Chapter 68

N/A's POV

The dragon took to the skies, leaving La Bruja in a state of utter shock, while Milo and Gloria could only smirk as they watched the beast flying through the sky with a piercing glow on its back; They turned to face Jacke and Alex who were just standing there, still mesmerized by what they'd just witnessed.

"So, are you two just going to sit there twiddling your dicks? Or should we take care of La Bruja too?" Gloria said with a smirk, snapping the two back to the matter at hand, La Bruja was rebuilding her army as quickly as she could, but it was draining her. Each time she raised a platoon of her shambling soldiers, she coughed violently and blood came out of her mouth, she was killing herself to keep this fight alive; It was already too late for her, Jacke turned to his remaining people, they'd lost a third of what they came with, but it was time to end this. He turned to face his foe and stared at her with a look of raw, unadulterated rage: She was causing hundreds upon thousands of restless souls to fight a losing war, all because of her petty vengeance.

"La Bruja! Mi Amor! Your time has come! Lady Muerte herself has sealed your fate, and all you're doing by raising this army is making my job easier!" He said before charging the oncoming hoard, Alexis hot on his tail, and his forces even closer behind. An entire platoon's worth surrounded him, all for naught, as he slashed in an open arc and shot a bullet from his gun, infusing it with his wrath, piercing through hundreds of soldiers. Alex at his side slashed at everything in sight, clawing through soldier after soldier, Alexis was at the wheel and every soldier she put down was another soul keeping her from her peaceful life with Jacke. Damien and Jameson on the other hand had picked up on how Jake and Jack had learned to fuse their energies and took that style for a test run; With Damien as a collar around his neck, Jameson had his discipline and restraint, allowing for his strikes to be more refined and precise.

They fought through every restless soul under La Bruja's command, dispersing their remains along their way so La Bruja had nothing to bring back, soldier after soldier fell before them; The screams of their fallen comrades fueled their rage, as they fought on and on, taking no prisoners and leaving nothing but the ashes of the fallen to be seen. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, La Bruja fell from his trance and down to the battlefield herself. Jacke rushed forward and slashed his scythe through her chest, piercing her wicked heart, and put the barrel of his hand cannon against her forehead.

"IN THE NAME OF LADY MUERTE, WE CAST YOU OUT OF THE NECROPOLIS YOU WRONGFULLY CLAIMED FOR YOURSELF, BRUJA!" He shouted as he pulled the trigger on his gun, firing the last round he had into her head, and as she fell her very spirit caught ablaze. Her body burned until there was nothing but ashes left to be scattered by the winds, and in her place, Lady Muerte stood with La Bruja's spirit by her side.

"Thank you, boys, for tidying up my home a good bit. I know the void monster is still flying about, but I have no doubt that won't last too much longer."

"Thank you, Jacke," The spirit of his old flame said, but instead of a hateful gaze, she was smiling; As if she had been finally freed from a horrible nightmare she had no hopes of waking up from, Lady Muerte took her and left the Necropolis as Jacke stood there in wonder. Alex walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder, pointing to the sky where M was still wrestling the dragon. Gloria and Milo joined by their side, hand in hand, as Jameson and Damien split back to their respective forms and their forces joined behind them.

"Should we leave him here? Or try and help him?" Milo asked, worry obvious in his tone, but Gloria grabbed his hand and squeezed it to remind him that this was his fight.

"We need to leave, the more time we spend here the worse it's going to be for him," Jacke said before turning back and leading his family through the gates that brought them here, and back into the wider world. As they walked out they saw that their people had made great progress in rebuilding, Alex recognized how similar it was to the way her pack had built their home originally, but it was more refined and precise. Jacke took a seat on the hood of his truck to watch as they continued building and noticed that one building towered over the rest, as Alex took a seat next to him.

"What's that big building for?"

"Well, I would assume that's the revamped packhouse, it's where we're going to be living in. Based on how it's both of our people working together to rebuild, I'd guess that they found a way to compromise on how to rebuild, and are working as a group to build a home that suits both your family and my family's needs. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful, I just hope that the packhouse still has that trapdoor to the basement, I have an idea for Jake's remains."

"And what would that be?"

"We've been hanging onto them out of fear of what would happen if we didn't, I think it's high time we laid that chapter of our life to rest. Gather the ashes and put them in a jar, take them to the coast, and pour them out somewhere."

"I hope you're not thinking of dispersing your ashes in the Bermuda Triangle, and if you are, you're definitely not doing it without me. I worked really hard to find you, I'm not losing you again, Pup."

Damien and Jameson took a seat across from them, with Gloria and Milo sitting on the ground in front of them.

"So, what're you guys going to do? Now that La Bruja is out of the picture, we have the world at our fingertips," Jameson said, it wasn't a shock to anyone that's how he thought, he was prideful and wrathful by nature, but he knew where he sat.

"I think we're just going to rest here for a while, wait for M to get back, and focus on rebuilding. I think this is a good place to call home, regardless of the history behind it," Jacke said before leaning his head on Alex's shoulder, to which she just wrapped her arm around him.

"What about you two? I don't presume you're going to want to stay here for long," Alex asked looking at Milo and Gloria, she hadn't known them long at all, but they were willing to join them in their war against La Bruja, and that had gained her respect for them.

"I think we'll stay here actually, at least until Mallow comes back, something tells us that he's going to make one hell of an entrance."

"That and, while he won't say it, Milo's comfortable here. He's already taken to referring to Jacke as his Uncle, so I think we'll stay so long as you'll have us."

"We're more than welcome to have you guys, for as long as you'd like to stay. What about you, brothers? I know Jameson was never one to sit in one place for long, but now that Damien is finally here, wherever Jamie goes D won't be long behind."

Jameson and Damien looked at each other, contemplating what to do before they shook hands.

"We'll stay here for a bit, Jameson won't be willing to sit still for long, but we'll stay here to help you guys rebuild before he goes off on his own, and I have to go clean up his mess again."

"Technicians, now and forever, brothers."