The Living Death (Celestia Chronicles 5/ R.E.A.P. Arc Book 1)

Chapter 16: Welk's Trap

"That sounds painful" Harvey said.

"Well maybe you don't use comic books as a source for inspiration" Peter said to Tanya with a bit of sarcasm.

"Comic books are awesome" Tanya mumbled to herself as she crossed her arms and started to pout slightly.

The door to the roof opened as everyone saw Rebecca. They followed her inside as she led them to the place Chuck had told her about.

*****

Chuck walked into his father's office as he saw another man arguing with his father.

"I still have a few hours" Travis said. "And I assure you that the proof you seek will show up at any second." He turned his attention to Chuck, "Assuming that you did tell Jeffrey's mother exactly where to find her son."

Chuck stared at his father shocked. "I- I don't-"

"Don't worry, this was expected, I knew you'd want to protect your friend unaware of what he actually is. This whole thing is a trap for them."

Chuck stormed out of the room as Travis smiled to himself.

"All according to plan" he said to the man he was arguing with.

***

Chuck ran into the observation room to find everyone else already there.

"My dad played us" He told them panicked. "He planned for this!"

"So we are trapped in his building and we can't even enter the room Jeffery is in for another minute because of his anti-magic fortifications" Peter said with a scowl.

"He can" Tanya said looking at Chuck. "He's a maglis, that room won't hurt him and he can pull Jeffrey out of there."

"That's Welk's son" Peter interjected!

"And I am the elven princess" Tanya said looking Peter in the eyes, "Jeffrey said it himself- I am not my family!"

"Fine" Peter said in defeat.

Chuck walked into the medical exam room and freed Jeffrey from the containment tube he was in. Jeffrey fell to the floor weak as Chuck reached out and grabbed him by the arms.

The second Chuck made contact he felt weak, he could feel himself starting to struggle as he fell to the ground. It was like the life was being drained out of him. He fought his fatigue as much as possible while he pulled Jeffrey out of the room while crawling. He blacked out as soon as he made it out of the room.

Tanya quickly rushed to the two of them and pulled the two of them apart as Jeffrey woke up with a start to see Chuck on the ground- his body looked lifeless as the color of his skin started to become pale. Tanya quickly raised her hands to Chuck's chest as she started to pour her energy into him.

"Did I do that" Jeffrey asked, realizing that he had drained the life from his best friend.

"You need to get out of here now" Tanya said, "You and the others get going before we have no exit."

"What about you" Harvey asked.

"I'm almost done" she said. "His cells almost have enough energy to sustain themselves."

Jeffrey and the others ran into the hallway to see Travis Welk and some armed security officers.

"You're going to have to fight your way out" Travis said with a sly smile.

Tanya caught up with the others to see the current standoff. She raised her fists as they started to glow red. Harvey conjured up a few knives while Peter pulled out his scythe.

Travis held a hand to his ear for a second before looking back at the unfolding scene. "I'm sorry there's been a mistake" he said in an attempt to sound sincere. "I didn't realize you were just here to pick up Jeffrey. It's the strangest thing- Lucifer of all people brought him here saying that I should kill him. Naturally I did not want to start an incident with the magful so I was going to send him home once I made sure Lucifer didn't do anything to permanently harm Jeffrey. I'll deactivate the force fields I have to prevent you from teleporting out of the building. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding..."

They knew he was lying but they couldn't prove it so the group teleported away without another word.

****

When they made their way back to Peter's office they were at a loss for words.

"What's his game" Harvey asked. "One second he's ready to kill us and the next he lets us walk away?"

"We had fallen for his trap" Rebecca said bitterly. "I should have realized this was never about Jeffrey or Peter."

"What do you mean" Jeffrey asked. "I want some answers! What was this all about? And are you really my father?!"

Peter looked like he was dealt a massive blow. "You deserve better than me as a father."

"Well I have you" Jeffrey said. "Does this have to do with the Pecona Jewel? Is that why you said nothing? You were afraid of how I would react?"

"Should have figured this would have happened" Peter said. "The truth is I'm a monster... I did horrible things."

"When did you start making it, why did you make it, when did you regret this decision" Jeffrey asked in rapid fire succession.

"Jeffrey I think you need to take a breath" Rebecca said, concerned that he had just returned from being abducted.

"I think he does" Jeffrey said. "He doesn't seem like someone who has done something like that- my gut is telling me that he's wrong."

"I remember making the damned thing" Peter said, trying to prove his son wrong.

"But what about the desire to make such a thing? Clearly it would have been a goal you strived for but you don't look like someone who achieved a life goal that they regret" Jeffrey said, getting heated in his defense.

"He's empathic" Tanya whispered to herself in awe.

Peter looked at what Tanya said then looked back at Jeffrey, "What are you saying, Jeffrey?"

"If this thing can reshape reality then maybe that reality was rewritten to make someone else take blame for the creation. If that is such a case then why not someone who would be a threat?"

"That makes sense" Rebecca said, "As the reaper you would have posed a massive threat to anyone who would have wanted to create such a thing."

"Someone who is willing to use others to get their way" Jeffrey said. "Travis spoke about the magful in a similar fashion to how the nazis tried to justify their atrocities, he also mentioned how the war was orchestrated to create the thing. If someone did such a thing then they would probably seek out someone who fit the same criteria...."

"Lucifer" Peter breathed realizing what Jeffrey was saying.

"He's trying to mess with us- it's why he handed me over to Travis instead of killing me himself" Jeffrey said with a sly look on his face. "His plan has backfired and now we know what our enemy is up to."

Peter looked upon his son and felt nothing but pride, even Rebecca was impressed with Jeffrey.

Jeffrey was still new to the world of magic but he was learning fast and would soon be far stronger and wiser than Peter Conna could ever be.