Note: Hey everybody! Whew! That was hard work thinking up a good plot for this chapter and putting it together! I got to hand it to my brother for helping me squeeze some creative juices. All right then, on with the story! due to Cohen's sudden anger, our heroes soon find themselves face to face with his pet- a powerful elite splicer! And later, Atem and his team go out on a search for the latest Reaper. If you've read my descriptions in the previous chapters, I'm sure you know who that is. Will they succeed in rescuing him? Read and find out! Enjoy!
Chapter 36: Into the Spider's Web
The silence in the atrium was soon broken by a scuttling noise followed by clattering rubble. Atem and the other Agents spun toward the source of the sound, which grew louder and louder. "AIEEE! WARNING, WARNING!" Blossom screamed in terror, "AN ELITE SPLICER IS COMING OUR WAY!"
"Holy SHIT! This is NOT GOOD!" Stephen stated, lifting up his axe. The others also lifted their weapons, and not a moment too soon. For out of the shadows came a strange-looking monstrosity, crawling at high speed on the ceiling. It was a female spider splicer, but it was unlike anything they have encountered thus far. For one thing, she had eight limbs instead of four, and every limb ended in a razor sharp bone blade. And the knees on the lower half of her body bent backward, making it resemble the limbs of an actual arachnid. And that's not all. The lower part of her abdomen had swelled up like a grotesque balloon, and grown until it was three times of her own original body and sticking out from behind her. The shape and position of that swelling augmented the splicer's gruesome resemblance of an anthropomorphic spider. The Mermaid Agents had yet to take a good look at the splicer's face, but it was clear that her tangled black hair was long and straight, and what little clothing this beast had left was barely hanging on by the waist. Mai wasted no time in taking the photo just when that thing crawled right above them.
"FLY AWAY WHILE YOU STILL CAN, LITTLE BUTTERFLIES!" Cohen roared in anger, "BECAUSE THE SPIDER IS ON THE HUNT!" And with that, the elite splicer, Paimon, leaped down from the ceiling, landing gracefully on its blades and rearing her ugly head. And boy was it ugly! It had six eyes of various sizes where there used to be two, and there were no lips: the flesh was pulled back in such a way as to expose the bulging pink gums, filled with razor sharp teeth and highly pronounced canines. The splicer let out a beastly roar, and in the background, a heavy metal song began to play.
"That's Paimon?!" Emily gasped.
"This must be the 'tarantula' that clown was talking about in his video diary!" Nathaniel shouted.
"Tarantula?!" Atem exclaimed. Right then the splicer began to swipe two of her bone blades at the group, who barely had the time to dodge. Gamma let out an angry dolphin whistle as the lights in her helmet turned blue, ready to protect her new friends.
"No doubt about it!" Mai stated, holding out her camera to the Bolt Wielder. "Look at this!" And Atem did look, taking in the new information.
Tarantula Splicer
Immensely powerful, the Tarantula splicer is the only elite splicer that is gender-specific: it is always female, evolving from the highest ranking Black Widow. It is her spider-like form that gives the spider splicers their name. True to her elite status, her speed and strength have increased, and the potency of her venom has doubled to the extreme: unless treated immediately, the poison would prove fatal. The Tarantula splicer also has additional abilities: she gains the ability to spit acid and can spin webs from her spider-like abdomen. Antipersonnel rounds have no effect on her, but like her lesser kin, she remains vulnerable to fire. Even Hunters are advised to tread carefully against this enemy.
"Such a powerful enemy!" Atem stated in awe. Soon after, Paimon went on to make her next move: she spat out a line of acid, aiming straight toward Oscar!
"WHOA!" Oscar exclaimed, barely leaping out of the way in time to dodge the attack. The acid landed on the floor, and the drummer stared in absolute shock at the hole where the substance ate it away. "AW DUDE, that could have been my butt!" Then another line of acid sped toward Oscar, who jumped out of the way again and made a run for it.
"Hey Stephen!" Jonouchi shouted, raising his flaming sword, "You know what all spider splicers have in common, don't you?"
"Yeah!" Stephen responded, reactivating his Blaze, "Let's get cooking!" The two Blaze wielders leapt toward the monstrosity, swinging their flaming weapons. But unfortunately, Paimon sped out of the way like a bullet, leaving the boys to strike nothing but the floor.
"Damn, she's fast!" Jonouchi noted in exasperation. The tarantula splicer spat out a line of acid again, forcing both Blaze wielders to dodge away in two different directions.
"We have to slow that thing down!" Mai shouted.
"But how?!" Coral replied, "Antipersonnel rounds are useless against… t-that thing!"
"True," Anzu stated, lifting her blade boomerang, "But we can still claw at it—like this! Hyeee-YA!" And she threw the boomerang in full force, slicing Paimon on the back. Paimon screeched in pain then swiped at Anzu with one of the leg blades on the back side of her body. The diplomatic protector screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her stomach.
"ANZU!" Atem and Yugi both exclaimed in horror. The tarantula splicer raised up her two arm blades, intending to strike at the wounded Anzu and finish her off. But right at that moment, Gamma came and blocked the attack with her drill arm, letting out an angry dolphin whistle. Angry that she had been denied her first victim, Paimon spat some acid right at the Big Bertha. But it didn't strike Gamma at all! Instead, out of nowhere, a jukebox flew right in front, protecting both the Hunter and her friend at once by blocking the acid like a shield. The others looked to find that Emily had activated her Titan Mind Grip.
"Thought you might use some assistance over here!" the tomboy replied with a wink. Again, Paimon roared in anger, and suddenly leapt up onto the ceiling.
"What's it doing now?!" Honda exclaimed. The Agents watched as Paimon began to extrude some spider silk from her swollen abdomen. Then she climbed down the resulting web and started swinging back and forth.
"Guess we're about to find out!" Nathaniel shouted, seeing Paimon spreading out all her bone blades and spin around. "TAKE COVER!" Unfortunately, the warning didn't come fast enough. Paimon passed by the Agents in a flash and struck seven of them head on! Specifically, Atem, Yugi, Mai, Jonouchi, Nathaniel, Stephen and Oscar! Emily sped over to join Anzu and Gamma behind their 'shield' and Honda had to drag Coral and Pegasus toward a nearby pillar. The rest went flying. Jonouchi soon collided with a wooden display case, causing an elaborately decorated treasure box to topple and fall onto his head before landing on his lap. Recovering from his daze, the sandy blonde soon started to grin in interest, his pain nearly forgotten.
"Nathaniel!" Coral exclaimed, rushing over to her boyfriend and lifting him to his feet. Apparently, the vocalist had been slashed on the chest just like the others who got hit; the wound was bleeding profusely. "Nathaniel, are you all right?"
"Ugh… I'm fine. But a little Eve wouldn't hurt." Nathaniel replied before wincing in pain. Stephen and Oscar rose to their knees in time to see Paimon cling to the ceiling again.
"SMILE AND SAY CHEESE, LITTLE BUTTERFLIES!" Cohen taunted on the TV screen.
"Damn! That bitch is getting to be a pain in the ass!" Stephen noted.
"Yeah," Oscar agreed, "but look at it this way: it couldn't get any worse, could it?" As if on cue, there were voices screaming melodiously like in a death metal rock concert.
"I wish you didn't say that, Oscar Boy!" Pegasus gasped.
"AIEEEE! INCOMING SPLICER HORDE!" Blossom shrieked in terror before hiding behind her master's shoulder. And sure enough, there was a horde of spider splicers charging at them in top speed.
"Oh great!" Yugi stated sarcastically, "And dealing with our tarantula is hectic enough! We're really in the spider's web now!"
"What do we do now?!" Mai asked.
Kaiba looked up and glared at the tarantula splicer crawling on the ceiling. "Why don't you quit staring and concentrate on the swarm?! Leave the queen to me!" And with that, he leapt up toward the ceiling.
"Kaiba!" Atem shouted, but the Splicer Killer was already in pursuit on his elite splicer prey.
"Hey you!" Kaiba bellowed, "Wanna dance?!" A graceful kick with his blade boots did the trick, slashing Paimon on one of the eyes. With a roar of pain and fury, she concentrated her attacks on the Splicer Killer who dared to mimic the moves of her lesser kind.
Back on the ground, the swarm of spider splicers came down from the ceiling to make their approach. "Keep those spider splicers at a distance!" Honda commanded, firing his pistol, "Don't let them come close!" Pegasus joined in the fray, his machine gun striking down several of the weaker spider splicers. Mai and Anzu helped out, using their crossbow and dart gun respectively. This gave the other Mermaid Agents the time they needed to use the Nami serum and heal themselves.
"All right, playtime's over!" Jonouchi announced, setting the treasure box to the side and lifting his sword. "Ready to clean out some cobwebs?"
"Ready when you are!" Emily answered.
"Let's do this! Heads up!" Oscar exclaims, tossing a bust of an unknown artist, which the tomboy caught with her telekinesis and thrust into a group of brown recluses. Stephen wasted no time decapitating a black widow splicer. Even Gamma joined the fray, assisting Yugi via a drill to another black widow's chest. The Prince of Kyoki added a finishing touch with his throwing cards. Yugi and the Bouncer exchanged a high five soon after.
Atem-Mon!" Nathaniel shouted, holding off a third black widow. "Why aren't you helping us? You're worried about Kaiba-Mon, aren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Atem replied, staring at the fight in the ceiling, "He's fighting that abomination alone with no one to help him!"
Indeed, the two fighters were evenly matched. Kaiba was doing his best to keep Paimon at a distance, and whenever he had free hands with each flip, he would launch volley after volley of ice spikes. But the tarantula splicer, to his growing shock, either dodged the volley with effortless grace, or simply spliced the ice spikes to pieces without being frozen in the process. Of course, Kaiba returned the favor by dodging the monster's acid spitting. The Splicer Killer glared hard at his opponent. There's got to be something that can stop this mutant in her tracks, he thought, but what is it? And how? Right at that moment, Paimon charged forward, snapping her jaws. Kaiba sped out of the way, flipping over to the side to thrust his gauntlet blades into the tarantula's back. She uttered a shriek of agony before she shook him off. Quickly, the Splicer Killer latched once more onto the ceiling and was now attempting to distance himself from his enemy, performing backflips to do so. But it wasn't long before Paimon gained the upper hand; she stretched out to move her spider-like abdomen and shot out spidersilk, which caught Kaiba by the ankles right when he was just before his gauntlet blades even got a chance to make contact!
"Kaiba! No!" Atem shouted, seeing the Splicer Killer dangle on the ceiling in a daze. It was then that Paimon charged again. It came so fast that Kaiba had no time to react. He let out a scream of pain as Paimon's razor sharp teeth sank deep into his right shoulder. "KAIBA!" Atem shouted again in horror. It was at that moment the Splicer Killer found himself overcome with a sudden weakness; it was now clear that he had been poisoned.
"Kaiba, hold on!" Yugi exclaimed, "MULTIPLE CLONE!" His Overdrive Ability activated, the League leader and his six illusional clones launched a volley of card blades on Paimon before she could do any further harm. One card tore the web that held the weakened Kaiba captive, leading him to plummet toward the ground. Thankfully Nathaniel was there to catch him.
"I suppose this time, you owe me!" he stated. The tarantula splicer thrashed about overhead, voicing her fury.
"Aw man, if she wasn't pissed off before, she's really pissed off now!" Honda noted, "We have to slow her down before she makes us the main course!"
Kaiba's eyes widened in realization. "Atem!" he croaked, digging into his pockets, "Use the Electric Flesh gene tonic! It may be the one thing that could help us beat it!" And with his remaining strength, he tossed the bottle to the Bolt wielder, who caught it with no problem. "H-hurry up and equip it!" He winced in pain, then fell unconscious soon after. After a moment of stunned silence, Atem got the point, and quickly injected the gene tonic into himself. In almost an instant, he felt the power of his Bolt plasmid grow stronger and surge through his body. Lifting his hand and channeling his electrical charge, he peered up at the tarantula splicer with a glare.
"You'll pay for hurting my friends like that!" He reeled his arm back as if ready to throw a baseball. "ELECTRIC WHIP!" He threw his arm forward, and a whip made completely out of lightning surged toward Paimon, and before she even realized what's going on, it wrapped itself around her massive body. Once it made full contact, the whip pulsated with electricity, shocking the beast. With all his strength, Atem pulled downward, dragging the immobilized tarantula to the ground with a crash, crushing some of the remaining spider splicers in the process. "Jonouchi! Stephen! Finish her while she's stunned!" Atem commanded.
"Got it!" answered the two Blaze wielders, lifting their weapons and unleashing their Overdrive Ability. "SPINNING INFERNO!" The two rings of fire seemed to slice through what's left of the horde before making contact with Paimon. She let out a final roar before her body fell to charred pieces. Stephen let out an exhausted sigh as he hid his Blaze plasmid once more.
"Good riddance…" he mused.
"It's not over yet!" Nathaniel exclaimed, "Kaiba-Mon's been poisoned! He's fading away even as I speak!"
"Oh no!" Atem gasped, "The digital research camera said that the venom of the tarantula splicer is twice as deadly as that of the black widow's!"
"What should we do?" Anzu asked in worry, to which Gamma shrugged and dolphin whistled as if to say, 'I don't know.'
"You're asking the wrong guy Anzu." Jonouchi replied.
"W-wait a second…" Coral gasped suddenly, "Tenenbaum's gift! Put him on the ground!" She dug into her pockets as her boyfriend gently laid the dying Kaiba by the treasure box Jonouchi discovered, and took out the more potent bottles of Nami anti-venom. "This anti-venom was made especially for a situation like this! I only hope we're not too late!" She immediately injected the serum on the forearm, while others watched, holding their breath. At first, it seemed that nothing was happening, but then the Splicer Killer's body grew more relaxed and his breath became steady.
"So, did it work?" Emily asked.
"I'm not sure," Coral replied, "but he is stable from what I can see. We just need to wait now."
By then, the flames were dying down, giving a certain Goth artist a good view of what had happened. "OH! MY PRECIOUS PAIMON!" Cohen wailed on screen. Then to the astonishment he immediately grew calm. "Oh well… I suppose I can always get another pet tarantula." With the exception of the unconscious Kaiba, there was not a single agent of the Mermaid League that was without a sweatdrop after that unexpected comment.
"Whoa, does that guy have mood swings or what?" Honda noted
"Sorry about the outburst." Cohen continued, "You'll have to forgive a virtuoso like me for his artistic temperament. After all, the birth of my baby is getting so close now… the labor pains are so intense, and even the finest of spirits can be a slave of his passions." Once more the spotlight shone on the trapdoor as a new plaster 'sculpture' rose out to the tune of the Zelda treasure discovery, holding yet another gift: a box full of fine steel shurikens made just for Yugi. "Now if only my personal Nagi-maker would learn to appreciate our efforts…"
"Nagi-maker?" Yugi queried in confusion.
But it was Atem that figured it out first. "You mean that Reaper that was in the balcony a while ago?"
"Of course, little butterflies." Cohen answered with a smirk. "He goes by the name of Ryuji Otogi. Quite a charming boy, and he brews up an excellent cup of splicer coffee. Of course, that's the only reason I keep him around at the request of his old man; otherwise, I would have strung the boy up on the spider's web as well."
"What do you mean?" Mai asked.
"I'm sure you happened to come across a certain video diary of a rather familiar clown, hm?" Cohen stated.
Nathaniel answered, "Y-yes of course we—wait a second!" his eyes widened in shocked realization, putting the pieces together. "Are you saying that the clown who did that entry is Otogi-Mon's father?!"
"That's right!" Cohen replied. "He was once one of my disciples, but he proved himself to be one of the biggest doubters in the history of Kyoki! So I put an end to those doubts of his once and for all. The end result is clearly plain to see."
"What results?" Jonouchi asked.
"Hey!" Blossom squeaked, "I think he's talking about that!" she pointed straight at the Goth artist's masterpiece. Pegasus, Mai, Coral and Nathaniel were the first to connect all of the dots.
"Of course!" Nathaniel gasped, "Now I remember where we've seen him before! He's the plaster clown 'statue' in the quadtych!" The other Mermaid Agents stared in equal shock at the discovery.
"Correct, little butterflies!" Cohen stated. "I was running low on my supply of Nagi, so I agreed to spare Otogi at his father's last request, under the condition that he live the rest of his life as a Reaper. It's been about a year since that time, and now that thing is sixteen, the age of death. Not that I care; once I find a suitable replacement, he would have no more use for me."
"That's awful!" Anzu whispered, soft enough so that Cohen wouldn't hear.
We'll have to put a stop to this! Atem stated telepathically to his doppelganger.
Yeah, but how? Yugi asked.
Leave this to me, Yugi. I have a plan.
"Anyway," Cohen continued, "It's time for your final mission: Louis Rodriguez!" The drumroll played, and the spotlight shone on the remaining Mermaid Agents who had yet to have a piece of the action: Honda, Anzu, Yugi and Atem. "This is it, little butterflies… according to my calculations, Rodriguez will be heading out on his way to the most famous venue in all of Kyoki: Izanami's Underworld! A perfect site for an ambush!"
"Izanami's Underworld!" Yugi gasped in surprise, "T-that's where my mother used to work! I haven't been to that place since the day she was killed—Father wouldn't let me go there anymore!"
"I figured you might be familiar with that strip club, your highness." Cohen noted, "Brought back a lot of memories, didn't it? Well, I think this would be an excellent time to catch up with the lovely Orchid! She may be a ghost now, but she's still doing her stuff with her famous pole dancing routine. She would be so pleased to see you again! That's why I've decided to let 'Master' Pegasus sit it out this time, since you know the directions like the back of your hand. Now hurry on over before he gets there!" And the Goth artist was about to disappear from the screen again when…
"Hold on!" Atem shouted suddenly.
"Hm? You have a question?" Cohen asked in annoyance.
"Actually, I have a proposition of my own to offer you." Atem replied.
From behind his golden bunny mask, Cohen raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, it better be worth my time."
"Oh trust me, Cohen, it will be worth your time!" Atem declared, pointing at his client, "We will not take down Louis Rodriguez on your behalf until you let us deal with Otogi first!"
"Deal with Otogi?" Cohen queried.
"Consider it a little side game between us." Atem proposed with a confident smirk, "Let's make a bet. I wager Otogi's freedom and all the Nagi left over from his slug that I will extract the slug from his body—without killing him!"
Now the Goth artist was completely interested. He smirked. "Ah, that is an intriguing proposition! But I'm not so sure about giving him up for a gamble."
"Well, you said so yourself: he's sixteen, and his symbiotic relationship with his slug will collapse at any time and kill him, correct?"
"That's correct. He's practically worthless after that."
"So think of it this way: we're doing you a favor by doing this wager."
"And you will continue on with our collaboration afterword, whatever the outcome?"
"Yes. You scratch our back for once, and we'll keep scratching yours."
"Hmmmm." The Goth artist put a finger to the side of his chin, considering the options. At last his lips curled in that twisted grin. "Very well, little butterfly! I accept your proposal! It's not like my Nagi-maker would keep working anyway!"
"Good! We'll head off now." Atem finished. Once Cohen was gone, the Bolt wielder turned toward Pegasus. "Do you mind if I borrow Blossom for a while?"
"No not at all." replied the Grand Master of the Arts, taking Blossom from his shoulder. "Blossom, take good care of Atem Boy and his friends, would you?"
"Okie Dokie, Master!" Blossom squeaked cheerfully as she leaped onto Atem's hands and climbed onto his shoulder.
"Come on Gamma," Anzu stated to her Bouncer friend, "We could use your help as well." Gamma nodded in agreement. Yugi went over to the gift box and took out his new shurikens, putting them in his pouch.
"Hey Yugi, check it out!" Jonouchi stated, pointing to the treasure box he found, "You ever wonder what's inside that chest? From the design, it must be something very important."
"Why don't you open it and find out?" asked the Prince of Kyoki.
"I could, but it's locked tight."
"Really?" Oscar stated, "That makes me even more curious now! What if the Ace in the Hole is inside there?"
"It is possible." Mai noted, "But we don't know for sure. So for now, it's best for you guys to keep watch over that treasure as well as Kaiba, so that we can focus on the task at hand."
"Sure. Just be careful everyone." Jonouchi stated.
"Don't worry Jonouchi, we will." Honda replied.
Somewhere in the halls of Fort Frolic, not far from where Ryujin's Plaza was located, a rather unusual pair was wandering side by side. The smaller of the two, the Scavenger, was a boy of German origin with violet hair held in a ponytail, and dressed in a tattered long sleeved shirt and a wool vest, along with brown shorts and dress shoes, all covered with blood. He was having a hard time catching up to his Nagi-gathering companion: Cohen's personal Reaper, Ryuji Otogi. "Hey!" the Scavenger called out, running after the Reaper, "Otogi, wait for me! You're not the only one looking for angels!"
"I know Leon." Otogi replied, his voice carrying the deep undertone like his charge, "Hurry up!"
The Scavenger, whose full name was Leon von Schroeder, picked up the pace, eventually catching up to his guardian. "Aw c'mon, you know I can't run as fast as you!"
"If Bubbles could speak human languages," Otogi noted, hefting his rifle syringe on his shoulder, "That's exactly what he might say to a Scavenger like you."
Leon was practically pouting by now. "But you're not as big as him, or as heavy!"
"True, but at least I'm fast enough to get you out of harm's way." The Reaper ruffled the smaller boy's hair in a playful manner. "Now let's go. We don't want to keep the angels waiting. And the sooner they give us what we need, the sooner you can go back to Siegfried, okay?"
"Ja. Okay." Leon replied, thinking of his older brother as they traveled onward. It had been two years since the younger von Schroeder had been taken from his high class family and converted into Scavenger, with both parents killed in the 2006 New Year's Attack. Only last year did he reunite with Siegfried, who had also survived the massacre, and ever since then the elder von Schroeder has kept a close eye on him. Although the rich young man with long pink hair had power and prestige as any Kyoki upperclassman had, he was neither a strong fighter nor a Plasmund, and thus he had to stay in one of the Safehouses. So it was understandable that, whenever the Scavenger had to go out on his gathering task, Siegfried would be worried sick. The fact was not lost on Leon, nor was it lost on Otogi. Not long after the dice player was converted into a Reaper by his cruel Goth artist master a year ago, Leon's Hunter was slain by one of the splicers roaming Fort Frolic. Otogi rescued him from the ghastly fate of harvestation, and ever since then he had taken upon himself to watch over the boy for as long as he had to live. And he won't have much longer. "Otogi!" Leon shouted suddenly, his blank yellow eyes glowing widening with fear, "Look! There's another one!" He pointed at what appeared to be the corpse of a child. It was clear that it was a Scavenger, harvested in the most brutal way possible.
"Oh my God…" Otogi gasped, kneeling by the corpse. "This is the cruelest act of harvestation yet! What—or who—could be doing this?"
"O-Otogi?" Leon stuttered, clinging to his guardian's arm, "A-am I going to be next?"
The dice player lifted his rifle syringe, as if preparing for battle. "Don't worry, Leon. I won't let it happen to you." It wasn't long before the hall was filled with the sounds of rubble clattering to the floor. The pair spun toward the source of the sound. Out of the shadows came a small but powerful gang of spider splicers, led by three mage splicers: one fire, one ice and one lightning.
"Hey look!" the fire mage splicer exclaimed as if in excitement, "We've come across the Mother Lode!"
"Yeah, screw Cohen!" shouted the lightning mage, "Those two are mine!"
"Save some for me!" complained the ice mage. And soon, the first mage splicer, a fire mage, shot out balls of fire toward the pair. Otogi grabbed his Scavenger companion by the hand and sped out of the way. Then the Reaper took out what appeared to be three dice from his pockets.
"You want to play rough, heh?" Otogi taunted, "Well how about a game of craps?" Thusly, he took hold of one die and threw it toward the ground. The die spun until it landed it came up on a three. There was a flash of light, signaling its activation, and instantly a thunderbolt flashed outward, striking the fire mage and the ice mage. The lightning mage dodged the third arc easily, however.
"After them, you arachnids!" commanded the lightning mage, "Get 'em!" The spider splicers didn't hesitate. One launched themselves from the ceiling and landed between the Reaper and Scavenger. Horrified, Leon made a run for it, and the spider splicer chase him in hot pursuit.
"Leon!" Otogi shouted and tried to go after them, but was soon blocked by another squad of spider splicers.
"You ain't goin' NOWHERE!" one of the splicer shouted, raising his sickle. Soon Leon and the pursuing splicer were out of sight.
"LEON!" Otogi screamed. It didn't take long before he realized he was surrounded. The air was filled with wicked chuckles.
In another part of Fort Frolic, Atem and his group were searching the halls. "Otogi's gotta be around here somewhere…" Honda muttered.
"Hold on!" Yugi stated suddenly, putting a hand to his ear. "Do you guys hear something?" The others stopped to listen.
"All I hear is my stomach." Honda stated.
"No, Yugi's right!" Mai noted, straining to listen. "It sounds like a Scavenger screaming! But I don't get it. Shouldn't they have a Hunter with them?"
"Most of them should as far as I know." Anzu noted. Suddenly Blossom screamed in terror.
"EEEEK! WARNING, WARNING! SPLICER DETECTED!"
Atem gasped in horror, which soon gave way to determined rage. "Hurry everyone! I have a feeling this Scavenger is in danger!" As if to agree with the Bolt wielder, the green light in Gamma's helmet once more turned blue and she charged ahead to follow the sound, with the rest of the Agents following close behind.
Leon couldn't recall a time when his heart beat so quickly, nor could he recall a moment when he had to run so fast. Every time he looked back, he would find the spider splicers behind him, approaching him at a fast pace. It made the boy run even faster. Soon he cut a corner, hoping to lose his pursuer. Soon the boy could only hear the sound of his own footsteps. He slowed down, panting, raising his gun syringe as he looked around, hoping that there was no sign of the splicer. Then suddenly, the splicer came out of nowhere, landing from right behind the terrified boy. Upon seeing the attacker from behind him, Leon screamed and fell to the ground on his butt. He crawled backward, trying to keep his distance, but the spider splicer only chuckled.
"You really think you can get away that easily?" he taunted, "Well, there's no escape now! Your Adam is mine!" and he raised a sickle with the intention of striking the boy… when suddenly a huge fist made contact with the enemy's face, which sent him flying while separating him from his mask. Out of the shadows lumbered Gamma, blue lights flashing. The splicer looked up in surprise. "H-HEY! W-where did you come from?!" he whimpered cowardly, "I-I-I thought this shit didn't have a Big Bertha!" Gamma let out an angry dolphin screech and raised her drill arm. "No, DON'T!" begged the spider splicer in a haste, but it was to no avail. In one strike, the Big Bertha plunged her whirling drill into her enemy's chest, killing him instantly. Seeing how his attacker was now dead, Leon no longer felt afraid... he knew he was safe. Gamma turned around to face him, the lights in her helmet fading back to green.
"…Miss Buttercup?" Leon stated, smiling as he stood up. "Boy am I glad to see you!" Only when he got a closer look at the Bouncer that he noticed the color. "Hey, wait a minute… why are your lights green?" It was then that the five Mermaid Agents arrived on the scene.
"Oh, thank the gods we made it in time!" Atem sighed in relief.
Anzu stepped forward, bending down. "Are you all right?"
The Scavenger stared at the group in confusion. "Uh… Ja. I'm fine." He turned to face Gamma. "Who are these people?" Gamma emitted a friendly dolphin whistle and gestured toward the Agents as if to introduce them. "A-are you saying they're friends? Are you sure?" Gamma nodded, but Leon still hesitated.
"I think this is a good time to prove Gamma's words." Yugi noted to his doppelganger.
Atem looked at Anzu, who nodded in agreement. With their approval, Atem smiled and knelt down toward the boy. "There's no need to worry, Little One. You're in good hands."
"Little?" Leon pouted, "I'm not little! I'll be twelve next month!"
Atem let out a soft gentle chuckle. "Ah, so you will! Well, come here then. Don't be afraid. I have something to show you." Slowly, Leon made his approach, and Atem allowed the Restoration plasmid to take over. "Just close your eyes, and relax…" Then the Bolt wielder cradled the Scavenger in his arms and activated the plasmid. When the light faded, the pink banded rapture slug lay dead at their feet. With now lively hazel eyes, the newly restored Leon stared down at the slug and then at himself, unable to believe what had just happened at first. Then he began to smile. "Oh, you saved me! Danke!"
"Danke is 'thank you' in German. My grandma taught me that." Anzu noted to a confused Bolt wielder, who soon nodded in understanding.
"My brother Siegfried will be thrilled when he sees me now!" the now ex-Scavenger exclaimed joyfully, but then gasped when he realized something important. "Oh! I've got to find Otogi! He needs to know I'm okay!"
"Otogi?" Honda gasped.
"Ja," Leon replied, "Ever since my Hunter died, Otogi's been protecting me from the monsters that roam the streets. He's really good at it too! He's fighting a group of monsters even as I speak! And I guess… that's the reason why we got separated."
"Do you know where he is?" Atem asked.
"…No." Leon replied sadly.
A thoughtful smile came upon Atem's face. "Well, don't fret. We'll help you find him. And if you want, we'll save him the same way we did with you."
Leon's face lit up in an instant. "Really? You'll do that?"
"Of course." Yugi replied.
"Then please do when we find him!" Leon pleaded, "Since he's sixteen and a Reaper, I can't stand the thought of him dying! He's still got a life ahead of him!"
"Then hop onto Miss Buttercup over there, Hon!" Mai stated, winking and pointing to Gamma with her thumb. "She'll give you a ride to keep you safe." Gamma extended her hand as though to invite the ex-Scavenger.
"All right!" Leon exclaimed excitedly, hopping on to the Bouncer without hesitation.
"Bring out the map Blossom." Atem requested.
"Okie Dokie, Mister Atem Boy!" Blossom squeaked, loading the Fort Frolic map on her monitor.
"Can you recall the last place you were before you came here?" Anzu asked kindly.
"Um… I don't know." Leon replied, "I think it's down that hall over to the right. I'm not sure though."
"In that case, let's start there." Yugi suggested, "Oh by the way, what's your name?"
"It's Leon." The ex-Scavenger replied, "Leon von Schroeder."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Leon." Yugi greeted. "Anyway, there's no time like the present! If we're lucky, we'll run into Otogi before we know it!"
Meanwhile, Otogi was slammed onto the ground by the impact of his enemies. Due to his status as a Reaper, his wounds were quickly healed, but the pain remained. The air was filled with mocking chuckles as the splicer gang cornered the dice player. "It's the end of the line, asshole!" the lightning mage taunted, "Now die so we can get the Nagi!" The splicer unleashed his lightning bolts upon the Reaper, which the latter dodged without a sign of effort. Otogi took out his three dice.
"Since you bastards are making this difficult on my part," he declared, "it's time to bring out the big guns!" Quickly, he threw the dice toward the ground. They each spun until one by one they stopped at a number. Otogi watched, holding his breath as the numbers revealed themselves. A six… a six… Then finally the third die slowed down and came to a halt on a third number six—and the results were in. "YES! An eighteen!" Otogi cheered with a smirk, then pointed at his opponents as the three dice began to flash together. "IT'S RAPTURE RUPTURE TIME!" Before long, a huge ball of light expanded from the focal point and engulfed the splicer gang, stripping flesh and muscle from their bones before blasting the bones themselves to pieces. The force of this most powerful Overdrive Ability was so powerful that the structure of the surrounding architecture felt the impact. There were several screams, followed by a tremendous boom.
The screams of splicers echoed in the halls as Atem and his team traveled down the hall. The tremors nearly sent them to the ground. Thankfully, everyone was still standing. "What was that?!" Honda exclaimed. "Did another tunnel just collapse?!"
"No." Mai noted, "Everything's still in place according to Blossom's map."
Then Leon gasped. "It's Otogi! He must have unleashed the Rapture Rupture!"
"Rapture Rupture?" Yugi queried.
"Ja! Only Reapers in their highest level can unleash the power of that Overdrive Ability, but Otogi can activate it using only three dice. He doesn't use the raw Adam at all!"
The others were amazed at what they had heard, and soon Atem spoke up. "Hurry everyone! Otogi must be somewhere close to that area! The sooner we find him, the sooner we can save him!" The group picked up the pace, and before long, Atem was running far ahead of his friends.
"Atem, wait for us!" Anzu shouted. But he was already out of sight.
Soon the Bolt wielder reached the balcony overseeing the expanse before him. "Oh, Mister Atem Boy!" Blossom squeaked in surprise, "Things went boom shaka-laka!" And no wonder. The ground was covered in fresh splatters of blood, with only the tiny pieces of bone and organs remaining. And there, striding toward the middle to retrieve his dice was a certain Reaper he saw prior to his battle with the tarantula splicer.
"Otogi! There he is!" Atem gasped, and took hold of the robot doll. "Blossom, contact Honda at once!"
"Okie Dokie!" It wasn't long before Honda appeared on the screen.
"Atem?!" the Telekinesis wielder exclaimed, "Where the hell are you?! You shouldn't run ahead of us like that, not with Blossom by your side! She has our map, after all!"
"Sorry about the rush," Atem replied, "but I just found Otogi! If you can, hurry over to the section by the abandoned cigarette shop: that's where he is now!"
"Great!" Yugi answered, "Make sure he doesn't run off. After all, I have a feeling he's not going to make it easy for us to rescue him. We'll meet you there as fast as we can!" With the call over, Atem observed the Reaper as he quietly made his approach.
"Damn splicers!" Otogi growled to himself as he picked up his dice, "I have to find Leon before those bastards harvest him!"
All the while, Atem was traveling down the stairs, when suddenly, he slipped and nearly tumbled to the ground. He managed to stay up, but Blossom plummeted to the ground, bouncing on her head once before landing unharmed on her butt. "Owie!" she squeaked, rubbing her head. All that commotion grabbed the attention of the wary Otogi.
"Huh?" Soon his eyes laid on the Bolt wielder. "Who are you?! Where did you come from?!"
"O-Otogi!" Atem stuttered in shock, "I-"
"YOU BETTER NOT HAVE LAID YOUR FILTHY HANDS ON LEON!" the Reaper bellowed, "OR THERE'S GONNA BE HELL TO PAY!" And immediately, he tossed a die toward his perceived opponent. It landed on a one, flashing before igniting in a firey explosion. Atem barely managed to move out of the way, and Blossom took hold of the Bolt wielder's pant leg before she started climbing and her friend started running trying to get close to the dice player.
"Otogi, stop this!" Atem shouted, "I mean you no harm!"
"STAY BACK!" Otogi snapped, jumping away before tossing another die. This time it landed on a four, unleashing a large swarm of ants—fire ants—which scuttled toward Atem in top speed. The swarm soon tried to crawl up on his legs.
"HEY! OW! GET OFF!" Atem exclaimed, jumping up and stomping the fire ants trying to shake them off. Luckily, he managed to zap the majority of the swarm due to the Bolt plasmid in his bloodstream. So this is what Leon was talking about! He thought, These aren't ordinary dice!
"Wow, he's really mad Mister Atem Boy!" Blossom squeaked, hanging onto Atem's belt and pointing to the Reaper as he jumped away again.
"I don't know who—or what—you are," Otogi barked, raising his three dice in the air. "But it's clear to see that it's gonna take more than one die to take you down!" With that, he tossed the dice toward the Bolt wielder. One by one the three dice stopped on a specific number. The combined result? A nine. The three dice flashed simultaneously, momentarily blinding the Bolt wielder. When his vision cleared, he heard voices inside his head.
"W-what the?!" Atem stated in confusion. Staring at Otogi, he soon found some rather strange figures surrounding the Reaper. These figures resembled a 1950's vintage version of the Gatherer's Garden dolls. Atem was rather perplexed by the scene… the dolls seemed cute enough. Then suddenly, the dolls lifted up… knives?! And their cutesy visage turned scary in an instant! Their mouths opened, revealing a set of sharp rotting fangs and their eyes turned yellow and bloodshot! Their screams, unnatural! This startled Atem to no end, and before he knew it, they started launching themselves toward him. He did his very best to dodge the incoming knives, seeing how those beasts were very fast.
"Mister Atem Boy!" Blossom squeaked, climbing up to his shoulder, "Keep your eye on the Reaper!" Then out of nowhere, one of the ghastly dolls leapt up from behind him, taking him by surprise. He had no time to react as the knife thrust downward toward his face. He shut his eyes, waiting for the impact. It never came. When he opened his eyes, he found no injury on his body, no blood.
"What just happened?" he asked to himself. Then another ghastly doll tried to sneak up on him. He was ready this time, and he spun around to strike the thing with his staff. Much to his surprise, it went right through it! Soon her knife slashed his leg. The gash he saw was bleeding profusely, but to his further surprise, he felt no pain at all. He quickly reached out to touch the wound and see the blood in his hand. It seemed real enough, but it didn't feel real. That's when it suddenly dawned on him. Of course! he thought, It's only an illusion! A hallucination! He looked down to find that the wound had vanished in an instant, as did the blood in his hand. These dice are even more powerful than I thought! And as if on cue, Otogi threw a large die which struck Atem on the head. Hard. "OW!" he yelped, clutching his forehead. The die landed on a one, igniting the flaming grenade. He barely had time to escape the attack. That was real for sure!
Otogi bellowed as he ran, "I'M WARNING YOU, IF I FIND LEON AND HE'S HARVESTED, THEN YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!" Unbeknownst to the Reaper, Atem's companions had arrived on the scene. Gamma let out a very concerned dolphin whistle.
"Otogi!" Leon gasped.
"Atem!" Anzu shouted likewise. Atem stopped in his run as if to dodge some unseen enemy.
"What is going on with him?!" Mai asked.
"He's under the hallucination effect!" Leon answered hastily.
"Say what now?" Honda queried.
"It's one of the powers of Otogi's dice!" the German ex-Scavenger explained.
"Oh man!" Yugi stated, "And if Otogi is using them to attack Atem… We've got to clear up this misunderstanding, and quick!"
"OTOGI! OTOGI, WAIT!" Atem shouted as he ran after the Reaper. He was close enough to touch him when suddenly he was sent flying into a corner. The dice player had just plummeted him with a roundhouse kick. The Bolt wielder was bruised, but he managed to sit up and face the boy. "Listen to me…! I'm not here to hunt you down, nor am I here to hunt Leon! You need to trust me!"
"Trust you?! HA!" Otogi barked, "For all I know, you might have harvested Leon already! Now JUST DIE ALREADY!" Once more, Otogi tossed the three dice. Suddenly, to everyone's shock, Leon, leapt off of Gamma's back, and before the worried Mermaid Agents could go after him, he rushed over and stood in front of Atem, as if to protect him.
"No Otogi!" Leon shouted, "Don't hurt him! He's telling the truth! He really is on our side!"
Otogi stared at the ex-Scavenger, undoubtedly surprised by Leon's sudden appearance. There was his charge, and not only was he alive and safe, he was much more than that. "Leon…?" But before he had the time to fully register the situation, the last of the three dice came to a halt. He Reaper looked down and his mouth gaped open in horror when he saw the results of his latest roll: a three. All three dice came up with a one facing up. Instantly, the dice flashed and black lighting struck the dice player, and he fell face down to the ground, unconscious.
"OTOGI!" Atem hollered in horror and ran over to the Reaper. The others rush over to join the Bolt wielder.
"Oh my God!" Mai gasped, "Is he dead?"
"Nope, it doesn't look like it." Yugi replied. Indeed, after all that happened, the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest confirmed that he was still alive.
"What just happened over here?" Honda asked.
"…Unlucky roll." Leon answered, and everyone turned toward the German boy in curiosity. "Otogi told about what will happen in an unlucky roll. If the result is a three, the dice backfire in such a way that it puts the wielder in a coma."
"It's not permanent, is it?" Anzu asked.
Leon shook his head. "Nein. He'll wake up in three minutes."
"Well, at least it will give us time to take him to a safe place," Atem reasoned, "And restrain him long enough to use Restoration, if necessary." Gamma lifted Otogi up over her shoulder, keeping him secure. "Let's go somewhere safe before any splicers come along."
"Oh! Oh! I know a good place we can hide!" Blossom piped up, showing her monitor, "Just follow the map!"
It had been about two minutes since the Mermaid Agents found a safe haven in an old abandoned cigarette shop, and since then they have been sitting there, staring at the comatose Otogi, waiting for the three minutes to be up so he would awaken. Atem had since fully recovered from the dice's hallucination effect, although there's no doubt the image of that disturbing illusion would haunt his nightmares. The Reaper's head was resting on Gamma's huge forearm, and he had a very peaceful look on his face. "Ugh, c'mon!" Honda moaned with impatience, "Wake up so we can save you!"
"Your complaining isn't going to make him get up faster." Anzu noted in frustration.
"Leon?" Yugi stated to the German ex-Scavenger, pointing to a nearby wall, "There's one of those hiding holes. Are you sure you don't want to go there?"
"Not until you save Otogi." Leon answered. "I wanna be there when it happens."
"You're really attached to him, aren't you?"
Leon laughed. "Ja. But not as much as I'm attached to Siegfried. He's always waiting for me in one of the Safehouses."
"Well, it's good to know you still have a family." Mai noted.
Leon's smile grew a little sad at that comment, even as he nodded in agreement. "He's the only family I have left."
Suddenly, on the 30 second mark, there was some flickering on the screen of a small TV resting on the counter. They were no doubt surprised when Cohen made his 'entrance'. Leon inched away from the TV. "Ah, little butterflies!" Cohen stated, "I was wondering where you have fluttered off."
"Well, well, if it isn't the great Sander Cohen!" Atem greeted in a satirical manner, his lips in a confident smirk. "What brings your little video camera to this part of Fort Frolic?"
"Oh, I just wanted to check up on our little wager. Let's see here…" When the Goth artist laid eyes on his sleeping 'Nagi factory', he let out a wicked chuckle. "You foolish little butterfly! You said that you can remove the rapture slug from my Nagi-maker without killing him! And yet, look at him! Are you sure he's not dead in the arms of that walking diving suit?"
"Absolutely sure!" Atem answered, "In fact, I haven't removed the slug yet! But trust me, it's not going to be long before I do! You're just in time to watch the show!"
"Very well, I'll stay and watch then!" The team could clearly see Cohen's own confident smirk, understanding that he wanted the Bolt wielder to lose the bet. At that moment, Otogi finally began to stir.
"Hey!" Leon gasped, "He's waking up!"
"Get ready, Atem." Anzu reminded him. Atem nodded in understanding, allowing the Restoration plasmid to take over, while Gamma tightened her grip a bit in case the Reaper tries to escape. Slowly, the dice player opened his blank eyes.
"Otogi!" Leon stated, coming close to his guardian. Otogi blinked at least twice, shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again, unable to believe that he wasn't dreaming.
"Leon…?" he gasped in a dazed amazement, "You… you look human again… how?" It was then that Atem approached the Reaper in a single stride. Otogi hardly had any time to react before the Bolt wielder's hand touched his forehead. The power of the Restoration plasmid surged forth as the Bolt wielder cradled the head of the soon-to-be ex-Reaper and soon its light cracked through the skin before engulfing the whole room. When finally faded, a single dead rapture slug with a pink stripe plopped to the floor like limp catfish. There was hardly any sores at all, since it was seldom used for its Nagi. Cohen stared at the sight in utter disbelief—as did Otogi, who was not only alive and well, but was once again a normal teenager! It wasn't long before his lively green eyes took a good look at his body, which was once more a healthy color of fresh cream. "W-wha… What just happened? I'm…"
"Otogi! You're saved!" Leon cried happily, leaping toward his guardian and giving him a hug. Otogi, however, had eyes on the young man he was previously fighting.
"Did you do this?" he asked.
"Yes Otogi." Atem replied with a smile. "You no longer have to live at the whims of the rapture slug—and neither will Leon. Your task is fulfilled."
"Really?!"
"Ugh. Apparently so." Cohen grumbled before he faced Atem. "I never expected that you would actually have that kind of plasmid, Little Butterfly. Come to think of it, I never really thought such a plasmid existed in the first place. Quite a clever invention… No matter."—his black chapped lips curled into a smile, but it did nothing to hide the wound to his pride—"It takes a lot of guts for a gambler to swallow his pride and admit defeat when he loses a bet. But you, Little Butterfly… you beat me fair and square. So I suppose I have no choice but to fulfill my end of the bargain." The Goth artist directed his gaze at his servant. "Otogi, I hereby release you from the chains of my bondage. Consider yourself a free man."
"W-what?!" Otogi gasped in further disbelief, "You're really letting me go?!"
"Of course, you nitwit!" Cohen stated, "Besides, even if you have died, you're no longer of any use to me. Just be glad I agreed to do the humane alternative if he won the bet."
Otogi stared at the Bolt wielder and his friends for what seemed like a long time as he took in all that information. Soon he too was smiling. "I… I don't know what to say!"
"Otogi, take me to the hiding hole." Leon stated, "I want to meet with Siegfried as soon as possible!"
"Oh, right!" Otogi replied, standing up to carry the German boy to said hole.
Leon waved his hand to the team. "Bye everyone! Danke!" And after that, he disappeared into the hole to safety.
"Anyway," Cohen stated, "I just got word from the street that Louis Rodriguez has just left the apartments and is currently on his way to Izanami's Underworld."
"Say no more, Cohen." Atem replied, "We're ready now!"
"Good! Now hurry up before he gets there! And tell the Exotic Flowers I said hello." With that, Cohen disappeared from the screen.
"Well you heard the guy!" Yugi commanded, "Let's hurry over to Izanami's Underworld as soon as possible!"
"You got it Yugi!" Honda agreed.
"Wait!" Otogi suddenly shouted, running toward the team, "Let me come with you! I may no longer be a Reaper, but I can still be of some assistance to you guys. Make no mistake: my dice has powers that can turn the tide of any battle we fight in!"
"He does have a point." Mai noted, and the others nodded their heads in unanimous agreement.
"All right Otogi." Atem stated, "You may join us. But know this: after our adventure here in Fort Frolic, we're going to take part in our most dangerous mission yet. And we'll need all the help we can muster."
Otogi just winked, hefting the shotgun-syringe on his shoulder. "Your mission is my mission." Gamma let out a pleased dolphin whistle.
"All right then, let's head on out!" Honda stated, "Yugi, lead the way!"
"Will do!" Yugi replied, and with a new teammate in tow, our heroes went off to perform their last task for Cohen.
Note: Yahoo! The Mermaid Agents have a new ally! In the next chapter of Plasmashock, our heroes head to Izanami's Underworld, where Yugi reunites with the ghost of his mother-and learns a very shocking secret! What could it be? Until Next Time!