Chapter 75. They’re your cousins?

“They’re your cousins?” Boss asked in a slightly irritated voice.

Angel and Samuel sighed as they overheard the conversation between Jester and Jacob and Dylan while blending into the shadows of a nearby mountainside.

“Yeah…they’re mine…Jacob and Dylan Galafray.” Samuel responded.

“You sent those two to also help protect Arthur? My gosh, do you not believe in me at all?” Boss asked.

His comment received weak embarrassed laughter from the two as they didn’t know what else to say.

“Boss we—”

“No, no I get it, I’m a weird alien guy you two just met, there would be no way any sane parents would not send extra protection for their kids.” Boss interrupted and answered.

He then turned his head towards the two cousins who was walking straight for the entrance of Boulderville and fiercely pointed at them.

“But instead of sending normal bodyguards, you two decided to send these two? Isn’t that overkill? Why the hell are Exotics as strong as Sammy here, Arthur’s freaking bodyguard?” Boss complained. “Don’t they have Exotic things to do? Shouldn’t they be in Zeldova playing politics with the aristocrats and nobles and shit?” Boss continued to criticize.

Angel and Samuel shared awkward glances. They couldn’t tell him that while it is true both Jacob and Dylan were powerful, they were completely incompetent when it came to do just about anything that wasn’t fighting.

“Boss.” Angel spoke up.

“What!?” Boss shouted.

“Calm down.” An enormous icicle condensed behind Angel as it pointed straight at the little immortal in front of it.

“Fine, fine. I’m calm now, I’m calm.” Boss exhaled and inhaled loudly a few times as he maintained eye contact with the icicle that was slowly dissipating behind Angel. “Yeesh, is this the first thing you’ll resort to every time?”

“Yep. It works.” Angel bluntly replied.

“It works on me.” Boss corrected. “Take almost any other immortals, even the new little munchkins on my planet and put them in my position. Well, I call them munchkins, but they’re probably older than your world’s written history. Anyways, do you know what happens if they were here?” Boss asks.

“What?” Samuel asks. He was curious about other immortals aside from Boss. Angel furrowed her brows as thought about the question.

“You’d be dead.” Boss answered. “Isn’t that the correct choice? When ants around you try to bite, you smush them within your fingertips.”

Samuel took a step backwards from Boss as he heard that. Whereas Angel only continued to stare down at him. Both she and Samuel knew this little boy before them wasn’t lying as he spoke; however, she was subconsciously certain Boss wouldn’t harm them.

“But, I on the other hand am a kind and caring individual, a ruler everyone respects. A leader everyone worships, a mastermind far smarter than all of mankind, a—”

“Boss.” Angel interrupted.

“Hm?”

“Are they going to be alright?” She asks.

“Gran and them? Well, they’re not dead.” Boss waved off their concerns. “Your planet has some pretty interesting Exotics though and Dr. Galil is a pretty good doctor, I’m sure they won’t die.”

“If you’re worried about them, you should’ve intervened when you had the chance.” His comment caused the two to remain silent. Their fist clenched as they recalled the scene.

Marvis was standing within the audience watching the fight onstage. A bemused smile on his face as Boulder had to fight one student after the other with no breaks in between. A proud teacher of his student’s carefreeness and straightforward approach to challenges. He wanted to walk up and pat Boulder on the shoulder and rustle the kid’s hair.

Then suddenly, he was teleported. Forcefully away from where he was standing to an empty location little bit further than where everyone had gathered to watch. Five robed individuals stood before him.

He knew right away that they didn’t teleport him just to talk. He instantly erupted his power hoping he could get Gran’s attention. However, nothing happened, the resonance linked to Gran, Boulder, and Riley were cut off. He couldn’t sense them, at all.

The assault started, one of them released his powers, creating illusions as he attacked. Marvis couldn’t tell which one was the actual person and which one was illusion, he could only block and swing back hoping to land a single blow.

Instances where he felt he had caught the person in his grasp, another person stepped in, teleporting the green robed attacker making it an even more one-sided assault. What was real? What was an illusion? Every single attack landed, was heavy, powerful, and was ready to end his life if it wasn’t for the fact that power was his advantage. The enemies didn’t dare be complacent to take even a single hit which meant every attack was a jab at best.

That was their biggest mistake.

Marvis knew if he remained there, he’d be a punching bag until he was killed. He took another attack to his back, using the momentum from it to fall to the ground, a handful of dirt and debris were thrown up in the air clouding their vision. He ran, desperately towards the entrance of the Festival ground, throwing anything up in the air to cloud their vision, from teleporting him.

He managed to escape to the front of the entrance, avoiding any attempt to teleport him further away. That’s when they started to panic, they tried to use the illusion on a large scale, creating a diversion on the Festival grounds as they hurried to finish him off.

However, Gran wasn’t an idiot that could be fooled for long. His loud booming voice echoed off the stage telling everyone that the festival was over, fell upon Marvis’ ears. Marvis quickly looked around and spotted the heaviest object he could find and flung it at the entrance catching Gran’s attention that it was something nefarious.

However, by then he was surrounded. The moment Gran, Boulder, and Cobble arrived it was too late, he took a savage blow to the chest by multiple people instantly sending him flying towards the wall, if it landed, everyone bone within his body would’ve shattered. Surviving would be more than a miracle.

There were many opportune times for Angel and Samuel to intervene and prevent everything happening. They saw when the robes arrived, they saw when Marvis was targeted, and they remained still. Watching in the shadows as spectators when the teacher was surrounded and attacked.

Sigh

“Do you regret it?” Watching and not intervening?” Boss asked. The two remained quiet only their clenched fist showed the struggle they had within. “You’re both adults here, I’m sure you didn’t make your decisions lightly when deciding to be an observer.” Boss shook his heads as he thought about what had happen.

“It’s just the nature of being an intelligent species, you always have to make tough decisions. I’m just surprised everyone I’ve met so far there isn’t one that is psychopathic. How… refreshing.” Boss closed his eyes recalling his past.

“Anyways, what are you two going to do? If they find Lotus and tries kidnapping her, I’m not responsible for whatever happens to them.” Boss commented.

“We’ll let them know the baby is off limits.” Angel asserted.

“Right, right. We’ll tell them. Don’t worry.” Samuel added.

“You better do it soon; That Jester person is quickly approaching Rouge. I can teleport you two back after you tell your dark blue and backpack.” Boss commented.

Angel and Samuel’s eyes went wide. Crap! We almost forgot Jester was heading in that direction!

“Samuel, quickly!” Angel hurried her husband. The two shadows quickly departed from the entrance rushing in the general direction of where they last saw Jacob and Dylan go after entering Boulderville.

Boss stepped out of the shadow and calmly looked off into the distance, it was the same direction where the five robed figures vanished to. “Mmm… they were pretty quick and vicious with their attack, they left the moment things didn’t go as planned, and they never lost their composure…ah they’re gonna make a mess, they’re totally going to make a mess I just know it. Eh, whatever happens, happens.”

He then turned back only to see two shadows quickly returning back to him.

“That was quick, did you tell them already?” Boss asked.

“We’ve told them.” Angel replied. She continued to say, “If we were with them any longer, Jacob would have never stopped talking.”

“I see…by the way, do you know who those attackers were?” Boss asked.

Angel and Samuel shook their heads.

“I’ve never heard of these people.” Samuel responded. He continued “Anyone who poses a threat to the Kingdom can be divined and found before they even committed a crime by the King’s personal Diviner. These people… either they don’t pose a threat or… they can’t be divined.”

“Oh? That’s an interesting way to catch criminals.” Boss remarked.

“Mhm.”

The three continued chatting for a bit until Boss abruptly teleported the two straight back to Rouge while Samuel was in the midst of talking. The sounds of villagers could be heard heading back from the Festival in Boulderville.

It seems the Festival tonight has come to an end.

While the festival may have ended, the surgery to keep Marvis was still going.

“Psst, Arthur.” Poe called out to the boy who was sitting alone off to the side with both pets beside him.

Arthur looked up at Poe standing before him. “What is it?”

Poe looked towards the room where the surgery was proceeding and turned back to Arthur. “Is Shelly going to be alright?”

“I…” Arthur paused and thought for a moment. He then nodded his head. “Shelly is going to be fine.”

“How are you so sure?” Poe asked.

“Because Shelly is Shelly.” Arthur responded, his confidence in her was unordinary.

Poe was dumbstruck to Arthur’s response; he couldn’t imagine how someone can be so confident in another person.

He was about to say something when Arthur continued. “Shelly is my best friend; she wouldn’t do something she was unsure of.

“How did you two meet?” Krystal who was overhearing the conversation walked up and asked.

“Oh, my dad found her.”

“Your dad found her!?” The two were shocked, they had assumed Shelly was a relative or a neighbor. Their surprised reaction attracted the attention of Carson who curiously teleported over.

Arthur nodded his head. “Mhm, Two years ago, my dad brought her home and that was how we met.”

“Wait, wait wait. Do you know anything about her?” Krystal asked. She wanted to know more about the girl she couldn’t read.

“Hm? Like what?”

“Like, where did she live, who were her parents? Or if she’s from here or the Empire?” Poe asked.

“Um…no. Shelly wouldn’t tell me anything about it.” Arthur mumbled. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to ask, it just that he always felt like he shouldn’t ask.

“Do you know anything?” Krystal repeated.

“Mhm, Shelly is 10 and a half, her brain is big, and her eyes are awesome.”

“Huh?” The three didn’t expect such odd answers.

“Do you mean she has good memory and can see well?” Poe asked.

“Uh huh, she can remember everything, and she can even see well in the dark!” Arthur replied.

“Is that her power?” Krystal asked. She was even more confused as to how having a good memory and being able to see well correlate with the ability to block her powers.

Arthur shook his head. “I don’t know, she’s never had to show it.” Arthur replied. He completely forgot about the incident in the beginning on the way to Boulderville, nor was he awake when she found him unconscious inside a villager’s home.

“I see…” The three were completely awestruck by what Arthur had said.

“Oh my dad did say one thing.” Arthur just remembered.

“What is it?” The three spoke up at once, even Carson joined in and asked.

“Don’t make Shelly angry.” Arthur honestly answered. “My dad said, Shelly is as scary as my mom if she’s angry. He even shuddered when he told me.”

“How scary is that?” Krystal asked. She didn’t know anything about Arthur’s family. The Governor of Rouge was a figure a bit high in the ranks compared to kids like them.

“Um…I don’t know. My mom just closes the door on my dad and makes him sleep on the couch when she gets mad at him…maybe it’s colder when she’s angry?” Arthur suggested.

“Ah, forget we asked Arthur, do you want to help us clean up? Everyone is leaving the Festival now, so it’ll just be us and the grownups we can play while we’re cleaning. Carson and I can help demonstrate what we’ve learned to you too.” Krystal changed the subject.

Krystal knew Arthur didn’t know much at all about Shelly and decided to change the subject, it wouldn’t be good if they tried to pry and deeper than this. Especially when Arthur said to not make Shelly angry. She was unwilling to be the first one to do so not because of The Governor’s advice to Arthur, but Shelly being the first person ever that she couldn’t read.

“Okay!” Arthur answered and ran alongside the three as they picked up trash and carried things they could around. Krystal and Carson demonstrated what they’ve learned but everything they showed confused Arthur even more. But he didn’t complain as he knew he’d learn more about it himself once enrolled in Naturelle.

The kids didn’t return back to the medical room until four hours later when everything else was saved for tomorrow to finish up as it was already past midnight.

It wasn’t until two hours after when two silhouettes soaked in blood greeted the group of people waiting outside.

“Dr. Galil! Shelly! How is he?” Boulder exclaimed the moment the two walked out, he was extremely panicked and tired right now as it has been nearly 6 hours since the start of the surgery. Currently it was already two in the morning, well past everyone’s bedtime. Seth and his friends had bid themselves goodbye after they finished cleaning up. Only Gran’s family, Michael, Julie and Arthur remained.

“He’s in stable condition.” Dr. Galil calmly replied. The past 6 hours was extremely tense as he performed surgery on Marvis alongside Shelly. He was extremely curious, impressed, and disturbed by this girl before him.

As a doctor he had an idea of what he had to do going in on the surgery as everything was physical damage and not energy related. However, while some of the work he was doing was routine surgical work he’s done countless of time, the girl beside him remained unfazed throughout. She even sat beside him watching the entire process and calmly conversing with him during those parts.

When it came to the areas, he knew was going to be the most difficult parts where one mistake may result in a loss of life. The tools he asked for and the one she handed to him was entirely different. He assumed she was feigning her composure in the beginning and it finally cracked during the most difficult part. However, that was not the case at all as she calmly told him why she handed him one tool over the other.

She was calm, she was efficient, and she was disturbing. Dr. Galil has never seen anyone like her around that age. Heck, even some of his peers if placed alongside her felt inferior in his mind.

“Thank you Dr. Galil, thank you….” Boulder’s entire body finally succumbed from exhaustion as he collapsed right there after thanking him.

“Thank you, Galen.” Gran who had woken up was right beside Boulder the moment he collapsed catching him in his arm.

Dr. Galil nodded his head in response and looked down to the girl beside him. “Thank you, Shelly.”

Shelly nodded her head and walked over to Arthur who was momentarily intimidated by the massive amount of red blood on her clothes. However, he shook it off and greeted her with a smile.

Shelly nodded her head in return and calmly stated. “Young master, let’s head back to the Inn, I need to clean up.”

“Y-yes! Let’s do that.” Arthur answered and hurried ahead to the Inn with Shelly walking beside him.

“Are you alright Shelly?” Julie asked the calm blood-soaked girl standing in front of her.

“Mhm.” Shelly replied.

“Come, Silver.” Shelly calmly stated causing the kitten who hadn’t move yet to instantly follow her from behind, it was unwilling to leap on the girl at the moment.

“Michael, we’re leaving.” Julie nudged the sleeping young man awake. He was still half asleep as he instinctively followed her back with the kids.

Only Gran, Dr. Galil and the two brothers remained.

“Thank you again Galen for saving him.” Gran was incredibly grateful to Dr. Galil. This doctor has been here for less than a month, but it was thanks to him staying in the village that helped save both his wife and Boulder’s teacher.

“I’ve managed to put every bone back in place and stitched up the rest of his body, but he has nerve damage down his spine. I’m afraid he won’t be able to walk unless we find an Exotic with special healing properties.” Dr. Galil replied.

Gran breathed a sigh in relief. “That’s fine, I’ll ask around and see if there’s someone who is able to help.”

“Goodluck.” Dr. Galil calmly nodded. He then turned to Pebble who was awake. “You should go to bed; your shoulder injury is not light either.”

“Yes, thank you doctor, I was just about to do that.” Pebble replied.

“Good.” Dr. Galil nodded and walked off into the distance, heading back to Gran’s estate. He wanted to get the blood off his clothes and sleep as fast as possible.

Cobble looked over to his dad and spoke up. “Pebble and I will head home with Dr. Galil, we’ll see you soon.”

Gran waved them off and entered the medical room. He removed the black cloth covering bright ball as he entered and sat beside the man completely bandaged up.

“Boss, are you here?” Gran spoke up.

“Whatcha want?” A childish voice followed by the silhouette of a child emerged out from the corner of the room.

His presence startled the old chief, but he quickly recollected himself and looked over to Marvis.

“Can you heal him?” Gran asked.

“No.”

“Are you able to?”

“I won’t tell you.”

“What must I do?”

“Your spine for his…are you willing?”

“No.”

“Then no.”

“Do you know anyone who can help?”

“There is someone…” Boss thought for a moment. “But…you’re definitely not going to be able to invite him here, if you want his assistance, you’ll have to go there yourself.”

“Where?” Gran asked.

“Rouge.”

“Who…?”

“The Pope.”