Elise Bottle
GT Twisted Fates 13
17
Chapter 13: Hot DateIt seemed strange that the Blue Assassins would try to steal the Temsik meteorite and risk the Twister's wrath. But then, who else knew about the fragments, and had anything to gain from acquiring them? I was about to find out.
The Bereted Investigator met Lynne as she walked into the foyer. "This guy game in around mid-afternoon," he explained as he led her to the containment room, "I thought there was something funny about him, he seemed really on edge. He really, really wanted to see Jowd."
"What happened when you told him Jowd wasn't in?" Lynne asked.
"He didn't like it, that's for sure," replied the Bereted Investigator. "The way his face fell, you'd have thought I'd just handed him a death sentence! I asked him if I could help him but he said no, so he went to leave, or so I thought." He shook his head, "Next thing I know, the alarm's gone off so we rushed to the labs, and there's the same guy, a switchblade to the Professor's throat and he's spitting chips. They're both holed up in there, and the suspect's demanding we get Jowd here, now, or that he's allowed to leave with whatever the hell it is they're keeping in the Professor's special lab."
"I see," Lynne said grimly. "Have we got an ID on the suspect?"
"Memry's working on that right now…"
"Guys, guys!" the Freckle-Faced Cutie came rushing up to us waving a piece of paper, "You're not gonna believe it, but it's the same psycho who snatched Lynne when she was a kid!"
Lynne blinked stupidly, "The guy who snatched me? What about him?"
"Duh!" the Freckle-Faced Cutie slapped her forehead, "He's the one who's got the Doc! The guy who held you hostage ten years ago is the same guy wanting to see Jowd right now!"
"WHAT?" I don't know who cried that out the loudest, Lynne or me.
"Let me handle this!" I told Lynne as I leapt from her badge and towards the room. "I'll talk some sense into that idiot!"
"Wait, Sis, I – whaddya mean, talk to him?"
"He has core from the last time," I lied. "Just try and stall the others for me if you can, please!"
Inside the room, I could see the Professor crouched on the floor, his hands tied behind his back, but he seemed fairly mellow. On the other side of the room, there he was in his unmistakable red suit, pacing back and forth, wringing his hands, a bandage wrapped around his left arm, his face creased with worry.
"You can still get out of this, you know," said the Professor calmly.
"Please," Yomiel hissed, "just shut up."
"All you have to do is go out there with hands up and—"
"Please, just SHUT UP!" Yomiel rounded on the Professor furiously. "I don't want to do this but I've got no fucking choice, so shut the fuck up!"
"If you ask me you have plenty of better choices," I snarled as I jumped into his core.
"Sissel? Thank Gods!" Yomiel seemed relieved. "Am I glad to see you."
"Well, if I had my body you wouldn't be!" I replied. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Yomiel bit his lip. "You've probably guessed by now," he said, "but I came here to steal part of the meteorite."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "But why? Yomiel, I thought you hated what the meteorite did to you?"
"I do," Yomiel said bitterly, "and if I had the choice I certainly wouldn't be here. But," I could hear the despair in his voice, "if I don't, they'll kill her!"
"Kill her?" I inquired, "You mean your wife?"
Yomiel nodded, "Since we last met up, Sissel had been committed at the hospital, but when I went to visit her the other day the guy at the desk told me she'd left."
"She wasn't arrested?"
"They decided that Sissel wasn't sound of mind when she lit the fire, so the judge said that if she spent time in hospital they wouldn't send her to jail," he explained. "But she wasn't supposed to leave the hospital until the doctors decided she was ok."
"What has this got to do with the Temsik meteorite?"
"I'm getting to that," said Yomiel. "I thought she might've gone home, and the front door was open when I got there. But when I got inside, the place was turned upside down! And, and…" he put his hands on his head, digging in his fingers, "She wasn't there, but this… this other guy was. Some freak in a mask."
My ears pricked up at that last word, "Did you say he was wearing a mask?"
"He said she was his 'special guest'," Yomiel choked. "The guy he, he said I had to get the meteorite or I was never gonna see her again. I told him I had no idea what he was crapping on about, that he was off his nut. He took a knife from the kitchen and he grabbed my arm and, well, I'm guessing you saw the bandage."
"Yes," I said grimly, "I'm guessing he then demonstrated said knife on himself?"
Yomiel was taken aback, "Y-yeah… guy cut open his own throat…"
"But he didn't die?"
His gaze fell to the floor, his body slumped, "You know who this guy is, don't you?"
I didn't know what to say. Should I tell Yomiel the truth, and risk upsetting him further? I hated to admit it, but it seemed that ever since the Twister had shown up, I was doing nothing but lie to my friends. Sure, it had been clean and practical in the beginning, but now I seemed to be getting myself into one mess after another.
"Yes, I've encountered him," I said finally. "I'm guessing he's the one who forced you into this?"
"Yeah, he said that was the only way I was gonna get Sissel back, alive and in one piece. I couldn't ask the cops for help coz the guy said he had eyes on me, so I thought if I could talk to you and Jowd…"
"But Jowd wasn't here," I finished. "Asking for Jowd was already a risk, and you weren't about to risk Sissel's life on a detour."
"So I decided to bite the bullet and just steal the damn rock," Yomiel continued. "The creep gave me the directions, and hacking the security was a cinch for me. Then the Professor showed up and I panicked." He placed his head in his hands, "I don't understand. I thought once I got rid of that damn rock my life would get back to normal."
"This isn't your fault," I told him. "What happened back then has nothing to with you or what happened in the past."
Yomiel didn't reply, but continued to stare at the floor.
"I should go," I said finally. "I'll tell Lynne what's happened so we can decide our next move together. But you have to let the Professor go, understand?"
"O-of course. I'm so sorry," Yomiel said, "I never wanted this shit – I just want Sissel back, I want her safe."
"We'll do what we can," I replied. "I won't let her die."
"I know."
As I left the room, I felt that horrible guilt well up inside me once again – thanks to the Twister's powers, there was no way I could guarantee the Fiancée's safety. Lies, lies, lies! Everything that came out of my mouth these days was one string of lies! I made myself a promise then and there – once this was all over, if I still had line of communication with Lynne, I was going tell her the whole truth of that Fateful Night. But first, we had to deal with the Twister.
I told Lynne what had transpired between Yomiel and I, and she reacted with the appropriate frustration.
"That sick freak," she growled, "he could come up with a gajillion ways to get in here, but he picks the one that most screws everyone around. What's with this psycho?"
"We can't waste time on that now," I replied. "The plan is for you to offer yourself in exchange for the Professor, and from there we can discuss what to do next."
"Ok, gotcha."
I disconnected with Lynne's core and she turned to her co-workers.
"I have an idea," she told them, "I'm gonna offer myself as a hostage in exchange for the Professor."
"What? Are you nuts?" the Bereted Investigator exclaimed. "You're willing to hand yourself over to that nut-job?"
"I might be able to negotiate with him," Lynne replied, "just trust me."
There was silence amongst Lynne's co-workers, but none of them raised any objections.
"Alright then," Lynne went to the containment room door and gave a quick knock, "Yomiel? I have a proposal for you. I'll come in there and talk to you in person, but you gotta let the Professor out, ok?"
The door slid open, and the Professor was rather unceremoniously shoved out of the room. The Freckle-Faced Cutie and the Bereted Investigator grabbed him and pulled him into the hallway and Lynne rushed past him through the door.
"That went surprisingly well," the Cutie mused.
Lynne and I were now in the room. Yomiel was waiting for us, chewing nervously on a thumbnail.
"Sissel talk to you?" he asked.
"Yeah" replied Lynne. "So, what did that scumbag want?"
Yomiel was hesitant, tightly gripping the metal suitcase as he leaned out of the side of the van, looking towards the warehouses, "I can't believe I'm doing this."
"Hey, you stole a police-issue gun and broke out of interrogation," quipped the Freckled Cutie, "this should be a cinch for you."
"That's not helpful, Memry," the Bereted Detective growled. He turned to Yomiel, "Look, you've got that wire on you – if you think things are getting out of hand, just say the code word and we'll storm the place and start busting heads, ok?"
"Y-yeah, sure."
"Now just to be clear," he looked Yomiel right in the eye, "what's the safe word we agreed on?"
"Objection?"
"Great! Stick to the script, and you and the missus will be cuddling together in no time," said the Freckled Cutie.
Yomiel took a deep breath as he stepped out of the van and into the street. He whispered to me, "You there, Sissel?"
"Yeah, I'm here," I replied from the suitcase. "I'll head in and scope the place out, if she's in there I'll get her out."
"Thanks. I know I can count on you."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, old friend."
I slid out of the suitcase and into the nearby street litter, slinking into the foggy night. I recognised this place – the warehouse docks where I had first encountered the Twister and discovered his ghastly power. The Twister had instructed Yomiel to make the drop-off in a warehouse far on the other side of the docks. It was highly unlikely that the Fiancée was being held in the same location, but it was a good a place as any to look for clues.
I soon arrived at the warehouse, and already there was a problem – Beauty. She was there by a crate on which sat a telephone. 'One Step Ahead' Tengo was also there, but he wasn't the one I was worried about. It was Beauty's 'sixth sense' that scared me, since she could easily find the wire hidden on Yomiel, although I had warned him of that possibility. He would have to deal with her on his own. My job was to find the Fiancée, report back to Lynne, and help the Fiancée escape to safety, if possible, before Yomiel was found out. If I messed up this one, it was all over.
Once again I messed up Tengo's gun just to be on the safe side, and then I snaked over to the telephone up on the crate. Beauty was tense, gripping her whip with both hands, bending it up and down, her teeth gritted.
"This is stupid," muttered Tengo. "He snatches some random broad on a whim and expects her old man get the job done?"
"He's fooling around again," snarled Beauty. "That bastard, he's just using us in this stupid game of his. Gods, how long is he gonna keep screwing around with us like this?"
"For as long as Sith indulges him," Tengo replied. He gave the crate the swift kick, causing the phone to jump and giving me quite a jolt. "Dammit, that bastard! He's not the one out here bustin' his arse, the overdressed turkey!"
Beauty rounded on him threateningly, "Watch your tongue, Tengo! Lord Sith is highly experienced in his field of command and more than worthy of our respect."
Tengo bit his lip and gulped nervously, "I-I was just sayin'…"
"Sith has plans to deal with our friend the Twister once we're done here," said Beauty haughtily. "He probably won't be quite as jovial once we play our little joke on him."
Well, I'd certainly be happy for the Blue Assassins to be rid of the Twister for me, but if he was trapped on the sea floor then it would be very difficult to undo the deaths he had caused. But I wondered if the Twister be so easy to outwit as Yomiel had been. In terms of manipulative cunning, the Twister seemed to be much more of an even match for Lord Sith.
This train of thought was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. I was ready as Beauty snatched up the receiver, "What?"
"Hello, Beauty my darling," Dandy's voice came over the phone. "Are you doing well over there?"
Beauty gritted her teeth and massaged her temples with her free hand, "Dammit you idiot, stop calling! The plan was for ME to call YOU when the stooge arrives with the loot!"
"I know, my dearest, but I just wanted to-"
"Just make sure old sack-head doesn't get carried away with our guest – I don't want to have to clean up what's left of her!"
I guessed that sack-head would be the Twister, and the 'guest' had to be the Fiancée. I didn't waste any time, jumping down the phone line towards where Dandy was calling from. I took a quick look around to see where I was – it was dark but I could make out the lush green trees, the sound of running water, the enclosures housing the various snakes and spiders – the Little Ambassador's office.
"Of course my darling Beauty," Dandy finished saying, "I'll make sure that Mister Twister is the perfect gentleman to our lady friend." He grimaced as he hung up the phone, "Easier said than done, though."
I followed him as he headed towards the middle of the room, towards the depression with the seats and coffee table. Sprawled across one of the seats was the Twister, with a smug air about him. Seated across the table from him, hands bound behind her back, a gag stuffed into her mouth and her face stained with tears was the Fiancée.
"Comfortable?" the Twister sneered, "I've gone to so much trouble just to make tonight special for the two of us."
The Fiancée choked back her sobs.
The Twister leaned forward towards her, "Bet you haven't had a night like this in a while," he said to her, "bet that lowlife punk husband of yours couldn't – "
"Um, Mr. Twister?" Dandy interjected.
The Twister let out a groan and slouched back into his seat, "Can't you see I'm entertaining here?"
"Um, yes, well you see, I was just told to remind you not to get too entertaining…"
The Twister was quiet for a moment, before reaching into his coat and pulling out his bloodstained scalpel. "You saying I don't know how to treat a lady?"
Dandy gulped nervously, "I'm just saying… it's usually very difficult having to clean up after you…"
"You needn't worry so much," the Twister replied. "Tonight is different. I'm entertaining a lady and I intend to be a perfect gentleman to her. Isn't that right, my dear?" He leaned forward back towards the Fiancée, grabbing her by the chin in his gloved hand. The Fiancée choked back another sob and tried to pull away, shutting her eyes tight.
Dandy looked ill, "I-I'll just go wait the phone," he muttered as he walked away.
Knowing where the Fiancée was being held was only part of the plan. I shot back down the phone, to the police station this time, where Lynne was waiting for my signal.
I wasted no time, jumping straight into her core, and explained the situation to her. Naturally Lynne was not pleased to hear that the Twister was personally guarding the Fiancée, but she was even more concerned when I told them where the Fiancée was actually being kept.
"At the embassy?" Lynne hung her head, "Oh no…"
"What's wrong?"
"Remember that whole diplomatic immunity thing I was telling you about?" Lynne replied. "I can't go near the place unless I have a damn good reason. The sonnava bitch, he's picked the one place he's knows we can't touch." She thought for a bit, "Maybe if I phoned through and said they're been a bomb thre – no, the Twister might suspect something and just kill her…"
"What if you waited outside, and I brought her to you?"
"Can you do that?"
"Well, it'd certainly be a challenge. I'd have to distract the Twister, get him away from Sissel, and then sneak her past whoever else happens to be there. But once we do that, you just have to grab her and take her to safety, right?"
"Are you sure you want to be so close to the Twister for all that time?"
"Well, I've really got no choice now, do I?"
Lynne sighed, "I gotta hand it to you Sissel, you're brave. If you were human and alive, you'd make a pretty good cop."
"Thanks," said I. "It'll take me a while to sneak the other Sissel outside, so that should give you plenty of time to get to the embassy. I'll see you there."
"Right. But Sissel, please, be careful!"
Back through the phone lines, back to the Twister and the Fiancée. They were still both there, the Fiancé still tied up and sobbing, while the Twister's attention was on a large covered dish on the coffee table.
"I suppose we should have something to eat first," he said, reaching out to the dish. "Let's see what's on tonight's menu, shall we?"
He lifted the lid of the dish and the Fiancée let out a muffled scream. Inside the dish wasn't a fancy meal, but a cage full of live rats. So many of the poor creatures were crammed inside that they crawling on top of one another, appearing to be one writhing, giant mass of fur.
The Twister opened the door at the top of the cage, reached in his hand and pulled out one of the rats by its tail. He dangled the struggling animal right in front of the Fiancée's face, causing her to let out another muffled scream and try and turn away.
"Not hungry?" he smirked. "Well then, maybe we should get just right to the good part." He took his free hand and slowly slid it up the Fiancée's skirt, causing her to shudder in revulsion.
My mind was racing – how the hell was I supposed get the Fiancée to safety with the Twister watching her like a hawk? I tried to keep calm and continued to watch the scene unfold, looking for any chance I had. Should I just go and get Lynne's help?
The Fiancée pulled away from the Twister, trying to inch herself as far away from him as possible. The Twister just chuckled at this.
"Aw, c'mon babe, make up your mind!" He opened the zipper on his mask. "Ah, suit yourself. I'll go ahead and tuck in."
All this time the Twister still had the poor rat by the tail. Now, he grabbed the creature and took it up to his mouth. Then, while the rat was still alive and moving, he bit off the creature's head.
The Fiancée gave another muffled scream and squeezed her eyes shut. I heard retching from the back of the room – Dandy had seen the whole thing and rushed out at full sprint. I'd thought that by now nothing the Twister did could surprise me, but I was certain that if I had my body at that point I would've been sick. I had to get the Fiancée out of there, now!
I looked around the room, wondering that maybe if I let the animals out of their cages… but would that really be enough to distract him? If anything, it might only serve to give me away, and I wasn't interested in becoming dessert. But then again, I could hide myself well enough. It would be risky, but it was one I had to take. I snuck my way towards the terrariums, and quickly found the locks to the doors.
I was just about to open them, but then a dreadful thought crossed my mind. I could see the Twister chasing after the loosed animals, slaughtering them and devouring their souls at his leisure. Was it really fair, using these creatures to serve my own ends? Argh, what was I doing?! This wasn't a time to have second thoughts. Besides, once I could get to the Twister's core, I could make it as though all of these deaths had never happened... right?
"Psst!"
I gave a start, and looked around. Did I just imagine that noise? Focus, Sissel, the strain's getting to you.
"Psst, fleabag!"
Ok, I wasn't imagining that. I looked around frantically, "Who's there? Where are you?"
"Over here, you stupid fleabag!"
I looked towards the origin of the voice, in the terrarium above me. Sure enough, hiding in the decorative rocks was a little spirit flame, mostly hidden from view but occasionally exposing itself before zipping back into invisibility.
"Charivari? Is that… is that you?"
"Of course it? Who else would it be, the tooth fairy?"
"But… what are you doing here?"
"Never mind that now!" he snarled quietly. "We gotta get outta here before that freaky monster finds and eats us!"
"Yeah, well, you go on ahead," I looked towards the table where the Twister was still 'entertaining' the Fiancée. "I can't really do that right now. I've got to figure out a way to get the Twister away from that woman and then sneak her out of here."
"What?" Toon-Face huffed incredulously. "Oh, forget her, she's history, pal. He's gonna eat her for dinner and have her for desert, if you get my drift."
"Not if I can help it. I think I've got a plan here."
"You dumb hairball, what's that's hussie to you, anyway?"
"She happens to be the wife of a friend," I replied, "but even so it wouldn't matter – you don't just abandon a person to die like that."
"Isn't loyalty supposed to be a dog thing?" Toon-Face flustered.
"What do you care, anyway?" I hissed, "You've never shown any interest in helping anyone but yourself before, why are so suddenly so worried about me now?"
"Well, I," Toon-Face stammered, "It's just that – uh…"
"If you really want to be useful for a change, go home. Let your son know you're okay, he's been worried sick about you."
Our conversation was distracted when the double doors at the other end of the room burst open, and the Little Ambassador stormed in, followed closely by Limbo and the Bear, with Dandy hanging back to the rear. The Ambassador stormed over to the Twister, his gentle, calm expression gone, replaced with one of fury barely being restrained.
"Mister Twister!" he fumed. "I thought I made it perfectly clear that you were under no circumstances to at all tamper with the animals under my care!"
The Twister rolled his eyes, turning to face the Ambassador and replied in a bored drawl, "I thought you grew these little disease-carriers as snacks and I was feeling a bit peckish."
"Why – you sick creep!"
"Who are you calling a creep?" the Twister took the mouse's decapitated body and began to stroke it. "You feed these poor, innocent little creatures to your slimy, scaly little pets while they're still alive."
"How dare you!" the Ambassador raged. "You know very well that these animals don't know any better, they won't go after dead prey!"
The Little Ambassador's words got me thinking. Before I had been exposed to the Temsik radiation, both in this timeline and the original, I had been an ordinary cat who would have thought nothing of killing a defenceless creature for my own benefit. It was simply because the thought that other creatures could suffer and feel pain had never crossed my mind. Besides, I did what it took to survive. But now, I didn't need to kill to eat. I had caused the deaths of Jeego and Tengo in the previous timeline, of course, but they'd had intended to harm innocent people. I'd harassed a few unfortunate rats, but once again that was out of need, and those creatures had suffered no lasting damage. Even Yomiel, in the course of his sins, had only deluded himself that he took pleasure from his crimes and was simply trying to put an end to his own pain. We knew better, and so did the Twister. The difference was that he didn't care. But I did, and brought me back to the issue of the terrariums...
Focus, Sissel! Just open the stupid door!
I couldn't do it. No matter how many times I went over it in my head, I couldn't justify making these creatures suffer. How was their life any less valuable than the Fiancée's? How about the other humans that the Twister had killed?
Great, just great – beaten by my own nagging conscience. I turned my attention back to the Fiancée, who was clearly relieved that the Twister had turned his attentions from her so he could rile up the Little Ambassador. I just had to wait for my chance to get her out of here, that is, if she could last that long.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" the Twister was gloating. "It's your job to make me comfortable if you want the Temsik meteorite."
"Screw it!" snarled the Little Ambassador. "As far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell and take that that stupid rock with you!"
The Twister threw back his head in a cackle, "Oh, I'm sure your bosses back home are going to love that…"
The Little Ambassador clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, and Limbo stepped forward, gripping him gently by the shoulders.
"Little sir," he said gently. "Forget him. He is not worth it."
"Heh-heh-heh, listen to your nursemaid, kiddo," the Twister sneered. "You don't wanna hurt yoursel-"
The Twister's gloating was interrupted by a loud fizzing and crackling, the lights started to flicker, and then the lights, the fountain, everything, shut down. Everyone sat in stunned silence for a second or two, before the Little Ambassador grabbed the phone and started shouting into the speaker.
"What happened?" he said frantically. "Who cut the power?"
I was too stunned to move as the Little Ambassador listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone line before replacing it in the receiver, "He's says the fuse box just exploded. Power's out in the whole building."
The Twister growled and got to his feet, "Someone's here!"
"You bet you dear sweet ass, I'm here!" came a gruff, contrary voice, seemingly from nowhere.
The Twister looked around frantically for a couple of seconds, just as the serving tray suddenly took off and crashed into the wall on the other side of the room. Everyone stared in stunned silence at this strange event, and even I had to wonder what the hell was going on.
The voice rang out across the room, "Well c'mon, you shit-faced dick-for-brains! You want me? Come and get me!"
The Twister's eyes lit up like fire, and his mouth, still visible through the open zipper in his mask, contorted into a hideous snarl, "So you finally grew some balls and decided to show up, old man?"
The Little Ambassador blinked stupidly, "What's going on? Who are you talking to?"
"None of your damn business!" the Twister shot back. "I'll be gone a while. Don't try anything funny with my carcass while I'm gone!"
The Twister's soul leapt out of his body, leaving his body to crumple to the floor, as everyone else backed off in shock. I saw Toon-Face's flame scoot off down the hall, with the Twister's slimy soul in hot pursuit. I couldn't believe what I was seeing – had Toon-Face lost it? Well, that didn't matter. Toon-Face had gotten the Twister out of the way for me, and had provided the cover of darkness, which meant I had a chance to get the Fiancée out of here!
Since the Fiancée had a core, I thought I might as well make use of it and direct the Fiancée to safety.
"Hello?" I called to her as I leapt in. "You're Sissel, right?"
The Fiancée jerked slightly as she reacted to my thoughts echoing in her mind, "Who's there?"
"Keep calm," I told her. "Try not to react to me; I'm going to get you out of here."
"Get out…."
"Um, pardon?"
"Get out of my head!" screamed the Fiancée. "You're not real! GET OUT!
In the world of the living, the Fiancée began to writhe violently, trying to break loose from her bonds and screaming as loudly as she could manage while gagged. Limbo and the Little Ambassador turned to the Fiancée, stunned.
"Dear Gods, she's having a seizure!" the Little Ambassador gasped.
Limbo quickly rushed to the Fiancée and tried to pull the gag from her mouth, but she jerked away and fell out of her chair and to the floor, banging her head against the coffee table on the way.
"No, stop!" I cried. "You'll never escape causing a ruckus!"
"You're not real! You're NOT REAL!"
By this point the Fiancée had grown hysterical, and I realised that my presence was not helping in the least. I left her in a panic, hoping that the Twister was still preoccupied with Toon-Face. Limbo and the Little Ambassador were tending to her, trying to settle her as best as they could manage. Limbo tried again to pull the gag from the Fiancée's mouth, succeeding this time, and the Fiancée let out a despairing howl. At this rate, the Twister was sure to know that something was up. I was starting to panic. I was desperate for a solution, any solution. I noticed the Fiancée was struggling with the bonds on her hands. With no other solution in my mind, and despite the Fiancée's fragile state of mind, I untied the ropes.
Her hands now free, the first thing the Fiancée did was take a swipe at Limbo, scratching his face with her fingernails. Limbo reeled from the pain and the shock, allowing the Fiancée room to get up to her feet and make a mad dash for the door, pushing the Little Ambassador to the side as she did so. I sped after her, hoping to at least open a safe escape route for her. She barely paid any attention to her surroundings as she made her mad dash for the front door, so I had my work cut out clearing obstacles in her way. We finally reached the front doors and I flung them open as the Fiancée rushed headlong towards them, tripping down the stairs and into the arms of the Scrawny Snooper.
"Wh-whoa, whoa!" Scrawy tried to push the Fiancée off of him. "Relax, I got ya!"
"Let me go, get off of me!" the Fiancée beat him furiously with his fists.
"Reynard!" I jumped into his core, "I need your help, you have to get her to safety!"
"Sissel, what the hell is going on?"
"There's no time! The police should be here soon, but for now I need you to look after her or she's gonna get killed!"
"How the hell am I supposed to do that, she's completely freaked out!"
"Reynard, please!"
Scrawny was silent for a few seconds before letting out a groan, "Fine, I'll get her outta here." He backed away and took a deep breath, "Hey, lady, lady – you ok, what's your name?"
The Fiancée stoped screaming, but she was still very agitated, "S… Sissel…"
"Okay, okay, that's good – you remember who I am?"
"Reynard," I hissed, "What are you doing, get her outta here!"
"Dude, I need her to calm down first," he turned back to Fiancée. "Look, I know you're in trouble, right? How about I help you get outta here." he reached out his hand towards her. "C'mon, I'll get you a coffee, huh?"
The Fiancée shuffled her feet nervously. She slowly reached her hand out towards Scrawny…
Bright flashing lights flooded the area, practically blinding me. Scrawny blinked stupidly while the Fiancée returned to her hysterical screeching. My mind was splitting from the sound of the sirens, and I could see Scrawny was starting to panic too.
"Turn off the sirens!" I heard Lynne's voice not too far off. "I said TURN THEM OFF!"
The sirens switched off and Lynne rushed out towards Scrawny and the Fiancée, but the damage had been done, the Fiancée in such a state of hysterics she could barely stand.
"Miss Sissel," Lynne knelt down beside the Fiancée, "Miss Sissel, do you remember me?"
The Fiancée didn't reply, she had curled up into ball on the ground and was rocking to and fro.
"She just barrelled out the front door and ran into me," said Scrawny.
Lynne blinked, "Reynard? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Well uh," Scrawny rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I was following a lead…"
"Lynne!" I jumped in, "Never mind that now, we have to get the other Sissel out of here!"
"Ok, ok," Lynne reached her hand out towards the Fiancée. "It's me, Officer Lynne, remember? I let you pet Jowd's cat?"
The Fiancée eyes were practically bulging out of her head as she stared at Lynne, then she leapt off the ground, throwing her arms around Lynne and wailing loudly. Other officers were now starting to make their way towards us. Meanwhile, Limbo and the Little Ambassador had appeared at the front door, looking very nervous.
"Officer Lynne," the Ambassador came down the stairs towards us. "We spotted this woman roaming the grounds about a half-hour ago. I had my security staff approach her but she fled."
"Lynne, he's lying!" I told her. "The Twister's in there and-!"
"I know Sissel," Lynne replied, "but I can't do anything about that."
"But-!"
"Yomiel's wife is alive and well, and that's all that matters right now. The Twister will have to wait another day."
I was seething, but I knew Lynne was right. The Embassy was a no-go zone and we were powerless.
Lynne turned to the Ambassador, "Will you be pressing charges?"
"No," the Ambassador replied, "she's clearly in a poor state; to pursue legal action would be pointless and cruel." He gestured towards the Fiancée, "Will she be alright?"
"I don't know," Lynne scowled.
The Little Ambassador bit his lip, and I could see the guilt in his face.
Lynne handed the Fiancee over to the waiting ambulance officers, and then turned back to the Ambassador, "Mister Ambassador, if you think to 'remember' anything from tonight, you have my number."
"Of course, Officer," the Ambassador replied. "If you'd excuse me." With that, the Ambassador and Limbo turned and headed back inside.
"Hey, hey, holdup!" Scrawny rushed up to Lynne. "You're not buying this bullshit, are you?"
Lynne shook her head, "Right now, there's not a lot I can do."
"The hell?! Those two are all kinds of shady, and there's nothing you can do?"
"I can't arrest people for just being 'shady', Ren, especially an Ambassador. Or are you seriously suggesting I spark an international incident?"
Scrawny just gritted his teeth and scowled.
"This lead you were talking about," Lynne went on, "I'm willing to bet it came from the Twister himself. Don't you see, Reynard? He's baiting you, screwing with you. Let it go for now, and let the police handle this."
"Yeah," Scrawny sneered, "like I can trust you." He dug his hands into his pockets and stormed off, pushing his way past police and ambulance officers.
Lynne sighed, "Well, that's one down."
"But Yomiel's still at the warehouse," I said. "I have to get over there, now."
"There's a payphone across the street. I got to make a call back to base, anyway."
As the ambulance and police cars pulled out of the street, Lynne took me over to the payphone, and it was with some trepidation that I prepared to travel through the phone lines. The Fiancée was safe, but she was in a very bad way. Yomiel, at the warehouse, was still very much in danger. And then there was Toon-Face – in all the commotion I had nearly forgotten about him, but his uncharacteristic bravery could have very well resulted in him meeting a terrible fate. I was torn – help Yomiel, or try to find Toon-Face? I certainly couldn't do both.
Lynne noticed my anxiety, "Sissel? What's wrong?"
I explained to her how Toon-Face had come to my rescue.
"Seriously? That little creep really did that?"
"I know, right? I was quite shocked when it happened. But that means he could be in serious danger."
"Look," Lynne said thoughtfully, "Ridge and Memry pretty much have Yomiel covered, and they don't have the Twister to worry about. I'll call them and see how things are going and you can look around for Kenshin, if you're up for it. I'm sure Yomiel will understand."
"I still don't like it, but I suppose I just can't leave him," I sighed. "Alright then, I'll go after Kenshin. Please, look out for Yomiel for me."
"I will."
I jumped out of Lynne's core, into the street lamps and back towards the embassy, feeling very uneasy. The chances of Toon-Face escaping the Twister's foul hunger seemed very slim, and I was just as likely to end up on the menu myself. Where to begin? I heard a rattle, and I turned to see a trashcan in the alley beside the embassy. Oh Gods, was it Toon-Face? The Twister? Maybe just a rat? The old idiom 'curiosity killed the cat' seemed very fitting in this situation. I had little choice and switched to the World of the Dead and…
"Please, no more… I don't wanna see any more… it's not my fault, it's not my fault…!"
I felt a weight lift from inside of me as I saw those knotted brows and distinctive moustache, but it was clear that Toon-Face was not in good spirits. Once again, his blank white eyes were scarred with thin scratches, and he was curled up in a ball, rocking to-and-fro.
"Kenshin," I called out to him. "Kenshin, it's me, Sissel. You're safe now!"
Toon-Face jumped up and spun towards me, "Furball? Y-you came back for me?"
"I couldn't just leave you. Besides, I have to thank you for-"
"Oh, thank the Gods!" Toon-Face's scratches once again faded. "I thought I'd been left for lunch!"
"It's okay now, you're safe. But how did you escape?"
"I… don't remember…"
Something about the way Toon-Face said that made me suspicious. I was certain he was holding something back, but given the situation I decided to let it go for the time being.
"Kenshin," I said to him, "do you know how to get back to your son's home?"
"Yeah, through the phone lines."
"Good. Now, I want you to go home," I looked at him, dead in the eye, "and I want you to promise not to run away any more. It's not fair on your son to make him worry like that."
Toon-Face sighed, defeated. "All right, I hear ya. I'll go and let him know I'm okay."
We both headed for the payphone, and Toon-Face set himself on course towards the Scrawny Snooper.
"What about you?" Toon-Face inquired.
"I still have work to do," I replied. "An old friend of mine is in trouble. And Kenshin, thanks for your help. I could have never rescued that girl without your aid."
Toon-Face didn't reply. He silently sped off down the phone line, looking somewhat dejected. With that out of the way, I made for the warehouse, hoping that Yomiel was okay.
Once again the darkness of night was disrupted by flashing lights of red and blue. I saw him, sitting in the back an ambulance, alive, but in very bad shape. Yomiel looked like he had been through hell, his face bruised and bloodied. A paramedic tried to tend to him but he kept fighting him off.
"My wife," he groaned, "I – I want to see my – oh gods, Sissel!"
I quickly leapt to his core, "It's okay, Yomiel! She's alive, she's out!"
Yomiel blinked stupidly as he took in the news, "You really…? Sissel, I… I don't know how to thank you…"
"Just relax and let these guys patch you up, okay? It's going to be alright."
Yomiel let out a pained sigh, his gaze distant, "Gods, Sis, I wish could believe you…"
I very nearly protested, but as I thought it over, I realised Yomiel had a point – in the short time I had known her, the Fiancée's personality had changed drastically for the worse. Then there was the Twister's interest in the pair – the head in the mail, and kidnapping now. I seemed like a grotesque coincidence that of all the people in the world the Twister had chosen to torment, he'd chosen my old friend. And then I wondered, could the Fiancée's mental state really be another coincidence, or was it related somehow? I thought about her mysterious core, about her bizarre misfortunes at the Chicken Kitchen. And then, I remembered the day the Twister had possessed Jowd and abducted Cabanela, and that chilling boast he had made.
"But when you can bring that person back to life and prolong the entertainment, well! Since they remember everything, it has quite an interesting effect on their mentality…"
I tried to put the thought from my mind – my main concern right now was Yomiel's health, "You're hurt."
"That Beauty – I recognised her from last time," Yomiel explained to me. "As soon as I saw her I knew she'd find the wire, and that really pissed them off. I thought they'd kill me for sure, but they didn't."
"You mean they let you go?"
"I heard them talking in their language – I'm not fluent in it, but do remember some stuff from last time. From what I could understand, they were ordered to keep me alive," Yomiel buried his head in his hands. "Sissel, what the hell is going on? Why are they back; who the hell is this Twister guy and what the fuck does he want with me?"
I gave the only answer I could, "I'm sorry Yomiel, I don't know. I honestly don't know."
"He knew, Sissel, goddammit, that bastard knew."
There was silence for a moment, before I spoke again.
"Yomiel," I started, "there's something you should know…"
I proceeded to explain as best I could about what I had seen that night at the Chicken Kitchen, and of the Fiancée's mysterious core. Yomiel brow furrowed as he tried to process what I had told him.
"The hell," he muttered, "Sissel, what the hell is going on?"
"I don't know. I wanted to tell you earlier but…"
"Do you think… that guy…?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, it seems likely," I said, "Yomiel, I hate asking this but, is it possible that the Twister is someone you know?"
"If he is, I wouldn't know," he replied, his voice breaking. "I don't know what I did to piss this guy off, dammit, I just want things back to normal…"
I was interrupted when the Bereted Detective rushed up, "Mister Yomiel, good news – she's out!"
Yomiel said nothing – his face was pale and it seemed his strength had been drained from him.
"There's nothing much we can do now," I said to him, "but we've won this battle – you should go see her."
"Sissel, you… gods, I can't thank you enough…"
I left Yomiel's core as the Bereted Detective guided him towards the payphone were Memry was waiting, the receiver to her ear. She was talking into it nervously, a hand over her mouth to hide was she was saying and she seemed tense.
"Memry?" the Bereted Detective walked up to her. "He wants to talk to her."
"Well, uh, he can't," Memry whispered harshly. "We kinda have a situation…"
"Whaddya mean a situation? I thought Lynne called to say the girl was safe?"
"Well she is, but, she, well…"
Yomiel was starting to notice something was off, "What's going on?"
"Uh, nothing!" Memry replied cheerfully, "Just slight problems with connections, that's all!" she yelled into the receiver, "What was that you said boss? I can't hear you, you're breaking up!"
The Bereted Detective grinned sheepishly and walked back to Yomiel, "Look, your wife's fine, so let's head to the hospital and…"
But Yomiel just roughly pushed past him, and snatched the phone off Memry.
"No, wait!" Memry tried to grab back off it him, "sir, now is really not a good time."
Yomiel ignored her, his knuckles white as he put the phone to his ear, "Sissel? Sissel? It's me, Yomi, are you alright?"
I could hear noise from the phone, the sound of two people. I saw Yomiel's expression fall as he listened to the commotion on the other end of the line. I knew whatever was going on over there, it couldn't be good. I had to see for myself.
The phone on the other end of the line was dangling off its hook. Lynne was desperately negotiating with a clearly agitated Fiancée.
"Please, Sissel, your husband just needs to know you're okay," Lynne pleaded. "I know you've been through a lot tonight, but—"
"No, no, no!" Sissel hunched over, covering her face with her hands. "I-I don't want to, I don't want to!"
"Sissel, please-"
"He'll kill me!"
"We'll make sure the Twister can't find you," said Lynne. "we can move you and your husband to a safe place-"
"Yomiel's trying kill me!" Sissel wailed. "I saw it, he'll kill me – he'll kill me!"
Shocked by this accusation, I returned to the other end of the line to question Yomiel as to what this meant. But when I returned, just one look at him told me all I needed to know. He had slumped to his knees, his head in his hands.
He was crying.