Chapter Eight
Destroido Corporation Part I
Marcie kept walking down the street, her eyes onto the ground and her mind wandering to the recent talk with Ferralle. Wondering if she actually made the right decision.
"What the hell was that Marcie? We had it in our hands! We had a breakthrough and you just… Dropped it like a sack of potatoes!" Alice exclaimed, anger evident in her voice.
Marcie didn't answer, instead she kept staring at the ground. It wasn't until she stopped in the middle of the street that she finally spoke. "I'm not sure what I did- but I saw genuine worry on her face and I guess it reminded me of-"
"Velma." Daisy finally spoke, getting the name right finally. "It reminded you of Velma."
Delilah's eyes widened, astonished by the fact that her twin finally got the name right and in one take. "Who are you and what have you done to my sister?"
"Oh my god Delilah, Stop that."
"Oh my god, could you two stop bickering like babies for a freaking minute?" Alice said, rolling her eyes as she gave a groan. "You're already making me regret ever helping you."
"We still have to check Destroido. Let's just go while we still can." Marcie muttered. "We should be able to get there by sunrise. IF we actually hurry."
"After that we go our separate ways." Delilah reminded.
"Deli-"
"That's fine, you want to find Daphne. I want to find Velma." Marcie said. "This was going to be temporary."
Both Delilah and Daisy shrugged, but Daisy felt that it wasn't going to be a temporary thing. There was something that was nagging her to continue the search with Marcie.
Maybe Nova's talk with them had something to do with it? Maybe.
The twins followed the teens to the outskirts of Crystal Cove. Bracing themselves for anything that would come their way, besides…
Daphne handled this kind of thing very well, they could do it a hundred times better.
It took two hours for the group to get to the company's grounds, setting foot on the parking lot full of perhaps abandoned cars.
"Looks like everyone's working overtime. There's cars everywhere." Daisy muttered.
"It's a parking lot, it needs to have cars around."
Alice touched the hood of the car closest to her, feeling a slight warmth on them. She frowned, looking towards the others. "This car's been recently on."
Marcie looked towards the doors to the company's lobby, the glass doors were covered with something dark on them. She went towards them, wanting to get a closer look.
Daisy followed her, also having the urge to inspect the area with her. She soon regretted the decision to do so as soon as she walked the last step. She looked down on the floor close to the entrance, seeing what appear to be a body lying on what appeared to be blood splattered around.
Her eyes widened, quickly turning away from the body. She bit her mouth shut, trying hard to not release a blood curdling scream. "Oh god please… Please tell me that's not a dead body!" She muttered, mostly to herself.
Marcie went to the un-moving body, looking over it carefully. She touched what she assumed was the neck, not feeling anything else besides the cold touch of its skin.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but it is a dead body."
"Oh fuck, I think I'm going to throw up a little…" Daisy muttered again.
"Daisy, what the hell? You're a doctor for crying out loud. What's wrong with you?" Delilah exclaimed, slight worry in her voice.
"Uh… Guys?"
"I-I-I don't know… I just- I shouldn't be thinking like that I know bu-... W-W-What if this is all in vain? What if maybe Daphne's dead and- and-"
"Guys?"
"We don't even know what happened in the caverns, we don't know what happened to her and you're already worried that she's dead?" Delilah questioned, irritated.
Daisy groaned, punching her sister's left shoulder hard. "You're worried too! You were always Daphne this! Daphne that! So why aren't you so worried for her like you were?!"
"Because I know she's not a baby! She's a teen for fuck's sake! Already on her way to adulthood and finding out what she wants to do for a living! I know she's smart enough to stand on her own. Unlike you, who's had everything given to you on a silver platter!" Delilah snapped, finally releasing what she had been hiding for who knows how long.
"Wh-"
"The body's moving and I don't think it's supposed to do that!" Marcie yelled, backing away from the body as it slowly stood up.
Marcie, Delilah and Daisy stood still, staring as the body slowly stood itself up.
Alice went up the stairs quickly, eyes widened as she saw the body of Ed Machine in front of them. Half of his face finally succumbed to the deterioration of the skin, his suit ripped from several places like someone had fought him off by themselves.
"Hello, new Mystery Group…" Ed Machine began, gone was the rough and strong voice of the man who once was the henchman of Mr. E and instead, a mixture of his and the Entity's could be heard instead.
"I see that You and Nova have acquired allies… Marcie Fleach…" It said, "But what did she see in them?"
"Is that…?"
"The entity that wants to eat your sister for power? Yeah." Marcie said, "Although I didn't think it would possess humans too."
"Of course I do, how else would I get around then?" It gave a smirk, beginning to laugh maniacally. "What brings you here… To where you betrayed your employer?"
"That was a long time ago, and you weren't a part of it last time I checked."
"Oh, but I am part of it… I've brought everything you see here. I've brought all this to your friends, your allies, your enemies. They were under MY power and those stupid brats decided to not follow my leadership! And "Corrupted" you all!" Zombified Ed said, his hand turning into a fist as he explained his reasoning.
"Was it really how it happened? Or was it actually Viceversa?!" Alice replied quickly, anger in her voice. "Because it mostly looks like the latter to me!"
The entity possessing Ed hummed at her. "Ah, so you're his adoptive child… Yes, your face looks familiar now. I was wondering where you were in all this… So you're a part of this… Clown show.. Your father put up a good fight against my parrot… But not enough to withstand his claws."
"You take that back you slimy fucking bastard!" Alice yelled, stomping towards the Evil Entity but before she could get close enough- the Blake twins stopped her just in time.
The zombie laughed, "You fools, you think you can take me? You must be out of your mind right now!"
"Or maybe, you're just lucky it'll be us who eliminate you… Instead of Mystery Incorporated you fucking monster…" Delilah threatened, earning a smirk from the zombie.
"Believe me child, I'm not scared of you in the slightest. You may be the older sister of my chosen one, but you're not a threat I should be worried about." Ed said, tentacles forming on their back as it spoke.
"Get Inside."
"How? The green bastard is blocking the freaking way." Daisy said, staring intently at the zombie. "How are we gonna get past it without getting grabbed?"
Marcie chuckled. "It's blocking the main entrance, but not the other ones." She said, as her hand went into her pocket, once she had gotten what she was looking for- she threw them onto the floor quickly.
Once the small marble-like shapes hit the floor, they broke instantly. Creating a cloud of smoke large enough to cover both the zombified Ed and the team completely.
Alice covered her face with her arm, after exclaiming. "Quick, follow me!"
"No! Follow me!" Marcie interjected, grabbing the arm from one of the twins. Pulling her away from the smoke and the creepy villain that was trying to stop them.
The possessed Ed quickly sent it's tentacles towards the other side of the smoke, it gave a growl as it failed to catch anything from the other side. Not even to catch the sacrifice that was meant to be. "Rats… No matter… I'll pick them off one by one. Then we'll see who's the 'Green Bastard'" It muttered as it went inside the building, not bothering to open the doors as the body passed through them, courtesy of the Entity's power.
Alice kicked open the grate on one of the farthest sides of the building, She coughed as dust and grime went in her direction. "Alright, this is it. Let's get into Destroido's territory."
"I'm not going in."
The blonde's eyes widened as she turned towards the dreaded young adult, who was nothing but trouble and kept accusing her of attacking Mystery Incorporated for the past few hours they've seen each other. "Shit."
"What was that?"
"Uh nothing, but we seriously should get in before that zombified personification of my d- I mean Boss shows up again." Alice pointed towards the newly made entrance. "Sooo…?"
Delilah groaned, "As much I would love to not get captured by that thing, I don't trust you and even if there's a slight chance that you are trying to help us get any closer to know what happened to the others-"
Alice pulled Delilah in, getting tired of the blabbering already. "Let's just get in!"
…
Marcie and Daisy ran as fast as they could, to the back of the building. Quickly stopping as they finally found the door they were looking for.
"Okay Marcie… Do your thing." Daisy said, earning a nod from Marcie.
The brunette went ahead, with all her strength and her infected arm. She pulled the door off of its hinges and threw it away from them. It made a loud clank noise behind them as it dropped to the ground.
"That… That was too loud." Daisy muttered.
Marcie sighed, nodding. "Yeah, I got carried away with the force."
"You think it's after us?"
Marcie hummed in thought. "Probably but since we separated from Alice and Delilah, it would probably take a while for that thing to find us."
"Who was that?"
"Ed Machine, Former CEO and Henchman of Mr. E… And probably his only friend at that time." Marcie muttered the last part, walking into the building with Daisy.
The redhead sniffed, quickly being hit with the smell of rotting flesh. "Oh god, it smells horrible."
"All those cars are probably from people that worked here. But why was the one that Alice checked up on warm in the first place?" Marcie muttered, thinking to herself.
"Does it matter? Let's just find them and get out of here."
Marcie sighed. "I don't think it's that simple, Alice wanted to check and see if there was anything left behind by the original Mystery Incorporated and maybe something to know where the others are and why they haven't returned."
"You mean this place could be the only way to find them? Was she even sure?"
Marcie didn't say anything; she just looked away, walking down the hallway to wherever it led.
Daisy followed, covering her nose to stop the smell from overwhelming her on their way to find the other two members of the group.
...
"Why are you so insistent on wanting to help out?! I thought you hated them! Why the change of heart all of a sudden?!" Delilah began, pushing the blonde teen away from her.
"That's for you not to know and for me to keep to myself."
"Why? Are you gonna try and kill them again?"
"Tsk, like I want to do that again just for the sake of it. I told you, I was ordered to do it because my employer was scared of his pet parrot contacting your sister and her group. In the end it was all for nothing." Alice explained, leaving out bits and pieces of information still. But for her, it was enough.
It was going to stay like that for a while, just in case.
"So that parrot-"
"Pericles."
"Right, Yeah, Pericles." Delilah snapped her fingers as she remembered the name. "Was that parrot the same as Scooby and that Nova dog?"
"Yeah, he was a real deal." Alice said, rolling her eyes. "Especially when Mr. E kept mentioning him."
"So all that just to what? Scare the parrot into not showing up?"
"It's more complicated than that." Alice said, suddenly stopping in front of an office. She walked towards the door, slowly opening it. It reminded her of the early years where she didn't have a care in the world of what was happening in the company.
"What are you doing?" Delilah whispered, walking closer to the teen. She looked up to see the name on the window of the office.
ED Machine
CEO
"You have some unfinished business with the dead guy that's running around looking for us?" Delilah asked. "Was he a bad boss?"
Alice shook her head, going into the office. "No, not really, he was just… Someone I cared about." She went around the small office, looking through his things in a manner that was too delicate for someone like her. She was mostly surprised that nothing was thrown out or out of place.
"Was he family to you?"
"... Yes, he was family. He uh…"
"Your dad?
"How did you-"
"Trust me, I've been in the army long enough and have given the…" She took a deep breath before she could continue. "Unfortunate Bad news to people who have lost someone they love. Yours is not so different." Delilah grabbed a picture of Ed Machine with a small blonde 5 year old. "This is you… Isn't it?"
Alice looked at the picture and grabbed it from her hands, sighing. "Yes, I had just turned 5 when the picture was taken." She explained, "But it doesn't matter anymore, everything that's here isn't useful."
"I beg to differ, everything here has to be something useful. He was a CEO after all." Delilah shrugged. "It may seem nothing to you, but maybe for him it was something to hold on to just in case."
Alice hummed softly, rubbing her chin as she walked towards a line of file cabinets. "You know what, Delilah Blake? You're probably not so annoying after all." She teased.
"What?"
Alice opened one of the file cabinets, looking through folders upon folders filled with experiments that Ed Machine had signed and partaken in the research over the years of working for the company. "From what I heard, Destroido was in the process of creating prosthetic limbs for officials that have suffered injuries during training or in the field."
"You're joking?"
"Nope, It's all here. In black and white. And it was actually it's experimenting stage. Meaning we can use it to our advantage." Alice explained, finally finding the envelope she was looking for. "It's a good thing they kept paper copies of it. Imagine if it was on the computer.."
Delilah frowned a bit. 'There's a catch for this isn't there? What is it?"
"I don't get to hear you complain or your nagging about me, and I don't give you shit for it." Alice smirked, holding out her hand for the military official to shake. "I know you still feel the phantom pains. Seraphim did a number on you and your family."
Delilah frowned, trying hard not to scratch the bandaged area. "Yeah, She did a lot alright."
"Then allow me to show you what she did to me too." She pulled her hair away from her face, showing a scar on her right eye; it mostly covered half of her forehead down past to her cheekbone. "There's more but… I won't get into the details of it."
"Do we have a deal?"
Delilah sighed, shaking the blonde's hand. "Okay, but if I feel like it'll endanger me or anyone else I'll stop using it."
"No problem, pleasure to finally do business with you, Ms Bl-"
"Delilah is fine. Please, I hate the formalities."
Alice nodded. "Let's get you the prosthetic arm then."
Crystal Cove, Spook Museum
February 9th, 2014 8:45 A.M.
Sunrise
Nan Blake paced about the lobby of the Spook Museum, biting off the skin between her fingers. A habit that wasn't going to die anytime soon from what she could see.
Her nerves were slowly getting the best of her as she was pacing more. She accidentally pulled the skin too hard and hissed slightly, quickly rubbing her finger to ease the pain.
"Nan, darling- No, Nan listen- Nancy! Listen to me." Exclaimed Angie Dinkley, pouring a cup of coffee into a small mug. "They are going to be fine."
"No they aren't." Nan said, finally sitting down. "They aren't going to be alright and it's my fault. I let them go just because I wanted to know where Daphne was, they are just going to go up and leave us like your Velma and my Daphne… They are just going to get themselves killed and I let it happen."
Angie shook her head. "No they aren't. I mean… Delilah ran away and she came back unharmed, even after everything that happened between you and her. Am I wrong?"
"... No, not really…"
"Your girls are going to be alright. They are adults already, they know how to take care of themselves. You just have to trust them."
"Trust in them… Right… Trust them, it sounds simple enough." The redhead uttered softly, thinking to herself for a bit before the ground shook under them.
The mugs spilled the coffee slightly onto the table, the liquid staying still to the mugs.
Both Angie and Nan looked towards one and another, then stared at the door. Expecting someone or- something to kick open the door or blast it.
"Here's the plan, you go and warn the others. I'll distract whatever is behind those doors." Nan explained her plan. "I'll be right behind you."
Angie shook her head again. "No, You're crazy if you think you can just- distract it. What if it's one of those things that attacked you and your daughters?"
"Mm… Well, I did not want to say it like this but… I lived a good life."
"Wait what?!" The brunette's eyes widened. "You didn't JUST say that- If you died, where would Daphne go? What would she think of you?" Angie began.
Nan sighed. "Probably something along the lines of being the worst parent out of all the parents in the whole world."
"Right, then let's go before whatever is on the other side shows up." Angie replied, pulling Nan away into the back of the museum. Where Winslow Fleach, Dale Dinkley and the other two daughters were hiding.
Winslow stood up from his chair, looking towards Angie then at Nan. "Did they come back?"
"No, we aren't too sure about that. We felt the earthquake and decided to come back here instead of waiting and figure it out ourselve-" Angie stopped, only to look towards the door.
A knock was heard, which mostly alerted everyone in the room. Nan looked away for a moment, grabbing a broom. She didn't care if it would be useful or not. Nan had finally set her mind on something, 'Protect the family, fight until the end. No matter the cost, you're an adult… You know what to do.' She was going to fight until it became clear that she didn't need to anymore.
Another knock, this time harder than the last one. Then, scratches which had their fight or flight sense at maximum capacity. What the hell was scratching the door? Were they human? Or something else completely different?
The door burst open, two hands came out of the shadows as it pulled the being out of it. "Couldn't you guys have opened the door for me? Or are you THAT scared of the outside that you can't even begin to fathom the idea of opening the door for me?"
"No… No fucking way…" Dorothy began.
Dawn's eyes widened as she stared at the being. "You're joking me…"
Nan dropped the broom as quickly as she saw the figure, gulping slightly as she stared into the green-ish eyes. "You're back… You're really back."
"Daphne?"
Juneau, Alaska
Daphne yawned, scratching the back of her neck softly as she sat up. She shivered slightly as she remembered where she was staying at the moment. "Oh, right… I'm not in Crystal Cove anymore…"
She hummed softly as she scratched her cheek in thought. "I should start looking for some warm clothes… I am NOT dying in the cold that's for sure, I don't want to see death or the entity even if I can hel-"
Daphne stopped, groaning as she face-palmed herself. "Great, That's what I was missing… Talking to myself while no one's around. I'm turning into the worst version of my mom already, what a great way to start adulting…"
"Mom… I wonder if she's even alright… If they are even alright…"
She checked her phone, her battery was full but she couldn't see the service bars anywhere. Daphne groaned, raising her phone slightly higher than she intended to.
Bing.
"Huh, well that was quick." She wondered if she could call someone, maybe calling Fred would do anything? "It should work… Should it? I mean, I have the bars…" The redhead muttered, pressing the contacts button and quickly looking through the list of contacts she had on her phone.
She stopped at Delilah's number, wondering between calling her instead or calling Fred.
"No… I… I can't… What if she's…"
"Well, if she's dead… Good for her, no? That means she doesn't have to see what a failure you are…"
Daphne quickly shook her head at the thought, she took a deep breath. 'I'm fixing this… One way or another, I'm gonna fix this stupid mess me and the gang made.'
Her thumb pushed the list further down, finally finding Fred's phone number. She pressed it, putting the phone up to her ear when she heard the first ring.
"We're sorry, the number you have rea-"
She threw the phone onto the bed, hanging up quickly as the machine answered. Daphne gave a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck as she thought of another plan.
"Couldn't even charge his phone… Even before the apocalypse happened…" The redhead muttered. "Should I check the others…? What if their phones are also dead… It would be useless at this point…"
"Your friends are alright. I've sent them to various parts of America as a means to protect them.. To protect you." Sovrano says, showing up completely unannounced infront of her. His voice was almost soothing to her.
"I didn't need your help."
"Oh Daphne Blake… You really needed it…"
Daphne frowned, standing up from the sofa quickly. "Okay then Superman, what do you want us to do? Cross our arms and wait out the storm? Do you want the Entity to get us over with?"
"I'm only doing what I can do. So, if you want to stay alive and see him your precious boyfriend again you do as I say and shut your mouth." Sovrano threatened, then continued. "I'm doing everything I can to keep you from becoming Entity Chow, so appreciate the effort."
Daphne quickly closed her mouth but gave a small growl, she would stop pestering the demon for now… but for how long can she hold it out for him..?
"What are you doing here then?"
"I've come to tell you to stay here for a few days, do whatever you have to do to keep a low profile. Two of the minions already have one of your friends on their radar."
"Who?"
"Velma."
Panama City, Panama
Velma stared at her phone's screen, noticing the battery life was almost 10%. She gave a small growl. 'If only I hadn't wasted my time trying to get in touch with the gang…'
She quickly stuck her phone into her pocket, walking down the streets of the Panamanian city carefully.
It was new territory that she hadn't explored and honestly? She was afraid of the new surroundings at this point on. No way to contact your friends or family?
Well, she might as well get captured or killed.
But she suddenly stopped, thinking about her options.
Option number one: Lay low and try to get back to Crystal Cove without raising awareness to yourself as possible.
Option number two: Wait it out for whoever comes to find her… If it happens…. Which wouldn't be soon enough…
"It can't be that bad right? I mean… It's just like a small vacation… An unexpected one mostly." She sighed, walking out of the alleyway towards the street.
'But then again… Mom and Dad aren't here… The gang isn't even here. What do I do if no one's here…' Velma thought to herself, fidgeting with her pockets to calm herself somehow.
'I wish Marcie was h-'
'Marcie… Oh Jinkies… I forgot about her… Forgot about her sacrifice to help us and I blew it." She bit her lip hard, almost to the point of drawing blood. 'What would she say if she knew that I messed up big time? What would she say? What would she say? What would she say? What would she say? What wo-'
"Velma… Come back to me, to us… Finish what you've started… Help me restore myself to my original form!" A voice boomed in her head, she clenched her teeth hard as a headache rose.
'Get it together Velma, ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it completely… It's just messing with you… Nothing more, Pericles is gone, nothing can manipulate you… Except the Entity but it's still 20 bucks for it…" Velma gulped hard, still fidgeting with the insides of her pockets more. She looked around, seeing a hotel.
'Sortis Hotel huh? No, I can't go anywhere like that without money…' She walked more, passing a few buildings. "I have to find a way to earn enough money to go back to Crystal Cove… But how…"
'Marcie would have figured something right about now…'
'Marcie… How long has it been since I've seen her…' Velma thought more.
"Velma… Return to me… I order you to do so right this instant."
"Gotta find somewhere to stay for a while before I go insane." She checked her phone again, this time the battery was on 10% already. "And find an outlet fast…"
She looked up towards a building in front of her, the sign on her left side reading:
Hostal Cocos Inn.
"It's better than nothing." She muttered, going into the building. "I have to do this… If not, I'll probably end up dying like an animal."
"Velma… You will not survive without me… My minions have already found your trail and are looking for you… Give us the signal… Let us find you, and help you…"
Destroido Corporation, City Off Limits of Crystal Cove
February 9, 2014, 9:00 AM
"So, Marcie, what are we looking for?" Daisy asked, following the brunette closely as she looked around the blood covered hallways.
Marcie hummed softly, walking through the hall. "Anything to help us find the gang, anything at all…"
"You mean like the book we almost had but we had to give it to Ferralle because it has sentimental value?"
Marcie stopped, looking behind her as she sighed. "You too huh?"
"I'm just… Saying that if the book was important too. We missed an opportunity to know if there was a way to destroy the entity." Daisy says, crossing her arms.
Marcie turned to her. "What would you have done then?" She asked. "Tell me, should I have let you fall off to your death? Shouldn't I have saved you?"
"Well, In that case… Yes, you should have saved us from certain doom I guess."
"You guess?"
"Well, I really don't know what to say at this point. I mean… Everything that's been happening is just- Going so fast… Daphne's disappearing, Dad's passing, now this? I haven't even processed the fact that a freaking inter dimensional being is trying to get us killed…" Daisy explained.
"You think this is affecting you?"
"I think… I… I guess I'm not thinking completely straight because of what's happened."
Marcie nodded. "I completely understand how you feel… When Velma…" She cleared her throat before continuing. "When she was explaining to me that I was being manipulated by the Entity- I honestly didn't believe her… Until later on, when I could digest it a little better and think more clearly."
"Was that the time you dressed as a manticore and terrorized your father's amusement park?" Daisy asked.
"So you know about that huh?"
"Daphne might have mentioned it."
"Well, I can't say no to it. Since I really did try to shut his amusement down to use the steel it provided for my super helium."
Daisy began to pace around the hallway, looking into the several doors a few times over. "Right…"
"Something bothering you?" Marcie asked.
"How can you stay calm in a place like this? You can't have gone to a lot of mysteries with them in the short span that you have met them."
"I didn't, but I went to solve a lot of them with Velma before I even went with the gang." Marcie explained.
Daisy frowned. "Not anything like this then?"
"Not really no." Marcie muttered, shaking her head no. She motioned her hand towards a door, grabbing the doorknob. "They've never seen blood in any of their mysteries as far as I know."
"Then this is something new to us… Right?"
Marcie didn't reply, she opened the door and took a quick peek inside. She looked around the room, not seeing anything that could potentially be dangerous later on- which was good for her.
All they had to do was find Alice and Delilah, then get the hell out of there.
No big deal.
"Coast is clear for now, let's get in here before creepy haunted body finds us."
"It if gets us away from the smell I'm down for it." Daisy muttered. "Please."
Marcie nodded, opening the door a little more to fit through. Daisy went in after her quickly and shut the door behind her.
The redhead then took a deep breath. "It still smells like a corpse here…" Daisy muttered. "Seriously… I'm going insane!"
Marcie hushed her, "If we get caught we're dead. Let's just stay here for a bit and look around for a way to get rid of the smell. Okay?"
"Okay."
They split up, covering more ground in the room, it was a research and development area so there was bound to be something useful- even if it was just in it's initial stage.
As far as they knew anyway.
The brunette noticed a table filled with junk and went to check it out. As she took a look at the items, she gave a small frown.
In front of her were prototype weapons and armor but what was mostly getting her attention were her costumes.
The Manticore and the Dark Lilith.
Daisy went to Marcie, looking over towards the table. "Think they copied your tech?"
"No, these are mine no doubt. I was just thinking about what I could salvage from them. If I'm going to take down the Entity, I'm going to need everything I got even if it's small."
Daisy nodded. "He did stop Mystery Incorporated though… What makes you think he won't try to do the same to us?"
"He might, but we weren't created to become a group remember? We aren't legitimate to him, we're just following what Mystery Incorporated did. He doesn't know when or how things will work out." Marcie said, grabbing the Dark Lilith mask. "Since I didn't die, his plan was a failure."
"So he's going with a plan B."
Marcie shrugged. "Maybe, maybe this is his plan C. Who knows by now. All we know is that we probably don't have much time anyway."
Daisy looked towards the door, asking. "Do you think they are alive?"
"Of course they are, they have to be." Marcie muttered, pulling both of her costumes on her arm. "It'll be all for nothing if they aren't alive."
"Yes, but… how can you be so sure?"
Marcie sighed, "Because I keep seeing Velma, and she keeps talking to me."
"What if it's the Entity?"
"I'd know."
"How?"
"I don't know! Probably because I know Velma? Because she'd have a plan for everything? Even if it goes off the rails? No matter the circumstances? I mean… She'd always have a plan…" Marcie muttered, holding the costumes a little tighter.
"Then let me rephrase my question. What if she planned this from the beginning?" Daisy asked, the question feeling more accusing than curious.
Marcie turned around completely, replying with annoyance. "What are you talking about? She wouldn't sell them out."
"That you know of."
"You'd think she had it out for everyone? What about your sister? After everything you and your family put her through? She'd have the best reason to release it."
"What are you talking about? I was looking out for her!"
Marcie squeezed the costumes more. "And then blamed her for her failures as the perfect child your parents wanted her to be. Not everyone is special like you or Delilah, Daphne wanted to be her own person."
"I know that, but I also know for a fact that she wouldn't release that thing."
"Then why do you think Velma would release the Entity? Enlighten me, Daisy Blake!"
"You're smart Marcie, just like her. She should have figured this would happen right from the get go. So why let it happen? Unless something made her change the plan quickly!" Daisy asked.
"You don't know that!" Marcie exclaimed.
Daisy began to say something in return, but stopped when she heard banging outside of the room. She looked towards the door.
"What was that?"
"It's here…"
Tentacles break through the window on the research door's lab, going towards them at a quickened pace.
"Get down!" Marcie exclaimed, running towards the redhead and pouncing her to the ground.
Daisy groaned, looking up towards the monstrous limbs to see them crash into the table. She gulped hard, noticing the tentacles going after them again.
"W-W-Why are they growing?! Why the hell are they growing?!"
"I don't know, and I don't really want to find out right now. Let's get out of here while we still can!" Marcie yelled, grabbing Daisy's arm and pulling her up to run away from the growing limbs.
Daisy ran behind the brunette, quickly asking. "Do you have a plan to distract it?"
"Plan? For this? Nope, I don't have any." Marcie replied quickly, looking behind her to see the tentacles quickly gaining momentum towards them. She quickly ducked with Daisy, evading the monster.
"Have you noticed that it's getting super big? Like, the tentacles are growing super big?!" Daisy asked. "By the time it gets us we'll die being crushed by them!"
Marcie hummed in thought, not wanting to think about the worst case scenario. "I hope it's not what I think it is…"
"What are you talking about?"
"Maybe- and this is my theory- The tentacles are growing at a faster pace because Mr. Creepy CEO is feasting on something. What would it be? I don't know, but if we stop it for just an hour…-"
Then, as if it couldn't have gotten any worse. Alice May and Delilah Blake smashed into both of them. The four of them landing onto the ground and groaning in pain.
"Get off my jerk, you're squishing my back with your legs!" Alice exclaimed, growling at Daisy.
Daisy groaned. "As if, tell Delilah to get off me first and I might just get off you."
Marcie rubbed the back of her head softly, groaning as she stood up. "Welp, this is a disaster of a search."
"Of course it is, you're all pathetic. All because you wanted your little group back and now… you will all die without knowing what really happened to them.. so sad…" The Entity-Possessed Ed spoke, the tentacles closing in on the group.
Alice pushed both Blakes off of her and quickly pulled out the Quest Industries Bow she had gotten from her Obiteralix costume. "Not on my watch you fucking cretin."
"Ah, you really are a feisty one…"
"I'm only feisty because you're using my father's body as your play thing you fucker!" Alice screamed, aiming the bow towards his head. But she knew that she would miss it completely, no matter if he was in there or not. "I'll end you myself if I have to you bastard…"
It laughed in her face. "You? End me? You must be-"
An arrow fired onto its shoulder, then another at his stomach. Alice then fired another one which went to his knee.
The zombie screamed in pain, the tentacles slowly retreating from the group as they backed away in pain.
"Alice..!" Muttered Marcie, trying to get the blonde's attention. It was useless.
"Pathetic, especially from you… Alice May, you should be ashamed of being Ed Machine's daughter." The zombie spitted out, growling at the threatening blonde with much hatred. It's tentacles spread out again towards them, grabbing them all by their throats and lifting them up in the air. "I will end your miserable lives!"
Marcie quickly began to claw against the binds, growling at the being controlling the restless body of Ed more than the guy himself. 'It's not his fault Marcie… He's long gone now, the monster's just using his body like he owns it!'
"D-D-Delilah- Do s-s-s-omething!" Daisy exclaimed between breaths as the tentacle around her tightened its hold on her.
Delilah squirmed, "What d-do you want me to do? B-B-Beg for mercy?"
Alice bit the tentacle hard, anger completely overwhelming the blonde. As a form of defense mechanism, the tentacle lifted her up and quickly slammed her down to the floor hard. Alice tried to get up quickly, but the pain was too much for her to bear.
The blonde layed there, staring at her adoptive father's body becoming more twisted as the minutes passed. "Y-Y-You won't… You won't beat us that easily… People will be searching for us…" Alice tried to speak, it was more like a stutter than anything.
"Please, the people of Crystal Cove bend their knee under my will. What makes you think they'll save you?" It laughed maniacally.
Suddenly, the tentacles let go of the three and fall to the ground. Smoke came out of the tentacles, mostly where they were cut off from its source. The zombie's eyes widened and turned towards the figure, an animalistic growl escaped from him as he looked intently at the intruder.
"What is this?! How dare you stop me fro-"
The intruder struck again quickly, this time its claws hitting the center of his chest- Where the heart should be. It gave a screech in pain before grabbing their arm quickly and pushed away from him and into the others.
The figure stopped before it could hit any of them, their claws completely digging into the floor to make a quick stop of their movement. Once they stopped, they went after the possessed body again. This time much faster.
Marcie stood up, going towards the twins. "We have to go now, we'll use this to escape."
"What about Alice?"
"Daisy and I will carry her, Delilah will find a spot for us to hide. Let's move now before that zombie tries something again." Marcie answered, going to Alice with Daisy to carry her.
Delilah opened a door of her choosing, taking a quick peek inside. She was happy to see another hallway leading to another wing of Destroido. Delilah pushed the door open a little more, letting Daisy, Marcie, and Alice into the hallway first before going in herself.
Both Marcie and Delilah began to look around for anything that could save them some time to get away from the two monsters in the previous room. Delilah looked towards a steel pipe, humming softly as an idea came up.
"Marcie, take care of the pipe and wrap it around the hinges with that arm of yours. I'll hold Alice."
Marcie nodded, quickly going towards the pipe and twisting it to the point that it broke loose of it's hinges. She brought the metal through the hinges, quickly twisting them around to not let the door open no matter what.
"Done."
"Okay, let's go before those two notice that we're gone." Daisy said, holding onto the urge of throwing up once the smell of corpses hit her again.