Chapter 21: Spawn vs. Skulker, Round 2!
Reika sat down on a bench for what seemed like hours, all alone in the cold, dark, and in the rain. Despite the small voices inside her head telling her to get the hell out of the rain, she kept telling herself to wait. She knew that Spawn would come back for her; she just knew it. "Come on, Raizo...I'm right here, waiting for you. Please don't forget about me. I haven't forgotten about you!" Reika whispered as she shivered from the cold.
Finally, someone came walking up to her from the shadows. Reika's heart leapt for joy as she assumed it was her lover. "Raizo! Oh thank God, I was about to have a heart attack. I thought that you had forgotten about me." Reika began. Suddenly, the figure stepped forward and grabbed Reika by the neck; lifting her up into the air and glaring at her with a pair of demonic red eyes. Reika couldn't even find the strength to scream or fight back before she passed out and was carried away over her kidnapper's shoulders. "If this won't get his attention, then nothing else will!" the villain grumbled.
Meanwhile; Spawn was cooling off in a graveyard, when he was visited by Frenzy once again. "So...feel any better now? I'm sure you must, considering you made your nemesis pay with his life for all that he's put you through!" Frenzy began casually. Spawn growled in annoyance as he got in his face. "How many times do I need to tell you to fuck off?! You are such a thorn in my side, you know that?!" Spawn growled. Frenzy laughed at him as he shook his head. "Thorn in your side? Honey, you don't even know the meaning of that phrase. If anyone's stuck to you like glue, it's that Reika bitch. Speaking of which...it turns out you ain't the only one who's got the hots for her!" Frenzy lied.
Spawn grew wide eyed with rage as he said that. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Where is she?!" Spawn demanded as he grabbed him by the shoulders. "Geez...you know for someone who claims to love her so much, you're not really doing a good job keeping an eye on her. Speaking of eyes, you know what Darrel has been up to all this time? He's been keeping a real close eye out on you and your girl for quite some time now...maybe he's got another trick up his sleeve. Pretty impressive for someone who's not as smart as you, wouldn't you agree?" Frenzy sneered.
Spawn suddenly became very uneven and nervous as he said that; he had completely forgotten about Skulker up until this point. "My God...you mean that he-" Spawn began. "That's right, Spawnie boy! While you been playing patty cake with your old pal Hartman, Skulker's been doing a lot of thinking and planning ahead. Rare for a guy like him, I know...but I think he's awfully serious about you...as in, trying everything in his power to kill you." Frenzy sneered.
Spawn grew even more furious as he drew Frenzy closer, glaring him in the eye. "You son of a bitch! You have been working with him this whole time, weren't you?!" Spawn seethed. "I wouldn't say that...he actually came to me and I just simply did what I do best. Making sure that you two make one hell of a mess of things! Speaking of messes...how long do you think it will take to clean up Reika's bloody corpse?" Frenzy snickered.
With a roar of rage, Spawn pinned Frenzy against a tomb. "WHERE ARE THEY?!" Spawn raged. "Sheesh...even after all she did to you, you still wanna save her sorry ass?! I guess you really do love her, don't you?" Frenzy teased. Spawn punched Frenzy in the face before slamming him against another tomb. "What I was getting to was...that Skulker has his own place in the West Side of town. The old abandoned warehouse; you'll find him there...though I wish I could say the same for your lady friend. But hey, she's survived through worse before...so you might be lucky to see her again. At least before Skulker rips her heart out through her ass!" Frenzy cackled.
Spawn took off with growl of rage; this was the final straw. He wouldn't stop at any cost until Skulker was dead and Reika was safe again. As he left, Frenzy got back up to his feet and cackled maniacally...until suddenly a massive demonic hand grabbed him from underneath the ground and dragged him back to Hell!
Frenzy wasn't expecting this, nor was he expecting to see a humongous and enraged demon warlord yelling at him. He was roughly 50 feet tall, had huge devilish horns, and glowing green eyes that pierced through your soul. He also spoke in a loud and demonic voice by telekinesis; he was none other than the Ruler of the 8th Level of Hell himself, Malebolgia. "You incompetent infidel! How long must you toy with the enemy?! Give me one good reason why I should not reduce you to fledgling fodder for all the trouble you've caused!" Malebolgia roared as he shook Frenzy in his giant hand.
Frenzy growled in anger as he struggled to free himself. "Don't get your ginormous panties in a wad! I fixed everything now! Spawn's nemesis Skulker has kidnapped Reika and once he kills her, he'll kill Spawn and relieve us both of a massive headache! You should be thanking me for even-" Frenzy began. "You don't understand a thing, do you?! As long as that witch lives, her love makes the boy stronger and more powerful! He will save her yet again and continue to grow stronger in spirit! Your little games and antics have only delayed the inevitable. Spawn will soon realize his role in this war and he could very well be the end of me...and then, I will be sure to make it the end of you!" Malebolgia snarled as he squeezed Frenzy like a grape.
Frenzy's eyes popped out in a comical fashion, but he wasn't about to stop attempting to kiss ass to his boss. "Wait! Give Skulker a chance...I promise that he's become more powerful since his last encounter with Spawn. Besides; I think he's finally getting fed up with putting up with Reika's annoying dependency on him. You'll see; he'll dump that witch and be all lonely and vulnerable...and then that's when we can use him to our advantage!" Frenzy said. "For your sake, you better hope that's the case. Because if you fail me one more time...you will be replaced, and your punishment will be far more cruel and agonizing than anything you've ever endured before!" Malebolgia growled.
He threw Frenzy down to the ground and sat himself upon a giant dark throne that overlooked the entire 8th Level of Hell. "Al Simmons had already failed me; I will not tolerate failure from this boy! I couldn't even trust Violator to get things done right...and I'm beginning to wonder if trusting you was a mistake as well!" Malebolgia snarled. "My lord...with all due respect, you can't find trust with anyone else these days. But you can trust me, I promise. Besides...who said that Skulker was the only guy I called on for help? Who's to say that I haven't already planned ahead of time and called some other bloodthirsty killers to take a go at Spawn? Trust me; even if he manages to defeat Skulker, Spawn's life will be hell until he's either dead...or he surrenders himself to you." Frenzy said as he got back up on his feet.
Malebolgia sighed before he nodded his head. "You have done a lot more than that fool Violator ever has in his career, I will give you that. All right; I trust you...but don't you dare fail me again!" Malebolgia warned before he disappeared behind a veil of hellfire. As Frenzy walked away, he seethed with rage. "As soon as I kill Spawn...I'll overthrow your gnarled up ass and assume the throne for myself! I'm the one who should've been named ruler of Hell to begin with! But give it time; I just know that Spawnie boy won't be able to live past the guys I've sent after him. And even if that fails, I'll just take matters into my own hands. You'll see...you'll all see!" Frenzy growled as his eyes glowed bright red.
Back up on the surface world, Reika woke up tied in chains in a dark warehouse. "Oh! Son of a bitch...not again; I'm so sick and tired of finding myself in these situations!" Reika growled as she rattled her chains. But as she tried to free herself, a large steel door opened up and Skulker walked into the room carrying an assault rifle in one hand and a machete in the other. "Don't worry. You won't be in those much longer...when Spawn arrives, I shall let you go." Skulker said in a surprisingly calm tone. Reika couldn't help but feel relieved as he said that, but was cautious as to what would happen next.
As Skulker paced around the room, Reika glared at him before she finally spoke. "Why are you doing this? Who the hell are you and what do you want from us?!" she demanded. Skulker looked at her before he placed his weapons down and approached her, slowly and ominously. Reika felt very uneasy as Skulker grabbed her by the face, glaring into her eyes. "You think you know all about him, don't you? That Raizo's just some great guy you can depend on; that he's a hero! Well I've got news for you, my dear...your little boyfriend has been lying to you. To him, you're just another expendable. You don't matter to him, your feelings don't mean nothing, and once he's done with you...he'll want nothing to do with you ever again. Just look at me; I'm living proof of that!" Skulker growled.
Reika jerked herself away from Skulker before she spat at him. "You are a liar! Raizo told me everything about what you did; why you betrayed him and what you did to all those innocent people!" she cried. Skulker laughed at her as he wiped the spittle off his face. "Did he now? Did he also tell you about the time he helped us launch missiles in several different cities around the world? Did he tell you that he used to be a hitman for the Yakuza? Did he tell you that he was a political assassin? Did he even tell you about all the other women he's fucked and left for dead?!" Skulker sneered.
Reika's eyes were widedened with shock as he said those things; Raizo never even told her about that, especially about sleeping around with other women. "Ah...I see. If for some reason I don't kill Raizo, you should ask him about that. And between you and me, I never really liked him to begin with when he was assigned on my team in Vietnam. I could tell that he liked to keep secrets...very deep, dark, and dirty secrets!" Skulker said with an evil chuckle. Reika didn't want to admit it, but she knew that what Skulker was saying was right. She knew that Raizo was hiding something from her all this time, but she didn't want to admit it. Now she knew why Raizo was so hard on her all the time.
She began to cry, but as if on cue...Spawn finally arrived with rage in his eyes. "DARREL! LET HER GO!" Spawn roared. Skulker laughed in amusement as he turned to face him. "Raizo...just the man I've been dying to see. What took you so long?" he joked. Spawn lunged forward and tried to punch him, but Skulker caught him by the arm and threw him across the room. Spawn cried out as he was smashed into several shelves, but he jumped back up and cried out with fury as his eyes flashed with Necroplasmic Rage. "I will tear you limb from limb, you murderer!" Spawn roared. "Me? A murderer?! Funny you should say that...because you're not so innocent either, Raizo. Isn't that right, Reika?" Skulker sneered as he glanced at her.
Reika gasped as she looked at both Hellspawns before turning her head away. "You leave her alone!" Spawn raged as he rushed towards to attack. Spawn was too angry to even focus on fighting Skulker, and unfortunately that ended with disasterous results. Spawn screamed with rage as he threw many wild punches at Skulker, but Skulker kept dodging his attacks before counter attacking him with brutal blows. "You're so weak and undisciplined, Raizo. I always was a better fighter than you, but you only beat me those few times because of your temper. But now it's my turn to put you in your place!" Skulker sneered as he kicked Spawn in the face.
Spawn cried out as he was smashed into the wall, but Skulker wanted him to suffer. He kept kicking and punching Spawn with furious blows, each one becoming more powerful than the last. Spawn cried out as he felt himself becoming weaker and weaker, much to his own dismay and shock. "AUGH! What the hell is happening to me?! Why are my powers failing?" Spawn groaned as he laid on the ground. "You're using up your energy too quickly out of anger, kiddo. Yeah, that's right...I've been doing some homework while you were out playing superhero. But look on the bright side...oh, wait. That's right; there is no bright side for you. You're fucked!" Skulker taunted before he picked Spawn up and punched him away.
Spawn screamed as he crashed into some boxes, making Reika cringe at his humilating defeat. Spawn groaned as he struggled to stand back up, but Skulker refused to let him. With a cry of anger, Skulker stomped on Spawn's back and broke his spine before roundhouse kicking him in the face and sent him flying across the room. "You know what you've chosen for yourself, Raizo? You chose misery! All I wanted was your friendship and your cooperation. That's all I wanted! You and I could've been friends...but instead, you spat in my face!" Skulker snarled as he began beating Spawn to a pulp with his fists.
Spawn growled and cried out in anguish as he was beaten, but he was not about to give up anytime soon. He was able to reach out and grab a steel girder before he stabbed it into Skulker's right eye, making him scream in agony. As Skulker reared back and screamed while holding his bleeding face, Spawn used his chains to snag onto Skulker's assault rifle. But before Spawn could get a hold of it, Skulker stepped on his chain and snapped it in two before he began savagely whipping Spawn with his own weapon.
Finally, Skulker wrapped the chain around Spawn and swung him around before launching him into the wall. Spawn cried out as he smashed into a different room and debris piled on top of him. But Skulker, being the cruel and angry fighter he was, sought to finish him once and for all. He fired his assault rifle up at weakened support beams above Spawn, which in turn collapsed on top of him and appeared to crush him to death. "NO! RAIZO!" Reika shrieked. "Face it, Raizo...you've lost. You've lost even before you became a Hellspawn! You're not even a Hellspawn, you're a pathetic loser. You always have been and always will be. Stay down in the ground where you belong; hopefully the worms and maggots that will infest your corpse keep you better company than that whore Reika ever could!" Skulker taunted. "SHUT UP!" Reika screamed.
This brought rage to Spawn's ears, and he exploded out of the debris pile roaring with fury. "DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO MY WIFE LIKE THAT AGAIN, DARREL!" Spawn roared. Reika gasped in shock as she heard him call her his wife, but Skulker burst into laughter as he said that. "Oh-ho! I see what's going on here...I see the real reason why Reika is your little comfort lady. It's because she reminds you of that whore of wife of yours, isn't it? Maybe that's why you never liked to have fun back in Nam...you were trying to stay pure, weren't you? Look at how well that turned out for you!" Skulker snorted.
Reika was at a loss for words; she honestly didn't even know what to think of Spawn anymore. Skulker smirked as he approached Reika and freed her of her chains. "A deal is a deal. You are free to go now. Oh and a word of the wise; I wouldn't even bother with that worthless piece of shit. Just leave him to rot...it's what he was made for!" Skulker said with an evil chuckle. As he left them both, Reika glared at Skulker before approaching Spawn. She didn't care what lies that asshole spat at her, but she was not going to abandon her one and only true love.
She was about to help him up on his feet, but Spawn wrenched himself away from her. "Get away from me!" he hissed angrily. "Raizo...stop it. Please, let me help you." Reika said calmly. "I said get away from me!" Spawn growled. "Raizo, let me help you. Please!" Reika said firmly. Suddenly, Spawn roared angrily as he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall and glared at her menacingly. "HELP?! I THINK YOU'VE DONE MORE THAN ENOUGH! ALL I'VE DONE IS SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS OUT OF TROUBLE, AND I'M SICK OF IT! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!" Spawn raged.
Reika ordinarily would have been afraid of Spawn at this point, but not this time. She was angry and fed up with Spawn's attitude, and she wouldn't have it anymore. "You want to know why? I'll tell you why, you selfish asshole. I love you! I love you more than I have ever loved in my entire life and I want to be with you. We were so close to having a new life together until our enemies preyed upon us! I know you are tired and so am I...but we have to trust each other and keep enduring this. I'm prepared for whatever ungodly experience lies before us...so why aren't you?" Reika scolded.
Spawn's grip softened before he backed away, looking at Reika with sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry...but I can't live like this; not in this condition. As long as I am shrouded in this darkness, I can never have a normal life with you. I tried to ignore it and run away from it...but I'm doomed to live this way for all of eternity." Spawn said grimly. "Don't give me any of that shit! If I'm willing to accept my own problems, why can't you?!" Reika shouted. "You don't understand, Reika...you just can't live with me. Everywhere I go, death always follows!" Spawn argued. "You were close to leaving that behind, Raizo! What changed?!" Reika challenged.
Spawn finally admitted the one thing he promised he would never tell her. "As much as I hate that filthy rat bastard, Frenzy is right about one thing. I've lived a blood stained life for so long, I can't keep away from killing and destroying. If you stay with me...you won't like what happens. Odds are, I might even end up hurting you...and I can't live with that! You have to go, Reika." Spawn said sternly.
Reika glared at him with tears of bitterness flowing from her eyes. "You would prefer to live this kind of a life rather than having someone by your side to care and love for you?! What the hell kind of a man are you?! You are so cold and heartless; you might as well have just killed me when you had the chance!" Reika shouted with shaking fury.
Spawn again grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall. "If I did, then it would've been a merciful thing to do compared to letting you live. You think you're the only one who wants to die? If I have to live like this, then what the hell makes you think you have the right to die? You're a spoiled, selfish, and ugly woman who takes everything she's given for granted! You don't even deserve the luxury of death!" Spawn snarled.
Reika finally lost it; that was it. That was what broke her heart and made her lose all feelings for Spawn. Here she poured her heart out to try and help him, and he spat in her face. "You know what, Raizo? Just go! Just go away and leave me alone! I never want to see you again, you son of a bitch. I hope you're happy now!" Reika sobbed as she shoved Spawn away from her.
Spawn didn't say a word or even nod his head; he just left Reika alone in the darkness as he slinked away into the shadows. With a sob of anger and agony, Reika fell to her knees in despair and cursed the day she was born. "Is this it, God? Is this how you want me to live; alone and miserable for all of eternity?! Why can't I have a happy ending for once? Why?! Do I deserve to be punished like this forever? What more can you do to torment me!?" Reika sobbed.
But unknown to her, Spawn heard what she said and felt sorrow in his heart. He would never admit it, but that's exactly how he felt. He felt like God was punishing him for all the evil things he did in his life, and that punishment would never end. "Oh, Reika...if only you knew how I felt. I'm sorry...but this is the way things are for both of us!" Spawn said sadly.