting," Kel suggests.
"That won't work," Mister says bluntly. "I've tried that before, surrounding him. Ended in death."
"But if we-" Kel tries to say, only to be interrupted.
"Work together, then it'll all work out?" Mister guessed in a mocking tone. "Yeah, right!" He was now sweating, gritting his teeth. 'Leuvis is simply unkillable! We stand no chance! Just like we did back then...'
"Let's just escape," Mister suggested. "We got no chance!"
'Running is our only option? Then using the final contingency is all we can do…' Kel thought.
"Emma, we-" Kel started.
"No," Emma said to both Kel and Mister.
"If we try to run away now, we won't be able to save everyone…" Emma tells them.
'Everyone?' Mister thinks, remembering all his deceased companions.
"Aubrey, Oliver, Zack, Basil, Nigel, Sonia, Gillian." Emma lists the team members who fought today. "Theo, Salem, and the other kids. Kel and Pepe here. Ray, myself, you, and Lucas." Emma says, looking at Mister.
"I will not let anyone die. It is simply not an option. I need to protect everyone from this hunting ground, now and forever." The orange-haired girl says with her fist clenched.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Mister scowled. "We can't hope to beat him! We stand no chance against Leuvis! Running away means he can't kill anyone else!"
"That's a lie! You don't know that will work. He could wipe us all out while we try to run away!" Emma counters. 'He's scared. Not just of Leuvis, but of losing people again. I have to try and make him face that fear and overcome it!' She thinks.
"After we escape, all we would be doing is running. Even if we used the "safer" route, Leuvis would just track us down!" Emma explains.
Emma turned to Kel, who was staring at Emma and Mister as they had their conversation, looking stressed and a little scared.
"Kel, did Lucas ever tell you what it's Like outside?" She asked.
"Huh? I mean a little." Kel tells her.
"Then you know that if both the intelligent demons and mindless beasts are tracking us down, one or both will catch up to us." She tells him.
"But, what else can we do?" Kel asks. "How can we beat him?!"
"There is a way!" Emma insisted. "We can't just give up! There must be a way to break through-"
"How many times do I have to say there isn't?" Mister demanded. "We barely even have time to talk. If we keep on talking, our window of escape is going away! And then Everyone will die!"
"If we're running away, we'll be sacrificing the lives of others!" Emma fired back. "They must be terrified… of Leuvis's strength. I am too. Everyone is. Even you are! So don't you feel the need to stop this? Right here? Right now?"
There was a moment of silence as the people in the room absorbed Emma's argument, trying to find a way to counter it.
"The other day, Lucas and I found out how to get to the human world," Emma said, shocking both Mister and Ray. "Today, we free everyone, where we free them from being hunted and take them to a world without demons!" Emma assures.
"Sometimes I get in over my head and don't know when to give up… But this is not one of those times! So we must win! Win so we can all live together! This time you won't lose anyone!" Emma yells at Mister, who simply stares at the girl in disbelief.
After a moment, Mister's shock turns to a frown as he raises his hand and bonks Emma on the head.
"Dumbass." He calls her as Emma rubs the spot he hit.
"Talking to me like I'm a kid… Fine, I'll follow your lead, Emma." He says, turning away.
Emma's face quickly changes from confused to shocked to happy in just a few seconds as she possesses what he said.
'He called me by my name! Not brat, or girl, or Antenna!' She thinks with a smile.
"Mister! What's your name?!" She asks in excitement.
"Damn cheeky brat." Mister made a comically angry face. "... If we survive this, I'll tell you."
Emma's smile was so bright everyone in the room could feel the warmth from it.
"So, what's the plan?" Kel asked, ready to end this.
"As Emma said, there has to be away," Ray said. "When I was on top of the roof, I thought about it. Dangerous or not, he's a living being. Shoot him in the eye, and he dies. Shoot him anywhere else, and he gets injured."
"The electricity and flashbang also took away his senses," Emma says.
"His power, regeneration, and speed are too high, though," Ray continued. "We need to think about this calmly."
"There's also something else I'm wondering about," Emma spoke up. "Why did his hand regenerate so slowly even though he's a demon?"
"It was definitely a lot slower than the other demons. His hand was barely recovered when he tore the house down." Kel said
"Then there might be some flaws of his regeneration," Ray suggested. "Like how much he can regenerate or an energy requirement. There's a limit to how many times the cells of our body can divide for us humans. When you're young, it recovers quickly but slows down as you get older."
'Age… could definitely be it,' Kel thought. 'Luce looked and acted like the youngest out of the five of them. His regeneration was a lot faster than the others.'
"So the plan is to injure him as much as possible," Ray said. "We need to pressure him, even if he's recovered his eyesight. Once we're able to hit his eye, we'll take the first opportunity to do so!"
There was a moment where the team nodded as they were getting ready to leave when Emma remembered something she wanted to say.
"There's one last thing I'm worried about, though," Emma murmured. "Why does Leuvis have that monk-?" She began only to notice the aforementioned pet in the window looking directly at her.
She pointed out the window. The demon monkey was right there, staring at them.
"Ohh," was all Emma could say.
"This could be bad," Ray grimaced.
As he said, the demonic monkey let out an ear-piercing screech, letting his master know the location of his prey.
"Mister, grab Pepe, and let's move it!" Ray shouts as he bolts for the door
As Mister did so, the wall behind them broke. They quickly made a run for it.
'Let's finish this!' Emma thought.
The others ran ahead while Emma slowed down a bit to hit Leuvis while he was going through the much too small hallway for him. As Leuvis charged ahead, Emma backed off, and Ray ran forward, also shooting.
"I'll cover you!" He shouted. He kicked a table at Leuvis and also ran away with Emma.
'The effects of the flashbang remain longer than I thought,' Ray thought to himself.
At this stage, Leuvis could no longer catch the bullets.
Ray, Emma, and Kel kept barraging him with bullets without any sign of stopping.
'A change of plans?' Leuvis wondered as he tried to dodge as many as he could. 'Did they figure out my regeneration limit? My vision is still white as well. I wonder if they know that the eyes take the longest to regenerate?'
He decided to bust himself out by punching out a hole in the wall. As he walked out, he was met with Mister on top of a roof, aiming with his sniper rifle.
Leuvis fled the bullets, the humans pursuing him. 'It's time to counter' He noticed something big coming his way and dodged it. 'What on earth did I just dodge?'
Adam was in front of him, muttering numbers.
"Did he just throw part of a house?" Ray said incredulously. "What is this guy?"
"It's Adam," Kel explained, grinning.
"Adam! Blow that monster away!" The voice of Aubrey yelled.
The giant human rushed forward, blowing Leuvis away with a single punch that left the ground shaking slightly.
'That hit… was from a human?' Leuvis thought in shock. 'My arm is broken… that boy, from Lambda 7214. One of Bayon's investments… How did one of them get here? Did Bayon do it? Why?' Leuvis thought frantically as he tried to make a plan to counter this new opponent.
'Amazing!' Emma gasped inwardly.
Next to Adam was Aubrey.
"Aubrey!" Kel said with a smile.
"Now!" Mister yelled. "This is our chance to take him down! Aim!"
Everyone did so immediately.
'This is starting to get challenging… humanity truly is wonderful,' Leuvis thought.
As they rained fire upon the demon, he still manages to dodge.
'Tch! What the hell is this guy?' Ray scowled.
"Emma!" Aubrey raced at her as she shot at Leuvis. "I met Adam on the way here! What's the status of the flashbang?"
"We've used it already!" Emma answered. "The effects are going to wear off soon!"
Everyone kept firing as Leuvis did his best to dodge; however, he was starting to slow down.
"We need to wear him down!" Emma continued. "He regenerates slowly, so shoot him as much as you can!"
"Got it," Aubrey nodded. She blew a whistle. "Adam! Keep throwing!"
Adam threw another chunk of a house at the demon, who just barely dodged it. 'So they do know about my declining regeneration. My age is really getting to me. But it can't be helped. I regenerated my cells from the electrical shock. The flashbang as well, and my hand that was blown apart is almost completely healed. But now I have to restore a broken arm. It's been a long time since I've darted around like this.' The demon thought as he side-stepped from a stone pillar thrown by Adam. 'I feel as though I'm back in my youth, running wild and fighting the greatest warriors humanity could offer. This feeling, the shaking in my bones, my boiling blood, so nostalgic. However, I will not die here. I will overcome this battle.'
'It's working without a doubt,' Emma thought. 'But it's not enough. Just keep shooting!'
Aubrey tried aiming with another flashbang, but Leuvis dodged it, learning his lesson from earlier.
"That won't work twice!" Leuvis says as he covers his face.
Adam threw another chunk of building at Leuvis, who quickly moved aside. 'Adam seems to be rather simple-minded. His attacks are quite predictable.' The demon thought as he moved in front of Aubrey and Kel.
Adam was too focused on attacking Leuvis and did not notice his companions in front of the demon until he had already thrown another pillar.
Leuvis moved out of the way of the debris. "Pay attention! Aren't you endangering your very own?!" Leuvis shouted.
"Watch out!" Emma yelled at the two friends who jumped out of the way of the oncoming pillar.
As Adam tried to get more ammo, Leuvis swiftly moved towards Adam and punched him towards a house. The house that Mister was on top of.
"Adam! Mister!" Emma shouted in worry.
Luckily Mister was able to safely jump down off the roof and roll.
'He's going to recover his senses soon! This is our last chance!' Ray thought. "Continue firing!" He ordered.
They continued to do so, but unfortunately, Leuvis dodged all of them. And to their shock, he stabbed Emma right in the gut with his long sharp fingers.
"Eh?" Emma said in shock.
"Game, set, match."
Emma slowly fell, blood seeping into the ground.
"Emma!" Ray shouted in horror.
Leuvis retracted his fingers and gently lay a hand on Emma's back.
"Thank you, Emma. That was truly beyond anything I have felt in over one thousand years. I am honored to have battled you. For you, my respect is beyond even that of my own kind. You are my true equal." Leuvis declares in a calm and caring tone.
All of the others fired at Leuvis once again, this time more aggressively. Especially Ray, who practically charged at him, blinded by rage.
'Emma! Get up! You can't die. You're too stubborn to die! Get up, get up!' Emma's friends thought.
Emma laid motionless as the chaos raged on, her body unable to move.
'Where am I?' She thought as her senses started to fade away. 'I feel cold, and everything is dark. My wound… It hurts but also feels numb. I can't move. My body feels heavy.'
"..." Emma could hear distant voices but couldn't make out who they were or what they were saying.
"Walter, Annie, Dina…" the voice of a younger Lucas and Mister said.
'This sorrow, this rage, this guilt. Why do I feel this?' Emma wondered.
"I will never forgive them! I will destroy this horror amusement park!" A child version of Oliver said, along with Zack, Nigel, and Sonia.
'Rage again, determination, sadness… is this what they felt?' Emma wondered.
"I'm sorry! I'm a murderer! Worse than they are! I should just die!" The voice of Basil came through as well.
'Guilt, self-loathing, sadness… oh Basil…' Emma thought, wanting to help the boy.
"The purity and beauty of your ideals is a sight to behold; however, I do not hold such ideals, and I doubt we could come to a mutual understanding," Leuvis said to the girl.
'Bloodlust, admiration, joy, and… sadness and guilt? Why would Leuvis feel like that?' Emma thought, confused.
The emptiness returned as Emma's everything started to fade.
'I have to get up. If I don't defeat Leuvis, then I won't feel my family's embrace again. I won't be able to save Phil and the others. They're waiting for me! There are still things I need to do! Like getting everyone to the human world! Saving our family! Move! I need to get up!' She felt herself sink down, her body above her. 'I can't… die yet…'
She tried to reach for her body, but she couldn't.
"..." a familiar voice said. "...a, ...ma… Emma, Emma!" The voice grew louder and louder until Emma's eyes shot open.
Out of the abyss appeared Spencer, a look of worry painted across his face.
"Emma, don't let go," he said as he took her hand into his.
Emma was in shock as she looked at her best friend, who everyone assumed to be gone.
"You have to keep fighting, Emma. If you lose now, I won't be able to see you again…" Spencer said as he swam up towards Emma's motionless body.
"Spen?" Emma said hoarsely, trying to comprehend what was happening.
"I'm proud of you Emma, I've seen all you accomplished in the time we've been apart." He said as he reached just under her body.
"Spencer, what are you-"
"Don't worry, just keep struggling and live, Emma. I'll see you soon." Spencer interrupted the girl before embracing her.
Emma was still too much in shock to reciprocate the hug, but just as she was about to do so, Spencer pushed her into her body above them.
'Spencer… I'll be waiting for you.' Emma thought as feeling and color started to return to her.
Emma then pushed herself up, glaring at Leuvis.
The others stared at her in shock and happiness, including Leuvis.
"Hahahaha, Incredible! Even with a mortal wound, you still have the strength to stand and fight!" Leuvis praised as he looked at the wounded girl.
'I haven't achieved the future I want yet!' Emma took out the pistol that Ray had given her back at the armory. 'I need to tell them… but I can't speak…'
Ray, however, knew what she was trying to say. "Surround him! This is our chance!"
Emma smiled weakly.
The bullets began to fly again. Leuvis, however, remained calm.
'No problem, I can stop all these pullets now that I'm fully healed.' Leuvis thought as he dodged the bullets. 'After this barrage, I will make sure I kill Emma, once and for all!' He then saw the shot Emma fired to be shaped differently. 'What is that? Could it be? No! Is it a low carbon-'
Suddenly the world went white for the hatted demon.
'Ahh, seems like I was fooled.' He thought as bullets riddled his body and face.
The gunfire stopped as Leuvis fell to one knee, raising a hand to his face that had a multitude of bullet holes.
'They beat me, fair and square. Ohh Emma, if only we could have more time together, maybe then, rather than hunter and pray, we could have been 'comrades.' Kehahe… I'm certain of it now. You are no normal human. You're one of them!' Leuvis thought as he fell to the ground.
"I love you humans… so much…" Were Leuvis's last words before the world went black, and he could no longer feel anything.
"Is… is he dead?" Kel asked, daring to hope.
"We did it?" Aubrey slowly breathed.
Mister grinned. "We did it! Leuvis is dead!"
"FREEDOM!" They all cheered.
'This isn't a hunting ground anymore,' Emma thought weakly. 'The agony that Mister and the others felt for so long… can finally be put behind them.'
"We did it." Aubrey panted. "Everyone…" She began crying, remembering the comrades she lost. "We actually fucking did it!"
Kel gasped. "Adam!" He raced over to him. "Are you ok?"
Adam slowly stood up.
"Glad you're ok!" Kel smiled.
'He's uninjured?' Ray thought in shock. 'Is he even human?'
Emma smiled and took a sigh of relief. 'Adam's ok! Now we just need to get Pepe… to the others… to get healed…' Emma thought as she stumbled and fell to the ground unconscious.
"Emma!" Ray raced over to her. He picked her head up into his arms and lightly shook her. "Wake up!"
With Lucas, the injured, and the kids.
Oliver started to wake up, opening his eyes.
"Where am...I…?" Oliver asked.
"He's awake...Mister Lucas!" A kid near him yelled. "Oliver's awake!"
"Ah…" Oliver winced slightly as he tried to sit up.
"Don't get up yet," the boy next to Oliver said sternly. "Your wounds are pretty bad, and the anesthesia hasn't completely worn off yet either."
"No! I… Have to keep going!" Oliver insisted. "What's the… situation?" He struggled to talk.
"Well…" The kids looked nervous and unsure.
"Everyone!" Kel yelled as he ran in.
"Kel!" Lucas said with worry.
"Is the monster gone?" Salem asked, a little afraid of what the answer could be.
Kel stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He gave his trademarked grin. "We did it! Leuvis is no more!"
They all stared at him in silence and shock. Then they all cheered. "WE'RE FREE!"
Theo and some of the other kids started crying tears of joy.
"Where are the others?" Lucas asked Kel. "Are they ok?"
"Yeah, they're coming here now." Kel then hesitated. "But-"
"Emma and Pepe!" Mister yelled as he rushed in with Emma on his back. "They need treatment!" He then stopped as he looked at Lucas.
The two adults closed the distance and gave each other a one-armed hug.
"You're alive!" Lucas said in relief. "I'm so glad!"
"That's my line, you dumbass!" Mister grinned back.
"We need to save the mushy stuff for later, though," Mister said, getting serious again.
Lucas nodded. "Right. You can lay Emma and Pepe over there!" He pointed to an empty space.
"We need to get them stable and then get out as fast as possible," Mister says, causing some of the younger children confusion.
"Get out?" Salem asked.
"Once the servants at the demons' HQ get word of what happened, they'll be coming here," Mister explains.
"But everyone who's injured…" One of the kids said in a worried tone.
"But you guys can just kill the monsters at the mansion, right?" Another kid asked nervously.
"Yea! You killed all of the hunters and their attendance!" One said with hope.
"We know nothing about those guys, and we are running out of ammo," Mister explains.
"L-Lucas!" Salem shouted shakily near the medicine boxes.
"What is it?"
"W-we're out of medicine!"
'S-shit! So many of us got hurt. What, what can we do?' Aubrey wondered in panic and worry.
"Even so, we can stop the bleeding!" Ray said as he kneeled next to Emma.
"Anesthesia isn't necessary, and it's possible without disinfecting and stitches as well! We just need a heated knife to cauterize the blood vessels!" Ray says in desperation.
'If I can get some of the plants Mujika showed me, then I could make some medicine, right?' Ray thinks frantically.
"We need to find the source of the bleeding! If we can get back to our shelter, we can have a blood transfusion from Dominic and Don, and we have medicine there!" Ray explains.
'If we don't, Emma will die,' Ray thought in fear. 'I won't let anyone I care about die!'
"But… Emma said it took you guys, like, four days to get here," Kel said shakily.
"Even going in a straight line will take at least a day and a half," Mister muttered. 'And the road going back is even more dangerous than here.'
"Go on… ahead." Oliver says weakly.
"Go on ahead without you? Oliver, what are you talking about?" Lucas asked in disbelief.
"I'm serious. With Emma and I, there are seven injured. So just leave us here…" Oliver said to the older man.
"Ray and that man will take Emma using the short route, while Aubrey and Kel take the children using the long route," Oliver explained.
"Like hell, we're leaving you here!" Aubrey and Lucas speak at the same time.
"Lucas, it's okay…. You taught us how to survive, showed us what it means to be part of a family, and gave each of us a reason to live… In the darkest times, you were there to comfort us and lead us out of the tunnel of despair. I am more than grateful to have known you for as long as I have…" Oliver says to the now teary-eyed man. "... is this what it's like to have a father? Someone older and more experienced. Who raised us, and is more important to me than anything else?" Oliver asks.
"We… all agreed to this…" Gillian tells him.
"We decided last night after you went to bed that if it comes down to it, we will give out lives for you and the children to live," Sonia says, sitting up.
Lucas then gritted his teeth as tears poured down his face. 'What kind of parent encourages revenge? Back then… I only used you guys to get my… our revenge.'
"I will not leave any of you here! If I am your dad, then I have to keep you all alive!" Lucas says, wiping his tears with one arm.
"Nobody's staying behind," Ray says in his usual calm tone. "Emma will live, so we're not leaving anyone behind."
"Right," Mister nodded. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to face Emma when she wakes up."
"I'll go with Lucas and the other children," Ray says.
"What," Aubrey exclaims in confusion.
"If I go with you and Kel, that makes three active fighters that can protect the group," Ray explains.
"What about Emma?" Kel asked.
Ray turned to Mister. "Mister. Can I trust you to take Emma home?"
Mister was shocked at him, placing trust in him. He then nodded. "You can count on me. I will bring our friend back safely."
"It's dangerous," Oliver insisted. "We can't move, and I don't think we could even last three weeks…"
"But you're still alive, right?!" Theo asked loudly. "Please don't give up on life!"
"What he said!" Another kid agreed.
"You can depend on us too!" Salem says with as much courage as she could muster.
"That's right!" Another yelled.
"Sorry, Gillian," Kel grinned at her. "I'm not about the whole' sacrificing my best friend' thing."
"Don't forget Adam will come with us too," Aubrey added.
With a smile, Mister rolled up his sleeves and picked up some cloth. "Now, let's pack it up!" he yelled. "We gotta get out of here!"
"Kel," Lucas called while holding the pen. "we got to use the last resort to give us a chance to high tail us out of here."
"Got it!" The tan boy replied as he sprinted down the underground pathway.
Kel took the pen and went to the secret room. He then activated the self-destruct sequence. 30 minutes until it detonates. Soon, everyone was all packed up and ready to leave.
When they were a decent distance away from the hunting ground, they all looked back.
"Get back safely, alright?" Mister said to them.
"Right back at you," Ray replied.
Mister took off with incredible speed, dodging the mindless monsters with ease as he jumps from branch to branch.
"Come on, Emma!" Mister was panting as he ran. "Stay with me. You have a family to get back to, right? And don't you want to know my name? Don't you die, dammit!"
Mister ran for the rest of the day and all night, never stopping. His lungs burned, his legs ached, sweat pooled down his head, and he had the worst headache in his life. 'It's worth it. All this pain will be worth it, just to see her face when I tell her my name…' He thought as he reached the edge of the forest.
"We're almost their Emma. Hold on!" he says as he takes off again.
Soon he arrives at the location, and without missing a beat, he takes out his pen and enters 'HISTORY,' opening the hatch.
He jumps down the hatch. In the distance, he can hear the children calling for Emma and Ray but now's not the time.
Once he reaches the end of the hall, he is met by the entirety of the Grace Field escapees, looking at him in shock.
"Move!" Yelled Mister as he runs to the dining room, where he lays Emma on the table.
"Okay, I need," Mister tried to speak only for the door to burst open, showing a very panicked Gilda holding the detonator.
"Emma! Are you okay!?" Gilda shouts. However, Emma still remains motionless. "Where's Ray!? Answer me! If both of them are dead, I'll, I'll." She says frantically.
Mister suddenly remembered her ultimatum.' Fuck!' "W-wait! That's not it!" he said in a panic.
The other kids started crying.
"It was a lie?!" Dominic says with teary eyes.
"You jerk!" Yvette tells him with tears streaming down her face.
Anna felt Emma's pulse. She gasped. "Gilda! She's still alive!"
"Right! Please stay calm. She needs help!" Mister announces. "Now, will the lot of you help me save your friend or not?! Where's Don and Dominic?" Mister asks.
The two of them raised their hands.
"Good! Ray told me that you guys have the same blood type as Emma! We need to get her a blood transfusion! We'll also need antiseptic, tranexamics, needle and thread, and a scalpel," Mister lists.
There was silence as they took it in. "R-right!" Gilda and Anna raced out to get the necessary materials from the infirmary.
"We also need hot water and something to sterilize everything!" Mister shouts.
The next few hours were stressful. Anna, Gilda, and Mister worked on Emma. They were trying to stop the internal bleeding and replenish the blood she lost, best they could.
Don was with the others in the other room, just waiting in silence as they prayed for her recovery.
At the three-hour mark, Gilda came out of the infirmary and took a sigh of relief. None of the children asked the question as they knew Gilda would answer.
"We managed to stop the bleeding. Right now, all we can do is keep replenishing her blood and giving her medicine. We won't know if she has an infection for a couple of days, but just to be sure, we're giving her some." Gilda explains, causing the children to sigh much like she did.
Then Mister came out, taking the mask off his face.
"Look, you are bound to have a lot of questions, and I'll tell you all of them, but I just ran at a full sprint for a day and a half and then performed surgery, so I think I'm going to pass out. I'll say that Ray is alive. He's just taking the longer route with some others. He'll be here in about three weeks." Mister explains.
The children were glad to hear that Ray was alive but were still confused about what happened at Goldy Pond.
"Thank you for saving her life," Anna thanked as she walked out of the room. "We left your room just how it was, get some sleep, and we'll have food for you when you wake up." She said to the man.
"Use whatever you want from the pantry, just not too much, okay. We have guests coming over." He says as he lumbers to his room.
The rest of the day and into the night, Gilda, Anna, Don, and Nat kept watching over Emma, replacing her IV bag and monitoring the heart monitor just in case.
The children of Grace field had a million questions in the morning when they woke up. Hoping Mister would answer them. But he was still in his room. They could hear his snoring.
At around midday, he got up, ate a huge lunch, and drank a lot of water. Afterward, he explained what happened the past few days.
Some of the kids were skeptical, while others were just happy to hear everyone got out alive.
With Emma.
She did not know how long it had been. The last thing she remembers is falling down after they killed Leuvis.
She was in a dark area once again, but unlike before, she didn't feel heavy or achy, and she could move freely in this dark room, unlike before where she felt like she was underwater.
'Am I dead? No, I must be asleep. But why am I dreaming of this place again?' Emma thinks.
"..." a faint voice said, but she couldn't make out who it was or what it said.
"...a" again, it said the same thing, 'why does this feel familiar?' Emma wondered as she listened again.
"...Ma, Emma, Emma!" the voice of Spencer rang out as he manifested a few meters in front of her.
"Spencer…?" Emma questioned out loud.
"I can't talk much right now. We're escaping tonight. Today is February 8th, and It might take a few weeks, but I'll see you soon, I promise." The sandy blond-haired boy said.
"Spencer! What do you mean? Escape from-" Emma tried to ask only for Spencer to interrupt.
"I know you're asleep right now and might stay asleep for a while, but try to wake up before I get there, okay. I've missed you so much… and I can't wait to tell you about the adventure I've had. Anyways, See you soon!" He says as he disappeared.
"Spencer, wait!" Emma called in vain as she reached the place the boy was previously.
'What was that? A dream? But, it was so odd, like he was talking to me, telling me was on his way… what is happening?' she questions, trying to process what just occurred.
'So he's escaping from somewhere, with others no doubt, but where? Another farm? Has he been held captive, waiting to be killed and eaten? Or is he at one of those locations Minerva told us about?' She theorized.
'But it still begs the question, how is he talking to me?'
'Wait, he said it was February 8th, that means I've been asleep for over a week! I need to wake up!' she thought as she tried to wake up.
'I… I can't… am… I'm in a coma?' she thought, both confused and terrified at the realization.
'What happened to everyone? Did they get out? Are we back at the shelter? I need to know!' she thought in worry.
Once again, she tried to wake up to no avail.
'I guess I'll just… Wait.' she thinks, sitting down on the black floor.
Time passed. She couldn't tell how much, it could have been minutes or weeks, but eventually, a light started to peek into the black room she was in.
Emma opened her eyes. She could feel a mask with air in it around her mouth and nose.
Looking at her surroundings, she could see a window and a table with a vase of white flowers.
Almost instantly, she could see everyone surrounding her bed, from her Grace Field family to her Goldy Pond teammates, all with giant smiles on their faces.
The first thing she noticed was the joy in the room, joy, and relief.
"What..? Gilda? Everyone?" Emma asked hoarsely.
The Grace Field escapees barged forward, crying.
"Emma, you had us worried sick!" Yvette said, tears streaming down her face.
"You didn't get up at all!" Mark sobbed.
"I thought you were dead!" Jamima said, rubbing her teary eyes.
"...Is everyone okay?" Emma questioned.
"That's right," Lucas tells her with a smile.
"Some of them still can't walk, but they'll make a full recovery soon," Gillian says.
"Welcome home, Emma!" Gilda smiled.
Emma smiled as well. "Good to be home."
She noticed Mister hanging around at the back. "Mister! Thank you for saving me!" She said with a smile.
"No… that's…" He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment as he looked away. "I'm sorry for… a lot."
"I'll introduce myself again!" Emma grinned. "My name's Emma! What's yours?" she asks, reaching out for a handshake.
Mister hesitated. Then he smiles and takes her and her hand in his. "Yugo. My name is Yugo." Yugo says.
Emma gives a huge smile, lighting up the room. Yugo looks at the smile, feeling the warmth and joy emanating from it.
"Totally worth it," he says under his breath.
After everyone gets to say their hello's and good mornings to Emma, she is left with Ray to tell her what happened while she slept and to help her eat.
"You've been in a coma for about four weeks," Ray said as he picked up the spoonful of soup.
Emma was a little shocked at how long it had been, but it kind of made sense, 'Spencer did say it had been a week since I passed out.' she thinks as she takes a sip.
"You seem less surprised than you should." Ray comments. "I was expecting some big dramatic gasp," He jokes.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you after you fill me in on how things are," Emma says, taking another bite.
"Hmm. Okay, Lucas, Kel, Aubrey, and I took the injured and the kids through the three-week route back here. We didn't encounter any intelligent demons and only had a few encounters with the mindless ones. No one else got hurt, thankfully." Ray tells the girl.
"What about the people who were hurt? What are they like?" She asks, taking another sip of food.
"Everyone but Basil and Nigel are fully healed. Those two are still bedridden but conscious. We guess they'll be up within a couple of days, about the same time as you," Ray says.
"But I feel fine, I can get-" She tries to move her legs to the side of the bed, only for Ray to bonk her head.
"Idiot! You are going to stay in bed for at least three days. Your body may have healed, but you are still suffering atrophy and need to have proper treatment before you try to get up," he explains.
Emma rubbed the part he hit and finished the soup. As Ray leaves, Emma thinks back to what happened while she was in a coma.
'Are you really alive, Spencer?' she questions, looking up at the ceiling.
Chapter 13, end.
There we go! end of Goldy Pond. Expect the next chapter to be a bit shorter as it will be more of a bridge between GP and my OG arc, and I am so fucking excited to make it. Note I will not be skipping Culvitidala Arc, just pushing it back a bit. That's all for today.
See you later!