Chapter Thirty-Seven
Both Calypso and Zarok were out of the way thanks to Kuro's 'spell-card'. Only Dart Feld was left, or so everyone thought…
No one had taken notice to the shadow emerging from behind them.
"L-L-L-L-Labyrinth!" His power charged to the most, it was nearly impossible for Dart to avoid the attack Evil Cole prepared. Between never seeing 'the Beast' use this strategy and it most likely going to be too strong for the controlled-dragoon to handle. "I'm only lucky my powers almost never wear thin easily unlike Pierrot's… R-R-R-R-R-Raganarok!"
Upon stuttering out the spell, both bright and dark energy began colliding with each other. The sparks led to a heavy amount of destruction pressed against Dart. "Kill the… Urk…" Dropping his blade and losing dragoon form, he collapsed to the floor. Abe quickly rushed over to see his rival, followed by everyone else.
Evil Cole dusted off his hands, leaving a greatly impressed Heihachi and Zeus who paid no mind to Dart. "Wait! Something's coming out of him… A seal of some sort?!" Mr. Grimm examined his body, seeing a violet coloring on where his spinal cord was. The reaction from the strange magic made it nearly remove itself.
"Perhaps the attack made it lose it's capabilities to stay inside Dart." Raiden said while looking at the glass that popped out of Dart. Not wishing to see it harm anyone else, Abe grabbed it from him, tossing it to Big Daddy's foot to stomp on.
A slow clapping was behind the All-Stars, and the quickly turned. "No… We thought Spike got rid of you!" Scorpion exclaimed. "How could you return from someone's super like that?!"
Gigadis just smiled as he came out of the shadows, showing a red scar like Calypso's. "It was quite painful, but I am the Prince of Hell. I didn't think you would ever backstab me, then manage to defeat Dart and rid of his mind-control... But I am weak and weary. Fortunately, I was prepared for such." Nearly everyone took their stances. Even Juan, Kuro, and Lammy were willing to help more.
But all he did was pull out another vial from his pocket. Most of them now cringed and backed away from the rainbow-colored liquid. "Now, who shall I use this on first? I've already tormented Zeus and Evil Cole with the potions Zarok made. So how about you, Ghost of Sparta? Your rage is the boost I need right now!"
"Think twice before thinking you can try and use that on m-" Instead, Gigadis swallowed the fluid, covering his mouth and utterly confused.
"Ah… I do not have the time to listen to your threats, so…" Rushing for him, Gigadis covered his mouth.
"Come on baby!"
Kratos couldn't react to the puff of smoke blown at him. Once it cleared up, everyone was in shock. He looked down at his body then screamed... It was a woman's body and voice.
"Aww! Cupcake is a lady now!" Sweet Tooth laughed. "It would've been so much funnier if he turned into Nariko! And black hair does suit you I suppose... But as long as 'she' didn't keep that goatee and bald-head I'm fine!" Before Nariko or Kratos could punch the clown, Gigadis grabbed the 'Goddess of War' by the throat.
He began to spread his wings and drain of her blood. It allowed Kratos to return to normal, but he was now weakened. "Much better! But I still need a bit more before I can show you what I'm capable of, as I still have more 'Midnight Bliss' left! Who's next then?" With Gigadis laying eyes around the group, he got close to Purple Heart.
While it made Mr. Grimm panic, Neptune rolled her eyes. "Pathetic. That will do nothing other than what? Change me into a boy possibly? I know how 'Midnight Bliss' works! I've seen it used before… Plus there's no way for me to become even more attractive, as I am a goddess." The reaper tried his best to not envision such now that it was mentioned.
The incredibly bold claim did not stop Gigadis, chugging down another third of the potion. "Come here baby!~" Rather than avoiding it, Neptune's ego got the better of her even when Mr. Grimm attempted to stop it... She transformed.
"… Well, you were wrong. You somehow can get hotter." Donte joked. "I just didn't expect short-skirts replacing a leather bodysuit-"
"Dante, it's a reference to Space Channel 5." Toro mew'd, trying to be respectful. Both he and Heihachi knew about that game, along with the 'attack' Gigadis was using.
Purple Heart looked at her body, shrugging. "Hm, Ulala's outfit, really? It's… Too small on me, my body is too wide. I actually wouldn't mind having this as an alternate costu- Aah!" Holding her by the neck, Gigadis sucked the goddess's blood out of her body, causing Neptune to return to her human form.
Before Mr. Grimm could rush to her side, he and Sweet Tooth were knocked back by a force. "Y-you thought you could get rid of us that easily?! As long as the deity is on our side… Oh, there I go talking too much! It's a shame to have you two no longer participating in Twisted Metal once I'm… Ugh, my head! That train did so much damage..."
Calypso and Zarok emerged from a small portal. "Quite the 'ride' they went on, wouldn't you say?" Gigadis laughed at himself, pulling out another vial, this time containing a bright magenta liquid.. "Now then! I have only one 'Midnight Bliss' left. Now that I lost the ring I was going to give my bride, my last hope is this! Where did you hide my wife? I know she's in these ruins!"
"Wha?! Wait, how did you already figure out Pupul snuck her way in?!" Isaac Clarke exclaimed, as everyone gave him stares. "… Aw f-"
"Hah! You just told me, you stupid engineer! Now, to find her!… Darkness!" Shrouding the room in dark fog, the All-Stars were blinded and unable to find Gigadis by normal means. "Ahh, thankfully I can recognize her lovely scent no matter what is in the way! And she is behind… This door!" Brushing his hair to the side, covering up the scar, he kicked the golden door open.
Eyes widening upon what he saw, Gigadis screamed.
"YOU… GET YOUR FILTHY ALIEN HANDS OFF OF MY FUTURE WIFE!"
Radec didn't even have to hear it, as the moment Gigadis busted through, he shoved Pupul away from his body and attempted to put his gas-mask back on. "This is not what it looks like at all, I can promise you she advanced firs- Oh… It's you... I already heard about what you've done." Taking out his sniper, it was smacked away by the devil.
Once the fog had cleared, Isaac Clarke pointed his plasma cutter at Gigadis. "Uhh, even I saw what happened, it was exactly how it looked... Either way, you're outnumbered Gigadis. Calypso and Zarok are weakened, and no matter how much energy you got from draining the blood of our allies, it's worth nothing-"
"Wait, were they making out just now?!" Sweet Tooth laughed, making Scorpion cringe. "That's messed up! Why didn't you take pics Isaac?! I wanted to see it! Ah well, good way to piss off this demon guy!"
Unable to do anything with weapons pointed at him, he clenched his fists. "You… Have meddled with my plans for the last time… Once Pupuru downs this drug! The only thing she will care about is me!" He was tempted to lunge at Pupuru and Kuu. "And then she'll become my wife! And be the true one to give birth to Lyla's reincarnation! Unlike those other wenches before her!
"And once I'm done, I'll throw her with the rest of y…Oo…Oops!" Gigadis wiped the anger from his face, covering up his mouth.
"Those before her? Lyla's reincarnation?" Donte scoffed, before laughing. "You're telling me that all of this isn't just out of petty jealousy, but because of someone being reborn into this world? And that like Zeus, you've had girlfriends or wives before Pupul?"
"Did you two know about this?" Kratos asked Zarok and Calypso, who didn't answer.
"This son of a… I'LL KILL HIM!" Scorpion took out his spear.
"No, do not bother Scorpion... It shall be me who destroys this waste of demonic spawn." Wanting to find an excuse or correct himself, Gigadis only felt his nails extend, smile become crooked and full of fangs as Radec spoke. "You mean to say that you destroyed the planets the Helghast and ISA resided on, all to take this young girl who you don't even care about?! Even I don't do this! And a vast majority will tell that I am the most cold-blooded leader-"
Wanting to no longer listen to the speech, Neptune broke it up. "Guys, I know this is a big plot-point and all, but let's pay more attention to Gigadis changing his appearance, shall we?"
"Changing his what?" Nathan Drake asked. Then they all saw it. Stretching out his horns, spreading his wings…
"Oh my… So this is the 'true form' William meant… Forty-skew! It was nice knowing you! I'm getting out of here before I'm slapped around by him, and not in the way I like!" Sir Daniel heard Zarok's voice, seeing the wizard get away from the corner of his eye. Not wishing to suffer such a fate either, Calypso followed him. And there was no way to prevent them from teleporting out.
Eyes glowing a dark red, hair growing out his outfit tearing in half, showing his muscles expand along with Gigadis's entire body… "Oh hey look! Finally fan-service for the ladies!" Neptune giggled.
Responding to the voice, the gigantic black beast smacked the goddess girl and Mr. Grimm toward a wall. "N-no way… This is Gigadis's true form?! Like Calypso and Zarok said?!" Daxter cried out, nearly about to faint from the monster's size.
Scorpion and Kratos looked at each other, taking out their weapons once again. "So he's going to pull this cliche on us? Shouldn't be a problem for you, Ghost of Sparta... I'm entirely willing to stand by your side in assisting you and everyone else destroying Gigadis, once and for all!"
Without listening, Kratos climbed onto the devil like he was Cronus. "As long as we believe, we should all be fine!" PaRappa turned his head, surprised to hear that from his rival. "If we were able to take down Polygon Man, we can get rid of something his size without our supers!" Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Big sis!" Uni was nearly on tears when she saw Captain Blasto return with Noire in his arms. "Blasto, where is everyone else?! What's going on down there?! They haven't returned, but you did with Noire?!" Partially annoyed with her questions, he began typing up what he wished to say.
Noire didn't respond to anything her younger sibling did. "Oh no… Her CPU Memory is out of energy! That means she can't transform!… Huh?" Uni turned to what Blasto wrote up for her. "They need more AP?! Geez, of course they would waste it! But if it's to get my sister's power back…"
Raising his brow, Blasto quickly made another message. "W-why don't I use my goddess form?… Because… It's weak, and useless. My sister is much stronger, and so are the other CPU candidates! I can't even lend my powers to big sis, because then she would get my worthless abilities! Besides, someone needs to look after the ship!" Captain Blasto just shook his head.
It would take a while before getting the point across to her.
((Whooooo, I'll admit I was a bit pressured under this chapter… Gigadis went from being charismatic with Demitri's 'Midnight Bliss' to a completely heartless monster in just a few paragraphs. But yay, plot-twist?
Unrelated stuff! Got Twisted Metal: Head-On Special Edition for PS2 yesterday! I love it so far! I didn't expect that much bonus content in one disk! It had two beta/unreleased games, the unused/lost endings of TM1, and a documentary of the series' evolution!… Not including Small Brawl oddly enough, or 2012 since this was made in 2008.
So maybe I'll add more TM references? Maybe I won't? We already have Mr. Ash and other demon-spawns in this story, so I doubt it… As much as I want to put in the Preacher. =P ))