He knew they shouldn't have brought the kids. It was supposed to be a quick skirmish at the Felt's mansion. Slick had said it would only take a couple of minutes. It turned out to be a full battle. The entire Felt was there, all of them armed with guns. Snowman had brought her little brats as well. She had probably trained them. Droog could tell from their smug grins that this wasn't the first time they participated in a fight. Problem was, none of the Crew's kids had ever been in one. Bullets were already flying everywhere before they could back out. Like Slick would ever surrender, anyway. Droog hid behind a sofa and scanned the room. It looked like Slick's kid was a natural fighter. He slashed left and right with a sickle, taking down three leprechauns. He saw Crowbar fly by and crash into a wall. Deuce's kid. His psionics were getting really strong. Maybe they could actually win this fight.
He heard a shot and a cry behind him. He turned around just in time to see Aradia fall to her knees, dark red blood flowing from a wound on her stomach. She had got shot by one of Snowman's little devils. Droog would personally deal with both of them later. He ran to Aradia and scooped her up into his arms. They hid behind some clocks, out of shooting range. Droog remember how he used to complain about getting blood on his suit. This was not the time for that. Aradia was gasping for air. She managed one word.
"dad ..."
He held her close. His thoughts wandered back to the night when he told her not to be afraid of death. That it happens when it happens. That you can't stop it. Now he wanted to take it all back. Aradia was too young to die. And she definitely didn't deserve it.
"It's okay. You'll be okay ..." He didn't know whether he was reassuring her or himself. He forced himself to look at the wound, which he couldn't really see. There was too much blood. Droog wasn't a fool. He knew that some injuries were too serious to heal.
Aradia raised a shaky hand to touch his face. She gently wiped a tear from his eyes. Was he crying? He never cried.
Aradia whispered something. He leaned in closer to her.
"i'm n0t afraid ..." she repeated.
Droog held her close and sobbed. He wasn't even ashamed of it, anymore.
"I'm sorry ... I'm sorry ..." He didn't know why he was apologizing. For not being a better father? For not looking out for her? For being completely useless right now?
"it's 0kay ..."
Her hand dropped from his face. Her breathing slowed down until it just ... stopped. Droog was aware of the fact that the fight was still going on, but he didn't dare move. He wasn't going to leave her now.
"Atta girl."
...
Okay, this is the last chapter of this angsty story. Thank you for reading!