Chapter 117: Diesel City

After Katrinas' realization of their restored humanity, Damon informed her of everything Calypso had told him,

"So with all that said, it sounds to me like Calypso is some sort of fucked up genie."

"Yeah, one where we have to play some sort of game in order to wish for all our stuff back," said Katrina.

"Or get our friend back..." said Damon, keeping silent about Blair and his intentions.

"Yeah, that too," said Katrina with Adrian and Jason on her mind, "so how far is Diesel City from here?"

"You seriously think I would know?" Asked Damon, "I can barely navigate Kuoh Town while somber." Katrina shrugged her shoulders, knowing he was right, but then Damon had an idea, "Hey! Why don't we promote ourselves to Knights and zoom on over!"

"We aren't devils anymore, remember? Just humans."

"Dammit." Soon they heard the running of an engine in the distance behind them, and they saw an old tow truck approaching them, slowing to a stop with the drivers side window rolling down, revealing an older man with a white tee shirt with oil splatters and grime, had dark hair with gray in the sideburns, and bright brown eyes. He gave the two a glance over before speaking,

"You two kids need a ride?"

"Yes please!" Said Katrina, with Damon giving the man a nod.

"Then hop in," he said, reaching for the passenger side door and opening it for Katrina and Damon, letting the two inside. "So where are you two heading?"

"Diesel City," answered Katrina.

"Ooh," said the man, clicking his tongue, "well that is both good and bad to hear."

"Why good and bad?" Asked Damon.

"Well it's good because that's where I was heading for my new job," said the driver, "it's bad because that's where Calypsos' game is going to be." Katrina and Damon gave each other raised eyebrows, then looked back to their driver,

"You know about the game?" Asked Katrina curiously. The driver laughed,

"C'mon kid, everybody has heard of Calypsos' game Twisted Metal." Damon and Katrina gave each other wide eyed looks, sharing each others thoughts,

"Well at least now we know what to look for," Damon muttered to Katrina. The former goddess cleared her throat, and casually asked,

"So...if a certain someone in a suit took something that belongs to us, and the only way to get it back is to play that game, how do we get in?" The driver looked at Katrina and Damon with a look of surprise, turned back to the road with a sigh of despair, and stopped the tow truck.

"They just keep getting younger and younger," he said sadly, "look kids..."

"Okay please don't call us kids," said Katrina, "our names are Katrina and Damon, and you are...?"

"Christopher" said the driver, "but whatever tragic backstory you kids got, it isn't worth getting involved with Twisted Metal. Trust me."

"Why not?" Asked Damon, growing impatient with the lack of distance the three were making.

"Because Calypso, Mr. Multi-Million-Dollar-Corp owner, who also doubles as some sort of genie, demon god thing, is also a damn trickster. Whatever wish he promises you, he can twist it however he wants."

"Twist it how?" Asked Katrina, growing concerned. The older man sighed, put the tow truck into drive, and began to talk,

"A perfect example would be Needles Kane, also known as Sweet Tooth, the deranged killer clown." Katrina froze upon hearing the word 'clown,' and already didn't like the story Christopher was telling them. "He had only one wish: to find the one victim who took one of his eyes and got away. He played Calypsos' game, got his wish to find her...and wound up buried alive in her grave." Katrina gasped while Damon shook his head,

"That's fucked up," he said plainly. "How did you know this though?"

"I was the one who towed his ice cream truck over to my junkyard."

Ice cream truck?! Katrina thought to herself, and she remembered the speeding ice cream truck that almost hit her and Damon earlier, but if what Christopher says is true, then that couldn't have been him...could it?

"That is, until some jackass stole it last week." Katrina snapped from her thought and turned to Christopher,

"What do you mean someone stole it?"

"Someone stole Sweet Tooths ice cream truck, and people have been saying they saw it heading to Diesel City as well. I just pray to god whoever stole it isn't as insane."

"I don't know," said Damon, "we've dealt with some crazy fuckers in the past, I don't think some whackass juggalo is going to get the best of us. Right Katrina?" Katrina had spaced out after Christopher informed them of the stolen truck, but when Damon spoke to her, she gave him a blank toned answer,

"Let's just figure out how to play Calypsos' game so we can get back what he stole and get out of dodge." Damon raised an eyebrow at the former goddess,

"You...feeling okay?"

"I'm fine Damon," she lied, "perfectly fine."

Sometime later...

It was now nighttime, and the two former devils and truck driver finally made it to Diesel City; it appeared like your typical big city, with large skyscrapers and small businesses, along with occasional suburbs with houses and picket fences.

"So this is Diesel City huh?" Stated Damon, "Doesn't look like much."

"Calypso has a habit of fixing up the city before it gets damn near destroyed," says Christopher, "one of the benefits of being whatever the hell he is." Soon the three arrived outside of a large scrapyard, beaten down and worn from years of use, but still functioning as a large spotlight kicksd on and the gate opened, allowing the three inside. Once inside, several mechanics ran to the tow truck,

"Christopher! We got a problem!" Said one of the mechanics, assumingly Christophers' second in command. He put his truck in park and stepped out, approaching the other mechanics,

"What kind of problem?" The mechanic gulped, and pointed right behind himself with a shakey thumb, and around the corner of a large scrap heap sped an entire fleet of vehicles of various shapes and sizes, all with a varying degree of armor plating and spikes on the outside, but one thing that stuck was that all the drivers were dressed like demented clowns,

"Did we just walk in on a Mad Max: Fury Road deleted scene?" Asked Damon, trying to get a laugh out of Katrina, but she was busy keeping eyes on the clowns, shaking quietly in her seat. That's when one more vehicle pulled to the front of the vehicular armada; the same ice cream truck that almost hit Damon and Katrina! The two former devils could only stare as Christopher pulled a handgun from out of his pants, keeping it held in front of himself just in case,

"Alright...!" He called out, "I don't know what your obsession is with Needles Kane...but it ends here! Now come out of that heap of crap ice cream truck with your hands where I can see them!" Katrina wished he hadn't said that, for as he finished his sentence, the drivers side door opened, and out stepped a shirtless muscular man, with dark boots, white pants with red polka dots, dark suspenders, and a wooden mask, with a cracked glass covering over the left eye hole, carved and painted to look like a simply evil clown, but worst of all was the top of his head; right on his scalp was a burning flame acting as hair!

"I didn't come here to fight," he said, his voice deep and gravelly, "I just simply came here to do some business with you." The evil clown approached Christopher, hands behind his back, causing the tow truck driver to raise his gun,

"Hands where I can see them dammit!" The clown raised his left hand, revealing nothing, and slowly raised his right hand...revealing a blue ice cream bar on a stick.

"Care for some sea salt ice cream?" Damon and Katrina looked back between each other then back to the clown and confused driver,

"The fuck is this?"

"A peace offering." Some of the clowns began laughing, until the leader looked back at them with a demonic roar, "Did I say you could laugh?!" The clowns ceased their laughter,

"Uh, no Sweet Tooth," said one of the clowns, "We're sorry."

"You see that's the thing right there son," said Christopher, "I towed away that truck a long time ago, because the real Sweet Tooth was buried alive by that fuck Calypso-!" With a metallic TWING! something metal and sharp flew to the lead clowns free hand, and with a fluid, almost practiced motion, 'Sweet Tooth' brought the weapon across Christophers' neck, slashing it open, and sending the older man down to the ground. Katrina screamed while Damon cursed, and the two dashed out of the tow truck, with Katrina rushing to the older man, pressing her hands to the wound, while Damon grabbed the gun, all while the clown roared at the older man,

"CALYPSO KILLED NEEDLES KANE...my father...!" The clown recollected himself, and breathed deeply, "...But Sweet Tooth will never die!" Damon cocked the gun, aiming it at Sweet Tooth,

"Wanna bet?!" The clown seemed to just now noticed the white haired boy aiming the gun at him, and laughed,

"Go home kid, this show isn't meant for you. I am killing Calypso, and the game isn't a place for a couple of kids."

BLAM! Damon fired the first bullet from the gun, barely zipping past Sweet Tooths shoulder and smashing into the windshield of the ice cream truck, gaining the full attention of the killer clown,

"Well you may have to make room for two more," said Damon, "because us kids got a bone to pick with Calypso too..."