Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 64: Chapter 64

— Rob —
Pipo let out the high-pitched hum of a child who's about to cry. He blinked several times, his eyes jumping from Léon to Kali in a silent request for help.
When Rob's sight met with his dark little eyes, a switch flipped in his mind. His muscles tensed, his eyes narrowed, and a growing warmth boiled in the depths of his chest. He recognized that warmth, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Your answer," Gregorio insisted.
"Rio, please," Sissy said. Physically, she was still close to him, but something in Gregorio's eyes kept her, mentally, kilometers away. Sissy took a step forward and tried again, "Listen—"
Instead of letting her finish, Gregorio shook his head and groaned a string of mumbled, frustrated words. "Go away from me. Both of you!" he grunted, looking from Modraniht to Sissy. "And if anybody moves or tries anything, I swear I'll use this." He raised the syringe.
All eyes were on Gregorio, and maybe that was the reason why Rob was the only one who noticed the mysterious something moving in the forest. His eyebrows twitched while he tried to school his expression. These scents, so unique and so different from each other... he could almost recognize them. As quickly as they appeared, they went away. Modraniht and Sissy obeyed Gregorio's shouts and walked away. They stopped, hands raised, closer to Kali and Satina.
Léon clenched his jaw and took a step forward. Rob could sense the feelings mounting up under his skin. Satina was wounded, Pipo was in danger, and the fight they did everything to win was now taking a wild turn that pointed only to human extinction.
With a muffled curse, Léon kept Toni's gun down, rested against the side of his leg as if he tried to hide it. What he didn't hide was the fury and the resentment behind the deep brown of his eyes. He breathed in through his teeth like an old tiger before a new enemy. Léon opened his lips to speak, but Gregorio was faster.
"Listen, I know the possible consequences," Gregorio said. He massaged his right temple and tugged Pipo a little closer; with the movement, sunlight caught in the tip of the needle, almost as if to remind them of the danger. Gregorio completed, "But I couldn't care less, and you won't change my mind about it. Now—will you shoot or not?"
"But—!" Modraniht tried.
"There are four Cosmic Trace Wielders here, Doctor; they can split whatever Life Force is left. Toni will be healed, nature will be restored, and the wielders will be fucking stronger. What's so bad about it?" Gregorio raised his chin and let out a laugh that sounded almost desperate. The muscles in his face relaxed around his smile but tightened between his eyebrows. "This is something you can do, so do it."
"Not without compromising who we are," Rafa roared. "We would become him." She gestured at Toni. "And we would cause as much harm as he's been causing for more than a decade now."
Rafa's words were so filled with disgust, they seemed to push Gregorio one step backward. He set a pair of hard eyes on her.
"W-well." Gregorio glanced at Pipo; something in him seemed to question whatever the hell he was doing, but it wasn't enough to make him stop; his voice was low and raspy when he said, "What's a l-little sacrifice for a group of heroes, huh? Believe me"—his next words came out like a venomous threat—"this will be good for the whole world."
From somewhere at their right, Jackal scoffed. She watched the scene with a smile, cleaning the corners of her mouth. After a content sigh, she tossed a mango core aside and got up. She looked fully human now, despite the savage look her pointy teeth lent her.
"Well said, Gregorio. I knew I liked you for a reason." Jackal shrugged. "Just tighten the agreement and force them to move faster. They haven't been responding well to your threats; you don't want to give them enough time to react."
"Do me a favor and shut your mouth," Satina said in a growl. She shivered and clacked her teeth closed, groaning in pain when a new wave of blood was pumped out of her wound.
"Don't speak, Tiny, holy fuck," Kali said.
"I can help," Modraniht said. Ignoring Gregorio, he sank beside Kali. "I'll accelerate collagen production to help with the healing, but... is this all we can do to stop the bleeding for now? The process might take a while." He glanced at the shredded pieces of fabric from Kali's lab coat.
Kali gave Modraniht a hard look. She glanced at Jackal, then looked at the doctor again. "In Satan's backyard? Yeah, that's all I can do." She spent a moment in silence, then tried to get up. "Help me carry her. She needs to be in an emergency room."
Gregorio looked from Jackal to Rob, then from Satina to Léon. Then, his eyes rested on Kali. "No, you won't. You'll wait right there unless you don't care about the kid."
Silence. Kali stared daggers at Gregorio, and the more she did, the darker her cheeks grew.
"She's right. Jackal, I mean," Gregorio said. His fingers loosened and tightened around the syringe. "You lost your choice privileges; you all did!" He looked at Léon. "Come closer. I don't know what the hell you're planning, but it's not gonna work. We're all trying to save someone here, so let's get this over with. Nobody needs to get hurt." When no one moved, Gregorio growled. "I said come closer, Léon!"
Wait.
There. Between the trees! Was that...? Shite, he couldn't be sure.
Rob studied the situation around him and let out a frustrated huff. He had a feeling, but he couldn't simply take a leap of faith when there was so much at stake.
As he hadn't done in a long time, Rob activated the tattoo on his chest, knowing their glow would be hidden beneath his thick t-shirt. Rob was ready to be filled with anger and hunger from the red, life-consuming tattoos, but... something felt different.
His eyes widened. The power of the tattoos was back. The real power.
Léon turned around and gazed at Rob, his eyebrows arched high. He felt it too. He noticed the upsurge of old power that now felt almost stolen. Rob's unhealed skin heated up under the layer of cosmic trace etched on it. Along with it came a wave of hatred and shame for using them. After all, like Anhangá had said, these powers were not really his.
But he needed them this time. Léon must've felt his hesitance. He bit his lower lip and held Rob's hand while the latter shut his eyes and took in a deep breath, focusing on the scents he wanted.
"What... what are you doing? I told you to not try anything!" Gregorio shouted.
"Oi, wait. I'm not!" Rob opened his eyes. Just like that, the powers dispersed.
For a moment, Gregorio did nothing but wait in silence. Then, he shook his head. "Let's finish this. C'mon, Léon."
Should I? And Léon didn't even have to say it; those words were clear in his watering eyes.
Rob nodded and caressed his knuckles one last time before letting go of his hand.
"Bring Toni's gun," Gregorio stammered. He looked from Rob to Léon as if trying to read between their silent lines; the more he watched them, the shakier his hands got. "Quick, Léon! I don't know what the hell you two think you can do, but I promise you'll regret it if you try anything."
"Go, Tiger," Rob whispered. He clenched his fists and studied the empty clearing around them. Rob only hoped they would arrive in time.
It took Léon barely four steps to cross the distance between them.
Shite.
There; movement in the forest again. Rob could barely hear any sound, but he knew—
"Stop!" Gregorio ordered in a shout that echoed among the trees around them. Léon now stood less than a meter away, and his proximity seemed to be all that Pipo needed to shed more of his silent tears. "It's okay, kid. Don't worry," Gregorio told Pipo in a softer voice, caressing his hair. "This will end as soon as your brother obeys me." He offered them an ugly, scared smile. "And you will obey me. Won't you, Leo? You'll raise the gun. Point it at that star above the mansion."
Léon glanced at Rob. The latter nodded again. Trust me, Leo.
In a sigh, Léon breathed out a line of swearing. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. As he opened them, Léon aimed right above the mansion. He winced as the gun answered, sucking his power as it prepared to fire.
"Just so you know," Rafa growled, "Toni's an animal acting on nothing but instinct. He's dead, and nothing you do will change that."
"We'll see about that," Gregorio said. "Pull the trigger, Léon. Shoot!"
As if answering the threat, the clear sky above the mansion rippled. Some translucent darkness swirled under the ripples, and Léon glanced at Rob again. Something wasn't right. There was something in there!
A few meters to the right, Toni coughed and fell to his knees.
"You'll shoot now!" Gregorio cried. "Stop wasting time."
And Léon did. He pulled the trigger in what seemed like the encore of his fight against Jackal—the only difference was that, right now, he was doing so in total control of his body, trusting Rob's call.
It was funny.
They had put so much of themselves in this fight. They were hurt, body and soul, yet the result was still the same. It felt like running in circles, like following the only path ahead, like being forced into this unending cycle of threat and abuse. Léon had tried to break free, but here he was, doing the same thing he had done again and again—eleven years ago, then four years ago, then ten minutes ago.
Well... not this time. Not when they were all there for him.
Rob's breathing shallowed. As Toni's pistol gathered energy and hummed, ready to shoot, he closed his eyes and leaned forward, ready to run. Like Léon had trusted him, so Rob would trust them—both in his man and in his other allies.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Rob faced the mansion and raced towards it.
"Where are you—? I warned you!" Gregorio shouted. He raised his arm and downed the syringe towards Pipo's neck; Pipo cried out, but Gregorio's attack never connected.
From Gregorio's back, a strong arm stopped it, while another sneaked around his neck. Phillip tightened his grip until Gregorio dropped the syringe. At the same time, the force building up in Toni's gun was released with a blast, sending a wave of energy all around them.
Bloody fuck, the mansion was so tall! How would he reach that shite?
The energy blast pushed Rob away. He rolled to a stop and grimaced; the bones he had broke in the previous fight were still there—and still broken—as his injuries were adding up quickly.
With a grunt, he got up and knelt down for impulse. The purple-colored blast from the gun cut the sky above just as a man broke the rim of trees.
Thank Goddess. Finally!
Rob met the man's loving dark eyes and, without thinking twice, outstretched a hand, inviting him inside. He opened his mind and body to the Entity, and as the man's body turned into a rich green dust, Rob's fingers met his.
They would be one again.
"I call forth," Rob shouted, "Anhangá, the spirit of the forest!"