Jason ran back the way he and Thea came, but a lot straighter. He knew where he was going. He felt wobbly on his feet and he stumbled every so often in the dark streets. His heart and lungs were working overtime again to keep the oxygen flowing through his body. The adrenaline had set in once again and his mind was clouded with one thought: "That son of a fish! That freaking basstard! I'm going to kill him!"
Jason wasn't just angry, he was livid. Every aching muscle, every panting breath, every step forward was fueled by pure, unchecked rage. Jason didn't care anymore. He just ran.
Throat burning and strength fading, he rounded the last corner to see his destination. Jason stopped for a moment to catch a breath. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Jason was tempted to ignore it but decided to pick it up. Several messages from Arthur. With shaky hands, he skimmed through them.
Arthur had a lovely chat with Sam and could confirm what Thea had said to Jason. Sam had been playing a prank on the poor Octoling. Sam often did things like that and Jason didn't mind most of the time. But Sam sometimes took things way too far.
To break a girl's heart like that and to slander about your friends even as just a joke? Jason was beyond pissed. But he couldn't think about Sam now. He had bigger fishies to fry.
The rest of Arthur's messages were just asking where Jason and Thea were and if they were alright. Jason shoved his phone back into his pocket, took a deep breath and power walked the last block to his confrontation.
The Nautical Dinner's front door burst open, startling Natalie. The pink tentacled Inkling was working near the entrance and it was her job to greet new customers, show them to a table and give out the menus. But the Inkling who had just busted in was no ordinary customer.
"J-Jason!" She walked over to the frowning Inkling in the doorway. "What are you doing here so late? Your shift here ended ages ago."
Jason scanned the restaurant. There weren't many people left as the restaurant would be closing soon. He stormed his way across the main dining room towards the kitchen.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Natalie called to him.
"Unfinished business." Jason said loudly. He pushed the double doors to the kitchen open and the few staff still working the evening shift stopped what they were doing to see the furious Inkling in the room.
"Hi, Jason!" someone oblivious to said Inkling's anger greeted him
"Uhhh...Jason? Why are you here?" another staff cook asked.
"You ok dere, bud?" the big strong girl that was Emily asked.
Jason looked around the room. He wasn't there.
"Where's Harry?" Jason asked loudly. After a moment of confusion, everyone pointed to the back door.
"He literally just left. He's leaving a bit early today." someone said.
"Yeah, he's on his way to his car out back." Emily nodded.
"You could probably still catch him if you hurry though." Kyle added.
Jason made a beeline for the back door and pushed through it, slamming it behind him.
"Wonder what all dat was about..."
Harry adjusted the backpack on his shoulder and scrolled through a news feed on his phone. He thought about his plans for that night and what he would need. He was almost out of the alley that lead to the small staff car park when he heard the back door to the restaurant slam shut. He turned his head to see Jason storming towards him. "Jason?"
Jason didn't respond. He kept his fast pace toward Harry. Harry expected him to slow as he neared but he didn't. As Jason neared, Harry saw the scowl on his face.
Jason closed the gap between them. Despite being a foot shorter than Harry, he grabbed him by the collar and pushed his back against the wall. Harry was surprised and his backpack slid off his shoulder. "Whoa! Jaso-"
"Why'd you do it, Harry?" Jason hissed.
"Wha-"
"WHY'D YOU MUG THEA?!" Jason yelled and shook the taller Inkling violently.
Harry saw a fire in Jason's eyes that shook him to the core. "W-wha-? I-I-don't-" he sputtered.
"I know it was you!" Jason shoved Harry into the wall again. "Thea said that she'd punched her mugger in the eye! Guess who had a black and swollen eye at work for the next few days?!"
"J-J-Jason I don't know what you-"
"Yes, you do!" Jason yelled in the spluttering squid's face "You have been acting weird around her since the moment she started working here!"
"S-s-so I might like her?!" Harry tried to defend himself.
"Bullsquit!" Jason shoved him again. "I've seen you around girls you like lots of times and you've never acted like this before! You are not the shy type, Harry!"
"I-I still d-don't know what you're talking about!" Harry tried again.
"WE FOUND YOUR FREAKING KNIFE, HARRY!" Jason yelled again while shaking Harry.
"W-wha-?"
"The knife you used to mug Thea, dip-squit! The one you cut her with you sick freak!" Jason's eyes burned with rage and his voice shook as he grilled Harry. "We found it in the alleyway tonight! Your name is engraved on it! Just like all your stupid, precious knives!"
Jason saw Harry's resolve break and his eyes narrow. With a jerk, Harry pried Jason off him and kicked him in the stomach. Jason was sent to the ground, winded and gasping for air. "Alright then! You win!" Harry growled in a low voice. "I mugged your stupid, precious Thea! I was going to kill her! 'Course you just had to show up with your fruits and vegetables!"
Jason struggled to get up. "W-why w-would you-?" he got out between gasps for air.
"Because she didn't have any money, duh!" Harry yelled at the pathetic Inkling on the ground. "And what's it to you if she'd died?! You didn't even know she existed!"
"S-so you'd take an innocent life for no reason?" Jason wheezed, clutching his stomach.
"She was an Octoling soldier! She is in no way 'innocent'!" Harry ranted on. He crouched down to his backpack and started rummaging through it. "She was homeless too! She told me herself! Nobody would've cared if she'd disappeared!"
"She would've cared!" Jason managed to get on one knee. "You can't just kill people willy-nilly!"
"I can do whatever, or kill whoever I like you little squit!" Harry spat. Finally, he found what he was looking for. "Speaking of which..." Harry pulled a knife from his backpack. It was similar to the one Jason and Thea had found in the alleyway.
The color drained from Jason's face as he realized how much squit he was in now. "Are you crazy?!" Jason yelled, fear washing over him. He knew Harry wouldn't be able to get away with killing him. People knew he had gone out the back door to see Harry and Thea would be able to testify against him. He still didn't like the look in Harry's eyes...or the sharp end of that knife.
"Maybe. Maybe not. I don't have a plan for that right now, but I'll figure something out. Like I always do. I don't really care right now." Harry shrugged and smiled maliciously. He approached Jason slowly. "What I do care about right now is where this knife is going."
Jason sighed. "Oh Cod, I am gonna die!" He threw himself at Harry, charging his shoulder into the taller Inkling's leg. They both tumbled against the wall and to the ground. Harry lost his grip on the knife and it skidded across the concrete away from them.
"Motherf-" Harry was cut short when Jason kneed him in the crotch, right where it hurt most. "GAHHH!"
Jason managed to get on top of Harry and tried to punch him in the face, but Harry anticipated this and blocked him. Harry then grabbed Jason's right arm and pushed it behind his back. Jason used his left hand to punch Harry's side, but he made a rookie mistake and yelped when his thumb was crushed under his fingers.
Harry pushed Jason over so that he was now on top. Jason still had his right arm pinned under him and could just barely keep Harry from crushing it by pushing him up with his other arm. Harry kept Jason down with one hand and punched him in the face repeatably with the other.
"AGH! AGH! EGH!" Jason had never been punch so hard. His face burned like fire and his nose was definitely bleeding. He couldn't tell but it felt like some of his teeth had been knocked out. Jason was running out of time so as a last-ditch effort he wrapped one of his legs around Harry's legs and kicked him in his hips with the other. Harry missed a punch as that happened and his fist slammed into solid concrete.
Harry gripped his hand and cried out in pain. This gave Jason a chance to push Harry off of him and elbow the side of his head. Jason scrambled to his feet and tried to make run for the knife, but Harry saw this and tackled him from behind, bringing him back to the ground. Harry quickly got off Jason to run for the knife.
Jason pushed himself up as Harry scooped the knife off the ground. The two stood apart for a moment to catch their breath.
The moon and stars became darker as thick clouds rolled in, blocking their light. The alleyway was dimly lit by the street lights around the corner of the wall.
Harry looked down at his shaking and grazed hand. He gripped his knife's handle even harder as pure rage flowed through him. He couldn't let Jason spread the word of his crimes.
Jason's clutched his aching arm. His head swam and his cheeks and nose burned up. He ran his tongue along his teeth to see if anything was missing. All his teeth were still there but his mouth was numb and full of blood. He spat it out and looked around for options. Direct combat wasn't working in his favor but the last time they had met in an alleyway he was able to use other objects to his advantage. After spotting a few potential items, he faced Harry.
This is crazy, Harry!" Jason tried to reason with the taller, stronger Inkling. "There's just no way you can get away with this!"
"Oh, don't worry about me, Jason!" Harry rolled his shoulder and grinned evilly. "This isn't my first time doing this! I've done this a few times before!"
"WHAT?!" Jason thought. "Thea wasn't Harry's only victim?!" Now he really couldn't let him get away with this.
Harry charged at Jason. Jason dashed to some wooden planks that had been leaning against the wall beside him. He pushed them over in front of him and Harry was deflected. Jason then grabbed a big heavy traffic cone and swung it at Harry, who was still recovering from having heavy wooden beams falling on him. The cone connected with the side of Harry's head and he reeled back.
"AHHG! S-seriously?! A freaking traffic cone?!" Harry yelled, rubbing his head. "Like...just...seriously?!"
"Hey, if it works then sure!" Jason swung the traffic cone back for another bash. Harry deflected it with his arm and tried to stab Jason with the knife, but Jason turned the cone at the last second and the knife bounced off the thick plastic of the cone's base. Harry tried another pass of the knife but Jason just blocked him with the cone again. And again. And again.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Harry roared, frustrated beyond comprehension.
Jason shoved the cone with his shoulder into Harry's chest, sending the surprised Inkling reeling backward. Harry tripped up and fell on his rear on the hard ground. Jason raised the cone above his head and brought it down over Harry's head, wide end first. Harry was trapped inside the traffic cone. The hole in the base of the cone went over Harry's shoulders and upper arms so he couldn't swing his knife at Jason. Jason would've laughed at the sight if he wasn't fighting for his life.
Jason kicked the cone at about where Harry's head should've been and the cone hit the floor with a stunned Harry inside. "AHHH!" Jason was about to stomp down on his chest but Harry changed to his squid form and slipped out of the cone and just out of the way.
Harry quickly stood up and shoved Jason to the floor. "EGHHH!" He picked up the knife he had dropped during his cone fiasco and staggered for a moment as his head ached. His nose was bleeding too now.
Jason rolled away and got to his knees. He looked around for something, anything that could help. He spotted a thick piece of tattered cloth hanging from a hook in a wall. Jason remembered something from a movie he had watched and a crazy idea hatched in his mind.
The dark and heavy clouds that hung in the sky, began to burst and rain poured upon the city and into the alleyway. Jason and Harry quickly became soaked. The rain droplets stung their skin and eyes and the air grew colder. The dusty concrete ground became muddy and slippery. It became even harder to see.
"This would be a lot easier if you'd just sit still and die!" Harry growled.
Jason spat more blood from his mouth. "Said every creepy movie villain ever!" Jason answered mockingly.
"That Octoling isn't worth this!" Harry stepped closer.
"That, Octoling is worth everthing!" Jason yelled.
Harry didn't want to give Jason another moment to live so he sprang at him again. Jason quickly changed to his squid form to doge the knife, which just grazed his tentacle. He tore the fabric from the hook in the wall and backed away from the crazed squid with the knife. He tore the fabric into two parts and wrapped them around his hands.
Harry squinted in confusion. "Huh?"
Jason held his wrapped hands up and shrugged. "Yeah...I don't really know anymore..."
"Just die already!" Harry lunged again, knife ready to strike. Jason deflected it with his protected hand. Harry elbowed him in the chest and tripped him up. Both Inklings went tumbling to the ground but Harry landed on top of Jason.
Harry swiped again with the knife, intending to slice Jason's throat. Jason blocked him with his hand again, but the knife continued on and sliced down Jason's arm. "GAHHH!" Jason didn't have time to think about the pain. He blocked another swipe of the knife and blocked Harry's other arm from punching him.
Jason finally managed to punch the side of Harry's head. Even with the cushioning of the cloth on his hands, it was enough to knock Harry off of him. He rolled on top of Harry and pinned him down with his arms and the knife hand down with his knee. Taking Harry's collar, he smashed the pinned Inkling's head into the ground twice. "I'LL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER HURT ANYONE EVER AGAIN!"
Harry was done with this fight. He mustered all his strength and shoved Jason off of him. He picked up his knife once again and pounced on Jason. Jason found himself against the wall, straddled by an enraged Harry.
Harry held Jason down with one arm, pinning his neck, and the other held the deadly weapon. "Finally! Oh, my COD, YOU'RE A PAIN!" he spat. "Any last words, brat?!"
Jason made a rude gesture with his hand. "Not really, no!"
"GOOD!" Harry yelled again, preparing to end Jason's life.
With no other options, Jason closed his eyes, ready for oblivion. "Well...I guess this is it." He thought about his family. He thought about his friends. His childhood. School and work. It all came rushing past him.
And Thea.
"My Cod. I'm so sorry, Thea."
Harry raised the knife to finish off the pesky squid. Suddenly, the restaurant's back door opened and the two bloody Inklings turned to see a blue tentacled Octoling in the doorway.
"THEA!" both Jason and Harry yelled in unison
"Jason!" Thea gasped at the sight of the beaten Inkling on the ground, bloodied. She began running towards Jason and Harry.
"NO! WAIT-" Jason was cut short as Harry brought the knife down and stabbed him in the chest.
At first, Jason couldn't believe he had actually been stabbed. It didn't seem to stand out beyond his other injuries. But seeing the knife soaked in his own blood and ink mix and the quickly growing pool soaking his shirt forced him to accept the horrible truth. "Well...squit..."
"NOOOOOO!" Thea screamed.
Jason looked into Thea's eyes. Her face was filled with shock and horror and she covered her mouth with her hands. Tears streamed down her face and she nearly collapsed. Jason began to cry too. "I'm sorry!" he mouthed to her.
Harry stood up from Jason. He spun the bloody knife in his hand. His own shirt was bloodied and the rain dripped from his face. He looked absolutely terrifying. Like a serial killer in a horror movie. "YOU!" he roared and pointed the knife at Thea. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He started moving towards Thea.
Jason had to stop the monster. He spat more blood out of his mouth and pulled himself up the wall. The new wound in his chest made itself known and he groaned as he stumbled to his feet. "NO! I WON'T LET YOU!" he told himself in his head.
Thea screamed again as Harry approached and she backed towards the restaurant door. Jason held his hand over his chest wound and charged at Harry from behind. "ARGHHHHH!"
Harry was knocked to the ground and Jason smashed his hands over his head. Harry blocked Jason and tried to stab him again. Jason transformed into a squid and slipped under the knife. As he changed back to his regular form, Harry swiped his arm and Jason was sent flying into the wall. He bounced off it and collapsed face down on the ground. He didn't move again.
Harry, satisfied with his work, continued to walk to the restaurant's back door. Thea had gone back inside and closed it behind her. Harry was beyond judgment now and swung the door open, ready to kill the Octoling that had caused all this commotion and had ruined his evening. "HAAAaaa..."
But it wasn't Thea who greeted him at the door. It was the bulky figure if Emily. The big girl stood a whole head and shoulders taller than Harry and was twice as wide. She had her arms crossed and a relaxed face.
"Hiya, Harry." Emily said with a deadpan expression and raised eyebrow. "What's all dis ruckus about den?"
"U-uhh-Uh..." Harry stuttered. He saw the rest of the staff peeking and Thea around the corner of the short hallway that lead to the door.
"Yeah, I thought as much." Emily nodded.
Harry gulped, dropped his knife and tried to run but Emily caught his shirt and pulled him back. "Listen here, buddy. We can either do dis da hard way or da really hard way." she smiled. Harry just struggled to free himself from the clutches of the massive girl. Emily shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Emily punched Harry in the stomach and gripped him in a chokehold. After a little more stuggling, Harry gave up. Emily dragged him back into the restaurant. "Somebody wanna call the police?" she asked. She took another look at the state Harry was in. He was soaking with water and blood. His face was turning blue so Emily eased up on the chokehold a little but kept her firm grip on the defeated Harry. "And an ambulance maybe?"
"On it!" someone on the staff answered.
As soon as it was clear, Thea bolted for the door and ran to where Jason lay motionless on the ground. "JASON?! JASON!" She skidded to her knees and turned him over. He was hardly breathing and the pool of blood on the ground was growing every passing minute.
"JASON?! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Thea yelled. She held his head in one hand and covered the wound with her other. Tears fell from her eyes onto Jason's shirt.
Jason heard Thea as if she was in the distance. His vision was blurry and fading fast. He tried to respond but was too weak. He felt cold and dark.
"JASON, PLEASE! PLEASE, STAY WITH ME!" Thea saw the long gash running down Jason's arm. She took off her sweater and wrapped it around the wound.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Jason thought. His eyes closed as he slipped away.
NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOO!" Thea cried. "JASON, PLEASE!"
Jason lost consciousness and fell away into the abyss. The last thing he saw was Thea crying over him and Natalie running to him with a first-aid kit.
And there we go! Jason is gone!
...
Or is he?! MAWHAHAHAHA! We shall have to find out next time on Dragon ba- ok I'm sorry. Seriously, we still have like two chapters left, so I hope he's not dead. That would suck because we can't have romance without the other person!
Right, so we're almost there. Just a two chapters to go plus a possible bonus chapter.
Oh my God! I'm almost done with this story! That's exciting!
Anyway, I have to go. Review for Jason's soul, follow for updates, and shoot me a PM if you wnat to join a discord server for more regular updates and teasers. (Or we can just chat. That'd be nice.)
Until next time,
Dashanerocket.