Chapter 10: Striking the Wedge

"Damn, why can't I ever get the best of him?" Jin grumbled as they got downstairs to the main floor of the Shinjuku shelter.

"Why was Scylla more powerful than that supposed Thor?" Allen asked. "It's weird, even knowing that Thor was probably fake."

"Who knows," Kazuya said, checking his demon stock. "I could probably do some fusing and try to get a more powerful demon to back us up. Maybe we could buy some new armor, that is, if they'd sell to us."

"That's..." Jin started to say, then turned and grabbed him. "That's it! Kazuya, fuse me with a demon."

"What?" Allen asked in shock. "But, but that's..."

There was that clash of melodies in his mind, which hurt this time. Grimacing, he glanced back to make sure they weren't being immediately pursued. Then he nudged them out of Ozawa's office area. "Let's get to the armory first, before word gets down to them."

"You can't fuse yourself with a demon," Allen said, trying to keep his voice low although his posture suggested he wanted to yell. "That's a crazy idea. You'd no longer be human and only human souls can be saved from eternal suffering. Besides, demons are the tempters and tormenters of mankind; they're the ones who invaded our world, even if they had help. Kazuya has a really strong will to resist that when he can talk with them, but fusing with one would just, it'd corrupt you into an evil being."

"I know I won't be human anymore, but that won't matter to me," Jin said, shifting his glasses. "Allen, you won't ever get it, not unless you've lived through what I have. I can decide I won't be a victim anymore, but I have no power to actually follow through. It just makes me a loser like so many others, which I hate, I want to be better. I won't stop until I can be who I want to be, and having a demon's strength would let me do that."

"That can't work, they'd just overtake you or something," Allen said.

"But it didn't work that way with his dog," Jin argued.

"Quiet, both of you," Kazuya said, holding back on his temper. "I only fused Pascal to save his life. And once you do something like that, you can't go back on it. I have no idea what that'll actually do to you. The owner of Heretic Mansion doesn't even know how things work entirely. I do know that fusion mistakes can end badly, at best as a slime, so are you really sure about this?"

That caused Jin to pause. "Well, I wouldn't want to end up as a slime. But then, how are we going to beat that monster?"

"We could just ignore Ozawa," Allen suggested. "He's keeping the people here safe."

"No he's not, he's keeping them trapped here with brutality," Jin said.

And both of them were right. Before he could figure out how to handle this, there was a sharp whistle from behind them. "Hey, strangers! Get back here! We're going to crush you for disturbing the peace!"

At this point, it barely felt like he'd taken any painkillers at all. "Come on," he said to his companions, running down the hall.

"What, why?" Jin asked, angered but following along. Allen did as well, with the brute cops firing shots behind them trying to get them to stop. But they would have utterly failed firing drills as well.

They reached the terminal room; Kazuya waved them onto the transferal plate. He still wasn't sure where to go, but Roppongi should be nice and quiet. He picked that location. By the time the brute cops caught up, the terminal had already taken them away.

Roppongi was indeed quiet, much to the relief of his mind. But, it was eerily so. The halls outside the terminal room were very clean, with much nicer maintenance than Shinjuku. There were even clean carpets on the floor. However, there didn't seem to be any people as they got into the main halls.

"Why the hell did you have us run out of there like cowards?" Jin asked, turning to them angrily.

"Because I still have this headache and we were clearly not wanted there," Kazuya said. "I need to sleep somewhere. Besides, we are badly mismatched against Scylla. Maybe fusing you with a demon would work, but I'm not going to let you do that rashly. There are other things we could do to outsmart or overpower them, even if they take time. And please, let's not cause trouble here."

"Uh," Jin looked down, ashamed for the moment. "Sorry man. But I'm sure I won't change my mind."

And then something broke the silence: a little girl singing happily. Well, it was someone. Allen was looking down that way too. "There's something about this place that gives me the chills," he said. "Like, a funeral home or something."

"It is strange in here," Jin said, glancing around now. "Don't see any demons, though."

They could hear her uneven footsteps now, like she was dancing through the halls. Kazuya went ahead and headed towards her. At the very least, she could help them find an adult who'd know the place. She came into the hall they were in first, stopping with a gasp on seeing them. From her long blond hair and blue eyes, she clearly wasn't Japanese. She even had an old-fashioned blue dress and black buckled shoes, more of an English fashion if his guess was right. Or she was the daughter of a fashion enthusiast.

"Hello, I've never seen you three here before," she said, smiling wide and coming right up to them. "Are you here to be our friends too? Everybody is friends with each other here!"

"Actually, we're looking for a place we can rest at," Allen said. "Kazuya here isn't feeling too good."

She pouted in sympathy. "Aw, that's too bad. Sure, I know a good place for a nap. I'm Alice." She curtsied to them, then twirled around. "I hope you get better, Mr. Kazuya."

"Thanks," he said.

"And I'm Allen, and this is Jin," Allen continued while Jin looked like he wanted nothing to do with this. "Where is the place for a good nap?"

"It's over this way, follow me!" Alice turned and led them back to the hall she'd come from. After a bit, she looked back up at them. "Oh, I have so many questions, but I know I should be good when someone's not feeling well. Will you talk with me when you wake up?"

He really should be finding Yuka, figure out what he needed to do. But it couldn't take that long to entertain a girl for a bit. "Sure, for a little while."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Great, I'll look forward to it. The place is close by, that one!" She hurried over to a door and opened it up. "Mr. Red, Mr. Black? Are one of you here?"

"What is it, Alice?" a man with a deep voice said warmly. Kazuya got to the doorway and found Alice talking with a man who had dark skin and a black suit, almost like a butler. He looked over at them curiously.

"These people just arrived and they need somewhere to sleep," Alice said, putting her arms behind her back. "May they stay here, Mr. Black? They seem like good friends."

"Of course, that won't be a problem," Mr. Black said. "Gentleman, you will need to pay an inn fee as newcomers, but it's merely for upkeep, I assure you. I keep everything fresh and clean for all guests and friends."

"How much is it?" Kazuya asked, wary in spite of his headache. This place seemed high class, what with the vase of fresh flowers, the ornate furniture, the magazines for jewelry, cars, and other high-end merchandise.

But it actually was extremely cheap, which was strange but he'd take it. The rooms were high class too; there was a soft bed, a large flat-screen TV with a number of movies and shows that could be borrowed from a library, and other exquisite works of art as décor. It didn't seem like a place a young girl would think of as a napping place, unless she too was a very high class girl. Which might be.

Kazuya didn't get much longer to think on it as he drank a bit of the soma to try that, then was soon fast asleep on the bed.

A girl not much older than Alice sat at a desk drawing. She was happy there, humming and smiling. When Kazuya looked at her, he knew he was seeing Yuka. But, she didn't seem the same. This place wasn't the same; it looked like a Mesian place, with their crosses, paintings of angels, and religious books on packed shelves. Kazuya drifted near her and saw what she was drawing: himself. He smiled at that.

A woman came in; he drifted aside even though he was a dream spirit here. "Yuka, have you..." she paused. "What are you drawing now?"

"My husband!" she said cheerfully without hesitation. "He's my soulmate, and he's gonna come find me someday and take me away because I'm his princess."

"Maybe when you're older," Kazuya said, chuckling at this.

However, the woman sighed and pulled away her colored pencils. "Please stop persisting with these fantasies. You're not allowed to be seeing others your age, much less getting married, until you fulfill the role you were born for."

"Why does it have to be me?" she asked defiantly.

The teacher gripped her shoulder hard, digging her fingernails in and making Yuka yelp. Kazuya would have liked to stop her, but he wasn't able to intervene. "It is shown by the power you were born with, the time and the place. We are not mistaken. You are the Prophet who will led us to find the Messiah of this millennium."

"Why do you need me to find him?" Yuka said, trying to be defiant but crying. "All these crusty old books say what's gonna happen, that the Messiah for the Church will have a soul that shines with holy light and will perform miracles. He'll appear as if by magic and quickly prove himself to be talented beyond other humans." She sniffed. "Besides, what if Kazuya's the Messiah?"

"That can't be true because this Kazuya you describe does not fulfill the prophecies," the teacher said.

"Well then you figure out the prophecies yourself!" she said, throwing the woman's grip off even though it tore her skin some. She ran off in tears.

"Yuka!" Kazuya chased after her. He didn't want to leave her like this, even in a dream. "I'll come to take you away from them, of course I will."

And then she was older, looking different yet again but he knew it was her. She stopped and looked back, only to miss a giant spider dropping down and grabbing her. She screamed in horrific pain as she got dragged away.

"Yuka!" He tried to run after her, but his whole body was heavy. Like, it was tied back with spider webs, or…

Or this fluffy comforter. Kazuya sat up suddenly, his head spinning and his heart pounding. The dark room around him seemed so strange, almost threatening. After a moment in which he recalled they were in Roppongi, he put his hand on his chest and tried to calm down. But how could he? Yuka was definitely in trouble and she was counting on him to get her away from the Mesians who thought she was some prophet. But they didn't care about her enough to treat her well, only enough that she found the Messiah they were waiting for. But where was she?

"Shibuya," he said to himself. At that, his body checked itself and stopped panicking because he needed to get to work. He wasn't entirely sure Yuka would be in Shibuya. However, the Mesians were supposed to have a strong hold there, making it a place to start.

But what did he do about Jin and Allen? Jin would not be pleased that they were going to see Mesians. After yesterday, that might be the last straw for him. Was he even listening anymore? He was so focused on his own goals. And most of the time, he did his own thing in battles, not waiting for Kazuya's suggestions. Maybe there wasn't anything more he could do for Jin; Kazuya felt like he hadn't been able to do anything at all. Things had moved so fast in those last days of the old world.

There might still be a chance to help Allen. Although, with what? Allen respected him. He wasn't having any crazy ideas either; he was shocked over the state of the world, but that was the same for them all. After waiting on his head to clear, Kazuya got out of bed and changed into different clothes. He should get around to washing what he had sometime. Maybe there were some laundry machines here in Roppongi, since everything was so clean and fresh.

When he got into the hotel lobby, Alice was there at a table, playing cards with herself. She was quick to look his way and smile. "Good morning Kazuya! Do you feel better? You were asleep a long time."

"I'm feeling better," he said, although he wasn't feeling great.

"Good. We saved some breakfast for you, kept it nice and warm. Here, take what you like, as our guest. We can talk while you eat." She turned back to recollect her cards.

"Where are Jin and Allen?" Kazuya asked, sitting at the table and lifting the silver lid on the warming plate. It looked like an egg bowl breakfast, with the rice still steaming. Some strawberries with a chilled dish of cream was to the side as well. While he could excuse the rice and egg, having strawberries and cream seemed very peculiar now. They were hard enough to get before the world had changed.

"Allen's in the disco, I'm pretty sure of that," Alice said, kicking her shoes as she sat there. "And Jin, um…."

"It's weird for Allen to be in the disco," Kazuya said. Even though he'd skirted his school rules a bit to date his Yuka, Allen was too mindful of his church's morals to go to such a place.

"Well I told him it was a good place where naughty things didn't happen," she said. A strange thing to come from a little girl, but she couldn't know the implications of that. "And it is! It's big, and there's always music playing and people dancing. You can do whatever you like here in Roppongi and lots of people go dancing at the disco. Or you can have adventures with me; there's lots of fun things to do, and it'd be really nice if you stayed, Kazuya."

"I have things to do elsewhere, sorry," he said, which made her stick out her lower lip and pout. "What about Jin, where's he?"

"Hmm, oh yeah, I remember now." She nodded and put her cards in the box. "There's this nice man called Mr. Cypher who comes to talk to Mr. Red and Mr. Black a lot. He has pretty blond hair and he gives me good candy. Mr. Cypher was in earlier this morning and he was talking to Jin for a while. They went somewhere to do something, I don't know where. But, um, he said to tell you not to worry about him. He can handle himself. And, he's a brave man to go out where all the demons are. No demons ever come in here because Mr. Red and Mr. Black put up a strong shield to keep everybody safe."

"That's sad that he went alone, he was a good friend of mine," Kazuya said. Actually, he was really worried about what Jin meant to do.

"Well you'll see him again, I know it," Alice said kindly, patting his arm. "Um, I'd really like it if you stayed and were my friend, but what do you have to do outside Roppongi? It's dangerous out there."

He patted his comp. "I know, but I can talk with demons and summon them. I'll be fine out there, especially with Allen still with me."

Her eyes sparkled at that. "Ooo, you're a summoner? Wow, that's amazing! I always wanted to meet one. So, um, do you beat up the demons until they beg you for mercy, and then you make them your slave for their rest of their existence?"

"Um, no," he said, trying not to show how disturbed he was at her question. "I talk with them instead of fighting them if I want to recruit them. I treat them nicely, unless they're a hot-blooded sort that are impressed with someone standing up to them. Then I give them some gifts to make sure they're happy, and we make a contract to help each other. My comp helps me do that, including helping me keep track of how my demons are doing and feeling so I can make sure they're not unhappy. I let them have my magnetite and they work for me, helping me to fight the other demons."

"Then you're a nice summoner," Alice said, smiling up at him. "The demons must like you. So then, if you're not staying here, where are you going?"

"To Shibuya. I need to find my soulmate Yuka; I know she's with the Mesians and they're said to be strong in Shibuya."

She nodded to that, seeming serious for her. "Uh-huh, you'd better get her away quick cause the Mesians are secretly big fat meanies. But what makes her your soulmate? That sounds serious."

He smiled for a moment, in spite of the worry. "It's because she's my princess and I'm going to go rescue her from danger. Even from the Mesians if they try to stop me. I love her with all my being."

That made her giggle and cover her mouth. "Oh, if she's your princess, then you'd better hurry to get her! I won't keep you here then. But, um, if you're going to Shibuya, would you please buy something there for me? It shouldn't be too expensive."

"What do you have in mind?" he asked. Alice had cheered him up, so he didn't mind doing a small favor for her. Hopefully it wasn't too much.

She leaned forward. "They have a drink there called a Hiranya that I really like, but I don't get to have it often. It's really special cause if you use magic a lot, it'll give you lots of energy to cast lots of magic. And it works for humans and demons. So, would you please buy me a Hiranya in Shibuya? You can get one too and see how great they are."

"I don't have any magic, but Yuka does," Kazuya said. "Sure, I'll look for that."

Alice grinned at that. "Goodie, thanks! I'll be waiting for you to come back with your princess."

She kept chatting with him as he finished his breakfast, even followed after him when he went to the disco to find Allen. There was an energetic beat coming from the enclosed disco, along with laughter and happy chatter. At another time, he might have been interested to spend some time there having fun. But Yuka was in trouble; there was no time for fun. Allen was outside the disco, leaning against the wall with his hands over his face.

"Allen, what's wrong?" Kazuya asked.

"Huh, oh sorry." He rubbed his eyes. "Good morning Ka-aaaah!" He looked over and saw him there with Alice, then jumped back for some reason as if afraid of her. Alice just giggled at that.

Kazuya glanced down at the girl, then back in case he'd missed something. "Allen?"

"Oh, ah, ha ha, never mind," he said, worried. "It's, uh, nothing."

"That doesn't sound like nothing," Kazuya said.

"Um, were we supposed to be going somewhere?" Allen asked weakly, like all he wanted was to get away from Roppongi.

"He said you both were going to Shibuya," Alice said.

"Oh, yes, Shibuya!" he said, coming away from the wall. "Right, Shibuya. Actually, that'd be where, uh, well let's just get going. We really have to find Yuka. But, uh, I haven't really seen Jin today."

"He took off on his own earlier," Kazuya said. "Didn't even leave us a note or anything."

Allen sighed, although he may have been relieved. "Yeah, but he's always been rude like that. I hope you're feeling better, because we really should be going now."

"Sure," he said, then patted Alice on the head. "Sorry, I'll see you again."

"Okay!" she said, then hugged him around the waist. "Good luck with your princess!" She then skipped ahead into the disco to join the people there.

Allen didn't want to talk on the way to the terminal. He just wanted them to get away soon and hurried along. Once they arrived in Shibuya, he turned to him. "Kazuya," he said, concern, horror, and a bit of previously unseen anger in his tone now.

"What is wrong?" he asked, fine with speaking here in the terminal room. This one too had superstitious charms and marks, trying to keep demons from using it.

"Everyone there was dead," he said. "Even that little girl. The only ones who weren't dead were those Mr. Black and Mr. Red characters, but they're demons who revive corpses for some perverse reason. We were the only living humans there!"

"But I didn't get any alerts from the program," he said, flipping open the comp. He noticed something quickly. "The sound on my comp is shut off for some reason, that's strange." He put it back on and checked the demon analysis for the demons most recently encountered. And, there had been a bunch detected inside the disco, all Undead types. It had caught Mr. Black as well, but all the data on him was garbled. And, there was Alice with all her data garbled as well.

"Maybe they did something, I don't know," Allen said. "But it's the truth."

"I see," he said, then shut the comp's lid and looked at him. "How did you find out?"

He flinched and clutched his crucifix. "I… I was trying to speak to people in the disco, like you had us do in Shinjuku. But they were all so strange, acting like I wasn't there. Then I heard they had a girl named Yuka shut in another room, so I went to check it out, but, it was my girlfriend. Only, she hadn't changed at all; she looked exactly the same as I'd last seen her, the morning before we tried to talk with Gotou and Thorman."

If she hadn't changed and that was a city of the dead… Kazuya felt a tightness in his throat. "Allen, that's horrible."

He nodded and closed his eyes, trying not to cry. "Sh-she had died in the nuclear strikes. But then she was brought back to life here in Roppongi by those demons. They say they're doing it for Alice; everyone in the disco loved Alice. But, Yuka realized what was going on. She remembered her actual life and tried to make others remember too. For that, they shut her away and left her by herself. She said she prayed to God like I was teaching her about, but she was there by herself, not living and not ale to die, for all these thirty years. That should… something should have..."

Kazuya put an arm around him to comfort him. "I'm sure something can be done," he said. "If the gods won't answer, you have to do things yourself. My father would say that occasionally."

"Th-they teach that, sometimes we have to be God's hands in the world," Allen said. That at least got him to stop crying. "I mean, I wasn't really anything special, and some people even treated me like I was detestable. But, the angels reached out to me for help. If I could find some soul incense… the Mesians here should have some, it gets used in some services. If I had that and an ordained priest, I could take the priest to Roppongi and see to it that her soul gets put to rest. It feels like a horrible thing; I still love her, it hasn't been very long for me since we were together. She helped me be more confidant, as I used to never speak if I could avoid it. To say goodbye like this, well, it's the proper thing to do, I just don't know if I can."

"I'd find it hard to be in your position too," Kazuya said. "But if you can bring her peace and end her suffering, I think that'd prove how much you love her more than leaving her alone like she is."

"Yes, I should..." he pulled away, seeming embarrassed. "Sorry, no matter what power I get, I'm still a weak crybaby at heart. I know I shouldn't be."

"It's fine, I'd be more worried if you weren't upset enough to be crying after learning that," Kazuya said. "You really love her a lot. Since we're in the right place, it won't take long to go ask about that. Just, I'd be careful about running into Alice again in Roppongi if you mean to do that."

"Yeah, thanks," he said, smiling. He got out a tissue from his bag and wiped his face off before they headed into the Shibuya mall. "We could ask them about Yuka too, I mean, your Yuka."

The operating shops in this mall were close to the terminal. In case things went wrong again, Kazuya decided they should buy better gear before going much further. The personal armor they had for sale was well made, perhaps by necessity. But their best gear was designed for Mesians, to the point where the shopkeeper believed that a non-Mesian like Kazuya couldn't use it. Still, it was good to give Allen actual armor, a long coat with matching gloves and boots that the shopkeeper said was meant to help against magical damage as well as physical. Magic must have become more prevalent among humans too, since it also boosted the wearer's potential with what the shopkeeper called small miracles. For himself, Kazuya had to settle on a version of his police vest that included sleeves, as well as some new leg armor that protected against magic as well.

Allen still was uncertain about accepting a gun, so they skipped that store. In a drug store, they found that typical over-the-counter medicines were still being manufactured somewhere, mostly general ones like aspirin. There were also some sketchier items, brews made with demon parts or supposedly with alchemy to heal various maladies. They also had the Hiranya energy drink that Alice wanted. He went ahead and bought a few for their magic-restoring properties.

And that reminded him about the garbled entries. He took a moment to attempt contacting Steven. 'I have a good feeling you're still around somewhere in spite of everything. I've come back into the world; it's a long story. Besides that, the current state of the demon summoning program seems very good. I have run into an error; I updated the program as soon as I could, so I'm sure it's not because I'm using a thirty-year-old version. There's two demons that the analyze program couldn't identify much information about. Is there a way to clear up these entries?" He attached a copy of both Mr. Black and Alice's garbled data to the message, then sent it off.

As they spoke to the shopkeepers and then the townspeople, it was clear where they should go. Most of the Mesians here had moved to where their cathedral was being built to join that effort. It left the town a little empty feeling. However, some Mesians were still said to be on the upper floor of this complex. The townspeople suspected something wasn't right, since they hadn't heard from those who normally worked up there for a couple of days. But they didn't dare go to a place that the Mesians said was their private property.

"Are you fine with going up there?" Kazuya asked as they approached the stairs up. There were signs warning others away. He didn't care, not if people were in trouble, and especially not if they could help with Yuka. But Allen might.

"I think it would be fine to check on them, make sure they're okay," Allen said. "We're supposed to take care of each other, by God's wishes and teachings."

"I agree," he said, and led the way upstairs.

As soon as they got there, it turned pitch black. "Kazuya?" Allen asked, coming up behind him.

"I'm still here," he said, stopping.

Allen bumped into him. "Oh, sorry. What is with this? It can't be right."

"Maybe it's some kind of curse?" he wondered. He flipped open his comp to check the auto map, but all he got was an error message. It wasn't able to give him the floor's layout.

"Hang on, let me try something." He stepped aside, disappearing into the darkness in only two steps. "God, bring your light to this place." He then drew out his kodachi as if attacking.

There was an audible cut through something, a shattering like glass. The darkness broke, leaving them with the bright flames of Allen's sword. After a moment, the overhead lights kicked on. The program beeped, now giving him an automap.

"I didn't think attacking the darkness ever worked," Kazuya said, trying to make a joke of it.

"I don't know how long it will work, but at least we can see now," Allen said.

They ran into another patch of darkness in the next hall, which Allen struck down again. Then they found the missing Mesians. Overall, they didn't seem too bad for their ordeal, not hurt and they had a supply of food and clean water up here. They were awed to be free. "You two, you banished that accursed darkness?" a priest asked, coming out of their sheltered area first.

"Allen did, with his sword," Kazuya said, since Allen didn't seem like he'd take the credit.

"I didn't know if it would work, but I thank God it did," he said.

"Yes, even I couldn't clear that with my training," the priest said. "Although, I'm afraid it will only come back. One of the young women in our group has fallen prey to a demon that has invaded her mind. The darkness came as she's continued to suffer."

"Is her name Yuka?" Kazuya asked, feeling a clenching of his heart as he heard this. "One of your prophets?"

Startled, the priest said, "Actually, yes, she is Yuka, a prophet from birth. How did you know?"

"I've been looking for her, I need to see her," Kazuya said. He wanted to brush past him, but it'd be better to see if he'd take them there. The priest looked unsure of him; it may have been clear from his armor choice that he wasn't actually Mesian.

Fortunately, Allen stepped in for him. "If he says it's her, then they're soulmates and one really shouldn't get between them. He's trustworthy, just undecided."

"All right, we'll let you see her," the priest said, bowing to them. "If you can think of any way to help her, we would appreciate that. There is something important she still must do. Although, Allen, was it? May we talk?"

"Sure, what is it?" he said.

"Sir, please come this way," a woman still in the doorway said, waving him in. Kazuya nodded and followed her into a room in back. "I'm sorry, we had to keep her secured as she's been thrashing and hurting herself, and others trying to care for her."

She was tied to a post now, still with her head hung down. She didn't look like she used to; her black hair was thicker and her face wasn't the same. But she was still beautiful. She was his Yuka, the one and only person he loved deep in his heart. His head started to hurt again, but he ignored it to kneel down by her. "Yuka," he said, hoping it might get her attention.

She shuddered like she was in a nightmare. And, his comp beeped. He opened it up to find that the demon summoning program had identified the demon possessing her as Arachne. How did he get a demon out of a person? The Mesians should be experts on that, but they didn't seem able to handle freeing Yuka.

"Arachne," he said instead.

The comp showed that the demon had come alert to him.

Everything went black and he was flung onto the floor. Then things began to clear up, misty blue halls of his dream maze. Holding him down tot he floor, there was a woman with eight legs and a hungry look to her eyes. "Ah, I nearly had that girl's soul, but yours, yours seems so much more vibrant, yes…"

And she squawked when Kazuya threw her off him and into the wall. His tonfas were on his arms and he could feel his gun at his side. "Demon, you are going to suffer for what you've done to Yuka!"

At first, she cackled and sprung to the other wall. "Oo, that sounds fu…" then she made the mistake of looking into his eyes and seeing his fury. She skittered back immediately.

"And you will not escape!" he declared, going to attack her.