*Hey, everyone. Spawnzilla here! I'm SO sorry for the complete lack of updates lately; life has been throwing me curveballs here and there, and I've been losing interest in writing. But after a long time of playing different games and watching different movies, I think I finally got my creative juices flowing again. Once I finally finish this story, I might try doing something different; it will be a whole new story with Spawn and Reika in the Mortal Kombat Universe! Until then, I will do my best to try and upload more content on the weekends. So here's the next chapter! Enjoy!*
Chapter 19: A Demon in the Alleys!
After 10 minutes of rushing through traffic, Raizo and the others finally arrived at the Hentai Nights. As they approached the entrance, they were greeted by a hentai toon girl. "Excuse me! But the club is closed now. You'll have to come back later!" she said. "Get out of the way, girl! We've got business to attend to!" Raizo said gruffly as he brushed past her. "Hey! You can't go in there!" the toon girl cried. "TPP business, lady. Beat it!" Roland said as he showed off a badge.
As Raizo stepped inside, he noticed that it was surprisingly empty inside the clubhouse. It was also still a complete mess after both he and Revy tore up the place while interrogating Kano. As Raizo looked around for Frollo, his mind began to grow dark with evil thoughts on how he'd punish Frollo. But his thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone scream. "No! Get away from her, you bastard!" a woman's voice screamed. "Tell me now! Who is it?!" a familiar voice shouted. Raizo growled with anger as he recognized the voice. "Frollo!" Raizo snarled as his eyes turned green.
He rushed towards a back room, where several toon girls were seen whimpering and cowering in fear in a corner while Frollo was seen grabbing another toon girl. As Raizo got a closer look, he recognized the toon girls. Ai, Rui, and Kirei from Cool Devices were present, as well as Ayame Fudo and Shaia Hishizaki from Angel Blade. Frollo was seen shaking and shouting at young black toon girl, who Raizo did not recognize. "I know that you are hiding them here somewhere! Now tell me; who did it?!" Frollo shouted as he shook the girl. "Leave her alone!" Shaia shouted.
Raizo finally had enough and rushed towards Frollo. "FROLLO!" Raizo roared as he grabbed him from behind and slammed him against the wall. "Raizo?! What on earth are you-" Frollo exclaimed in shock as Raizo pinned him to the wall and glared at him furiously. "Shut up! You're finished, you son of a bitch!" Raizo snarled. "Raizo, stop! We've got him now!" Reika shouted as she entered the room with Roland.
Frollo looked very surprised to see Roland, who in turn just glared at him. "You have a lot to answer for, Frollo!" Roland said angrily. "Listen to me, my boy! I know that this looks bad, really I do. But I'm on the verge of discovering who's behind this. I just need to get this stupid ring to work, that's all!" Frollo explained quickly and nervously.
But Raizo wasn't having any of it. He kept holding onto Frollo, preventing him from getting any closer to the girls. "Please, come on! Just work you damn ring! Work! Please...just tell me who killed her!" Frollo cried out. "I told you once, and I ain't telling you again. My lips are sealed!" the black toon girl said angrily. Frollo burst into tears as he fell to his knees, much to Raizo's displeasure. "It's not fair!" Frollo sobbed. "You got caught red-handed, so don't you dare cry foul!" Raizo snarled. "Look...I just...I just-" Frollo blubbered.
He was stopped when Roland stood over him, hands on his hips and an angry glare on his face. "Why did you do it? I mean, I can understand you stealing the money behind everyone's backs. But this? Why would you think that this is ok?!" Roland began with seething anger. "I couldn't help myself, ok? I'm sorry!" Frollo wept. "You're sorry?! After what you did to these girls? After what you did to Toon Town? After what you did to my ex-wife?!" Roland shouted furiously.
Frollo sighed heavily as he shook his head. "I was just-" he began. "Just what?! What have you got to say for yourself?! It's bad enough that you did all of this, but you have to go and disrespect my ex-wife?! What the hell were you thinking, Jean Claude Frollo? That you could just take pictures of my ex-wife Alicia and nobody would find out?!" Roland screamed. "I was jealous of you, all right?!" Frollo shot back.
This surprised Roland and the others greatly. "What?!" Roland demanded. "I was jealous that you had a beautiful woman who loved you. I only wanted the same thing that you had! I mean, look at you. You're young, you're handsome, and you have everyone's respect! And what do I have? I have nobody who loves me! All I have is a lousy position of power in this pathetic town, and everywhere I look and go, people who look at me with hatred and contempt! I only wanted to-" Frollo explained bitterly.
Roland looked like he was about to slap him. "You're treading on thin ice, pal! You and I both know that what you felt for Alicia was not love! It was lust!" Roland growled. Frollo grew visibly upset and cried again. To everyone else, he looked absolutely pathetic. But as Reika stared at him more, she came to a sudden realization. As she approached him and knelt down to look at him, she grew very serious. Raizo and Roland noticed this. "What is it, Reika?" Raizo wondered. Reika stood back up and sighed heavily; she knew that Raizo wouldn't like what she was about to say. "Guys...I don't think it's him. I don't think that Frollo is the one!" she said grimly.
Everyone, especially Raizo, was surprised by that. "What?!" they exclaimed. "I mean, come on! Look at this pathetic little worm! Does he look like he's capable of murdering someone?" Reika said. "Um, yeah! I kinda do...you realize what he did before, right? Remember Notre Dame?!" Raizo exclaimed. "That was a long time ago, Raizo! Frollo reformed himself...or so we thought!" Roland added. "Ok, fine! I can see him stealing money from the cartel or the mafia, and I can see him being a fucking pervert! But a murderer of young prostitutes and then stuffing their corpses full of drugs? Just look at him!" Reika cried as she pointed to Frollo.
Roland stared at Frollo and came to realize that what Reika was saying was right. "My God! You're right, honey. You're absolutely right!" Roland said after a minute of silence. Raizo, however, refused to accept this. He truly felt that Frollo was the killer. "How?! How and why would you people think that? He's the fucking killer, I know it!" Raizo shouted angrily. "Raizo!" Reika began. "No, you listen to me! I know that he's responsible for all of this!" Raizo cried. "How do you know that, Raizo? What evidence do you have?" Roland questioned sternly. "Are you blind?! Everything points to him, Roland! Everything; the stolen money, the paid hitmen, the drug labs, and the rooms! Oh, good God! Those rooms; if you had only seen them, Roland!" Raizo explained with bitter emotion.
Roland stopped him as he held his hand up. "Raizo...all of that does sound good. But there's just one thing you're forgetting: the motivation! What would Frollo have to gain from all of this? Do you honestly believe that he planned all of this to happen? Is he guilty of stealing from us? Yes, he is! Is he guilty of..of what he did to me and my ex-wife Alicia? Yes, he is! And I'll never forgive him for that! But murdering prostitutes and using them as pack mules?! Come on, man! Think! What on earth would he gain from that?" Roland explained.
Raizo grew grim as he said that. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Roland was right. "You can hate him if you want to, Raizo. I do! But that's not a good enough reason to put him away." Roland added as he put his hand on his shoulder. Raizo sighed as he shook his head in defeat. "Jean Claude Frollo? You are under arrest for the crime of embezzlement, stalking, and attempted assault." Roland began. However, Raizo was still not satisfied with this outcome. "You had better consider yourself god damn lucky that these people were here to save your ass. Because if I had this done my way, your skinless corpse would be hanging out in the fucking streets for everyone to see!" Raizo snarled viciously.
This shocked everyone as he said that. "Raizo, my God!" Reika exclaimed in horror. "That's enough out of you! Like I said, you can be angry at Frollo for what he did. But if you even think of going back to your old ways, then you can leave Toon Town! I already had to put up with that once and I do not ever intend to go through that hell ever again!" Roland shouted angrily.
Suddenly, Frollo began to laugh evilly. "So that's it, huh? You can hate me for everything I've done, but you'd allow that foul monster to get away with murder?" Frollo sneered. Raizo grew furious as he said that. "Don't even go there, you piece of shit!" he snarled. "You have no idea what I had to sacrifice in order to keep this town in one piece! So what if I took some money here or there? You'd do the same god damn thing if you were in my place, and you know it! Toon Town took everything away from me, so if I took back something that belongs to me, then so be it. I'd do it all over again! But you, you only care for yourself. You don't give a damn about that girl being dead! Just like you didn't give a damn about the others!" Frollo spat.
Raizo finally lost it; he rushed over towards Frollo and punched him in the face, breaking his nose. "Oh God!" Frollo exclaimed in shock and pain as he held his bloody broken nose. "Keep your fucking mouth shut if you know what's good for you, Frollo!" Raizo snarled as he got in his face. "Raizo! Back off, now! I won't ask you again!" Roland warned as he pulled him away from Frollo. Raizo cursed as he begrudgingly walked away, while Roland and Reika escorted Frollo out. "Let's go, choir boy!" Reika said sharply.
But as they all exited the club and made their way through the dark alleys, they were unaware of what horrible things awaited them. "Gah! Stupid little girls and their cheap tricks!" Frollo muttered angrily as he tripped. "HEY!" Reika shouted. "You got something to say, Frollo?" Roland growled. Raizo just remained silent as he whipped out a cigarette and puffed away. But as they were all about to exit the alleys, a car pulled out in front of them and prevented them from leaving. Raizo gasped as he recognized the car. It was the same car that Bongo the Gorilla told him about earlier; a large and loud sports car with flaming decals. "Wait a minute! This doesn't look good...let's back up a bit, you guys!" Raizo announced as he tossed his cigarette away.
As the others backed up, the car began to move into the alleys slowly after them. "Shit! I knew it; somebody's after us. Did you tip anyone off, Frollo?!" Raizo cried out. "What? No, I never-" Frollo began before he gasped. Raizo turned around and saw the reason he gasped; several rough looking men appeared out of the shadows. "Where you think you goin' old man?" one of them snarled. "You ain't leavin' here, pal!" another added as he pulled out an iron crowbar from his jacket.
Raizo got a better look at these men; judging by their black leather jackets and the demonic wolf skull designs on the back, they were Hellhound MC thugs. "Raizo, talk to me buddy! What's going on here?" Roland asked nervously. "I don't know, Roland. Why don't you ask them?" Raizo replied half sarcastically. The car in front of them finally stopped before someone stepped out and began walking towards them. It was the man in black who attacked Raizo earlier! He snickered evilly as he pulled out a .44 magnum revolver. "Hey, kid! How ya doin'? I think you got something of mine, or rather my boss. I'm sure you've seen him; he's this tall, really scrawny, and pissed himself until he was 14. Ring a bell?" the man in black sneered.
Raizo glared at the man in black, while Frollo looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "I didn't tell them anything, I swear!" Frollo blurted out. Roland punched him in the stomach to shut him up. "Shut up! Listen to me, pal! I don't know who you are, but you are interfering with Toon Town business. Step aside!" Roland warned. At first the man in black just laughed at him. "What's so funny, asshole?" Reika growled.
Finally, the man in black spoke up again. "What's my name?" he began ominously. The others looked at him confusion as he said that. "You! Tell them who I am! What's my name?" the man in black snapped as he pointed towards one of the bikers. "Uh, your name's Jimmy!" the biker said in confusion. "Yeah, that's right! But what's my last name?" the man in black growled. "Uh, it's Peg-uh, no...that's not it!" the biker stuttered. "No, it's something Spanish." another biker said. "Yeah, man! I think it's something like, uh...the Spanish word for danger!" a third added. "Peligro!" a fourth said nonchalantly. "That's it, kid! The name's Jimmy Peligro, and you want to know why? It's because everytime I show up, there's always danger! When I shoot, I shoot to kill and I kill anybody that gets in my way. That little charade back at that shithole club, I let you live! But now I'm gonna give you a chance to make up for that; give me Frollo and nobody dies!" Jimmy Peligro threatened.
Raizo had enough of this. He stepped out in front of his friends, clenching his fists tightly. "I don't give a fuck who you are, asshole! You're not taking Frollo away from me! And for the record, you cheated the first time. But now it's my turn to show you what I'm really capable of!" Raizo growled. "You sure about that, kid?" Jimmy Peligro sneered. "Raizo, what the fuck are you doing?!" Reika exclaimed. "Are you crazy?!" Roland cried. "Get out of here! Go back to wherever you came from and never show your faces here again! This is your only warning!" Raizo threatened, ignoring the others.
Jimmy Peligro snickered evilly as he shook his head. "Always wanting to do it the hard way, eh? Fine by me! Give it to him, boys!" Jimmy said as he aimed his gun at Raizo. As the other bikers surrounded Raizo, they pulled out some guns and shot at him. Raizo cried out in pain as he was shot up and backed against the alley walls. "Raizo, no!" Reika screamed. "Stop it! Leave him alone, you bastards!" Roland shouted.
Suddenly, to everyone's shock, Raizo growled demonically as he slowly stood back up. "What the fuck?! He's still alive, man!" one of the bikers shouted as he aimed his shotgun at him. "Shoot him again, you fools!" Jimmy shouted as he fired his magnum at Raizo. Any ordinary human being would have been dead at this point. But Raizo just kept coming towards them, getting angrier and angrier as he kept getting peppered with bullets.
Finally, Raizo screamed with an unholy roar as a bright green light filled the alleys and blinded everyone. "Oh, God! No...not this again!" Roland muttered in horror. "What's going on here?!" Reika demanded. But as she said that, the air suddenly grew dark and thick with the feeling of dread. It also grew quite cold like death, as if a massive shadow was cast over them.
Finally, a faint whoosh was heard from behind them. Reika and the others turned around to see what had come from the other side. Or rather, who it was. A large, crimson red cape flowed in the air, covering a good bit of the figure standing there, save for some menacing glowing green eyes. A low growl came from the shadowy shroud before he stepped out from the cape that covered him like a pair of curtains.
The monster that stood before the others towered over them, glaring ominously at them with his glowing green eyes. He wore a black, red, and white costume, had spiked gauntlets on his arms and feet, had massive chains wrapped around his waist, and reeked of brimstone and death. It was Raizo's true form, Spawn! "Oh my God!" Reika gasped in horror. "What the fuck is that thing?!" one of the bikers panicked. "Who cares, man?! Just shoot it!" another shouted as he aimed his Uzi at Spawn.
Spawn lashed out with a chain, grabbing the biker and lifting him up in the air by the neck. This sudden action made the biker drop his gun. As the biker struggled to break free, Spawn drew him closer and glared at him. "I warned you, assholes! Now you're going to be sorry!" Spawn growled in a deep demonic tone. "Fuck you, man! I'll kill you!" the biker groaned. "Not likely!" Spawn growled before he slammed the biker into the ground, shattering his spine and killing him.
As the other bikers panicked and vainly tried to shoot at Spawn, the monster ripped and tore them apart one by one without flinching. Spawn grabbed one of the bikers by the head before he smashed him against the wall, splattering his brains all over the place. Spawn then grabbed another biker with his chains, lifting him up in the air. "GAH! Put me down, you asshole!" the biker screamed. Spawn ignored his cried and used his chains to snap his head, arms, and legs off before throwing his corpse into a dumpster. "NOOO! You killed my brothers, you son of a bitch!" the last remaining biker shouted as he tried to bash Spawn's head in with a crowbar.
Spawn just caught the biker's arm and snapped it off with a sickening bone crunching sound, making the poor man scream in agony as his arm was completely torn off. "AAAUUUGGHHH! What the fuck are you, man?!" the biker howled. "Your worst fucking nightmare!" Spawn snarled as he grabbed the biker by the neck. He then proceeded to rip his spine out, much to the horror and dismay of the others watching this. "For the love of God!" Reika exclaimed in pure shock. "Raizo, stop it! Stop this right now!" Roland screamed.
Jimmy Peligro was both impressed and horrified by what he was witnessing. "God damn! I've seen a lot of crazy shit in my time, but this is just too much! I gotta end this shit!" Jimmy said out loud as he ran to his car's trunk. He pulled out an AK-47 and took aim at the raging Hellspawn that was causing such carnage. "Hey, over here you undead freak!" Jimmy Peligro shouted as he fired at Spawn.
Spawn cried out as he was shot in the chest several times, but his Necroplasm powers healed him almost instantly before he retaliated. He chuckled evilly as he began marching towards Jimmy Peligro, who suddenly did not feel like such a tough guy anymore. "You had your fun, Jimmy! But now it's my turn!" Spawn growled with evil delight. "Stay back, motherfucker! I mean it; I'll kill you!" Jimmy Peligro shouted in a much more panicked tone as he pulled out .45 Colt Pistol and shot at him. "No, you won't! But I'll take my time killing you!" Spawn sneered as he made his cape lash out towards Jimmy Peligro.
Jimmy Peligro cried out as Spawn's cape grabbed him by the head and lifted him up into the air, completely smothering his face up and muffling his screams. As Spawn held Jimmy Peligro up in the air, he wrapped several chains around Jimmy Peligro's body, tightly squeezing him and breaking his bones. What Spawn did next would forever haunt the other onlooker's memories forever. Spawn used his chains to completely flay Jimmy Peligro alive, ripping every square inch of flesh off his bones! As Jimmy Peligro fell to back to the ground on his knees, he screamed loudly in such pain and agony as blood quickly pooled around him.
But Spawn wasn't done with him just yet. He teleported behind Jimmy Peligro and grabbed hold of his head, while his cape surrounded Jimmy Peligro's body. Even though they couldn't see what was happening due to the bright green flash of light, it didn't take much to imagine what was going as a loud and sickening ripping noise was heard. Finally, Spawn removed his cape from Jimmy Peligro's body and out fell a bloody skeleton; Jimmy Peligro was no more!
As Spawn stood over the lifeless and bloody remains of Jimmy Peligro, he stared over at the others. Reika Kitami was simply horrified by what she had just witnessed and Roland looked at him with such disdain. Frollo just looked like he wanted to pass out from pure shock. "Raizo! What the hell have you done?!" Roland managed to say at last. But before another word could be said, the sound of someone clapping their hands filled the air.
Everyone turned around was shocked to find out who it was; it was Sikes from Oliver and Company! "Well done, my friend! Well done indeed! I guess that's why they call you the Empire Plaza Butcher!" Sikes laughed as he slowly clapped his hands. "You!" Spawn growled. "You know, I gotta hand it to you: You never fail to disappoint me! I send out my best man to try and kill you, and not only do you end up killing him, but all of his little buddies too! I always knew that Jimmy Peligro would die violently, but man! You really gave him and his pals a real showstopper! I mean, just look at your work! It's a beautiful thing!" Sikes continued with an evil laugh.
Reika was on the verge of having a mental breakdown at this point. "What the fuck do you want from us, you asshole?!" she screamed. "Ah! I see you have a new partner. And by the looks of it, she's a spirited one. I respect that!" Sikes chuckled sinisterly. "You heard the lady, pal! What do you want?!" Roland exclaimed. "Ah, hello Roland. Long time, no see! Well as much as I want to reminisce, I'm afraid we better wrap this up. I'll have Frollo if you please!" Sikes said as he lit up a cigar.
As he spoke, several heavily armed men approached from behind him. They all wore black suits and dark sunglasses, and they were armed with machineguns and assault rifles. "But, if you really think you can take us all on...please, go ahead and entertain me!" Sikes challenged with an evil smile. Spawn growled as his hands glowed with Necroplasm, but Reika finally had enough and spoke out. "STOP IT! Enough is enough!" Reika screamed. Everyone turned to her, waiting to see what she would say or do next. "Yes?" Sikes announced playfully. "Look...nobody else needs to die tonight, all right? Just...just...take him. Ok? Take Frollo and leave us alone!" Reika said as tears rolled down her eyes.
This made Spawn very angry as she said this. "What the fuck are you doing, woman?!" Spawn thundered. "No! She's right, Raizo! Enough is enough! Look here, Sikes! Take Frollo for all I care, but this isn't over! I may not be able to bust you now, but sooner or later I will get you for this!" Roland cried. Sikes laughed as he said that. "Is that right? I think you're a little confused; your pal here is the one responsible for this bloodbath! And besides, it's not up to me what happens next. That would be up to my boss!" Sikes said as a limo drove up.
As the limo came to a stop, one of the windows rolled down and the dark silhouette of a man was seen from the inside of the limo. "What do you say, boss? Should we take Frollo by force, or shall we play nice?" Sikes called out. The dark unseen figure of the man was seen motioning Sikes to approach him. "The moment we're all waiting for! Excuse me for a moment!" Sikes said as he walked towards the limo. As Sikes approached and spoke with his boss, Spawn glared at the men with guns, who just glared back. "Don't you do it, you son of a bitch!" Roland seethed.
Finally after the longest minute ever, Sikes came back with his announcement. "It's your lucky day; the boss says he'll take Frollo without anymore bloodshed. Provided that you and your bad tempered friend will agree to have a sit down with him tomorrow morning!" Sikes announced. Spawn growled, but as he looked towards Roland and Reika, he decided to go along with it. He slowly nodded his head, giving Roland the go ahead.
Roland sighed in relief as he and Reika stepped aside, allowing Sikes to take Frollo. "Excellent! You see what happens when we all get along? Oh by the way, between you and me, this scrawny little maggot is no killer. He couldn't stick a pig if his life depended on it! No sir, not like your killer friend here!" Sikes said with an evil chuckle as he glanced over at Spawn. "Well, you know what they say: time is money! We expect to see you tomorrow morning at 8:00; that's a date! Oh, and word of the wise...you might want to make sure your friend keeps his temper in check. We wouldn't want anymore unhappy accidents, now would we? Here's the boss's number. See you tomorrow!" Sikes announced as he handed Roland a card.
As Sikes led Frollo into the limo, the men in suits slowly backed away before they got into their own vehicles, which were black sedans. As the villains took off into the night, Spawn slowly transformed back into his human self, Raizo. Everyone fell silent as they stood there in the dark alleys, wondering what the hell would happen now. After exchanging some looks with Roland and Reika, Raizo took the card and observed it; he was immediately shocked to recognize the name on the card. It was an old nemesis from his past, Michael Hartman!
Raizo took a deep breath and sighed; things were only going to get worse from this point!