Destructo Boy sits down next to his father, breathing in deep for a moment before beginning to speak.
Walking here, through the falling snow, watching the children frolic around happy in anticipation for the happiest of holidays, I’m reminded of the last great Christmas our family had. The last time we were all truly happy. The Christmas I got my dog.
James chuckles to himself, a wide grin on his face.
This big doofy Retriever and I were inseparable. Jerry and I played all day, ate together, hell not even sleep could tear us apart and the goofy bastard even curbed my fiery ways for a while. But the good times didn’t last and that great Rijen luck came around once again.
The grin fades, replaced by a pensive frown.
He’d randomly become aggressive, angry, sometimes confused. The vets couldn’t figure anything out, and it became more and more frequent. Eventually dad tracked down the guy who he brought him from and learnt the truth.
History of brain degeneration. Incurable, unstoppable and only a matter of time before he was completely gone. We tried to delay the inevitable but then he bit mom.
Dad was so incensed he nearly shot Jerry right there and then but I intervened. We tied him up, tried to make him comfortable as possible and then I took the gun and pointed it at my best friend.
A tear drips down James’ cheek as he grabs the bottle of whiskey from his dad, taking a deep swig before continuing.
Chained up, absolutely feral and foaming at the mouth with the briefest moments of that happy lucidity. It broke my heart when I pulled the trigger and put him out of his misery but while there was something left of him left inside, it was the right thing to do.
And what we do this week is the right thing for what’s left of Felix Foley.
Felix I’ve made no secret to how I loved…love you. You’re the Uncle I never knew I needed, the friend I cherish, the person who inspires me the very best I can be. But there’s a darkness inside you that is consuming the good man that once was. And soon, I fear whatever’s left of the Friendly Puppeteer who inspired so many is going to be torn into strips of crimson red.
And I refuse to let that monster rip the heart out of the purest soul I know. That’s not what family does.
Because you might not be blood, but you’re my family. And right now because of them, you’re a confused old man teetering on the edge of this abyssal darkness that threatens to snuff out the embers of Light Arcadia needs. The only right thing to do is put you down before they make you hurt anyone else.
James takes another swig of the bottle to compose himself before continuing.
For everyone who believed in you, for everyone who cared for you, for Mrs Foleys Baby Boy, Burning Justice is going to save you before it’s too late.
And cut the strings for good.