A/N: Thanks everybody, for all the great reviews! They are so much appreciated! A little note before I go on, to prevent any confusion, I'll give each of Rachel's tentacles' voices a different font.
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:Number One:
Number Two
(Number Three)
Number Four
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Okie dokie, hope that helps a little; I'll repeat it at the beginning of every chapter, so don't be annoyed with me. Just in case you forget who's who. On with the chipper chapter:D
12. Hello? 1-800-MISSING? I've lost my sanity.
Otto walked down the street towards home. When he reached his apartment, the door was gone. He looked to the right, and it was lying on the ground in pieces. He walked inside the house, and heard whispering from another room. Walking into the den, he saw that the TV was on its side, and in the kitchen all the cabinets were open and there were pots and pans on the floor. Had somebody robbed the place? Whoever it was, they were still here, he thought. They weren't going to get away; he would make sure of that. He thrust out that 12-inch blade and advanced towards the voice.
-
Rachel was in her room, talking to her tentacles.
"You guys need names. It's confusing to keep track of who's who, and I don't want to call you Numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4."
:Names:
That sounds fun.
(Please choose for us!)
Yes!
"Okay. Number One," She said, looking at the top left tentacle. "You're definitely a guy, and you seem like the second youngest. You're playful, and you've got spunk. I think a good name for you would be… Josh."
:Josh. I like it! Thanks: He chirped and bobbed up and down.
"Number Two," The top right tentacle snaked down to her face. "You have feminine qualities without a doubt. I think you're the second oldest, and you seem to be a little temperamental. And you'll be a great fighter because of your personality. Your name should be Venus. The goddess of love, with a sassy streak to her." Venus straightened up proud and tall.
I'm a goddess! Top that, Three!
"Which brings me to Number Three." Rachel said looking at the bottom left tentacle, who sat on the bed, in order to look laid-back and cool. "Three, you're the oldest, and a tough guy. You're very temperamental, as I have learned on the way home. By the way, Josh didn't mean anything by that remark about you being stuffy. You shouldn't take it so hard." Three hissed quietly but menacingly. "You seem a little bossy; you're the strongest and very rash. And a bit of a bully, I might add. But all those qualities make you unique." Three rose a little, as if comforted. "Ralph seems like a good name for you."
(Ralph, it sounds like a rascal. Like me. I love it, thank-you.)
"And, last but not least, Number Four. You're the youngest, and a bit shy. You look up to your brothers and sister, although you're sometimes intimidated by them. You're a definite braniac, as you proved to me on the way home by explaining the theory of relativity, which, by the way, I tried with all my might to understand, but didn't. A good name for you would be Dexter. 'Right hand; clever' is what it means."
I love it! I'm Dexter!
:And I'm Josh:
I'm the goddess Venus!
(I'm King Ralph, and I order you all to shut up!)
Very funny, Ralphie.
(My name's not Ralphie! Just ask Rachel!)
Actually, the proper full name would be Randolph.
(Obi-quiet, braniac Dexter!)
:It's fun using all these new names:
(You're just a giddy kid, Josh!)
"Okay okay, you guys, cut it out! Now, let's plan out what we came here to do in the first place. Destroying Spider-Man."
:Oh yes:
(I say we go find the bug and chop him to pieces!)
:You're so aggressive, Ralph.:
I've a great idea!
"What's that, Venus?"
We find the bug, maim him just enough til' he's at death's door,
I know where you're getting at! Then we tell him of our master plan, and show him the sites of New York,
:And then we kill him:
(Slowly and painfully.)
"Okay, you guys, that's an awesome idea. But can we leave out the master plan part? Because, first of all, we don't have a master plan, and secondly, what if he got away and stopped us at our 'master plan'?"
:What:
He will never get away!
:Not from us:
(We won't even give him a chance!)
:What about you, Rachel:
We should give you a nickname.
"Okay, just don't call me Mother."
No, that's silly.
(Yes, silly and unrealistic.)
How about Xena, Warrior Princess?
"Were you guys watching TV this morning!"
Yes.
It was very interesting.
"Hehe, you little sneaks! But Xena isn't my personality."
(Well what is your personality?)
:We can find that out: The tentacles were silent for a moment.
"You know, it is so rude to tap into someone's mind."
(Shhh.)
We are gathering information.
You are bold,
:Cheerful:
Spirited,
Intelligent,
(Strong,)
Scarred,
:Mournful:
(Vengeful.)
All we have to do is compile those personality traits and find the perfect nickname for you!
"Can we do this later? We have better things to do. Just call me Ray for now."
:Very well.:
Now we should think up a master plan.
(We need a goal.)
We kill Spider-Man.
:Then what:
"I don't know; you're the master planners. It's not like we have anything to rebuild, like Otto and the fusion."
Is there anything you've ever wanted to accomplish?
"Um, nothing I can think of right now, but I'm sure there is something I've always wanted to get but couldn't. I'll think about it throughout the day."
Very well.
(Now we must carefully and strategically plan out our destruction.)
"Yes…"
-
Otto advanced nearer to the voice, and came up to Rachel's room. He stood in the doorway, watching Rachel as she sat on her bed mumbling to herself, and then once in a while laughing hysterically. There was a somewhat maniacal air to that laugh, Otto thought to himself.
"Rachel?" He said with a suspicious voice. Rachel turned her head to see him and smiled.
"The one and only."
"Are you okay?"
Rachel stood up. "Never been better." She stated with another laugh. She walked over to her window and gazed down at the streets. Then she started mumbling to herself. "You ever notice how tiny people look from waaaay up here? Like you could just squish em' all with one blow." She laughed again, this time a bit more on the alarming side. "No, you're right." She said suddenly, more quietly to herself. "That would be messy." She grinned. Otto looked at her very suspiciously. Hysterical laughs, mumbling to one's self, and spontaneous statements that are totally random. Perfect examples of insanity. He looked at her actuators; they were hovering in front of Rachel, looking at her as she spoke to herself. One of them was looking at Otto. Wait a minute… Rachel was talking to herself, wasn't she? Maybe she was talking to someone. Otto immediately ran up to Rachel and put a half-nelson about her shoulder, brushing her hair off the back of her neck and looking at the top of her harness. There was nothing there. Panicking, he turned Rachel around to face him. Her pupils were dilated; she wasn't in her right mind.
"No wonder you're acting like this." He said at last.
"Huh?" Rachel asked, as if re-appearing from a dream. Otto took her arm.
"Something must have happened earlier, because your inhibitor chip is missing. Come on, let's go down to the basement and get you a new one." But Rachel yanked her arm out of Otto's grip and backed away.
"Why would I want to do that? I've never felt better in my entire life! I'm finally seeing things in a different light Otto; they've opened my eyes. And besides, now I have someone to talk to."
"They spoke to you? What did they say?"
"Like I'm gonna tell you." Rachel said with a sardonic grin. "You're right." She said again with that suddenness. "We should be going. We have him to take care of."
"Rachel, don't listen to them! You're not experienced enough; they're taking over a lot faster than you think!"
"They're not taking over! They're agreeing with me, giving me wonderful ideas to help me."
"Rachel, they're not helping you. They're just manipulating you! Believe me, I know! You have to let me help you! I have another chip downstairs, all we have to do is put it onto your harness and—"
"That's not helping! You stay away from me!" She said, as Ralph pushed him aside with a force that Otto didn't know they possessed. Rachel walked out of the house and began to climb up the building. Otto ran out after her, craning his neck to see her ascending. He quickly climbed up the adjacent side and came up in front of her, blocking her path.
"Rachel, you don't know what's going on! Your mind is being consumed by those things! I can't allow you to just leave and let them take command!"
"Like you can stop me!" Rachel said, as Josh moved forward to take another blow at him. This time however, one of Otto's tentacles shot forward and knocked Josh out of the way.
"I can, and I will." Rachel glared at him, in a manner he had never seen of her before. He could have sworn for a moment that he saw her pupils turn red; perhaps it was just his imagination, or a reflection of the tentacles. Then she grinned evilly.
"If that's the way it has to be." She said. This time Ralph quickly darted forward and grabbed Otto by the neck, pushing him against the wall and choking him. Otto finally broke away and pushed Rachel off him, and she fell down the building. Venus grabbed Otto, pulling him down with her. They went tumbling down the building, and one of Otto's tentacles grabbed onto a nearby window sill, and he finally grabbed her and pinned her to the wall, as her head slammed against the brick.
"Look, Rachel, I don't want to hurt you!"
In a fury, Rachel shoved him off of her with her human hands as Ralph held him down, and Venus shot out a 15-inch blade in front of his face.
"Speak for yourself." The glare in her eyes was insane, as the blade inched closer to Otto. It brushed against his skin and pressed downward, cutting a small scratch on his cheek. Otto winced, watching the blood trickle downward. Rachel looked at him with a malicious grin on her face. "Think if it as a second warning. You try and stop me again, and I'll kill you." She ascended the building, stopping a moment to face Otto. "Don't follow me." She said. Then she climbed away out of sight. Otto just sat there for a moment. Rachel had truly gone insane. He had to do something, but what? What was she after? She said she had someone to take care of; who could that be? Of course! Spider-Man! She felt that he was responsible for her parents' death; and she wanted revenge. Otto climbed down the building and walked back into the house, walking into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror to examine his cut. The blood was smeared on his cheek from him having his gloved hand over it. He wiped away the blood and thought to himself.
"What's happened to Rachel?" Then his tentacles spoke to him again.
See? See?
We told you she would turn on you!
Why didn't you trust us?
Now you are injured because of it!
"No, it's just a scratch. And it's not Rachel's fault. You saw the inhibitor chip was missing; they're manipulating her mind, just like you four used to do. She has to learn to build immunity to their influence. But she doesn't even want to. She enjoys their company; and that's even worse for her. She'll never survive in the direction she's heading."
But she's gone now.
Yes, and she doesn't want you to follow her.
She isn't bothering us, why should we care?
"Because there are innocent people that will be hurt because of her, if I don't stop her."
Since when do you care about innocent people?
We've killed many.
"I know. But that's not important right now. The posing factor currently is Rachel. I have to find her, but I can't risk a fight breaking out; I can't injure her. Perhaps I can talk some sense into her head. But right now I have to find her. And wherever Spider-Man is, there's bound to be Rachel."
We have warned you.
But we will go.
"That's all I ask of you." He walked outside into the city, looking for Rachel.