MLFW Part 8- "Bittersweet Vengeance"

"Bittersweet Vengeace" is the eighth Part of "Miracula Luxia: Four Worlds". It was released on 14.02.2020.
== Plot ==
It is time for our heroes to decide what to do with the treacherous person known as Gary Nixom. The man whose actions caused the death of Jared's beloved girlfriend- Annie Mitchell.
Will the heroes have mercy on the man and spare him from a grisly death? Will they kill him, despite his pleas? Or will they do something that is even worse than that?
== Story ==
Jared noticed Lancelot approaching him and looked at him, still holding Gary hostage.
"I'm glad you came, my friend."- Jared said stoically.
Lancelot nodded.
"You still haven't killed this pathetic worm?"- He wondered- "Why?"
Jared shaked his head.
"We were about to. But you interrupted us."
"Sorry."- Lancelot excused himself.
Jared nodded.
"It's okay. So, Annie is... ?"
Lancelot shaked his head in disbelief.
"Dead. She is dead."
Jared looked down and started to cry. In this moment of weakness, Gary managed to break free. He tried to stab him with his weapon, but Lancelot saved his life by throwing Gary's weapon away and bashing him into a wall.
He wanted to bash his head in for his involvement in Annie's death, but was stopped by Jared before he could do so.
"Wait."- Jared said- "Don't you have anything to say to him before you kill him?"
Lancelot smiled.
"You have a point, my friend. I do indeed. And it's a lot."
He looked at Gary angrily. Then, he grabbed him by the neck and smirked at him.
"You insolent worm!"- The young man insulted him- "You and your thugs killed my sister! The person I cared for the most! I tried to protect her from pathetic individuals such as yourself... but I failed."
"For that, you deserve to die a very gruesome death. I don't care if it's illegal or not, it's justice. Your actions make my heart cry it out, can't you hear it? "Justice!" "Revenge!" "Avenge your sister!" That is what it says! And I will listen to it!"
Gary shaked his head and smiled.
"Sorry man. You see, I am just a poor guy who follows his orders. My boss tells me what to do and I do it. That's all."
This angered Lancelot even more. He angrily pulled out his sword and tried to kill him.
Moments before doing so, however, he remembered about what Dr. Daniel Nixom told him about his brother.
"My brother has... a certain sickness ongoing. This sickness causes certain cells in his body to transform into the cells of an undead. Simply explained, if he dies for any reason, except by receiving a serious wound in the head, he will reanimate into an Undead."
"An Undead, huh?"- Lancelot said to himself- "Well, we can't let him slip to the other side just like that. First, we must make him useful for us. Of course, he won't act against his own allies if he's alive. But if he's not, then it's another question to be answered."
Lancelot told Jared told hold Gary for a while and whispered his plan to him.
He told him about what Gary's brother said and tried to convince him that it's a better alternative to let him stay alive.
"What?! Are you serious? After... after what he did to your sister? You're just... going to spare this monster?"- Jared whispered angrily, almost audibly enough for the crowd to hear.
The crowd, as if it was understanding what the two men were whispering about, started looking down nervously.
"No! No! You got it wrong, Jared!"- Lancelot was quick to respond, in a whisper- "We will let him live. But he won't live, like he does now. Breathing and everything. He will be a living corpse! We will use him to perform a counterattack against those fools!"
Something in Lancelot's words really interested Jared. He leaned closer to him.
At the same time, Gary looked around, trying to find a way to escape and inform his employer of what has happened. He clearly doesn't want to stay here for a time longer than he already has, especially because of the fact that the two young men are about to execute him for his crimes.
"I'm all ears, my friend. Tell me about this plan of yours."
Lancelot smiled and continued explaining his plan to his friend.
"Well, first off we will kill this worm of a person. But we won't stab him in the head, like we intended to at first. We will instead stab him anywhere, but in the head. That way, he will eventually reanimate and we can use him as both a living example of how we treat villains and also as a weapon against the one who sent him and his thugs to kill us."
Jared nodded, clerly interested in this plan. He knew that it wasn't exactly what his father would do in such a situation, but he knew that something had to be done.
And the best way to harm the ones who killed his beloved girlfriend is to use someone who was formerly a part of their army against them.
"So."- The boy whispered- "You say that we can use this man to kill his own allies. Correct?"
Lancelot nodded.
"Nobody in their army knows the correct way to kill an Undead. In fact, they have never seen an Undead in their whole lives. The Abyss doesn't have any of those."
"Plus, Gary probably never told anyone, but his brother about his sickness, so there is a huge chance for our plan to work!"
"What will we do with him after the battle is over?"
Lancelot looked down.
"The best thing we can do is put him out of his misery. But we might have a change of heart when that time comes, who knows?"
Jared nodded.
"As you say, Lance. I will trust you on this one. I hope that your... our plan will work."
"Me too, my friend. The two of us will work on this one."
"And, one more thing. Please don't tell Stephanie about the plan. She's a Priestess and might become upset about that."
"I got it."- He promised and looked at Gary just as he was about to stab him.
The villain's attempt failed and Jared just fell to the ground.
"Just like me and my boys killed your love, we'll also kill you!"- Gary Nixom yelled and tried to stab Jared.
Lancelot tried to stop him, but was pushed back.
Just as Nixom was about to kill Jared, an arrow flew from the crowd and pierced the villain's leg.
The archer who shot the arrow got closer to a wounded Gary Nixom and shot him in the other leg as well, jsut in case.
The brother of Daniel Nixom fell to the ground, screaming in pain and trying to pull the arrows out of his legs.
Jared grabbed him by the throat.
"Now, you insolent brat, not only will I kill you because your thugs killed my girlfriend, but I will also kill you for trying to hurt me and my friend! Prepare to be executed, in the name of all that is sacred!"
Just as he was about to stab him, however, Lancelot stopped him.
Jared realized that Lancelot wants to be the one who stabs Gary for his crimes and gave him the knife.
"You lost your sister because of this man."- Jared said- "You can be the one to kill him, if you wish to do so."
Lancelot turned around and looked at the screaming villain, as Jared held him still.
He smirked.
"Your thugs destroyed my friend's hometown, vandalized my hometown and, most importantly, killed my sister. There are probably many more accusations to come, but I will spare them and just tell you this: You may die now, but you won't really die. We know about your sickness and we plan to use it to kill your allies, one by one."
Gary became shocked of what he just heard.
"No! I won't let you use me against my almighty Lord and Savior Farrar! I won't!"- He screamed wildly.
Lancelot grinned.
"Oh, but we will. And you will be forced to do so, whether you like it or not. Actually, you won't, because you'll be an Undead."
He nodded at Jared. Jared pulled out his sword.
"Whenever you're ready, my friend."- He mumbled.
The two men began counting as the treacherous Gary Nixom tried to break free once again.
"One... "- Jared begain to count.
"Two... "
"Three!"
The moment Jared said "Three", the two men stabbed Gary in different parts of his body- once in the chest (by Lancelot) and once in the back (by Jared).
Gary was unable to stand at all anymore. He just looked at the two men, shocked that he was defeated.
"You... monsters! I will never act... against... Farrar and his army!"- He yelled with the last strength he had in his body, trying to call out their bluff.
When he realized that they were serious about it, he tried to trick them into not using him.
"But... what if I bite you? You don't want me to... right? So just stab me in the head... and... end it."
Jared and Lancelot shaked their heads.
Gary gasped his last breaths and cursed at the two men.
"You'll never make it out alive, you buckos. Farrar will kill you and make you... fight for him. Mark my words... "
Unable to finish his curse, he just sighed and looked up.
"No one deserves to die like this. No... one... des... "
He finally bled out from his massive wounds and slumped to the ground, dead.
Everyone looked at him stoically, not expressing any emotion about what just happened to him.
"Lance."- Jared said- "Would you please try to tie him up before he reanimates? And cover his head up, for safety."
Lancelot nodded and asked the crowd for items to help him out.
The baker gave the man one of her spare paper bags while the blacksmith have him a long length of rope.
With that, Lancelot made sure that Gary wouldn't hurt anyone else around him. Not until the right time comes.
After a few minutes, Gary finally reanimated into an Undead. He tried to free himself from his restraints, but to no avail. The restraints which were holding him still were strong, strong enough to keep even a giant still.
"Well. Mission accomplished, I reckon."- The blacksmith said and smiled.
Jared nodded.
"Indeed, Mr. Blacksmith. Mission accomplished."
"Now we just have to take him to the City Hall. What do you say, Mayor?"
The mayor nodded.
"Yes. It is time for us to attack those jerks back. Let's do this!"
Having said that Jared, Lancelot and the mayor, along with a tied up and reanimated Gary Nixom entered the city hall to plan their next move.
For a whole hour, they sat on their chairs, unable to say anything to each other. The unexpected death of Annie hit all of them very hard, so hard that they don't know what to say.
Finally, Jared decided to break the sound of silence with his plan on what to do.
"So."- He began- "Gary is now reanimated. And under our command. We can use him against his former employer."
The mayor nodded.
"Exactly."- He said- "We will use him as bait to get that dirty rat out of his hiding spot. He will come and try to retrieve his captured servant, since he is also one of his most trusted men, thinking that he is still alive. And when he lifts the paper bag from his head... he will be in for an ugly surprise. Am I right or am I right?"
Lancelot smiled.
"Now that's what I like to hear. Good plan, gentlemen!"
Jared and the mayor smiled back as the three of them looked at the reanimated Gary Nixom.
"He was a good friend of mine, but that doesn't mean that I will forgive him for what he and his bandits did to poor Annie."
Lancelot shaked his head.
"Now's not the time to grieve for her. We must stay strong and defeat Farrar's thugs. After that good deed is done, we can bury her in peace."
The mayor nodded. Lancelot looked at Jared coldly.
"Jared, when I was back in the hospital, I thought about what had happened. How you didn't protect Annie. How you just stood there and just watched her get shot."
Jared tried to say something, but was unable to do so.
"From now on, I won't fully trust you when it comes to important decisions. And I'm talking about decisions which endanger the lives of living people. Understood?"
Jared shaked his head.
"Lance, I don't need your full trust when it comes to an important mission. All I need is your presence, your support. That is all."
"Also, I am really sorry about Annie. I tried to save her, but circumstances restricted me from performing any action. I know that you are angry, because you are her brother, but we need to focus towards the task at hand. And that task is to kill Farrar so Paris can finally be at peace. We must stay united and not go astray. Understood?"
Lancelot nodded.
"Yes. You're right. But we have a lot to talk about when all of this is finally over. And I cannot wait for that moment to come."
"Me too, my friend. Me too."- Jared responded.
Having said that, the two men looked at a map on the table, thinking about the possible secret locations of Farrar's army.
Jared looked in Gary's pocket and noticed a piece of paper. On it, there were the words "Warlord Farrar" along with a communication device.
With Lancelot and the mayor's help, Jared managed to install the device in the City Hall's supercomputer.
After typing the possible password for the device to unlock, it began to shine in a disgusting, black light and a face appeared on the screen.
"Whomst has summoned the almighty Lord Farrar, conqueror of every good person, destroyer of all that is sacred? Is it you, Gary? What do you want?"- The man said.
Jared grinned.
"Remember me, Farrar?"
Farrar was shocked to hear the voice of his nemesis.
"Jared Kaos! My nemesis! How did you... manage to contact me? My agents made sure that no one, except them would be able to do so!"
Jared shaked his head.
"It seems like all of your agents were very careless. And now very much dead."
Farrar gasped.
"How?! Why you little... If you did something to Gary, I'll crush you and your little hometown... "
Jared smiled and looked at Gary. Farrar was not aware that he had reanimated.
"Relax, Farrar. Your beloved servant is here with us. He is alive and well."
"We will give him back to you. But, there is only one condition. You will come to the gates of Paris after two days and give us supplies to repair our city."
Farrar laughed. And no, it wasn't a kind laugh.
"And help you fools rebuild what we destroyed?"- He yelled- "No way! I'd rather die than help y'all!"
Jared looked down.
"Well, if you say so, then we will keep Mr. Nixom with us."
He was about to end the communiction when Farrar screamed:
"Wait!"
"Okay. We'll have some sort of a deal."
He tried to think of a way to fool him.
"We don't have many building supplies. In fact, we barely have enough for ourselves. What about this: You give us back Gary, we leave you and the citizens of Paris in peace. Sound good?"
Jared nodded, seemingly agreeing to this fake offer for peace.
"Okay, Farrar."- He responded- "You got yourself a deal. In two days, we will meet at Paris's northern gates and we will make the exchange. Mr. Nixom's life for the peace you promised us."
"Great!"- Farrar exclaimed- "We'll meet again, buck... I mean my friend!"
Before Jared could respond, he ended the conversation.
He told his warriors to prepare.
"In two days, we will take Gary back and we will take all of 'em down. Get ready!"
The thugs nodded and began to make their preparations.
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Meanwhile, Lancelot questioned Jared and the mayor's plan.
"That weasel, Farrar... I don't trust him. What if he betrays us and attacks us after he takes back Nixom?"
Jared smiled.
"Even if he wants to, he won't have the chance to."
He pulled the paper bag off an undead Gary Nixom's head briefly and pointed at his teeth.
"Most undead's teeth are able to infect any living being they bite. That being will develop a raging infection and eventually succumb to it. Farrar won't stand a chance."
Having said that, Jared put the bag over Gary Nixom's head once again.
Lancelot nodded, having finally realized what Jared really meant.
"I see. I see. Well, we better prepare."- He said- "We need a strong and capable team of warriors, in case those fools betray us after we give this traitor back to them."
"Indeed."- Jared said and looked at the mayor.
"Mayor, we did what we could to bring Farrar at our gates. Now it is your turn to do your job and prepare the warriors for battle."
The mayor nodded and left the City Hall to inform the soldiers, without another word.
Jared and Lancelot continued sitting on their chairs, waiting for the order to approach the gate.
== Trivia ==
* In this part, the words that the blacksmith says "Well. Mission accomplished, I reckon." are a reference to the game known as "West of Loathing" when the player character talks to the bartender of the town of Boring Springs and chooses the option "Just wanted to say hi" when the bartender will say (almost) the same thing as the blacksmith did in "Miracula Luxia: Four Worlds".
* This is the second Part in "Miracula Luxia: Four Worlds" when an antagonist dies (Gary Nixom), the first one being "No More Second Chances" when Ah'Zoth dies.