The Fall

55. Control

4.20.21

Benji's POV

When Connor burst through the door, I had felt my blood pressure rise. I hope that he doesn't do anything stupid in here; he should be outside helping the others hold back even more humans from coming in here. I will never forgive him if we are overrun because he wanted to come here to protect me. At this point, he should know that I can handle myself, hurt or not.

Still, no matter how upset with him I am, I'm glad that he's here for the others. I've been using my magic to help the doctors, but now that he was here I could initiate my plan. I have to override the human system and show them exactly what their mistake was. I don't want to be seen as cruel in the future, but there's no other way. The time to be a baby and back away from this conflict has come and went; there's no other choice now. I have to use my strength to win this battle since my people have no other way. It makes me sad to say, but the balance has fallen away. This is war, the nitty-gritty of it. And I will not come out on the bottom.

While Connor focuses on the physical side of things, I strategize. It has always been this way, and it will continue to be for the rest of time. He and I are just different enough that we bring out the best in each other. If one of us isn't in the other's life, everything would fall apart. The natural order of the world demands that we be together. I'm useless in hand-to-hand combat; I would never be able to strike a man hard enough to knock him down. Connor has always been my protector, and he's doing it again now. I have to do my job; be the enemy's true kryptonite.

I heard the static start, buzzing through my pores in a familiar yet distant way. It's been a long time since I heard it, but the feeling brought empowerment to me. My doctor would probably kill me if he saw what was going on, but he was locked in a tight battle with some buff dude man bun. The fighting grew distant as I felt the tingles building and building, and I was reminded of my fight with the demon king.

That time, the last I had allowed my magic to build so much willingly, I had lost control and gone too far. It was frightening, having to build my skill all over again. The support from my friends was tremendous, but most of them are gone now. I don't want to go through the pain I felt that time all over again. It would probably be the end of my run as the master. The only surviving members from that original group are Mikey and Connor, and I don't even know for sure if Mikey is still alive. I don't even know if I want him to be alive...

This time will be different, though. This time, I'm going to keep my control. I'm going to show the people who love and trust me that I've grown as a person. I suppose that I also want to prove it to myself. I've been lost this whole time trying to figure out what my personal growth was after 100 years. I didn't have much practice, but I've grown in maturity. I'm positive that I can control this beast inside of me. I want to believe that it will never control me again. I will not be the one to die in this medical ward, and neither will anyone else. This is my burden.

Therefore, even as the world span around me, I kept a clear head as much as possible. I kept my eyes on Connor, watching him fight for what he believed in, and it helped to ground me. It held me back from losing my mind to the pure power rushing through my veins. The static was drowning out all noise and my eyes weren't quite functioning correctly, but as long as I can see him I will be fine. Just when it felt like my chest was going to burst from the volume of power in it, I let everything go.

I could tell that it was causing every foe in the room pain from their expressions, so full of fear that it made me upset. I wanted to throw up from their faces, but there wasn't time. I have to keep pushing. Keep pushing harder until they can't get back up. Connor was facing me now, panting from the hard battle, and I felt a calmness come over me. His eyes were currently red from the anger he felt, and I knew mine was a solid purple.

As the buzzing faded, so did my consciousness. The men in the room were all either dead or passed out, I couldn't tell. I also didn't know if my electric current had spread out of the medical bay or not. For the sake of others, I hope that it has. With the last, safe to use, an ounce of my magic gone from my body, I slipped away into the approaching darkness.

The thick veil felt different from before, less ominous. It's a feeling of comfort, like being wrapped in a tight blanket. I didn't have the strength to get free, but I didn't want to. Pain doesn't exist where I am, and I know that I'll experience a lot of that if I go back. The silence, the peace: all things I long for. I would stay here for eternity if I could. No one can bother me here, and I don't have to go through so much pain. However, I heard a voice calling me. A voice resonating from the real world. Connor's calling me, so I have to go. There's no mistaking the fear in confusion laced in my name; I don't want my friend to have to feel that way.

I clawed my way through the darkness like a stick through cobwebs, and I was surprised how easy it was to shove it away. It seems that I was actually successful at keeping my control; it was much harder to move the shadows away the last time I did this. My body and mind must not be in that bad shape. I may not remember anything after the final 10% of my charge, but that's to be expected. I think that my magic slightly fries my brain when I use it that much.

I forced my eyelids to open, and the sigh of relief was audible. My doctor was behind Connor with an angry expression, but I chose to ignore that. He can deal with it; I didn't have an option in what I did. I know that he might not understand the true significance of my position, but he should have known that I wouldn't take it totally lightly. There's a certain amount of grief it causes me to just sit and watch others get hurt. It almost got me killed in middle school because I would always stand against bullies. That doesn't stop just because I'm hurt.

"Thank God you're okay," Connor declared with eyes at peace for once.

"Okay demon prince," I joked back, and he gave a smile.

"Oh shut up. Now, your doctor has some words for you..."