Teamwork

With the dybbuk now possessing Paul, everyone went on guard expecting an onslaught, however, Paul didn't move.

"Uh, why ain't you moving?" one of the remaining dybbuks asked.

"I'm trying, but I can't get the body to move!" the dybbuk possessing Paul cried.

"I can see your neck. Hmm, maybe the hole in this guy is why you can't move him. Oh! I know! There's four of us, so lets all try possessing his arms and legs!"

The other three dybbuks nodded and floated into Paul's body. Then slowly, Paul began to rise.

"Haha! Look at that! We did it!" one of the dybbuks laughed.

I turned to Ami, then over to Perl and Penina, then back to the possessed Paul. Sure, they had possessed him alright, but... he looked all lopsided and floppy.

"Whoa! Don't move the leg out so suddenly!" one of the dybbuks cried.

"But don't we need him to walk!?" another retorted.

"He has the rope, remember, just grab the box Gnaeus is in then use the rope."

I wasn't going to give them the chance, as I charged for the possessed Paul.

"Hold on, got the hang of it!" one of the dybbuks laughed as one of Paul's arms grabbed the dybbuk box, while the other whipped out the escape rope.

They all vanished in the blink of an eye, causing me to reverse course and head for the elevator with Ami and the others.

"He won't warp out immediately with that thing. I've tested it, so I know it takes about a minute or so to get out with it from a floor this deep. My elevators are powered by magic that can get us to the top floor in just under a minute, so in theory, we should be able to catch him, but it's not a guarantee," Ami scowled as we got in the elevator.

"Even so, our squad leader should be on standby outside, so even if we can't catch him, she should," Perl grinned. 

Once the elevator reached the top floor, we all bolted out, not even bothering to say a word to the startled receptionist we ran past. 

"Look! I can see him!" Ami cried as the possessed Paul suddenly appeared outside the dungeon. 

He quickly began flopping away at a startling pace, at least for someone with five dybbuks inside trying to move him in sync all at once, which was a problem for us as he had some distance on us and was closing in on the forest boundary. If he got into the forest, we might not be able to catch him. 

But just before he could reach it, a giant water bubble fell on him, trapping him. 

"Oh? My attack landed? Now isn't that a surprise. Could it be... Paul has been possessed?" Mariamne scoffed as she floated down to the ground.

She then clasped her hands together and began chanting an incantation. As she did, Paul's body along with the dybbuk box began to glow gold.

"Wh- WHAT'S HAPPENING! MY BODY!" one of the dybbuks cried as it found itself and its comrades expelled from Paul's body.

"AH! IT'S HOLY WATER! HOLY WATER!" the dybbuk that had been inside the dybbuk box screamed as it burst out.

We all stared in silence as the dybbuks began to glow gold the more Mariamne continued to chant. Then finally... 

Clap!

"...Amen!" Mariamne proclaimed as she finished the incantation. 

The dybbuks let out a scream as they all disintegrated into gold particles on the spot. The dybbuk box also burst into gold particles, and even Paul had some gold particles fly out of him, but he didn't disintegrate.

"Guess splitting up back then paid off," Ami shrugged as the water bubble dissipated.

We all gathered around Paul, who laid motionless, and showed no signs of life.

"Seems his soul was a bit too warped to be saved," Mariamne noted as she turned over Paul's body with her foot.

"We could try and resuscitate him," Ami grumbled.

"Why would we want to?"

Ami opened her mouth, but closed it just as quickly. "Never mind, his soul's been purified, so we probably wouldn't succeed in questioning him anyway. LaNorne, let's head out."

I gulped as I expected Ami to whisk me away with her, but instead, she began walking along the path.

"What? I need to recover my magic, so I'm stuck walking. Maybe this will help you learn the path from here back to my lab."

I closed my eyes, smiled, and nodded as I trotted along after her.

"And what will we do?" Penina asked.

Mariamne let out an annoyed groan. "I wanted to get some treasure, but after that exorcism, I'm spent. Plus now I'm gonna have to file a report with HQ about Paul."

"I still got enough energy to fly to Traditsye," Perl grinned.

"I as well," Penina smiled.

"Eh, let's do some walking instead. Use the magic to levitate Paul's dead ass instead. Oi! Ami! We're gonna come walk with ya!" Mariamne called out.

Ami's face twitched in fury. "LaNorne, let me get on your back; we're running."

...

At the guild, I nervously sat at the table as I watched Mariamne down her 5th drink.

"HAHAHA! AMI! YA GOTTA TRY N' BEAT ME!" Mariamne laughed.

"No, I don't drink," Ami snarled as she chugged a glass of water. 

"Oh, tis in celebration of the joint mission we accomplished. Why not have just a sip in celebration?" Penina smiled as she elegantly sipped a glass of wine.

"Yeah! We won thanks to you busting up that fatso, so have a bottle!" Perl cheered as she hoisted a wine bottle above her head before chugging directly from it.

Upon our return to Traditsye, Paul was officially arrested, and sentenced to immediate hanging, even though he was pretty much brain dead according to medical examiners. After that, Mariamne insisted on celebrating the victory, leading to the five of us gathering at the guild for what I thought would be a fun celebration. Instead, Mariamne and co got drunk leading to Ami's mood worsening.

"Ahhhh, I missed a good fight. Perl, Penina, ya gotta tell me how LaNorny here busted up Paul so badly," Mariamne groaned.

"My apologies, but it was too fast for Perl and I to make out," Penina sighed.

"Yeah, I couldn't see a thing. First Paul was standing, then he was flat on the ground and the barrier was gone," Perl shrugged.

"Ahhhhhhhhh... Another," Mariamne groaned as she stretched herself out over the table and held up her mug.

"Leader, with all due respect, I think you've reached your limit."

"Huh? My limit's limitless! Another! And 6 for Ami! I wanna beat her!"

"And I said I don't drink," Ami grumbled.

"How bout LaNorny? You up for a challenge?"

Deciding that it might help Ami, I decided to accept Mariamne's challenge. 

"That's the spirit! PLACE YOUR BETS, FOLKS! WE GOT A CONTEST HERE!" Mariamne cheered as she hopped on the table and hoisted her mug above her head. 

"Oi, you sure?" Ami whispered. 

"Don't worry. I can handle three beers easy," I smiled.

...

"Ugh... Huh? What happened?" I mumbled.

"Sorry! You lost," Mariamne laughed.

I slowly raised my head and looked around. The whole place was empty except for me, Mariamne, Perl, Penina, Ami, and Slavena.

"Seems you're up. I was thinking someone would have to haul you to the inn," Slavena frowned.

"Huh? Why was I-"

"You accepted Mariamne's drinking challenge, and needless to say, she beat you badly," Ami grumbled.

"What!? But I can handle three full mugs of beer!"

"But on your fourth, you were out. And I was already 5 in, yet I could handle another 5," Mariamne gloated.

"And now that everyone has sobered up. Be off," Slavena angrily smiled.

"Yes, yes. Ah, but first... Ami! I want to challenge you! To a real fight, all out, you can use all your magic and inventions, all to see who's truly the best, you or me."

"Why would I accept?" Ami growled.

"Hmm... You and your friend DID intrude into my private villa grounds, so IF I wanted to, I could raise a fuss with the courts. But... a nice easy and cashless settlement would be you agreeing to duke it out with me one-on-one, non-lethal, but still, there would be some humiliating punishment involved. Shall we say, loser gets their head shaved and cursed to remain bald for a year?"

Ami clicked her tongue. "Fine, I've wanted to put your ass in its place for ages."

"EXCELLENT! I'll book the arena nearby-"

"Leader, if I may, any such bout would not be doable in the short-term because of... you-know-what," Penina frowned.

"Hmm? Oh... That... That... Yeah, the commander would throw a fit if I started a fight like that now. But once the mission's done, I'm setting up the fight," Mariamne sighed as she got up out of her seat.

"What's going on?" Ami grumbled.

"Confidential, I'm afraid. Though hopefully, it'll be resolved within the month. Fear not, I'll contact you the moment it's over to set up the fight," Mariamne waved as she, Perl, and Penina headed off.

"Now you, get. Guild's closed," Ami growled as she began pushing me out. "I'm mad again... Tomorrow, I'm gonna punish you for getting me booked for a fight against Mariamne."

A shiver ran down my body. "I'm sorry-"

"Apologies won't save you. Now, no later than 3 in the afternoon."

"THAT LATE!?"

"You think I'm waking up normal time with how late it is now? Go, get! I'm tired and cranky."

And with that, I was by myself on the quiet streets. Hope the innkeeper won't yell at me for coming back so late.