"Leo, do not listen to-"
"I'm serious, damn it!" Armstrong spat back. Leo loosened his grip around Armstrong. "Leo, don't you get it?! This is exactly what he wants! I'm going to tell you what I had to tell myself! Your daughter is gone. You saw her body-"
"It was a double, Leo. I never layed a finger on her! Your wife was the only casualty!" Armstrong argued. Leo pressed more weight on Amtrong. "As if that makes it any better! How am I supposed to trust what you're saying, huh?!" Leo asked, shaking Armstrong. "Armstrong held out his hand. "Let me…show you." Armstrong said in a soft voice.
Euphoria growled and leaped towards the two. Her jinn energy knocked Leo off of Armstrong. Euphoria was preparing to bite Armstrong and rip his head clean off. But before she could, Armstrong was lifted into the air while a massive hole appeared into the sky.
Behind Armstrong was an uncountable number of jinns in a tight room. "COME TO ME…MY JINNS!!!" Armstrong announced in a god-like voice.
Before the portal closed, Leo spotted his daughter in the back. Tied up and surrounded by hundreds of jinns. "My daughter…it's really-"
The triplets were teleported away and Bella.
The portal quickly shut.
******
"L-Leo…how could you let him-"
"What was I supposed to do?! He said she was alive and he wasn't lying. We have to go to the tower, Euphoria!" Leo said frantically. Leo lifted off from the ground and looked into the direction of the tower. It's aura was black and red. It's energy was…giving Leo a tingling feeling all over his body. Euphoria flew up and in front of Leo, blocking his view from the tower. "Leo! You're not thinking! You want to just barge into battle with no plan?" Euphoria growled.
Leo ignored her and flew towards the tower. "Don't you know who I am?!" Euphoria roared. She used her energy to freeze Leo's body. The massive jinn floated over Leo and in front of him. "I understand…what you are feeling. But if you don't behave yourself and obey me…I will kill you without hesitation." Euphoria warned.
Euphoria glared deep into Leo's eyes. Leo could feel his body burning all over. Leo lowered his head and the burning stopped. Euphoria placed her massive paw on his head. "Listen…Leo. If you just go in and attack…you'll be killed, understand? You made the wrong move by trusting him. That girl…could've easily had been a jinn just pretending to be your daughter. It also seems like it's some sort of ritual. A barrier." Euphoria flew back a little. Leo lifted his head to reveal deadness to in his eyes. "Fine. We will plan and execute. But…the tower is giving off weird energy. Care to explain that?" Leo asked. Euphoria didn't say anything for a moment. She just looked deep into Leo's eyes. "The tower…seems to be a jinn slayer weapon." Euphoria said.
"A jinn slayer weapon?!! A damn tower?" Leo asked.
"It seems that way….somehow. Few jinns carry jinn slayer weapons. It means…that someone from the jinn slayer corporation is assisting Armstrong in his hunt. Leo turned his head and immediately thought about Astor and Duce. "They're in on it?" Leo asked.
"What-no you idiot! I'm just saying, someone from their group…is a damn traitor. It also means…we're one step closer to fixing all of this mess. Leo, you do know the end goal, yes?" Euphoria asked.
Leo turned back. "I know you want to kill whoever did this little mess. If you're implying that I should join the jinn slayer core to get closer to whoever did this…then I need time to think on that." Leo said as he began to fly back towards the others.
(Time to think? Leo must have it confused…you will not think. I'm telling you that we will.)
******
Astor looked around confused. "Where did they-"
"Yeah, they disappeared." Sasha sighed. Astor nearly jumped from the sound of her voice. "Hey, hey…no need to be a jumpy cat. I was just following up."
"Tsk. Where's Duce?" Astor asked. Astor thought about it and squinted his eyes. "Weren't you with them?" Astor asked. Sasha gave Astor a confused look. "What do you mean?" Sasha asked. Astor slowly pulled out his flaming sword. "Your illusion is starting to fail. What exactly are you?" Astor asked. Astor could see through Sasha's body. Like she wasn't real or a ghost.
The person's face quickly changed to another woman. Astor froze as fear shadowed over his face. "Astor…it's been…so, so…so long. I can't believe…I found you all alone." The woman said. Astor didn't move. Didn't think. Just looked at the woman standing before him with wide eyes.
"Astor…you're going to die…very soon, okay? The next time you're alone…I will come for you and take your soul. I'm not sure why I feel like this.it's the feeling I just get, but…I can't stop it. It just…comes out. I am sorry." The woman said. The woman's appearance changed again. This time…it was a girl. A 17 year-old girl.
"You're…you're with the boy. The jinn slayer corporation has been looking for you for a couple months. Where did you come from?! Why are you killing us off?!" Astor asked, fear in his voice.
"You guys keep coming after me and my brother…it's not my fault. Take this warning back to your higher-ups. If they send another slayer to come after the two of us, I won't hold back. I will…kill that slayer. Well, it seems you have your hand full tonight. I'm surprised I even managed to sneak away from him. He's such a weirdo and antisocial. Goodbye…Astor." The girl said. The girl disappeared into the darkness as she flew away.
(That girl runs with a boy. I don't get it…but the higher-ups say she's got something very important that the slayers need. I just follow orders, but…how did she know about my mother? Or Sasha? She took their looks to throw me off?)
Astor was lost in thought. He snapped out of it and quickly used his flames to fly towards Duce.
******
Duce looked around, searching for Bella. "I was ready to give my life for those idiots…and the jinn just disappears? I can't even sense her energy anywhere. However, that tower in the distance…it's almost a unique energy. Nothing I've ever sensed before." Duce said to himself. Duce could track his bird. Echo and Sasha both were headed back to an unless location in the forest.
(Where are they going? Should I return my jinn or…no…I'll trust them.)
Duce looked up at the night sky and took a deep breath. "65 degrees and windy….the good weather." Duce clapped his hands. A massive leopard-like jinn emerged from the ground. "I guess we're headed towards the-"
The as Duce was talking, a loud sound echoed through the trees and darkness. "REGROUP!!! I REPEAT!! REGROUP!!!" Duce could hear the voice in his head. "LEO?!" Duce yelled.
"MEET WHERE WE LEFT WOMAN!! WHERE WE LEFT NINA!!! I WILL SEND ENERGY READINGS NOW!!"
"That must be where Echo and Sasha are headed!" Duce said.
******
Echo,Sasha and Astor were already standing near Nina's body. Nina was still passed out. Duce came in on his giant cat. Duce jumped off and marched towards The three. "You two…are idiots." Duce sighed while looking at Sasha and Echo. "Listen, I've never seen humans fight off jinns before…when it comes down to it, my job is to protect civilians. Don't ever try to make the sacrifice play for someone like me. Got it?"
"Sure, pal." Echo said while lighting his cigarette. "Hey, I'm serious, old man! I can face some pretty serious consequences for that's stuff!" Duce argued.
Echo inhaled and released. The cloud of smoke blew over. "You familiar with football, Duce?" Echo asked.
"Huh?"
"Are. You. Familiar. With. Football?"
"…I'm aware of the sport."
"Right, so, this is a team, correct? I look at you as a running back. Right now, I'm a blocker. That means I'll put my head and body itself on the line to protect you. And trust me, imma get you that touchdown." Echo said.
"You're insane." Duce said.
Leo had finally arrived to their location. Leo's jinn energy made Duce and Astor's jaws drop. (This energy…it's insane!) Duce thought.
(This is the same man from before?! Is this why he's so important to that jinn? His power…it…it goes beyond high-level. Hell, the way it looks, it might even be greater than-)
"We don't have much time. I've already figured out the purpose of the tower." Leo said as he landed softly on the ground. "You seem angry…are you-"
"Yes, I'm fine, Sasha. I'm sorry to seem like I'm in a rush…but we need to hurry." Leo said in a serious tone. Leo pointed at the tower. "That tower is releasing large amounts of energy. It's a jinn weapon…a weapon that releases energy and kills people, turning them into jinns after the energy is in their system. It acts as a chemical in a way." Leo explained. "Wait, you're saying-"
"Yes, Duce. Everyone in the town and city…are about to be killed and turned into jinns."
Astor stood up. He could remember the higher-ups talking about the strange disappearances of thousands of people in one night. After investigating, it was ruled incomplete. Having to wipe the memories of everyone who knew about the town by a higher-up. "Duce, this is the bastard." Astor said in a low voice, trying to hide his anger.
Duce didn't catch on. "What do you mean?"
Astor's energy rises. "They were looking for a code, right, Leo?" Astor asked. "I'm assuming so. I know they've killed others looking for someone like me." Leo said.
"This is the guy we're looking for." Astor quickly pulled out his phone and began dialing. Leo's eyes opened wide. (Making a call? If he plans on calling more slayers, I can't let that happen. I need to protect Euphoria, Sasha, and Echo. Not saying they're in danger, but I know they'll question my strength. I can assume they know about Euphoria too…not who she is, but what she might be.) Leo snapped his fingers, destroying Astor's phone. "Are you mad?!" Astor yelled. "We can't risk having others involved, Astor. I know it sucks, but you have to trust me."
Astor walked over towards Leo. Sasha tried to stand in his way, but Astor moved her to the side with ease. Astor stopped in front of Leo and looked into his eyes. "You want…just us to handle a city-level threat? No backup??" Astor asked.
"Yes. You aren't thinking clearly. You're doing what I was doing. Think, Astor. We have reason to believe someone amongst the jinn slayer corporation is in on this. If you were to make a call on it, it would cause lots of problems. Making it hard to catch who knows about all of this." Leo explained.
"Catch them? Reason to believe? Just what are you after, Leo? I don't like this new you. Give me the scared man I saw! Besides, that means you plan on catching someone who's in our corporation, right? Tell me everything, Leo!" Astor demanded. "I can't do that. Being that someone Is possibly looking for me, I can't trust even the two of you. But…I have no choice. Because…we can't infiltrate the tower without you and Duce. I have no trust…but to put the lives of my family and friends in your hands." Leo said.
Astor continued to look at Leo. Astor calmed down and closed his eyes. "It's just…like you, this is personal to me. My mother died in that town. A town that made people disappear. If you're telling me she's in the tower…then…I'll stop at nothing to cut anything that gets in my way down. We have nothing to do with the corruption of our higher-up slayers. Me and Duce shall lend you our power and strengths." Astor said.
Sasha felt itchy on her left hand. She looked down to see her hand was becoming pitch black. Sasha let out a loud shriek before falling to the ground. "Gross, gross, GROSS!!!" She cried. "It's in my hand!!!" She screamed. "What's wrong?!" Echo asked. Leo quickly rushed over and looked at Sasha's hand. "I'll break down the plan quickly. The turning has already started for some people!" Leo said frantically.
******
Infiltration 2