Shirtaloon
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Chapter 956: Emergent Situation
🕑 Added 2024-10-18 22:00:06 +0000 UTCJason couldn’t stop grinning. Walking along the promenade deck, his fingers were intertwined with Zara’s as she walked beside him.
“We should probably make our way to the gathering,” she pointed out.
“Well, we are taking the scenic route. There’s a place called Iceland that’s very scenic.”
She looked out at the Australian desert.
“Iceland,” she echoed.
“Yep.”
“I’m going to guess that’s some distance away.”
“Not if you really think about it. Rimaros is a lot further away.”
“Why don’t you want to introduce me to your family?”
“It’s going to be rough.”
“I can handle it.”
“Not on you! They’re going to adore you. I meant rough on me!”
Zara burst into laughter.
“Isn’t that what family’s for? Even with all the politics, my closest relatives are still family. We don’t show it to the world, but we’re not that different from anyone else. Even while I was publicly ostracised, I would still make discreet visits. My father complains that it’s not enough, my brothers tease me about grubbing about as an adventurer, as if they weren’t doing the same.”
“I have a hard time imagine a family like yours being normal, even behind closed doors.”
“Is your family like any other, when you’re all together?”
“More or less.”
“And are you about to take a princess from another universe to meet them on your flying cloud ship?”
“Okay, I see your point.”
***
The Asano Clan friends and family gathering was in full swing by the time Jason and Zara arrived. Clive had taken Jason’s portal to the clan territory, from where he used his own portal to bring yet more people in. More of the ship’s passengers had joined the festivities, such as Carlos Quilido. He was discussing soul therapy with Gladys Erstweller, who had treated the Alzheimer’s of Jason’s Nanna. Amy’s daughters were chatting animatedly with Rick’s wife Hannah and her twin, Jason’s nieces gushing over the elven twins.
A few people noted the quiet entrance of Jason and Zara. Farrah’s eyes moved to Jason’s hand still holding that of the princess. Farrah smirked and went back to her conversation with Rufus. Emi spotted Jason and her eyes went wide as saucers. She rushed over, frantically grabbing her mother on the way. Jason took a long, bracing breath as they shuffle-ran across the lounge, Zara glancing his way with a chuckle. His sister and niece arrived in front of them, Emi practically bouncing up and down.
“This is your princess, Jason?” Erika asked.
“She’s a princess,” he said. “I wouldn’t be so bold as to call her mine. Zara, this is my sister, Erika Asano, and my niece, Emi Evans-Asano. Family, may I present Her Royal Highness, Zara Rimaros of the Storm Kingdom. She probably has about eight middle names, but I couldn’t be bothered learning any of—”
He yelped at a sharp poke in the ribs from Zara. She otherwise ignored him, flashing a bright smile at Erika and Emi.
“It’s so lovely to meet you both. I do hope you’ll allow me to forgo formality and just be Zara today.”
“Of course. You’re coming with us while Jason is going to go off and play with his little friends.”
“I am?”
“You are,” Erika said firmly. She plucked Zara’s hand from Jason’s and led her away. Emi leaned close to her uncle.
“This isn’t going to be great for you, Uncle Jason,” she whispered.
“I see your young man isn’t here.”
“He’s scared of you. He knows you’ve been waiting to talk to him in person.”
“Right now might be a good time.”
“Don’t you dare. We’re going to have fun with your stupidly gorgeous princess while you let it happen and do nothing. Understand?”
He let out a weary sigh.
“Understood.”
***
After leaving Zara to the tender mercies of Emi and Erika for an hour, Jason checked to see if she was in need of rescuing. Joined them in the conversation were his father and brother-in-law.
“How we first met?” Jason said, in response to a question from Ken. “That was twenty years ago. She was a fancy princess from a foreign land, and I was but a humble adventurer.”
“A humble adventurer?” Zara asked.
“Yep. I distinctly remember your attendants trying to run off the grotty commoner.”
“I distinctly remember them failing. What exactly were you on the way to do that day?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I was on my way to meet some folks.”
“Oh, some folks. Just regular folks?”
“More or less.”
Zara raised her eyebrows, skewering him with her look of accusation. Jason looked around the group, making a downplaying gesture to the table.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” he explained. “I’d come across some people and helped them out of a jam, that’s all. Their bosses just wanted to thank me.”
“By which he means that he liberated a small army of priests who had been trapped in limbo for centuries and a collection of gods wanted to express their public gratitude.”
“She makes it sound like a bigger deal than it was.”
“They formed a cult!” Zara exclaimed.
“People did that here, too,” Erika grumbled. “I dread to think about what’s going to happen now he’s back.”
“I remember that thing with the gods,” Emi said, jostling Jason’s arm. “You talked about it in your recordings.”
“Recordings?” Zara asked.
Emi explained the recordings Jason had made of his initial visit to Pallimustus.
“Oh, I would love to see those,” Zara said. “Anyway, our ‘humble adventurer’ had just beaten out some of the most promising young adventurers in the world — myself included — in a contest run by Emir over there. In the course of which, he’d rescued some priests from centuries of imprisonment. Their gods wanted to thank him in person.”
“On the way,” Jason picked up the story, “I was harassed by some prick who didn’t like that I’d won. Because I actually was a humble adventurer, regardless of what any Hurricane Princesses in the area might have to say…”
Jason and Zara continued to tell stories of the other world, editorialising each other as they went. Eventually, Zara went off to chat with the team, having been sequestered away with the Storm Kingdom delegation for days. That left Jason with his family, to deliver their verdict.
“Ohmygod she’s amazing,” Emi said. “And so gorgeous! I know what magic does to people’s looks, but she’s something else.”
“She seems lovely,” Erika said, “and somehow taken with you. She could do a lot better.”
“Eri, be nice,” Ken scolded. “Jason’s never brought a girl home before.”
They all glanced in the direction of Amy, who was talking with some people from the clan.
“Fair point,” Erika said. “But really, Jason, she’s great. And she’s really a princess?”
“Oh, yeah. Of one of the most powerful nations in the world. Stunning place, all flying ships and magic hurricanes. They have giant windmills that absorb the storms and use them to power these islands that float in the sky.”
“That sounds amazing,” Emi said.
“I’d love to show it to you,” Jason said. “It’s not like it was before, and neither am I. I spent a lot of time there, recovering from my last visit to Earth. I had this house on a cliff, overlooking a lagoon. That was my cloud house. Farrah built a permanent home for her parents on the land after I left. It’s an amazing spot.”
Shade emerged from Jason’s shadow.
“Mr Asano, loathe as I am to interrupt your family time, there is an emergent situation in need of your attention.”
***
Operations Officer Natalya Winscott of the CIA rubbed her temples, which did nothing to alleviate her stress headache. She was in the Melbourne operations centre for the multi-national task force hunting for vampire-held weapons of mass destruction, standing still as the people around her bustled about. The exception was the ASIS officer standing in front of her, Michael Aram.
“I thought,” Natalya said, “that the Australian security services understood that no move was to be made. This was meant to be coordinated, across agencies and across the planet.”
“This isn’t us. It appears that the Prime Minister has secured private contractors, through some kind of back channel.”
“Mercenaries? Are you serious?”
“We’re just learning about this ourselves. He clearly wants to bypass his own security services and this task force, although we don’t know why.”
“I believe that I have an explanation,” Shade said. The people in the room stirred as a patch of shadows turned into a person made of darkness. Distracted only for a moment, they went back to their tasks.
“What do you have, Shade?” Natalya asked.
“I’ve just sent one of my bodies to observe the Prime Minister. From what I’ve gathered, he is worried about his public image with the arrival of Mr Asano, given their history. He wants to use the capture of a weapon of mass destruction on Australian soil to seize control of the media narrative.”
“Is he an idiot?” Natalya asked.
“It’s not so much an issue of stupidity as inclination,” Michael said. “I’ve been dealing with Truffett since before Jason Asano had ever heard of magic. He’s spent decades working sneaky backroom deals, using end results to justify the means before anyone knows what’s going on. Given that it got him the Prime Ministership, it makes sense that he’d keep trying the same pattern.”
“This isn’t some political game, Aram. We’re talking about a nuclear weapon in a city of five million.”
“I am aware of the stakes, Officer Winscott,” Michael said coldly.
Natalya let out an exasperated breath.
“I know. I’m sorry, Mike. I just have a hard time when someone is this aggressively stupid. You realise he can’t stay Prime Minister after this, right?”
“Natalya, we’re not letting the US remove another Prime Minister.”
“That’s a conspiracy theory, Aram. We never did that.”
“You’re talking about doing it right now!”
“He’s circumventing his allies and his own security service to threaten a major metropolis with nuclear annihilation!”
“Perhaps,” Shade interjected, “we can put that question aside until the current one has been fully addressed.”
Natalya cleared her throat and smoothed her suit with her hands.
“Quite right,” she said. “We need to deal with the situation in front of us. What do you have, Aram?”
Michael scowled, “From the information we have, these mercenaries are a former Network strike force out of Russia. A lot of them went mercenary after the Cabal became the dominant force in that part of the world. They should be able to handle the vampires, at least. Assuming the vamps don’t have any surprises.”
***
The Melbourne Bunker Project was a series of shelters designed to house the population in the event of a monster wave hitting the city. After the monster wave crisis passed, the project was defunded, leaving a series of half-completed underground complexes around the city. Most had ended up as drug hotspots or gathering spots for the homeless.
Some were more complete than others, able to be secured against intrusion. This normally wasn’t enough to keep people from an abandoned building, but these were bunkers designed to keep out monster hordes. That was enough to keep it clear of heroin addicts and the homeless seeking shelter, but not a Russian magical wetwork team. In the lowest sub-basement, a man named Ilyin looked at a wooden stake, half buried in the floor. Around it was a mess of blood, thick like craft glue, and the clothes of the now dead vampire.
“Where did you get that?” he asked, still staring at the wood that had gone through the vampire to bite into the solid concrete. It wasn’t a carved piece of wood but a rough shard, scorched as if from a tree struck by lightning.
“In a proto space, back in the day,” Gusev said. “The gold-rank one near Yekaterinburg. We used enhanced missiles to take out the keystone monster, but there was a tree that was almost undamaged, despite being in the strike zone. This shard was one of the few parts that were blasted off. Against people, a magic gun is better. For vampires, this is good.”
Gusev reached down and yanked the stake from the floor. It had left a hole in the concrete without losing so much as a splinter. The blood, however, had soaked into the wood and vanished, leaving it clean. Gusev’s hand started to twitch, the gold-rank item too much for his silver-rank to handle. He slipped into back into the magic-suppressing sheath on his waist, requiring a few attempts as his hand had a mini-seizure. After it was put away, he rubbed his forearm with a groan.
“Can’t play around with that too long,” he said. “Lost use of my arm for two days, once.”
“I could use it for a while,” Orlova suggested and Gusev turned to look at her.
“No one uses it but me,” he said.
“This clears the south wing,” Ilyan said, then pressed the radio on his chest. “Team three, south wing clear.”
“Team two, north wing, in progress,” came the response. “Four blood bags down. Heading for the last sub-basement now.”
They waited for another report that didn’t come.
“Team one, this is team three lead. Check in.”
More silence.
“Yegor, check in.”
Nothing.
“Yegor, you better answer me or be dead. Team two, converge on the central hall and we’ll move on the east wing together.”
“Understood.”
***
The blood oak, despite the name, was not a tree. It did look at least somewhat like one, with a trunk-like body and long limbs jutting out, seemingly at random. It didn’t have feet, instead ambulating slowly using tentacles at its base that looked like a root system. Its skin was coarse and knobbly, like bark, but a bloody red colour.
Three of the creature’s limbs ended inside the bodies of people in tactical gear. Thin tendrils had spread through each body like veins and arteries, keeping them alive but helpless, dangling in the air. The radio worn by them crackled to life.
“Team two, south wing clear.”
An arm lifted, jerky like that of a puppet, to grab the radio.
“Team three, north wing, in progress,” its body said. “Four blood bags down. Heading for the last sub-basement now.”
The arm flopped back down. The laughter of the blood oak was deep and inhuman, even more resonant than normal in the concrete chamber.
Comments
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Diego Rossi
The religious war will start on the right sandwich recipe to use during the Holy Banquet.
Addie
Nah Fred I blocked you because you were repeatedly transphobic to me on another post (he can't see this 😂)
Frederick
Lol I think Addie (the OP) blocked me for this 🤣🤣🤣
Frederick
Remember the non-magical gold? Not all of a material in magic rich areas becomes magical. Probably not enough air is imbued with high-ranking magic to cause problems. Gasses also might not be dense enough to transmit magic at high enough rates to cause harm, even if concentrated in an area. That was an interesting idea, though.
Addie
So the air isn't magic. Got it. Air is somehow exempt from the entire system.
GentlemanG33k
@bryan definitely not I could maybe see a year at most. Jason fixed the throne creating the system, made his prime avatar, met up with his team, traveled to Greenstone, blew up delt with Boko (that took maybe 2 months at most), went to Vites delt with the nobles ( maybe another month said he was quiet for a little while), went back to Rimeros and finished the Bridge. I don't see where you get years
Bryan Jackson
The system came online years ago, not months
Frederick
Lol It's ingesting the higher ranked magical materials or coming into direct contact with such objects that is harmful to low rankers. Also, it's magically charged sunlight that's harmful to vamps, not the ambient magic. It's been said that high ambient magic, which would include that in the sun and air, is a positive for most people.
Addie
WHAT ABOUT GOLD RANK AIR
Addie
So how do gold rank cities have mundane people if magic is basically as toxic to mundanes as it is to vampires? This is a plot hole that needs excavating.
GentlemanG33k
The reason I was asking is in the first chapter of book 12 Anna is getting a report from him as her assistant when she was working for the UN in New York. So he had to get his job with ASUS after that.
Chris Furry
They slept together on a plane that his sister, niece, and GRANDMOTHER were all on. She met the family.
Shope
This is the way.
J Holmes
I've tried watching old Who and just couldn't, at all. I think a big part of it is who played the doctor the first time you watched it. Eccleston is my favorite Doctor, hands down. Yeah, Matt Smith and David Tenant are great actors (regardless of how you feel about new who), but you can't beat your first experience. I didn't love the Capaldi and Whittaker seasons I watched, but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Ncuti Gatwa's doctor. There's some quality in the reboots. That said, @Stuart, before you totally trash all new Who, have you watched Blink? I don't always love everything Moffat was involved in, but Angels are a really interesting monster. I keep meaning to go back and force myself to watch something with Douglas Adams from the old days, but the video quality and pacing just never work for me. Honestly, even the Eccleston season is a bit rough on video quality.
mockery jones
I think the time has come for the final battle of the Gordon's. There can be only one
ValkyriaObscura
The glance to Amy was as the reason why he never brought a girl home. He was estranged from his family because of her and Kaito remember.
ValkyriaObscura
He's been dealing with Truffett since then. He was a member of Anna's Network team when Jason came back the first time and Other Gordon was the government's magic liaison. Presumably he was in that position before the 'gas leak' too based on what he said.
StarkRG
Other Gordon's gotta be shitting himself about now.
StarkRG
Jason ate a Gold-ranked spirit coin as a normal-ranker, gold-ranked food should be similar, maybe even a little bit easier on the body.
GentlemanG33k
How long has Aram been working for ASUS? When the system came online he was Anna's assistant. That was at least 3 months ago probably closer to 6 depending on how long the astral voyage was maybe longer, but Anna only started working for Jason more recently.
GentlemanG33k
All this talk about sandwiches and such that would be if these cults were about the Jason his friends and family know but they are not they are based off the rumors about a dimension traveling demigod who can tell gods and great astal beings what to do
Daniel Wills
Jasonism would unintentionally by fantastic. A religion about creating great sandwiches? What bread, and how is it farmed / baked? Meat? What animals, and how are they raised? Cheese, vegetables, sauces. Entire cultures revolutionized over sustainable farming practices to produce the greatest sandwich.
Mist Sparrow
Jason in the background with a poor French accent " we've already got one"
Daniel Wills
Didn’t think of that. Arbor just pops out of a portal, looks at the oak, obliterates it. I’m down.
Daniel Wills
I think they explode?
Addie
If touching a gold track weapon can disable a silver, what happens to mundane people in gold rank areas who eat the food there?
Shirtaloon
Jason's family already knew Asya from when Jason was in school. They didn't know her well, but she was a known factor. This is Jason's first time bringing a women in from the wild.
a battle
tyftc found a small mistake in the chapter. “He slipped into back into the magic-suppressing sheath on his waist, “ i think it should be written as.; “He slipped it back into the magic-suppressing sheath on his waist, “ just wanting to help
Russell Ventimeglia
I’m hoping this chapter is an indication of reconciliation between Jason and Amy. It would help Jason to have contact with someone pre-magic. I think between his nieces and the craziness when they find out the American gold ranker is “alive” should move things along
Russell Ventimeglia
More likely to end up with a stutter
Russell Ventimeglia
Don’t forget the tree/root monster in the astral space. Jason’s biggest kill
Mist Sparrow
Another twisted tree ? Intriguing
Soli116
@Stark and Laura Jason's weird tree limb shadow fighting came about after Arbour joined Jason. Not sure if that counts as magic powers or just magic enhancement.
Alex Schellenberg
I think they only have their own ideas because Jason has very intentionally gone zero contact with his cult.
Jennifer Leigh
Laura: I don't know which you're dealing with. Pin oaks are my bane! People went crazy 30-50 years ago and planted them all over town. Now they're full sized and dropping twigs and branches all the time and leaves in the middle of winter!
Joanna
I felt like the glance at Amy was more just general awkwardness than specific reference. After all, Jason didn’t “bring Amy home” to meet them because they’d known her her whole life. Similarly, Asya had met the whole family repeatedly in her Network role before they finally got together, so there was no bringing home. Thus his comment that it had never happened
Joanna
Thanks for the info. I had no idea of this, but can’t say I’m surprised. Our country has a long, ugly history of meddling in…well everyone’s business. I’m glad he was *only* removed from office and not worse
MacMahon Wenzl
Colin is about to become a vegetarian
GentlemanG33k
I don't think they will listen to him they seem to have their own opinions
Scott McCarthy
Yup, trees (non-dried trees with plenty of "moisture") call for lightning, likely gold rank lightning. So this is Zara's time to shine. ;)
Greg Danes
Ken looked at Amy when he made the comment with the implication that he "brought" Amy home but they weren't considering her. Jason was with Asya romantically for months. I refuse to believe that in all that time he never brought her over to his house boat to introduce to his family. Also, the comment is "Jason's never brought a girl home before." It has nothing to do with them knowing her or not.
Scott McCarthy
Also, they already knew her. This is the first time Hason brought home a girl they did not know and he was "banging"
AfroMocha
Hahahahahha
Rachel Clements
TYFTC!
Der Ritter
I also think thats the propper direction jason should push his cult in. "Go spread food and find new recipies"
DirePants
I did! 😂😂😂 never been so glad to be wrong in my life! Well top 5. Had a couple of pregnancy scares 😮💨
Andromeda Adams
Tyftc! So happy Zara meet the family! Stupid other Gordon. I think Gordon should take care of him! So excited for Monday!
Andromeda Adams
Also they had just started dating before she died. She loved Jason, but Jason wasn’t there yet. So I doubt he brought her home and properly introduced her as his girlfriend.
Andromeda Adams
While they were dating. I don’t believe he ever brought her home and properly introduced her before she died. As they had really just started dating.
KollegvomMirgan
Tftc
Alex Schellenberg
Monster waves take longer to come than one election cycle. A sensible effort to build it followed by it not being used immediately and a government change...
Alex Schellenberg
Asya wasn't introduced to the family because of the impending monster waves. Ken was very apart of any of their activities. I guess he saw her when she embodied Shade for a day.
Alex Schellenberg
On the dance floor of the family reunion! We haven't see Colin do any fun dancing since he got a proper body
Alex Schellenberg
Meeting the parents is one thing, meeting the family God-patriarch who has a reputation for either, playing silly buggers or melting the flesh of people while they are alive, would be a little intimidating.
Alex Schellenberg
I love how the australian influence comes through. Blood wood trees are very bizarre.
Alex Schellenberg
I don't think they will war. If anything, they will share sandwich ingredients.
ABTelford
Thank you, wise veteran. This new one shall heed thy sage advice. 😉
Malcolm Gray
He might end up in a ditch 😂😂
GentlemanG33k
So there is no way for Jason to get rid of his cults and when the bridge is finished they shall meet and the holy war shall begin on who has the rite view of Jasonisum
Jack Trowell
For those that think that the USA removing an Australian prime minister was just an in story joke, it's not, it's something that they already did in real life and for worse reasons https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/23/gough-whitlam-1975-coup-ended-australian-independence
StarkRG
Isn't Arbor another of Jason's Voices of the Will? I'm pretty sure he's got powers, we just haven't seen them yet.
StarkRG
@Suart Thwaites Don't yuck other people's yum. You're allowed to not like something, but if someone is enthusiastic about it and you can't play along, just shut up and say nothing.
StarkRG
Yeah, she's quite a bit older now than Jason was at the beginning (and Nik is older now than she was when Jason was last on Earth), I think she's Silver rank now too.
Philipp Battenberg
That would be quite some swordfight between Gordon (who cannot wield swords?) and Other Gordon (who is just very bad at it)
Philipp Battenberg
Nah, Prison Planet with the pirates and messengers. We don't want to punish the vampires (and be it with indigestion).
Philipp Battenberg
Arbour should be able to fight, his Avatar was created to fight Jason. However Jason won't ask him to fight unless really necessary. And I think the imperative word in blood oak is "blood". Collin can deal with it and is quite hungry.
Martin Tomsic
@Joanna - If it was from the guy's stake I would think it would be attacking him first, not in a completely different part of the complex killing another team. The description makes me think it's similar to either Colin or Lord Willoughby's blood clone that he made while fighting Farrah and Dawn.
Martin Tomsic
We still have 6 weeks left until Shirt takes his break in December. That's 18 chapters, not 5. Did you accidentally think he was taking his break in November? I hope this makes you feel better about the month to come.
Martin Tomsic
I intend to just binge the series through the whole month to make up for the break. I know that I won't be able to hold off on reading the new chapters as they come out. I'll just be hearing them whisper to me, taunting me.
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter. Was hoping for a bit more family/friends interaction, but overall, it was an enjoyable chapter
ByLAWphoto
SHIRTERS--this might be the time to start conserving chapters. our wise leader is taking December off. there are 11 weeks left of the year and a projected 18 chapters to get us there. if you budget 1 chapter every 5 days, there should be enough content to get you to 2025. we're all in this together.
ByLAWphoto
@Stuart Thwaites--that just makes me sad. if you haven't watched them, how do you know they're not awesome ('cause they are.)
Kalanaere
He'd screw that up too
Kalanaere
Yeah Emi boyfriends are never going to feel safe lol.
DirePants
I have a similar tree in one of my novels except it flies lol Loving this arc so far. This chapter in particular was very good. The Asanos behaving like any annoying yet loving family would act. Shade showing when and where he pleases and given the respect he deserves. The mercenary scene feeling like it came straight out of a Blade film from an unreleased Marvel Multiverse “What If…?” Well two days off and 5 chapters left until December. Ugh I really wish you Shirt would take December off instead. I need something to keep calm during the election in a 18 days 😩… See you folks Monday! ✌🏾
Kalanaere
OG is gonna need to disappear
Kalanaere
Poor Jason. He's already lost the fight against Erika and Emi. Hell Emi's not a boyfriend is to scared of Jason to even come to a party. Honestly that's probably good for him. And on the other side of the country, Other Gordon is F*cking shit up again
Martin Tomsic
Jason literally brought her and her entire family to Asano village because of the feelings between them, even if they hadn't started dating due to the power dynamics. He didn't bring her because she was a member of the Network, otherwise he'd have brought other members as well. He definitely brought Asya home to meet the family, the WHOLE family.
Martin Tomsic
I thought the same thing immediately!
Isaac Scharff
Innuendo like this is kind of Shirt's thing. I'm sure he intended it
Isaac Scharff
This is a great point that I didn't even think of
Micah
Colin is about to have a fun time.
Stuart Thwaites
Eww no! The only Dr Who that should ever be mentioned is one of the OLD Drs. Not a fan of any of them but even I know that anything after 2000 should never have been.
Snugglebadger
That last part reminded me of Fiddlesticks a bit, lol.
Liesmith
Other Gordon *really* wants Jason to lose his temper.
Thomas Hellsten
Sounded to me like its the stake the russian guy was using that he got from a proto-space. Probably splintered of some parts to spread itself further
FlareNight
I thought the family interaction was weird and couldn't put my finger on why. Then it hit me and it has to be weird for Jason too... Emi isn't twelve anymore. She's a full-on adult.
Zack
I was thinking the splinter became the tree. After absorbing enough vamp blood it had enough magic to reconstitute itself.
Laura Hemly
I don't ser Arbour helping deal with the evil tree. Arbour doesn't have any magic skills that I'm aware of and hasn't ever had any kind of fight that I'm aware of. Just because he's a good tree isn't any indi,at least for me.
Jordan Brennan
Tyftc!
Adam Davies
Shade is the best.
Zack
Their bones make beautiful floors though 🌳
Anthony Sebastian
I think Asya is a different case, if technically -- Jason never "brought her home", she was already acquainted with the family, if not back in high school than as a Network employee as the family was brought in on magic.
Greg Danes
Snubbing Asya is laughable. Like, how do you do that???
Chris Furry
I totally agree, Asya should definitely not have been left out like that. Dawn doesn’t count because she and Jason were never together until they went back to Pali.
Gavin Wayne Pitcher
gives me MIB book series flashbacks. they had to deal with a mall full of man eating trees.
Daniel is ŁØNE
Eh arguable, Dawn likely outclasses most women by a significant margin, Astral fucking princess enough said. And when he did bring a woman home it was a fucking princess, the guy despite what everyone says is high key kinda baller.
Martin Tomsic
The cold shoulder for Amy is funny, but I'm kinda upset about forgetting Asya.
Laura Hemly
Other Gordon is the prime minister, don't forget. He sent in the mercenary team to get eaten by the blood oak instead of doing it through the international task force that he had agreed Australia would participate in, not to mention going around his own security ppeople to hire the mercenaries.
ByLAWphoto
Anybody else feel a Dr. Who angels parallel?
Laura Hemly
If the number of branches that break off oaks around here any time there's a breeze over 10 mph (~16 kph) are any indication, yes. They're definitely evil!
Martin Tomsic
As funny as it sometimes is to have the threatening, overprotective father/uncle in stories, I this series is too good for that trope. I hope that Jason makes Emi panic and then acts like he's just a nice, caring, and easy-going uncle. That said, it kind of feels like following the trope is something Jason would do, as a joke. He'd likely introduce Colin, Gordon, and Shade, something like, "This is Gordon, he loves family movies and musicals. This is Shade, he likes all things butler related and can be in a room with you and you'd never know it. This is Colin, he loves devouring flesh and blood."
Hayden Leech
“Eri, be nice,” Ken scolded. “Jason’s never brought a girl home before.” Stone cold Ken. I love it!
Brad Gammey
Blood oak? Tree-beings? Vampire killing? I feel like Arbor is about to get a workout!
Chloe
Tyftc
TechB
While reading about OG, all I could picture is the meme of Batman slapping Robin.
Dax
Typo mention of Team Two instead of Team Three in the Blood Oak section.
Stephen
I vote yes
Martin Tomsic
Yeah, I'm not sure if it should be, "Joining them in the conversation...", meaning they came in with Jason. Or if it should be, "Having joined them in the conversation...", meaning they were already there when Jason was coming to check up on Zara. Either way could work, though I like the thought that they would have gone to meet Zara on their own, rather than having to be brought over by Jason.
Naotsugu97
Oak trees are evil, as are the squirrels that inhabit them. I don’t care what anyone says.
Joanna
That's a slapping Friday chapter!
Joanna
I kinda hope he's very pleasant and gentle with new-Vincent. I've never cared for the dad/uncle/etc "be nice to my girl or you die" trope
Martin Tomsic
I think it's more likely that the guy tries using it on the blood oak and is shocked when it does absolutely nothing, or is even destroyed by hitting the skin/bark of the thing.
Joanna
I'm torn on whether this is something that the vamps just had there already, helping out, or if it was produced by the Russian guy's gold rank stake? Either way, I'm sure it's going to be a chunk of trouble
Razeel Nightfall
Loved this comment.
Razeel Nightfall
Yep the ending sounds like something that would happen if the government decided to cancel an important task. (Build bunkers to cover monster waves). At least it added a third party that can be an example instead of the prim minister.
Martin Tomsic
It's a BLOOD oak. So I'm assuming that it is some kind of blood magic creation from a gold rank vampire. And I don't know which would be scarier, this tree made of blood or the trees in Jason's nightmare shadow forest move.
Martin Tomsic
BRILLIANT!!!!!! I don't think Arbour will appreciate a fake tree giving real trees a bad name.
Justin Butler
Oh yeah it's definitely someone with dark blood death and undeath
Martin Tomsic
Need to talk to Seymour for some seeds. Though now that I think about it, that wasn't a tree was it? Well, I'm sure there are ways to make genetic mutations with all of the essence powers that people have now.
Michael Alpert-Appell
At least this one doesn't have baby messengers growing on it
Martin Tomsic
Blame Wizard of Oz? I don't remember there being many more evil trees in the series though. I know trees have often looked sinister. And there is also Jason's new shadow forest move that we first saw when he dueled with Valdis. But I can't remember actual tree monsters. Edit: How in the world did I forget about the Messenger trees???
Justin Edwards
Japanese Yokai: Trees such as the Jubokko were believed to drain the blood of fallen warriors and transform into vampiric entities, signifying the boundary between life and death.
jeffrey niski
Other Gordon sucks so hard
Martin Tomsic
Was the blood oak a monster created by the magic now on Earth? Or was that a creation left by a gold rank vampire as a defense mechanism for their WMDs stored there?
Emiya
Bloody Biscuits 😵💫
Martin Tomsic
Another amazing chapter!! Thank you so much!!
ABTelford
yea, but only after it wreaks havoc in the city. then - Jason and his team to the rescue!
ABTelford
I absolutely loved the Zara intro to the family bit. And the "prime minister is an idiot" bit was fun. the ending though...the ending! ❤️❤️❤️. I am SO excited for the next couple chapters!!
Kenneth Mølbæk
time for Other Gordon, to become gold rank and to grow a moustache....
Stephanie Washburn
Well that's messed up
Ty
Malevolent intelligence. I'm excited for more intelligent monsters.
ShowBizGAL 1996
How about Audrey II? ;-P She/it was blood hungry, right?
Malcolm Gray
Well this isn’t gonna end well
ShowBizGAL 1996
Remember, the Cabal is made up of every kind of monster the human race has ever trembled in the dark about. ;-P
Samuel Strode
But the new monster is a tree…
ShowBizGAL 1996
I can't help but think that the splinter (for lack of a better word) used to kill the vampire by the one dude COULD be used to kill the new monster.
ShowBizGAL 1996
Joined them should be joining them. :-D See? All fixed!
ItWasIDIO!!
Wtf man
Scott McCarthy
Man Other Gordon is an idiot, but this mercenary teams is likely just as bad and greedy to boot. But core trash, and Silver rank core trash at that, is not close to enough if they need to fear the chanc of a Gold rank vamp, or vamp ally, showing up.
Sin
Took me 10 seconds to remember about other Gordon.
Jason Hardman
I read -> “Can’t play around with that too long,” he said. “Lost use of my arm for two days, once.” “I could use it for a while,” Orlova suggested and Gusev turned to look at her. “No one uses it but me,” he said. -> and chuckled to myself wondering if they were talking about the stake or something else 😉
Hayden Leech
Hey Gladys! She is great!
Austin Richins
Took me a minute. It seems that when Jason checks to make sure Zara doesn't need to be rescued, he stops by and sticks around.
Kelly
They already had two girls when Jason showed up the first time.
Razeel Nightfall
Will we get my favorite catch phrase on Monday "Colin feed"?
Laura Hemly
That blood oak is decidedly creepy! That's going to be proof to the visiting adventurers that the magic of Earth is capable of producing some real horrors, for sure. Although I'd like to see Other Gordon fed to the blood oak before it's destroyed -- he definitely needs to meet some kind of grisly end, just on principle, and that's sufficiently grisly even for him!
Hayden Leech
There’s a startling amount of evil trees in this story lol.
3rdImpact
Thank you for the chapter Sir shirt! Loved the grilling between Jason and Zara :)
Adrian
2nd daughter is named Jace, but still a girl
ByLAWphoto
You didn't miss anything. In my head, it's the tree from every Halloween story ever.
Larry Rohdes
Awesome!
CritHappens
Good old fashioned monster hunt coming up.
Justin Butler
Hmm I want a blood hungry tree.
Richard Bonds
Ooooooo! Nastiness afoot!
Christian cody
I think I got stuck on the "Joined them" part and I did at first miss the after an hour part.
René Blaser
Oohhh. Ugly tree. Time to bring Arbour out maybe... 😉
ByLAWphoto
I need to see Blood Oak v. Colin sooooooooooo much!!!!!!
Chris Furry
No, go back and read it again. It clearly says he left her with Eri and Emi for an hour then he, Hiro, and Ken went to see if she needed rescuing. Then they discussed how they first met.
Flojoe
Who tf is this blood oak have i missed something?
JonO
Yeah it was a bit janky. But I think it just needs to be further edited. It should be fixed by the time the book is released. That being said I think it meant to be that he was joined by his dad and brother in law...
Aaron Schwartz
A blood oak huh… oh this is going to be fun. Jason is going to shred it up then drink it like a fucking smoothie
Forrest
Other gordon needs to disappear to Jason's moon with the vampires.
Samuel Strode
Things are getting scary now
Fervent Fiend
There can only be one Gordon! It is time, highlander style, to settle this dispute!
Sophie K
Ohhh I thought Jace was a boy oops
Christian cody
Did anyone else get confused with the transition from Emi pulling Zara away to the conversation her and Jason were having with his dad and brother in law? TYFC
Hemlock
Thanks shirt!
Robert Landers
Poor Jason can't catch a break
Adam
Nice
JonO
Nope two daughters Hana and Jace
JonO
I know Jason is trying to be more diplomatic, but I think other Gordon needs to be wholly annihilated.
CipherFTW
Biscuits
Bingus McCready
Another round of cuteness 🥹 and then, because it’s still HWFWM, some absolute nightmare fuel as a delicious palate cleanser. TFTC!
AfroMocha
Thanks for the chapter shirt
Unwillingmainer
Wow, Other Gordon really fucked it up this time. Going for political points with mercenaries and vampire nukes. And ruining Jason's family reunion. Dude's definitely going to meet first Gordon at this rate. If his own allies don't truss him up for sacrifice.
Sophie K
mhaj58
Awesome bantering!! I can’t wait to see Jason meet Emis boyfriend and return the favor.
Michael Smalley
BISCUITS!!
ByLAWphoto
Joy to biscuits!
Ryan Pepp
Biscuits
