Two in one day! Yay!
John: Completely your opinion. I liked the way both turned out, so I don't really have an opinion on the matter. As long as you liked both, then I'm happy.
LunaticChaos: o_O Your poor, poor opponents. _ That's a nice guess, but I never even considered a poison needle collar. And yes, Zack can do a lot of things. Unfortunately, they often have drawbacks.
*Chapter 13: Losing Control*
Hope opened her eyes slowly, and sat up, surprised that the pain was gone.
She touched the metal collar at her neck.
"I don't understand… what is this supposed to do?"
She ran her fingers all around it, and came to the conclusion that there was no way to detach it. It was just a solid ring with no way to remove it.
"I guess it is impossible to take off…" She thought for a minute. "It seems innocent enough now, but I get a bad feeling about this…"
*****
"That must have hurt," Neo winced, looking at the gruesome corpses.
"We don't have the time to remorse," Draken stated. "He said that he meant to delay us, so there's no time to waste."
Trying their best to ignore the two dead bodies, they ran down the hall.
"Are we ever going to get there?" Miles complained.
"Hold up!" Rue called back. He had been at the front of the group. "Another fork. Left or right?"
"Left worked before. Let's try it again, and hope our luck remains with us," Will decided.
"You call this luck?" Mana said in disbelief.
"Well, only one of us is hurt. That's a lucky break," he replied.
"True," Brandi agreed, going down the left path.
After a few minutes of more walking, Larka spotted what they wanted.
"A door!"
"But is it locked? Here, let me try." Gaston took hold of the handle and pulled it open easily, revealing a row of cells. "I guess not…"
"Fell and I will stay here, to make sure there isn't a sneak attack," Larka whispered. "You guys go on in.
Hope heard the door shift open again, and stood. If it was that woman again, she wasn't going to let herself be stunned again.
She was astonished to see Gaston run up to the front of her cell.
"Hope! Are you ok?!"
"Gaston? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Saving you of course."
Miles walked over. "Stand back for a minute Gaston. I might be able to pick this lock. It looks pretty old."
He took out a lock pick from the pouch at his side, and went to work. In a few seconds, it clicked open.
"Cheap thing," Miles muttered, throwing it over his shoulder. "Hang on, let me see that manacle. Looks like they were being cautious."
"Yeah, I would believe so," Hope replied as Miles went to work on the lock. "How did you find this place?"
"Zack came here before," Rue informed her. "It's a good thing too, or else we'd still be looking."
"There we go!" Miles exclaimed. The manacle fell off. "Wow, their security is good, but their locks suck."
As she stepped outside, Gaston knelt down to examine her. "Are you hurt?"
"Not now," Hope said.
"What do you mean by 'not now'?"
"Can we discuss this later?" Gen requested. "Not only am I bleeding to death, but Zack is probably still weary, and we need to get out before we are caught."
Zack tiredly nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, let's talk later," Hope decided.
They left the room, joining Larka and Fell.
"I'm glad you're ok," Larka greeted her.
"I am too," Hope joked. "Shall we leave?"
"Right away," she assured.
Their trip was made in silence, until they reached the area with Todd. Hope gasped at the sight of them.
"He tried to delay us," Neo explained.
"I see…"
Soon they had reached the area where the security had been. That's when they finally found someone else.
The woman that had visited Hope twice was there. On her shoulder was a beautiful blue bird. Even its beak and legs were blue. The only thing that wasn't blue was its eyes; they were red. The oddest thing about it was the two ears it had. They reminded Hope of a bat's ears somewhat.
"You cannot escape that easily," the woman stated.
"And who would you be?" Draken asked.
"I am called Malady. And my companion here is Streak," she announced. "I am a leader of the officials, and a high-ranking Commander of Heaven."
"What?!" Rue shouted.
"That explains," Will realized. "The Commanders took the truth and managed to twist it into a believable lie."
"Correct. It wasn't very difficult to do. In any case, you will all be on the most wanted list for quite some time."
"You think we're going to give up that easily?!" Draken demanded.
"Face facts. It might take some time, but you cannot escape the entire world."
"Right now, we aren't concerned with that!" Rue argued. "All we need to do is leave here first. I doubt you can stop us all!"
"True, I cannot. But I have someone who can." She took out a small remote from her pocket. "Just watch."
Miles paled. "Don't let her activate it!"
Rue immediately ran towards her, but it was too late. She had already pressed a button on it.
Rue had kept his eyes on Malady, not expecting an attack from the back. Hope grabbed him around the neck, and smashed him into the wall. Taken completely by surprise by the aggressive move, Rue was unable to escape the stranglehold Hope had on him.
"Hope! What are you doing?!" Gaston cried, approaching much more cautiously.
In response, Hope threw Rue at Gaston. They collided, both collapsing.
She then jumped back, in front of Malady, glaring fiercely at them.
"You don't understand?" Malady smirked. "Look at her neck."
Everyone's eyes went to the metal collar.
"This device allows me to control all of your friend's movements. Even her eyes can be controlled with this little device. The only thing untouched is her thoughts, so do not think that she wants to do this. It makes it so much more fun to toy with people's emotions as well, after all."
"That bitch…" Rue groaned, rising slowly.
"Don't even bother trying to get by her. This collar also strengthens her. Since I control the muscles, I can make her do anything, even if it is beyond her capability."
"And we don't want to harm her anyway… damn it. It's like a lock almost," Draken muttered.
"For you, anyway. But remember, she can still attack you!"
Hope leapt at Rue again, but was knocked backwards as Ruecian brought up a magical barrier. With a small growl, she tried again, only to be repelled again.
"It doesn't matter how many times you try to assault us!" Rue told Malady. "Ruecian can hold up this barrier as long as necessary!"
"Fine. Then I suppose a duel is in order." Malady tossed a spare Duel Disk to Hope, who caught it easily and fixed it onto her arm. "Since this girl didn't bring her Duel Disk or deck, she'll have to use spare ones. Now, who will duel her?"
"…I will," Brandi announced. "I haven't been able to do much to help lately… I'll be the one to duel."
"Very well. If you lose, all of you are to be taken into custody. If you win, then all of you will be able to pass by this girl."
"That's totally unfair!" Miles protested. "If you lose, then she should be let go!"
"But I am not the one losing. She is the one dueling, so she must suffer the consequences of losing."
"Damn it… how am I going to do this?" Brandi muttered as she activated her Duel Disk.
"It's a lose-lose situation!" Mana said.
"I know… but if we win, maybe we can find a loop hole somehow."
Nobody noticed Streak fly away.
Hope: 8000
Brandi: 8000
"I'll go first!" Brandi declared. "I lay one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
The look Hope was giving Brandi was one of hatred. Yet something seemed to break through for a second… a plea for help…
"Summon Iron Knight: Gear Freed. (1800/1600)" Her tone was flat and emotionless. "Lay two cards down. Gear Freed attacks."
"You won't be able to destroy my Soul Hunting Spirit like that! (300/200) He is unable to be destroyed by means of battle."
"End turn."
"Hm… I sacrifice my Spirit to summon Blowback Dragon! (2300/1200)"
"Activate trap card, Chained Dynamite. Equip to Gear Freed, to give 500 more attack. Gear Freed destroys it, due to his ability of not being able to be equipped with anything. When destroyed by means other than battle, Chained Dynamite destroys any card on the field. Destroy Blowback Dragon."
"Shoot! I lay one card down."
"Giving up?" Malady taunted.
"We just began; of course not!"
"But aren't you afraid? You have already killed someone. What if your temper snaps and you end up slaying your precious friend?"
"That won't happen!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Shut up!" Brandi snarled. "That was a mistake, alright?! A mistake! I wasn't thinking… I didn't want to…"
"Don't deny it. You did want to kill her, didn't you? For even daring to hurt your brother, you exploded. What will happen if you continue to do that? What if you happen to perhaps even kill your own brother one day?"
"That's insane!" Brandi shouted. Yet inside, her heart felt pangs of doubt.
"I would continue, but it is time to have this duel won."
Hope looked at her next card. "Summon Big Bangirl. (1300/1500) Play Earthbound High Place, a permanent magic card. Then equip Gear Freed with Dagger of Butterflies-Eruma. Activate Earthbound High Place. When an equipment magic is played, I gain 1000 Life Points. Big Bangirl inflicts 500 damage."
Hope: 9000
Brandi: 7500
"Eruma is destroyed due to Gear Freed. Return it to my hand. Lose 1000 Life Points to Earthbound High Place, for having an equipment magic destroyed."
Hope: 8000
Brandi: 7500
"It's an infinite burn combo!" Will realized.
"Correct."
"I activate Cyclone!" Brandi announced. "Destroy Earthbound High Place!"
"Both monsters attack directly."
Hope: 8000
Brandi: 4400
"I will now summon Drillago! (1600/1100) Drillago attacks Big Bangirl! Then I lay another card down."
Hope: 7700
Brandi: 4400
"Summon Royal Magic Library. (0/2000)"
"Oh no!" Will exclaimed. "Brandi! She's going to try to get an infinite draw combo!"
"She can do that?"
"Royal Magic Library gets a magic counter every time a magic card is played. Once she ditches three magic counters, she can draw one card!"
"In that case, I activate Destruction Ring on Gear Freed!"
Hope: 5900
Brandi: 2600
"End turn."
"Attack with Drillago!"
"Magic Cylinder. You take 1600 damage."
Hope: 5900
Brandi: 1000
Brandi shook her head. "I was hoping to save this, but I need to draw something now! I will have Mana activate her Deck Master ability! I look at two cards on the top of my deck, for that is how many of my monsters were destroyed. Perfect! I take the second one and put it in my hand. I summon Critter! (1000/600) Then I lay one card down."
"Sacrifice Royal Magic Library to summon Magical Marionette. (2000/1000) Activate Raise Dead. Revive Gear Freed."
"What now?" Brandi muttered.
"An infinite attack!" Will realized. "For each magic card she plays, Magical Marionette gets a magic counter. For every magic counter, its attack raises by 200!"
"To halt your combo, I play Deck Destruction Virus of Death! By sacrificing my Critter, all monsters with 1500 or greater attack on your field and in your hand are destroyed! In addition, for the next three turns, any monster you draw with 1500 or greater attack is destroyed! I also get to search my deck for a monster with 1500 attack or lower."
"End turn."
"Amazing!" Draken commented. "She stopped all three infinite Eruma combos!"
"I summon Surprising Matasa! (1300/800) Then I equip him with Power of Teamwork, raising his stats by 800 for every monster I have! (2900/2400) Attack twice with Matasa, and once with Drillago!"
Hope: 0
Brandi: 1000
"A close call on your part," Malady smirked. "Nevertheless, you won. Impressive. Of course, since when do we follow the rules?"
Streak came flying back to land on her shoulder. That's when everyone noticed the new group of officials. There were ten of them, apparently summoned by Streak.
The Duel Disk clanked against the floor as Hope discarded it. She began to slowly advance on the group, the officials following.
"How are we going to get through this?" Rue groaned. "We're already exhausted from fighting those others."
Suddenly, something in Fell's pocket began to glow. He took out his Soul Card. It was shining with a white light.
He seemed to understand what to do. "Blood seeker, come forth. Take what you desire; slaughter them all!"
A monster emerged from the card. It was a huge brown dog. It had a short tail, two devilish horns, and mad, red eyes. The fur near its paws was worn away, showing bone and wicked claws. Its enormous, deadly teeth dripped with saliva. There was a gold collar around its neck, with a bone-shaped name tag. It said M on it.
"It's… a Mad Dog of Darkness!" Brandi exclaimed.
The Dog snarled, and leapt on the nearest official. The man cried out as his chest was raked with those sharp, deadly claws.
"So the dog will hold of them, but what are we going to do about Hope?!" Gaston protested.
Another glow caught their attention. Larka gave her Soul Card a surprised look, before saying, "Come forth and help us!"
A smaller monster came out. It was a very cute dog. Its brown fur was curly, and its short tail wagged madly. Its black eyes were soft enough to melt any heart, and around its neck was a collar that was the same as the Mad Dog's.
"I recognize this monster," Will said. "Lost Dog Malon!"
The dog gave a small yip.
Larka's eyes lit up. "Malon! Let's play a game of fetch! Go get the remote from that woman!"
"What?!" Malady screeched.
The dog looked at Malady, and pounced on her. His small jaws closed around the device easily. He jumped back to Larka, offering the trophy.
"Good boy!" she said, taking the remote. Malon barked excitedly. "Now how do you work this thing?"
The minute Malady had lost the remote, Hope had frozen. The Mad Dog ignored her, focusing on killing all of the officials. The last one had his neck snapped in half.
Larka looked at the three buttons on the remote. "Ok, time for a random pick…" She pressed the one that was lowest.
The collar snapped open, falling to the ground. Hope fell to the ground, very weary.
Malady backed away with a glare.
"Don't think this is the end!"
Streak began to fly around her. They were surrounded with smoke. When the smoke cleared, they were gone.
"Hope!" Gaston knelt by her.
"I'm ok… I think…" She stood shakily. "So that's what it did… I'm so sorry!"
"It wasn't your fault," Brandi told her. "Blame that woman. It's all her fault…"
"Speaking of which, I bet she went to get reinforcements!" Rue inferred. He gave the Mad Dog a nervous glance. "I don't care how strong that dog is. Even he'll get tired eventually."
The Mad Dog licked blood from his chops.
"Then let's get out of here!" Miles suggested.
Although the experience of being mind controlled had tired Hope somewhat, she was able to run easily enough. They ran towards the elevator. Hope wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but Zack seemed to be lagging slightly.
"We'll go first!" Gaston announced.
Malon whined at the elevator, and crouched behind Larka, shaking nervously. The Mad Dog growled.
"It's ok," Larka said softly, picking up Malon. "You'll be fine."
Malon tried to bury himself into her arms.
She sighed. "I'll come with you guys. I don't think Malon will go in without me."
They entered the elevator. In a few minutes, it arrived again, and everyone else boarded.
When it opened, they found the Soul Monsters and Larka. There was one official, but he was dead. Darche had already cleaned his sword of blood.
"Let's get out of here quickly!" he said.
They ran down the hall, and exited the building. There were two more officials, but the Mad Dog was instantly on one, shredding his body. The other was dispatched by Darche. They ran into the alley.
"Which way now?" Hope asked Rue when they came to the first fork.
"I have no idea… Zack was the one who led us here. Hey, Zack! Which way do we go?"
They turned back to see Zack approaching slowly.
"What's the matter?" Hope inquired.
"I'm just a little tired… that's all…" Then he collapsed.
"Zack!" She was by him immediately. "Are you alright?"
"I've used… too much… energy…" He struggled to rise, and fell instantly.
"Hang in there!" She turned to Gaston. "Can you help?"
Gaston eyed him. "Hey, Darche! Lend a hand, will you?"
"No problem." They managed to support the worn out cyborg. He was barely conscious now.
"How are we going to find our way now?" Mana wondered.
"I think I can remember it," Miles replied. "As a thief, I often memorize escape routes by pure instinct. I think we go right here…"
It was a slow, anxious trip, but after some time they finally emerged at the bus stop.
Rue looked at the sign outside the building, and swore. "Closed!"
"We're doomed," Neo stated.
"Put simply, yes, we are." Miles sighed in exasperation. "Now how are we going to get back to Hope's place?"
That's when they saw a big, blue van drive up, with a green one following it.
Hope stared at them in disbelief. "That's Amy's car! And my mom's!"
"Your sister and mother? What are they doing here?" Rue asked.
"I have no idea, but the timing couldn't have been better!" She ran up to the blue car, which had just been parked by the sidewalk. She saw her sister jump out of it.
"Amy! What are you doing here?"
"I'll tell you later," Amy replied. She looked at the group. "We should have enough room, as long as the Soul Monsters leave for the minute."
"I'm afraid that will be impossible in my case," Gen told her, showing her his injured arm.
"We should have enough room anyway."
The other Soul Monsters vanished, except for Malon. He whimpered at Larka. She whispered something to him, and then he vanished as well.
"Draken, Miles, Fell, Larka, and Gen, get into my mom's car. Rue, Will, Brandi, can you help me get Zack in? We'll stay with my sister."
With a small struggle, they managed to support the cyborg long enough for him to enter the car. He had barely managed to sit in the back before lapsing into unconsciousness. The others got in swiftly, Brandi to the back with Zack, Rue and Will in the middle, and Hope in the front, next to Amy. Then they were off.
"So how come you came here?" Hope asked.
"I was coming for a surprise visit," Amy explained. "When you weren't here, I asked your friend-Claire is her name?-where you were. She explained everything. I asked your mom to help, and we drove out here to find you guys."
"I don't understand something," Brandi said. "Weren't you killed?"
"Yes, Hope did indeed end my life back then. But I was resurrected when you defeated Satan," Amy called back. "I thought you told everyone that Hope?"
"Brandi wasn't around for a while, so I never got the chance."
*****
The rest of the drive was made in silence. When they arrived at Hope's house, Rue and Will went to help Zack again. He still wasn't awake, so they half-dragged, and half-carried him into the house, which Mrs. Gales had unlocked. Gen also seemed much weaker from blood loss. He was still able to walk easily enough though.
Claire was waiting. "Hope! Thank goodness you're ok!"
"Thanks for telling Amy what happened," Hope said. "We would have been doomed otherwise."
"It wasn't a problem. Oh, Gen! What happened to you?" she exclaimed.
"An incident with a bullet."
"I see. Come up to the guest room. Oh gosh! Zack too?"
"No. He's just tired, I think. But I don't know why," Hope responded.
"He absorbed an entire electric force field, and then fired it at a group of officials," Rue explained.
"Then I guess he just needs rest. Lay him on the couch in the living room. Miles, you want to come with me and Gen? Hope, would you please look over Max when you get up there? Make sure he isn't having another nightmare. The rest of you should relax. It must have been a tough night."
It was agreed too. The companions went to the family room, leaving Zack to rest. Gen and Miles followed Claire upstairs. Fell seemed distracted though. He went back outside.
"Where's he going?" Rue asked Larka.
"He probably just wants to think. I wouldn't be too worried."
*****
Miles carefully untied the red bandana from Gen's arm, wincing as he saw that it was completely soaked with blood.
"Guess I'd better get this washed…"
Claire looked at his neck. "What happened?"
"That's why I wear the bandana," Miles told her. "So I don't get questions about this scar."
"My apologies." She began to work on Gen's arm. "Please try to relax."
"Of course."
"Miles, if you put that in the bathroom, I'll treat and wash it later. Did the bullet enter your body?" she asked Gen.
"No. It just grazed me."
"You got very lucky." She finished cleaning the wound, and started wrapping his arm with a bandage. "If you relax for some time, you should be ok in a few days."
"Thanks."
"Glad I could help."
Miles had been unusually silent, looking at his bandana.
"Please be careful with it."
Claire was surprised at the request, but didn't show it.
"I'll make sure I am."
He reluctantly handed over the bandana, and went over to the other bed, falling asleep almost instantly. Gen soon did the same.
"Poor guy," Claire whispered. "Something happened that he just doesn't want to tell anyone. That will only hurt him far worse in the end."
*****
Fell stared at the night sky from his position on the roof.
The moon is almost full… He sighed. It will come again…
His Soul Card flashed, and the Mad Dog leapt out.
"You are concerned with something," the dog growled.
"Yes."
"You need not worry about that any more," his companion stated. "Malon and I have already taken care of it. As long as we are nearby you and your sister on the designed day, it will not occur."
Fell glanced at him. "Interesting. So there are more benefits to Soul Monsters than I first thought."
"Indeed. I can only hope to serve you to the best of my ability, if not beyond. I shall follow any command you give."
"And what should I call you?"
"Daine will do."
"For the first, and probably last, time in my life, I will welcome the help of another."
*****
Hope was relieved to find that Max was sleeping peacefully.
If only he could always be like this… so calm… she thought sadly. Unable to fight back her weariness, she proceeded to climb into bed.
*****
Olympion groaned mentally at what he saw.
The sign in front of him said, "Welcome to Hawaii!"
This was even more doubtful then Atlanta, Olympion thought in disgust. He looked at the airport again, and made a mental note to get on the right plane this time.
*****
Malady set down her phone, satisfied with the night's work.
"So what if they managed to escape? Soon they will be within our grasp… soon…"
Streak fixed his red eyes on the paper in front of Malady, and nodded in approval.
"Let them run. They cannot hide forever!" Malady smirked.
To be continued…