Chapter 177

The Angel Express - 10:00 AM

I watched as Kayla continued to tend to Jamie’s wound. Jeremiah’s Stinger Rifle came with an ability that poisoned the people it shot to make them harder to heal. It was a measure to make sure that their targets bled out if they managed to survive, but that wasn’t what was happening here. The Weapon Master had passives against that kind of thing, the problem was what she was injected with.

“Is he just standing there and staring at me?” Jamie asked. Her voice was weak, but she spoke with confidence despite my reaction.

Kayla looked back at me. “He is,” she confirmed.

The Weapon Master winced as she tried to turn, but was quickly stopped by Kayla. She settled for patting a spot on the bed in front of her. “Alright, Franklin. Come over here and actually talk to me about what’s going on.”

I hesitated. “I think we should wait for-“

“Come. And. Sit,” she reiterated. Sighing, I did as she commanded. I sat down in front of her, and she gave me a small nod. “Good. Now we can talk and I won’t feel like I’m being observed like some kind of lab rat.”

“I definitely don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, because the way you responded to whatever’s going on back there made me feel safe and full of rainbows,” she sarcastically retorted. “I’m already uncomfortable. What do we do about this?”

My eyes shifted to the hallway, which was empty. “It would be easier to wait for Ashley.”

“It would be easier if I didn’t get shot,” Jamie countered. “But you obviously have a plan - you always have a plan - so we’ll fill her in later. Come on, psychic. What’s happening?”

I looked back at Jamie and was surprised to see how calm she was. She had just been shot, had to be in a lot of pain, and should be panicking. “You’re putting a lot of faith in me,” I said hesitantly.

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? Have faith?” she asked. When I didn’t answer, she rolled her eyes. “Look, I think you’re a manipulative bastard. How you played Branson and that Greg asshole proved that. But you also act like a friend. Which I absolutely despise, by the way. Talking with you feels like I’m missing memories of a lot of conversations we never had. I hate being on the back foot.”

I gave her a sincerely sad smile. “My bad.”

“You can see the future, I believe that now, so I’m getting over it,” Jamie responded, trying to lift her arm as if to wave her hand dismissively, but only succeeded in causing herself more pain. “The way I see it, even if you acting like I’m a friend isn’t real, that means you’re going to do something about this. You can see the future and you already called for Ashley. I’m not sure what she can do about it unless you want her to harvest my body for parts, but I feel like you’d have left already if that were the case.”

Behind her, Kayla gave me a look before holding up her hands. “The wound’s covered. Let me help you put your shirt down.”

“No, not yet,” I said.

“You’re not getting lucky,” Jamie snorted.

I raised my hands and shook my head. “Happily taken, thank you,” I said as quickly as I could. “But we need to keep track of the wound. Well, the black parts crawling around in her skin.”

“I don’t feel anything crawling around…” she said, worry finally showing on her face. “Alright, now you have to tell me what’s going on. Now, Franklin.”

“Fine,” I relented with a sigh. It took me a few moments before I actually said what was going on. “There’s no easy way to say this, but you’re going through the process of being turned into a Demon.”

“Well… shit,” Kayla said.

“What kind of perks does that come with?” Jamie asked after a short silence.

I frowned. “You’re harder to kill, you can increase your stats a little bit above the scenario limit, you can visit Hell without worrying about the deadly energy there, and that’s about it,” I told her. When it looked like she was seriously considering it, I leveled her with my best deadpan stare. “Now ask what’s bad about being a Demon.”

“Hit me,” she said instead.

I wanted to roll my eyes, but managed to maintain eye contact. “You become an abomination, losing your overall body shape for something grotesque. Your Patron pool will be sorely limited with only evil and some neutral glancing in your direction. Pustibule will likely be your master, as I’m assuming this is the same process Jeremiah underwent. And, oh, right, I’ll have to kill you,” I listed. “Which, as you can probably guess, I’d rather not do.”

“Because you need me for the future you see,” Jamie said.

“Sure, but also because I do think of you as a friend?” I allowed myself that eye roll. “Plus, you’re only here because I paid for you to be here. So that’s weighing on my mind.”

“I really should have made you include hazard pay in our bargain,” the Weapon Master lamented.

“How is this possible?” Kayla asked. “I know Demonic weapons can do this with enough time, and you mentioned the Demonic Resistance skill book also did it, those were items. This seems a lot more… forceful than those.”

“It’s a whole spiritual thing,” I answered. “It’s incredibly rare. A Demon wouldn’t usually do because it involves hurting themselves on a level we mortals can’t comprehend. It’s something they can bounce back from, but it’ll take years of recovery where they’ll be vulnerable. Unfortunately for us, it looks like Pustibule’s obsession is a lot deeper than I thought it was.”

“You’re not being helpful if you can’t at least try to explain it,” Jamie scoffed.

I ran a hand through my hair. “The concoction you were shot with acts a lot like a poison, or infection. In order to force Demonification in a way where they can control the person they shot it with, they would have to use a piece of their own soul. Literally cut a piece free and bind it into a mixture. That’s why he’ll likely be your master, because he’ll be soul bonded to you.”

Jamie wrinkled her nose in disgust. “That asshole shot me full of Demon soul?”

“And a few other ingredients, but that’s the most important one,” I confirmed. “I know that Pustibule can mess with souls because he wanted to do it to me when we first met and can make deals with the literal Soul Drinker, so we can’t rule out the idea that he can do more with less. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it more potent, honestly, given his profession.” 

“Doctor,” Kayla said helpfully.

I nodded. “Jeremiah had also hinted to me that he had instructions from the doctor that he was incapable of going against, so I don’t think this will have been the first time. It’s a lot more gentle if a person just… accepts it, though.”

“Well, the cons outweigh the pros,” Jamie sighed. “What do we do about it?”

“I’ve got Ashley!” Jeff announced from outside the room.

“It’s about time,” Jamie grumbled.

“I should be sleeping right now,” the Monstersmith snapped as she shambled in, suppressing a yawn. “Why do I need to be woken up because Jamie got shot?”

“Good to see you, too,” the Weapon Master snorted.

“Kayla, show Ash the wound,” I requested. The Double Agent started to do so.

“I haven’t been asleep long enough to let you get away with calling me…” Ashley trailed off as she saw the damage. A look of disgust flashed across her face. “Why the hell is it all black? Why is it writhing? Oh, damn, that’s fucking gross.”

“It’s what?” Jamie asked, becoming more concerned.

Kayla looked back at the wound and covered it back up. “Jamie was shot full of Demon soul and is now being transformed into a Demon against her will.”

“That sounds bad,” Ashley remarked, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame.

“It does, but Franklin’s got a plan,” Jamie said confidently. 

“You keep saying that,” I grimaced.

“Do you not?” Jamie challenged, arching an eyebrow at me.

I didn’t respond to the challenge. “The easiest way to stop it is to kill Pustibule for good,” I stated. “If I kill the soul, that will kill the infection. Unless he used a different Demon’s soul to make this instead of his own. Doubtful, unless it was one of Zalzarog’s terms. In which case, Jamie’s screwed without plan B.”

“As in, the pill or a contingency plan?” the Weapon Master asked, her eyes snapping to mine. “Because if there’s something else you’re not-”

“A contingency plan, not the pill,” I answered, cutting her off. “You don’t have to worry about… I’m very sorry for my poor choice in words.”

Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright. Good.”

“Wait, but you’ve killed Pustibule and we’ve seen him commit suicide,” Kayla pointed out. “Doesn’t he just pop back into Hell?”

“That’s true, but he’s not going to get away with that again. With some luck, he’ll die for real this time. The real issue is, I don’t know if I can make it there in time. We’ll need that contingency I mentioned,” I sighed, looking away from the injured woman and towards Ashley. “That’ll require going off script.”

The Monstersmith scowled. “The fuck does that mean?”

“In my head, I have what I think is the perfect timeline to save as many lives as possible from this stupid game,” I told them. “At least, as perfect as I can see it. All this stuff with Pustibule and Jeremiah is completely different, especially this. To fix it, we have to go off script.”

Ashley narrowed her eyes. “How far ahead can you see?”

“Farther than anyone thinks is possible,” I said, trying not to commit to an answer. “But a frankly huge part of the plan was for you, Ashley, to get the Dragon egg and hatch it instead of Jamie using it for herself.”

The Monstersmith tensed as she realized what I was getting at. “You want me to give up my egg now? After all that time I spent trying to hatch the little bastard?”

“I accept,” Jamie said. “I’d much rather be part Dragon than pretty much everything else. Especially a Demon.”

“I’ve put in far too much work to-”

“Ladies,” Kayla chastised, looking back at Ashley before returning her attention to me. “So the plan is to give Jamie the egg and let her become a Half-Dragon. I’m assuming that will override the Demonic transformation?”

“It will,” I confirmed. “So long as it’s done before the point of no return.”

“And when is that?” she asked.

Snapping open my inventory, I pulled out a sharpie and stood up. “I’m going to mark your back, Jamie.”

“Or, we can just turn me into a Dragon,” she insisted.

Shaking my head at her enthusiasm, I moved around so I was behind the Weapon Master. Kayla scooted out of the way, and I took a look. Black lines had started to move underneath the skin, heading outwards from the wound. They were thankfully slow, but the process would start to speed up soon. I marked a semi-circle between her spine and heart with the sharpie.

“If it goes past this line in any direction, then it’s too late. The Dragon transformation won’t succeed before you’re fully infected. For the record, this is close to where they are now, Jamie,” I said, running my finger on her back a half inch away from the black veins. She jerked when I touched her, but nodded after.

“Okay, so time is of the essence. Why didn’t you just tell me to give up the damn egg and go?” Ashley asked grimly.

“Because it’s yours, so I-“

“Fine. Whatever. Done. Jamie can have it if she needs it,” she interrupted brusquely . “I’d rather her not need it, though. And that means you’re wasting time here.”

“It’s not wasting-“ I cut myself off before I could snap. “I want to be transparent. What I don’t want is for you all to think that I’m being a manipulative bastard. Plus, there are consequences for transforming Jamie that don’t exist if we just hatch the egg.”

“Is becoming a Half-Dragon worse than you killing me?” the Weapon Master asked.

“No,” I answered slowly.

“And killing that asshole will make it so we don’t have to worry about it?” she continued.

“Right…”

“Then, as much as I’d really like to transform into a glorious golden Dragon woman, I agree with Ashley. Get out there, Franklin,” Jamie ordered.

I sighed, but didn’t fight it. They both agreed and that was enough. “Kayla, come with me. I need you to watch Bethany because I’m going to take Mercury to maximize my chances.”

“You got it,” she said, standing up and following me out.

Ashley didn’t come with us, and I heard her start talking to Jamie. “How’s it feel?”

“Like I’ve been shot,” Jamie answered dryly.

“What is going to happen if she’s a Half-Dragon?” Kayla asked as we walked through the dining car. Jeff trailed after us.

“We’re going to have to kill a lot of things that will think she’s an abomination,” I gruffly responded. “Dragons, Kobolds, Drakes, Wyverns. The better route is to hatch it because that means we get to befriend them instead. This is going to make our life a good bit more difficult.”

But Jamie saves more lives than I think we lose by killing the Gold Scale Consortium, I thought to myself, not daring to say it out loud.

“How soon?” Jeff asked.

“Few months in,” I said. Stopping at Rexxel’s ATM briefly, I withdrew 1,000 points from my savings account before running through the sleeper car.

We didn’t stop as we went through the vault and into the greenhouse. The trees and plants I had put here were all doing incredibly well, and a few even looked like they had been tended to recently. I knew Bethany would be hard at work, especially because it meant she could cope with her new environment on her own terms.

At least, that’s how it should have been. We entered the workshop. Bethany had taken the area directly to the left of the door, and it had a strange setup for someone just brewing tea.

It looked just like a science lab. Heating plates, flasks, filtration devices, and tubes between them sat atop Bethany’s desk. For the most part, she was ignoring these. They came standard with the workshop car for someone with a class like hers, though at some point they would be useful to mix multiple alchemical effects into single potions. Right now, that was beyond her as a beginner Tea Witch.

Bethany looked at us with wide eyes before moving to hide behind her brother again. “Everything okay?” Mercury asked when he saw our faces. He signed his words, which was second nature to him when his sister was around.

“I need you to come with me. It’s urgent,” I said quickly, translating for myself. I glanced to the back of the workshop car and Pulled the Dragon egg towards me. It had been sitting in a fire, but when I touched it the thing was barely warm. I passed it to Kayla before I addressed Bethany directly. “I have to borrow your brother for a little bit, but Kayla here will be around if you need anything. Would you like some company?”

The shy girl didn’t sign back, but she did shake her head.

“Would you like me to wait in the dining car in case you need anything?” Kayla asked and signed.

This time, Bethany nodded.

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

Mercury quickly hugged his sister before he began ushering us out of the workshop. “What’s going on? Is this about Jamie?” he asked.

“Yeah. She’s being turned into a Demon thanks to an injection from the stinger,” I answered. “We have to go stop it.”

“Whatever we need to do to bring safety to a comrade in arms, I’ll do it,” he said, slipping into his Mercury  persona. At least, he did for a line. “Even though she was mean to me.”

“She’s mean to everyone, man. You're going to have to get used to it,” I replied. “But you won’t be doing any fighting. You’re not ready for this yet.”

“But-“

“Please, just trust me,” I said. “I’m going to take care of this. It’s my fault it’s all happening to begin with, and I have to make it right.”

Mercury hesitated, and I looked back to see Jeff put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Okay,” he finally said. “What do you need me to do?”

“Recon, mostly, with a little bit of tomfoolery,” I answered. I brought up my inventory and pulled out the can of Rust-It. “There’s going to be a Demon there named Pustibule. Might be others of his kind where we’re heading, might not be, but I need you to find him. The last time we came face to face, he had a collar around his neck that beheaded him before I could do any damage.”

“And he survived that?” Mercury asked.

“No, but Demons have very specific death conditions to stay dead. But that’s not what we’re here to talk about,” I said as we walked into the dining car. Stopping in the middle, I turned around to address the Mills. “You two hold down the fort. No one leaves the depot until I have a handle on the situation. Kayla, keep an eye on Jamie and her back. You’re in charge.”

“Don’t worry about this place, Ant,” she said, standing up straighter. “Do what you have to do, but be safe first and foremost.” Jeff nodded his agreement.

“Okay, thank you,” I replied with a strained smile. Letting it drop, I handed the can of Rust-It to Mercury and started heading out of the train.

“You remember the part about the sniper, right?” Jeff asked.

“We’re fine,” I said with a wave back. “Mercury, your job is to find Pustibule. Right before I face him, I need you to use that to break the collar that would kill him and any other machinery he has on him. The first time we met, he had a whole mess of tools on his back like a one Demon surgical team."

“That sounds doable,” the ninja said. “No fighting?”

“None at all,” I confirmed.

“And the sniper?” he asked.

“Just checking to make sure that he’s still here and not down there,” I answered.

Once I made it to the door outside, I put my hand in the Guaranteed Strike Mitt but left it in my oversized hoodie pocket. Taking a breath, I flung the door open and took a step outside. The sky was bright, the people were active, and the city was starting to look more like a city. It seemed like a perfect day in post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh. So, I waited, taking in the sights.

I didn’t hear the gunshot, but I certainly felt it.

My arm nearly broke itself to get the catcher’s mitt into position. The item didn’t make me pull it out of its pocket, but instead snapped my body into position with the clothing coming with it. I bent backwards slightly as a stinger slammed into the glove, tearing up the thick hoodie in the process. From the angle, it was easy to guess where the shot had been fired from.

Looking towards Rexxel’s Bank, I raised my free hand and flicked my assailant off. Before he could reload and fire another shot, I had backed inside the Subspace Depot and closed the door.

The stinger in my mitt was oozing green and black liquid. It certainly looked gross and deadly. Tossing it into my inventory, I quickly sent it to Sara to figure out what exactly it was and if purifying it would have any effect. At the very least, she could dispose of it.

“Did you just catch a bullet?” Mercury asked excitedly.

“Glove did it, not me. But, yes,” I said, putting the mitt back into my inventory before I started rubbing my arm. Jeremiah was still up here on the surface, which meant there was a low chance of him messing things up for me in the Pitt. “Ready to go, Mercury?”

“Ready when are you, Ant,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

I nodded to him before activating Broken Boundary and opening the door again. Sara had been absolutely right, placing that door deep into the Pitt was absolutely the right call. Now, we had a chance of getting through this with Jamie staying as a Human.

Ushering Mercury through the portal, I stepped in after him. Now, all I needed was for everything to go right.