Rube groans as he puts his arms through the flattened and ripped tent, which partially covers him, hoping his attacker is no longer there. Upon sitting up on the soft lawn of Bermuda grass, he rubs the back of his throbbing head as he looks around with his slightly blurred eyesight, "What the fuck just happened. One minute I was guarding the damn tent with Orion and Hiraya inside. Next thing I know, something or someone knocked me out cold and the fucking messed-up tent is on top of me and the two lovers are gone."
Well, not exactly gone, Rube…
Reuben Agpalza Castañeda is shocked at the feminine voice echoing inside his head as he tries to shake himself awake or at least to make himself aware enough to be sure he isn't just dreaming or imagining things.
Hiraya? What the bloody hell just happened?
Look up, Supervisor!
The half-conscious ex-military man does so…
And immediately wishes he hadn't!
Chaos reigned!
A monstrous ebony being with webbed wings, vicious fangs and sharp claws is viciously attacking a thin elderly hooded man in flowing black robes. The latter is shooting some sort of fiery rays from his hands at the awesome vicious beast.
In that same moment, a fully naked Raya is standing near The Resort's main entrance with her troop of ragtag protector talents surrounding her in heroic poses reminiscent of ending scenes in many superhero comic books.
There is also the incredible but nearly insane scene of slowly-moving zombies, small super swift flying imps along with cloaked renegades who are presently and valiantly fighting off the remaining unhurt members of the hotel/resort's Mediterranean Security Staff with their loaded firearms.
And to top it all off, the almost idiotic view of a bloody and wounded Nik trying to rescue an escaped, panic-stricken and slithering baby octopus from being cruelly trampled on by the fighting Security Staff and their strange and supernatural foes…
All in all, Rube is looking at a surprising and shocking battle scene of a lifetime!
I'm actually glad my wife isn't part of this fucking fun-filled riot. She would have made a sane but effective addition to all the damned ruckus but it seems she's enjoying her 'interview session' with that bloody prisoner of ours so I'm partially glad she's not here… But she would think it was freaky as fucking hell to see actual zombies, imps, magicians and a vampiric monster at the Mediterranean Branch of our family business. I suddenly wish my son Bien was here along with his professor wife, Lyra. That would be a hoot and this would make a great marketing strategy!
After taking a few photographic shots with his high-powered but compact mobile for future 'evidence' and possible conversational icebreakers in the future, the now-recovered Cas swiftly pockets his smartphone, picks up and checks his shotgun to be sure it is ready and loaded. Upon seeing that everything is prepped and ready for action, he then begins shooting at the strange invaders of his property.
BAM!... kachack, click… BLAM!... kachack, click … BANG!
"Damn you, you bloody motherfucking weirdoes! Come on, have a taste of my mistress!" the furious bordello owner challenges his, odd, shocked-still but scared stiff adversaries. "We're not afraid of you bloody mofos, right mistress!"
+++
Let's go back inside an office inside of the Midnight Resort, shall we dear readers?
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH! ENOUGH! ENOUGH! I can't take it anymore… hah, hah, hah… No more… have mercy, I'm begging you!"
"Now, that's what we want to hear… Alexia, my babies and me…" Marina says with a blood-curdling and vicious smirk as she plucks one of her 'babies' which is stuck inside one of the fingernails of her tear-filled and pleading tied-up torture victim. "It's essential that my needles are properly inserted in the proper places to maximize our time during this special and unique interview. They should pierce the flesh between the nail and the finger's bone, making sure that it stays closest to the hard nail as possible," instructs the mature female torturer sounding like a deadpan narrator from a nature documentation TV series as she selects another hard and pointy needle from the red pincushion her personal assistant had brought her about quarter of an hour ago.
"No! Haaahhh… haaahhh… FOR FUCK'S SAKES! Stop lady! AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" the suffering prisoner cries in agony as The Resort's Matron inserts another needle on the final untouched fingernail on the rented brigand's hands. "YOU WIN, ok?! You win, woman… mmmppphhh…I'll tell you e-everything…FUCKING EVERYTHING ABOUT I KNOW ABOUT THE TRIBUNAL! Just take your bloody kids off me! Nggghhh…"
"That's more like it! See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" states matter-of-factly by a satisfied and smiling Marina as she slowly but firmly nods at a frigidly silent and intensely emotionless-faced Alexia who proceeds to take the pincushion from her boss. "And I'm kind of glad we don't have to get to the next phase of our interview session because if not for my office being locked and soundproofed, your extremely loud pain-filled cries would have already scared off our clientele and customers here at The Resort. How much more if you were so stubborn that I would have no choice but to put you through phase two of our fun and enlightening session?"
"W-what's phase t-two, lady?" shakily asks Marina's helpless torture subject, with a frightened look in his eyes and a pale facial expression. "I'm almost too afraid - no - too terrified - to ask."
"It involves high voltage electricity, wires, my babies and copper clamps. You get the picture, I'm sure…" the sadistically grinning Matron explains. "It actually gets pretty messy which is why I'm glad you decided to tell me everything I want to know before we got to that stage."
The shocked and extremely frightened goon gulps and mutters a curse word under his breath…
Marina sighs and continues thoughtfully as she raises her pointy finger to tap one of her lightly-rouged cheeks. "I know, right… So, just keep talking and I'll listen while my office assistant will take written notes about what you say. Also, we have a high-tech video with audio CCTV in my office so it WILL record everything you tell me. Just don't hold back. Soon, when you finish, I'll take my precious children from you and put them to bed after I give them a long and sanitizing bath. After all, I wouldn't want to catch what you damned guys have," finally concludes the lovely lady torturer while she places her coolly smiling face in front of her prisoner's stunned and alarmed one.
+++
Meanwhile, the strange chaotic war is still continuing outdoors…
Rube has never seen Marion's 'other form' before but just to be safe, he does not shoot at the humungous furred and winged beast and just watches it from a distance as his turned 'friend' tries to stop and capture his thin and robed adversary. But despite the great size difference between the two magical beings, the smaller senior sorcerer seems to be holding his ground and is actually doing minute amounts of damage on the angry vampiric 'monster'.
What the hell… I'll just take my fucking chances, Rube firmly decided as he spun his shotgun around a couple of fingers, Terminator-style, to load it.
Kachack, click… BANG!
"Sir, no!" screams Nick while he tries to hold fast to a wet and wriggling Calvin. "That enchanted asshole's got an invisible shield that causes bullets to ricochet off him and gets sent back to the shooter to wound him instead," explains the still-hurt and bleeding Hulk. "That's why I'm injured right now, boss…"
Well, shit! Good thing I missed then, Reuben mutters to himself in irritation. "Then what the hell should I do, Nick?"
"I don't know, Sir. Just remember that whatever you throw at him will eventually come back at you…"
Ok then… I just have to find something big enough to dodge while heavy enough to hurt him or do him some damage… Got it! This idea might bloody work.
Rube then selects a jagged and hefty rock from the ground. Aiming it high, he throws it as hard as he can at the unaware magic user. It hit the mage hard but the rough projectile bounces back at the thrower who swiftly sidesteps it as it zooms by.
Bingo! Now if I can get enough people to throw rocks at the motherfucking moron! decides Castañeda as he picks a bigger stone at his feet. Maybe, I can get him distracted enough for Marion to defeat so we can catch the bastard.
"Hey everybody, except you big furry dark-winged guy! All of you get a stone, rock or even a pebble…" loudly orders the smirking Reuben. "And start throwing them as hard as you can at the magic weirdo with the black cloak! 1… 2… 3… THROW!"
Everyone left standing of the talents and the Security Staff immediately obeys. Even the octopus-carrying Nick…
"Curses! What the hell…" exclaims the astonished and bewildered elderly Sorcerer as several hard projectiles hit him all over his skinny body and ankle-length robe. "What the fuck are they doing?"
Because of the small distraction, the massive and muscular creature is able to slip in a swift swipe at his vile senior nemesis with his gigantic clawed hand, drawing blood from Magnus' arm. The wounded man took a step back, knowing he was in trouble.
"We're doing it, guys! Now ready? Get your rock ready… 1… 2… 3… THROW!"
Rube and his eager fighters hit their nervous target once again but some rocks actually manage to go through the slightly confused, weakened and rattled magician's invisible shield.
I better escape before they capture me and know more about our Tribunal cult! We can always try to capture The Matriarch at a more ideal time…
"Retreat my forces!" exclaimed the evil wizard as he conjured a thick fog to hide and cover their escape. "We will come back another day to kidnap the Matriarch and when we do, we will eliminate all our enemies for good! Hahahaha!"
The shifted Marion quickly claws through the smoke-like fog within the general direction of the spindly cloaked man once again and hits empty air. It seemed Magnus had magically disappeared.
Meanwhile, his remaining living mooks and even the hurt minions scuttle away swiftly and silently. Even if some of the weaponized talents try to stop them, their unknown aggressors are still able to vanish into the foggy darkness.
"A villain laugh?! Really?!" the virgin declares in unbelief while scratching his head using the tip of one of his ironwood rods. "You got to be kidding me! It already felt like we were in the middle of a damn horror movie and now this?"
"Let them go gang," instructs Cas with a booming voice. "We'll get 'em when they come back."
"You mean, IF they come back, Supervisor," the sole naked talent solemnly corrects him as if it is something prophetic. "I don't think they got what they were aiming to capture."
"You mean WHO, Raya…" weakly gasps the now shifted prince who's now back to his human form but is wounded and naked as he approaches his woman and her still-posed friends.
"Marion, by the gods…" the concerned nude woman exclaims as her weak and unclothed monarch client stumbles into her open arms. "Are you alright, love?"
It was The Rube who managed to answer for his half-conscious and weakened royal friend. "No, his not darlin' so we got to get him to the medical bay… PRONTO! Nick, give that darn octopus to Hiraya and carry our princely guest inside the resort and into his suite! I'll just ask the medical team to take a look at him there."