"Jack!"

...

...

"Jack!"

...

...

"Jack!"

...

...

"JACK!!!!" Someone screamed.

My eyes widened as I woke up from my sleep. My throat was burning as a pressure filled my chest. I gasped, feeling a liquid suddenly rush inside my mouth and filling it. I clamped my mouth back shut, but I couldn't keep it for long.

I was drowning. And running out of breath.

No!

No!

No!

I stared up with widened eyes, realizing I was sinking down. "Jack! Go up! Get to land!" Sally screamed in my mind.

No!

No!

My limbs felt heavy. I pulled them upwards, moving them through the water to swim upwards. My strokes became quicker and more frantic as it became harder to hold in my little breath.

No!

I broke the surface, quickly scampering onto land. I puked out seemingly gallons of water from my mouth, hacking and coughing in the process. I felt terrible.

I shivered, cold from the air tickling my soaked body. I looked around, seeing I was at the little lake that Krystal had shown me.

And I came to the horrifying realization that someone had just tried to drown me.

"Jack?! Are you okay?!" Sally worriedly asked.

I coughed out more water. "Yeah." I rasped out. "What...what happened?"

"I don't know. I can only see through your eyes, so I didn't see anything." Sally replied. "I only realized something was wrong when I felt you starting to die."

"Thank you." I gasped. "But...why didn't I wake up earlier? I...should have with the cold water...drowning me and you...screaming in my head."

"I'm guessing some sort of sleeping drug." Sally replied. "You understand that someone tried to kill you while you were vulnerable, right?"

Yeah...I do. But who? It wouldn't be one of the girls...it had to either be one of the Kitsunes here, or an intruder.

That's...worrying.

"I agree." Sally replied. "I would suggest finding the others immediately and letting them know someone is after you."

Right...then we can do that buddy system, and hopefully convince Krystal's Mom to at least let me sleep inside the house.

I got up to my feet with some struggle, my legs still shaking from the fact that I was so close to death. I glanced at the lake, backing up away from it.

I almost died...

Sure, I've been in danger before when I've fought others, but this is different. This is the first time I felt so helpless. When I'm fighting, I can at least fight back. But how do you fight back against water? You don't. You can't punch water and make it stop.

Wait, where's Boo?!

I quickly looked around, before seeing something yellow laying near a tree. I rushed over, scooping the slime into my hands. It was unconscious. I lightly shook it awake.

It looked at me, seemingly happy as it rubbed up against my chest. It seemed relieved that I was okay.

"You tried to fight the person, didn't you?" I smiled. "Thank you. But we're lucky he didn't kill you."

Boo slid up my arm, resting on my shoulder in content. I let out a light laugh at how it was acting. Honestly, I was just relieved that Boo was okay.

I'm not sure whether slimes drown in water or if they can absorb it. I need to find a book about slimes in the library when I get back to Hell High.

I started to walk on the path through the forest when someone's yelling entered my ears. What if someone was being killed, and I wasn't the only target?!

I ran towards where the shouting was. As I approached, a strange sight greeted me. Krystal's Mom, Anna, and Sapphire stared at two people in front of them. Her Mom was furious while the girls were shocked.

They were looking at Krystal, who was being forcibly held by...me...

There was another me. Someone was pretending to be me, and was now hurting Krystal. I immediately felt my veins boil as I glared at them in anger.

I summoned my [Chains of Holy Fire], throwing it at the fake me. It wrapped around their neck, choking them as I yanked them to the ground.

He tumbled to the ground, the chain coming back to my arm. The others looked at me in shock, even more confused.

"Do. Not. Touch. Her." I growled.

"Jack!" Krystal happily cried, seeing me.

Krystal's Mom looked between me and the other me, confused. "Wait, there's two of them now?"

"That one is a fake." Sapphire stated, narrowing her eyes at the coughing me on the floor. "Jack isn't like that."

The fake me looked towards me, shocked. "What?! How?!"

"You're the one who threw me in the lake, aren't you?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Well, I survived."

"He threw you in a lake?!" Anna gasped, horrified.

"Oh, I see what's going on." Krystal's Mom sighed. "In my anger I didn't notice that it was an illusion...I need to be more careful."

"You ruined everything!" The fake me yelled, getting up to his feet.

He rushed at me, blue fire erupting in one of his hands. Krystal and her Mom's eyes widened at swing the fire.

"Foxfire." Krystal gasped. "Jack, don't-!"

I caught his fist with my demon arm.

Everybody was silent as they stared. The flames barely hurt, from a combination of [Fire Resistance] and [Demon Arm Beelzebub].

"What?!" He yelled. "How does my foxfire not affect you?!"

I kneed the fake me in the stomach. He clutched it, groaning. I grabbed him by the throat, picking him up.

"Who are you?" I growled.

"I wouldn't do that." He smirked.

"Why?" I replied, narrowing my eyes at him.

Why is he smirking? I don't like this.

"I'll tell them about it. The System." He whispered.

He...overheard Krystal and I. Wow. I started to laugh, causing him to look at me in shock.

"You can tell them." I whispered back with a smirk on my face to look confident. It was kind of a bluff...

Honestly, I'd rather of he didn't. If he did though, it'd be alright. Krystal and Anna already know, and I doubt her Mom would believe him.

Sapphire would probably recognize that he wasn't lying, and I'd have to explain that to her. That's not the best, and I'd rather tell her on my own terms. But I'm not letting this guy go for that.

He growled at me as my face was suddenly engulfed in blue flames. He laughed as the others gasped.

I dropped him, stumbling backwards as I grasped at my face. It burned! It burned a lot more than the hand!

I heard as the fake me rushed at me, probably with another punch. Not being able to see him, he whacked me in the face.

I felt as my vision returned, the pain fading from my face. That would have been a lot worse if I didn't have [Fire Resistance]. Also, his fire doesn't seem to be super strong.

Sapphire was about to step in until she noticed that I was alright now. I sidestepped his second punch, grabbing the back of his shirt and slamming him into the ground.

I planted my foot on top him, keeping him on the ground. He tried to grasp my leg with his fiery hands so I'd get off, but I warded his hands away by summoning my [Iron Sword].

He definitely didn't want his fingers cut off.

"Alright, this charade is over." Krystal's Mom stated, walking over. "You can't try to kill a person here and hurt my daughter and get away with it."

She walked over, placing her finger on his head. His eyes widened as he shook, struggling to get my foot off of him in a panic.

"Illusion dispel." She whispered.

The illusion around him was forcibly broken by Krystal's mother, revealing that the person under my foot was...

"Newton?!" Krystal gasped in horror.

Her childhood friend.

"Another case of jealousy?" Sally wondered.

"Newton." Krystal's Mom narrowed her eyes at him. "What. The fuck. Are you doing?"

"I knew something was bugging me about him." Sapphire muttered.

Newton stared wide-eyed at Krystal's horrified look before turning towards me with an angry look. "This is all your fault!" He screamed at me.

"No...pretty sure this is yours..." I sweatdropped.

"Why is it you?!" He angrily growled. "I've known her for much longer, and then she leaves for a little while and gets a boyfriend! And even when they break up she finds someone else?! Damn it!"

"Yep, another case of jealousy." Sally stated.

"How is that fair?!" He screamed. "You already have a girlfriend! Your appearance has ruined everything! If it wasn't for you, she'd be mine!"

"Women aren't objects." I scowled at him.

"He's the definition of an incel." Sally stated, sounding disgusted.

I stomped on his chest once more, making himself gasp for air. "You...are a terrible person. And to let you know, everybody has heard what you just said. Even your precious Krystal."

Krystal stared at him, furious with tears dripping from her eyes. I stopped stepping on him, walking over to Krystal and hugging her, letting her cry into my shirt.

"You alright?" I asked.

"First Duncan...now Newton...why is everybody...?" She whimpered.

"It'll be alright." I comfortably rubbed her back. "We're all here for you. Your friends, your family, and-"

"Damn you!" Newton screamed.

He rushed past Krystal's Mom, who didn't stop him for some reason. He leaped at me with a fiery blue fist, ready to take me out.

I turned around, holding Krystal with one arm and grabbing his fist with my demon arm. I swung my foot upwards, hitting him in the private and causing him to fall to the floor in pain.

"-and I'm here." I stated. "I'll always be here for you."

"Jack..." She whimpered. "Thank you...thank you."

She leaned up, giving me a light kiss on the cheek. She wiped the tears from her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I...I feel better." She stated.

Sapphire came over, giving her a light hug. Krystal gestured for Anna to come over as well, who awkwardly joined in on the hug as well.

"You know, maybe you aren't as bad as I thought." Krystal's Mom stated. "Thank you. But you haven't completely earned my trust yet."

"Just let me know what you want me to do." I replied. "To earn your trust."

Krystal's Mom smirked. "Alright then. Once we take care of this disgusting excuse of a Kitsune here..." She picked up Newton by the back of his clothes.

"...Then I'm going to take you to our Chieftess." She stated.

"Your Chieftess?" I wondered.

"You've already met her". Krystal's Mom stated. "My Step-Mother."