The headmaster was pissed. He had been forced to fight with only staff and blade. Now that he had his mana back, he was going to town. Those remaining goblins who either couldn't withdraw, or were cut off were easily mopped up by the headmaster. He swung his staff around, arcing bolts of lightning that jumped from enemy to enemy, burning some, exploding others. Ryan may have been a whirling dervish of death, but the headmaster wasn't headmaster because of his good looks.

 

He moved over to where the last of the fighting was. There was something going on at the escape tunnel, but he'd have to deal with that later. Protecting the people was top priority and a number of commoners had gotten bottled up. The men had formed a wall and with weapons stolen from the goblins killed by Ryan's rampage, were making a good show of it.

 

One of the men went down with a severed arm.

 

The headmaster finally got into position where he could fire without hitting any bystanders and the last of the goblins became charcoal. The headmaster moved closer to assess the damage..

 

The man looked like a goner.

 

He called out for the saintess. Surely she was busy elsewhere, but this required far more medical attention than the meager healing potion that he kept on his person for emergencies. He called out again and the saintess came running over. She knelt down and touched the man.

 

Nothing happened.

 

"I'm sorry." The man's wife knelt down next to the saintess, "Please! Try Again!" The saintess looked pained, "I... can only heal the living. He's gone now."

 

The woman turned and stared at her husband's lifeless corpse and screamed.

 

Ryan and Kyle both looked up in the direction of the scream. Ryan reached into a pocket and pulled out a flask, "Back on the clock!" And started to chug. Kyle blinked, "Reed. You need to-" Ryan tossed the flask over his shoulder, "MANA POTION!" And started to run towards the scream. Kyle followed, "REED! You need to get medical attention!"

 

Ryan ran up the stairs to the nosebleed seats while saying, "La-La-La-la-la-LLLAAAA! I can't hear you! I'm too busy being Heroic!" Ryan bounced up with a grin, "Okay. What's wrong? lay it on me!"

 

His grin started to fade as he took in the scene. No one spoke. Ryan's eyes darted about as he stepped closer, "Why aren't you healing that guy?" He pointedly looked at the Saintess. She was standing up, "I can only heal the living. If you will excuse me I-"

 

Ryan looked back at the body, "How alive does he have to be?"

 

The saintess' mouth moved for a bit before she spoke, "What?"

 

Ryan moved over to the severed arm and started to engulf it in a sheath of water, "I said... How ALIVE does he have to be? A little, a lot? what?" Ryan yanked the body over to a flat surface and brought the arm to the corpse's stump.

 

The saintess just stuttered, "I... I don't know... to even..." The headmaster's face grew dark, "Ryan. This is not the time to be playing around and playing your stupid jokes! This man has DIED this woman is-"

 

Ryan snapped the limb back in place applying pressure with his water sheath. He practically growled at the saintess, "YOU. Stay right there and be ready to heal him." He stabbed a finger at the headmaster, "YOU. Do exactly WHAT I say WHEN I say it and DON'T hesitate." He turned back to pinch the man's nose and blow into his mouth.

 

Kyle finally caught up to Ryan and hung back to watch, not quite understanding what was going on. The saintess cocked his head to the side, "CPR... but... could that even work with him having lost that much blood?"

 

Ryan moved to chest compressions, "Haven't you ever seen The Princess Bride? We just need to get him from all dead to simply mostly dead." He looked up at the headmaster, "When I say now. I want to use a very short lightning bolt that will arc through his heart. Put one hand over his heart and the other on the left side under his armpit."

 

The headmaster's jaw dropped, "You want me to MUTILATE HIS CORPSE???" Ryan shook his head, "No! Just for a second. A mild shock. Imagine you are zapping a student who pissed you off. Enough to stun him, not enough to cause burns." Ryan pulled away, "NOW!" The headmaster sputtered. Ryan shouted, "DO IT!" The headmaster reached down and touched the body and did as ordered. The body shook a little.

 

Ryan checked the man's neck, "No pulse." He held the man's nose and forced into his lungs two more breaths. Kyle slowly walked closer, "Have you lost your-"

 

Saintess Pricilla held up a hand, "No. It could work... if he has enough blood left. I..." She looked at the wife who was kneeling there, just bewildered at what was going on. She touched the woman's shoulders, "If the gods owe you any favors, now would be a good time to pray" The woman nodded energetically and started to just that. Her son fell to his knees next to his mother as well. A few of the members of the crowd also took the hint and folded their hands as well, murmuring softly under their breath. Apparently the approval of the saintess was all it took to buy Ryan the credibility he needed to try whatever he was attempting to pull off.

 

Ryan switched to chest compressions, "Hey!. I know you! You're the guy who bought the first slushie! Fancy meeting you here!" Sweat started to bead on Ryan's forehead, "Nice family you got here. It'd be shame to leave them behind. You really need to wake up now!" He looked at the praying woman, "Call to him." She blinked as she moved her mouth, but no words came out. Ryan yelled, "YOU CALL TO HIM RIGHT NOW!"

 

She jumped at being yelled at, then with a shaky voice called out, "Edger?" Ryan shouted, "LOUDER!" She yelled, "EDGER! DON'T LEAVE US!" Ryan leaned over Edger, "YOU HEAR THAT? YOUR FAMILY NEEDS YOU! WHAT KINDA MAN ABANDONS HIS FAMILY! GET THE FUCK BACK UP RIGHT FUCKIN' NOW YOU COWARD! YOU NEED TO FIGHT!" He snapped his head at the headmaster, "Harder this time! NOW!"

 

The headmaster nodded and reached down to zap Edger. The whole body tensed up this time. Ryan put two fingers to the man's neck. Ryan put two more breaths in the man's lungs. His wife started cry. Her son hugged her and tried to console her. Ryan moved back to doing chest compressions.

 

Everyone was silent except for the sound of Ryan's soft grunts with every thrust.

 

Ryan started to mumble. Kyle slowly stepped closer and spoke softly, "Maybe... it's time to let-"

 

"Not this one."

 

Kyle froze, hand almost touching Ryan’s back.

 

"Not this one. Do you hear me death? DO YOU HEAR ME? I have fed you for so long. You have taken so MUCH. You are going to give me back this one. Do you hear ME? You OWE ME. I'm CASHING in my Marker!"

 

Ryan shouted skyward, "THIS ONE IS MINE!" He stabbed a finger at the headmaster, "AGAIN! HARDER!"

 

The headmaster touched Edger and his whole body tensed up. Edger's back arched. His fingers splayed wide. His wife screamed and bit her fist as she watched her husband’s corpse dance about beneath the headmaster’s touch.

 

Edger fell flat.

 

Ryan stared.

 

Edgar drew a shuddering breath.

 

Pricilla leaped for Edger's body. There was a blinding white light that dazzled everyone as she clearly was hitting Edger with everything she had.

 

Everyone staggered as they rubbed their eyes in an attempt to regain their vision. The world for those standing nearby was reduced to silvery fuzz. Fortunately, it was quickly turning into merely dancing spots. Someone called out, "Wha... Natty? Where are you?"

 

As Ryan rubbed his eyes he blinked to see Edger sitting up, looking confused. He was slowly recovering as well, "Where's my wife? Where's my-" He was cut off when his wife and son both jumped on him hugging him tightly as they burst into tears. Edger was looking around, "I..." then hugged them back.

 

Kyle reached over to tap the headmaster on the shoulder, "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" The headmaster just slowly shook his head, "I don't believe it." He looked at his fingertips, "I brought someone back to life with lightning." The corner of his lip twitched, "Heh." Then he grabbed Kyle in a hug and spun about, "I BROUGHT SOMEONE BACK TO LIFE WITH LIGHTNING!"

 

More than one onlooker bowed their head and gave a prayer to Mira. Someone in the back cried out, "It's another miracle from the saintess!" Ryan just slowly stood up, walked over to a bench seat, and fell back to lie on it, the whole time having just the goofiest smile. He interlocked his fingers and put his hands behind his head, looking like the cat who ate the canary.

 

Edger struggled to listen to his wife who was alternating between explaining what happened, sobbing for joy, and trying to thank the saintess and the headmaster. Edger gave her a hug and patted her shoulders, "Yes. I understand. However, I have to go." The wife's expression changed to one of utter bafflement. She sniffled, wiping away snot with her sleeve, "Bwuh?"

 

The headmaster looked concerned and leaned on his staff so he could get a little closer to Edger, "You... have to go? Go where?"

 

Edger looked up, "I have to find Lieutenant Ryan." Ryan's head shot up and he looked down between his feet at Edger, "Wut?"

 

Edger started to push his wife off him, "It's important. The gods gave me a message for him."

 

Ryan said up bolt straight on the bench, "WHAT???"

 

The headmaster looked at Ryan, then back to Edger, "Well... I... supposed we should help you find him, but first, you were dead for a few minutes there. I think-"

 

"I'm right here."

 

Everyone turned to look at Ryan. The headmaster, Pricilla, and Kyle all looked at Ryan like they were no longer surprised by anything. Edger looked over at Ryan, "Oh? I'm supposed to ask your last name."

 

Ryan sighed and stood up, walked over, then whispered in Edger's ear. Edger nodded, then whispered in Ryan's ear in return. Ryan stood up straight and looked down at Edger, "Seriously?" Edger nodded and shrugged, "They said it was important."

 

Ryan walked over to sit back down on the bench and drove the palms of his hands into his eyes as he hunched over, "I... I... I just... Fine. Fine fine fine FINE." He straightened up and threw his head back, "Ain't no rest for the wicked, as the song goes." He reached up to twist his neck a bit until he heard it crack, "Okay. But I'm taking a nap first."

 

The headmaster final spoke, "What in the name of all that is holy-? Who’s Lieutenant Ryan? What is going on?"

 

Ryan looked up and opened his mouth, then clenched his teeth and let out a long hiss, "It's private." He stood up and put his hands on the small of his back so he could lean back and arch it.

 

He froze.

 

He felt up his back for a bit, "Huh? What happened to my shirt?" He tried to look behind himself and pulled a section of the back of his shirt around to the front. It was bloody and had a hole in it, "That's... odd."

 

Kyle shook his head, "Now just-" Ryan held up a hand, "Hey. Sorry. With great power comes great blah blah blah, you know the drill. They say jump, I ask how high." Ryan turned to start slowly walking down the stairs, "But after this…"

 

"I think I need a vacation."