At the same time, back in the abandoned warehouse
The werewolf glared at the sneering buffoon coated in flames. Still, he tried to contain it, and kept his curses to himself. He also couldn’t help but ask. He’d been pounded mercilessly to the ground, he remembered that much. Yeah, the last thing he remembered was the iron fist crashing in his face. So why?
"Why did you break us out?" He asked that, and felt relief from that alone. Like he didn’t even care what’d happen any more, he felt his body calming down. He needed a fix, after all this bullshit was done with.
The last thing he expected was that amiable grin and a good slap on the back. His eyes widened and he looked like he had just been sucker punched, but he was too surprized to even react. Just what was this fire man going on about? It was almost… exciting. Damn it, he was getting roped up in something awful wasn’t he.
"Huh? What kind of question is that? From now on, there's a new change in management! The change being... me. You get to do all the stuff you’ve been doing, and I get to wear the head honcho hat. Well, I don’t mind if you wear it, or whoever wears it for that matter. I just need capable lads, and you boys are just the fit." He felt a finger poke his chest at the last part and groaned angrily. Despite that, he paid attention to what he was hearing. He could do this much.
"And what’s in it for you? Protection, a new hideout, and as many chicks and food as you'd like. That, and I did spare you a trip to jail… or worse. What I hear them cops do? Hoo boy, sends chills down the spine, doesn’t it? If you ask me, you’ve just gotten the golden ticket to the chocolate factory AND a million dollars.”
Strange. So strange. He almost couldn’t believe it. His whole gang got nearly wiped, he was about to be sent seven feet under. And now turns out all his boys were tended to and fine, and now he was being told to start all over? It was crazy, the sort of shit he wouldn’t even think he’d be dreaming.
Did he get hit on the head so hard he became delusional, or was this some sick idea of an afterlife? He let out an inaudible ‘fuck’ and felt his stomach retch, but before he could do that he felt a gentle pat and soon his breathing calmed.
“Hey, don’t go too far. I’m telling you to relax, I need you in one piece. Look. All of this is not free, but really for just doing what you've been doing so far, it sounds like a pretty good deal to me. But hey, what do I know? Look, just take this as an opportunity, a chance to make things right. Nothing would make me happier than having you in my crew."
He blinked at the warm hand offered to him, incredulous. “A new chance huh? This shit is too good to be true…” But it wasn’t like he had anything else to believe in. If he could keep doing what he was doing, he had no reason to care. So he took the hand, damn it all, and accepted the deal.
He regretted it, because on that moment he realized how warm the hand felt, and that he couldn’t be dreaming something like this after all. All of this was terribly real, this wasn’t the kind of dream he could wake up from and undo.
“I just wanna tell you, you’ve made the right choice. Break a leg pal, we’ll keep in touch.” And with that, the dozen of elementals and the strange man began to lose shape and disintegrate into ephemeral flames, until there was nothing but a man, his boys, and a new day to look forward to. If he couldn’t feel his hand, he’d be thinking all of this was some wild fantasy. So he smiled and grabbed his head, chuckling to himself.
Goddamn it.
