A short amount of time after John's suspicious call, both Jack and Danny entered the room, each holding a large briefcase. They were sweaty and looked tired but had a smile on their faces.
"Pheeeew. That was HEAVY. It's finally time. I was waiting for this for too long." Danny said, glancing at Valentine as predator would to its prey.
"It has been too long indeed. We are finally getting the chance to do this. All thanks to Valentine." Jack said, Danny responding with a thumbs up.
John approached and took the briefcases from them. Laying them on Valentine's hospital bed.
"It felt like yesterday since you were in his place. Oh how much you've grown." John replied.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Valentine shouted out of frustration.
"Oh. Not much. We'll be squashing your worries." John said.
CLICK
John opened the first one of the briefcases, revealing an old tommy gun. He grabbed it from the handle and raised it in the air.
"Hahaha, first one's here. Valentine, cast Barrier." John sang in a malicious tune.
Valentine looked at Danny and then Jack, hoping for one of the two to signify that John's actions were a joke but he got no sign of that. All he got back were looks of anticipation.
"3"
"2"
"1"
John counted down, pointing the tommy gun towards Valentine when he hit one.
"FUCK. FUCK. BARRIER" Valentine said.
He held his arms in an X in front of his chest. John pulled the trigger and a sea of bullets flue out of the gun. Valentine couldn't do much but close his eyes and hope that his barrier could stop them. And so it did. A mostly translucent spectral dome of mana covered him. It stopped the bullets dead in their tracks not allowing any to pass through and though it was draining but it kept him alive.
The volley of bullets kept on coming until the gun run out of ammo in which point John just dropped it to the side and laughed.
"WHAT THE FUCK JOHN?" Valentine screamed.
"Not so fast." Danny said, opening the second briefcase and grabbing a shotgun from inside it. He pumped it with glea and walked up to Valentine.
"How about THIS?" Danny screamed, and started to unload.
"Wooooohoooo" Danny screamed like a child on a rollercoaster with every shot until the shotgun had run out of ammo too.
"DUDE. WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" Valentine shouted.
"I'm going cowboy mode." Jack said, having grabbed two revolvers one out of each briefcase.
"Yehaw" he shouted, shooting with the smile a little child would have in a snowball fight.
Once the firing ceased yet again. Valentine took a breath of relief.
"That was not good for the heart." He said.
Jack and Danny looked at each other and then at John who proceeded to nod affirmatively.
"I'll go first. Fireball" Danny said, casting the spell.
"Miniature tornado" Jack said, he too casting a spell.
A fireball shot out of Danny hand and a fist sized tornado came put of Jacks palm. Both spells headed towards Valentine who started to panic.
"I can't stop these. I can't stop these. I CANT STOP THESE." Valentine shouted in dispair.
The two spells collided with his barrier. Valentine fell on his knees, trying to keep the two spells at bay.
"What was that for?" Valentine asked. He wanted to shout it out but he was too tired to raise his voice.
"What were you more scared of? The bullets or the spells?" John asked.
"You bastard. I'm sure you could have shown me this exact thing in a different way." John replied.
"Well. Usually we do do it a different way. But since you were strong enough to take it instead of shooting each other we shot you. Simple as that." Danny stated.
"You really assholes." Valentine said
"You'll do it too someday." Jack replied
"Pack up. I'm driving you home." John said, changing the subject.
"FUCKING FINALLY."
Valentine rushed to grab his stuff and go home after a full month.
-
The drive home felt long but the moment he stepped foot on the front door he felt everything slow down. He had prepared for that moment. He had asked John for ways to brainwash people but all spells of that sort were far from his caliber, current or future.
He was taught that by using the brain fog spell and relaying ideas and via abuse and other means he could insert ideas into someone's subconscious over time without arousing suspicion. But that wouldn't be easy and would require a lot of time he simply didn't have.
There was only one viable way to deal with his uncle. And that had to be sheer dominating force. He had to make himself imposing to the point where his uncle wouldn't dare act afoul again. Valentine steeled his heart and rang the bell, his keys still lost.
"I'm coming," Sally said. The door opened soon after.
Valentine felt weird standing in front of his mother like that. He felt a strong sense of shame looking her in the eyes. He wasn't given any time to let his thoughts settle, making the moment he saw his mother in such a way hit him like a sledgehammer.
"I'm back." Valentine said weakly.
"Come on in, come on in. The food will get cold." Sally replied.
"Weren't you working at night today? Why did you cook?" Valentine asked, making his way inside.
"My only son is coming home from the hospital. Of course I should cook him something." She replied with a wink.
The house seemed much quieter than before. It used to reek of cigarette smoke and alcohol but that stench wasn't present. Going through to the living room he could clearly see his uncle. He wasn't drinking or smoking like he usually would. He was anxiously sipping on hot tea.
Carl did not look well. He had clearly lost weight and looked weaker than usual. He seemed to take note that Valentine had come and walked up to him with tears in his eyes.
Valentine was taken aback. He had never seen his uncle act that way but he let it happen. Even if his uncle were to turn aggressive, Valentine knew he could still guarantee his and his mother's safety.
But such a thing did not happen. Carl hugged Valentine tightly. He broke into tears and started speaking weekly.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never wanted to be like that. I hurt both you and my little sister. I'm a failure. I didn't drink back then you know. When Charlie was still alive I lived abroad in the states. That's where I met my ex wife. Charlie was the one who introduced us, you see. She was a friend from his old job." Carl said, stopping for a moment to gather himself.
"But not everything went well. You don't know this but we had a child. My beautiful Lilly. She never got to walk. She never got to play. She didn't make it to her first birthday. She wasn't sickly at all but. You don't have to be sickly to be in danger at that age. When I help her in my arms. I was. I felt different. Full of hope for my future. But life is a cruel mistress Valentine." He continued.
"W.. What happened?" Valentine asked.
He was caught off guard by what happened. Learning about things he never knew from a version of his uncle that was oh so familiar yet oh so distant.
"She passed. We didn't know why. We never learned why. That's when Cassandra and I decided to split up and I came back. Then your dad died. Charlie and I weren't too close but I would consider him my fiend. He treated your mother like a queen and he was overjoyed at your birth. It was a shame he had to go that soon. Your mother was in shambles. You were barely old enough to know what happened yet not old enough to fully understand. Every time you asked for your father her heart broke even more." Carl said.
"That's when I started to drink. I drank to forget. Yet at one point it started getting bad. I missed chunks upon chunks of my memory. And then it happened. I hit my own sister. I tried to bury the shame with the bottle yet it only got worse. I've had full days wiped off my memory. But what happened the other day along with your accident woke me up. The real me. I haven't drank a drop since and I haven't smoked a cigarette. I'll be the uncle you once knew. I promise." Carl continued.
"Glad to have you back uncle Carl." Valentine said, hugging his uncle for the first time in years.