Episode Five
Fight Against the Cannibal Madman, Race Against Time to Save Hammer?
When Hammer opened his eyes he immediately shut them again. There was a bright light hanging directly overhead and shining down into his eyes. He tried to sit up and roll over but he couldn't. That's when he noticed that his hands and feet were tied and he couldn't move. And that's when he started to panic.
He kept his eyes tightly shut because every time he opened them his eyes began to sting from the blinding light above them. He struggled, pulling with his arms and legs as hard as he could, trying to break the bonds but he just was not strong enough.
He tried to transform, felt his hand begin to change, but it wouldn't cooperate. It never actually took the form of a hammer. It was as if his ability to transform was being inhibited by something.
"There's no point in struggling," came the voice of his captor. Hammer turned his head to the direction that it came from and open one eye, squinting to shield his eyes from the blinding light. He could have been a man once. He was shirtless, wearing only black slacks and a belt, no shoes. He was currently filling a syringe with an unknown yellow liquid. He hit the plunger and got rid of any air that was in it.
"Who are you?" Hammer asked.
"I think you know who I am. You're a Weapon from the DWMA sent here to kill me, aren't you?" the Kishin asked.
"Dahmer…" Hammer managed to say. His head didn't feel right. Whatever drug he had given him made him feel extremely sluggish.
"That's right. There's no point in trying to transform either. I've given you a drug that keeps you from being able to transform. You won't be able to change back unless I give you an injection of the antidote. I'm only going to do that whenever I'm ready to eat," he replied with a sneer. Hammer gave his restraints another tug and gave up as his captor started laughing.
"Don't worry. I still have another helping of leftovers to get through before I start on you," he said.
"My friends are going to come for me," Hammer said.
"I'm counting on it. Even if they somehow manage to make it through the labyrinth of traps I've set up down here, I doubt they will be able to defeat me. One injection and they will be just as helpless as you are," he said.
"What are you going to do with me?" Hammer asked as he heard the sound of an oven timer ding. He thought he smelled something cooking.
"Ah! My dinner is ready. If you'll excuse me," he said, going to an old-fashioned oven. He pulled out what appeared to be pot roast, but Hammer had a feeling it wasn't made from beef.
"Smells delicious doesn't it?" Dahmer asked.
"You're sick!" Hammer shot back, revolted now by the smell of what he knew was human flesh.
"That's what they say. I say that I just have an appetite for something a little different. I'm going to let this cool," he said, placing the pan on the stove and walking over to Hammer. His fingers ran across the length of his arms and chest playfully. Hammer shuddered and twisted, but could not avoid it.
"Don't touch me!" Hammer spat.
"That's going to be a hard request to fill. You have such a beautiful muscle structure I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off of you," Dahmer said. Hammer felt the revulsion come to him all over again. Who knew that this guy was going to do with him before he ate his body and soul?
Nail! Hurry!
"What the hell is this place?" Nail asked. Tsarevich looked around trying to make sense of it. It didn't look like what he would imagine a sewer system to look like. Whoever had been down here had done some serious renovations. They walked around and found that many of the walkways were dead ends and eventually ended up under the manhole they had jumped into. The moonlight sent a beam down that illuminated the spot where they had jumped in.
"This must be Dahmer's hideout. By the looks of it, he's been down here a while making changes to this place. We need to be careful. This might be a trap," Tsarevich said.
"We have to hurry. By now he could already be turning Hammer in to filet mignon," Nail countered.
"He's still alive. I can sense his soul wavelength. He's not far, but it's going to take a while to make it through this maze," Tsarevich said.
"Maybe we should call Lord Death and have him send someone to help us. You're right. This whole thing might have been a little over our heads," Nail admitted. He hated to admit it, but with his Weapon's life on the line he was not going to let his ego get the best of him.
"No. You're right. We have to hurry. By the time someone gets here it will probably be too late. We're on our own," Tsarevich said grimly.
"Well, let's get moving," Nail said, "we went that way last time, let's try this way."
The two of them began navigating through the sewer system. There was rusty metal work welded to the walls and the ceiling in no particular pattern or order. They were filled with sharp, filed edges, saw blades, springs and…
Nail lost his train of thought because Tsarevich tackled him. As he did, syringes filled with unknown yellow fluid flew above them where they were previously standing and smashed against the wall. Both of them picked themselves up from the ground and looked at the aftermath.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Nail asked.
"I don't know, but I can bet that we can expect some more of those traps," Tsarevich said.
"We're Meisters. We're faster than spring-loaded booby traps. Let's just run through," Nail said.
"That would be a good idea if it weren't for the fact that we were in a maze. We could end up at a dead-end and without Hammer neither one of us are going to be smashing through brick walls," Tsarevich pointed out.
"I guess that we'll just have to keep our eyes peeled for more of those traps," Nails said.
"Yep. Let's keep moving. Hammer's running out of time," Tsarevich said.
Merios hurried into the Death Room. When he was called there through the PA he didn't have to be told what it was for. His students were in trouble. Was there something that he overlooked? Everything should have been just fine. The mission was nothing he thought the three of them could not handle.
He reached the stairs of the Death Room, stopped and bowed to Lord Death. Exasperated and out of breath. It had been a long time since he had run so hard and fast. He was getting out of shape not taking on missions like he used to.
"Merios! So glad you could join us," Lord Death said.
Merios looked around and saw that Lord Death was not alone. His Weapon, Soul Eater was in the corner, sitting on top of the lock box which no doubt housed the tools of Eibon that the DWMA had recently commandeered. Lord Death's son, Death the Kid was there along with his Weapons Liz and Patty. He wondered what it was that called for this kind of audience. Hopefully, Kid was just visiting his father and Merios wasn't in trouble.
"I came as soon as I heard. Are they okay?" Merios asked.
"They are anything but okay," Kid replied, taking the liberty of answering the question even though it was directed at Lord Death.
"What's happening?" Merios asked.
"Currently, the Kishin Dahmer has apprehended Hammer and has him on his table. He's sure to steal his innocence before he cuts him into pieces over the course of several weeks and eats him. Oh, and let's not forget that he's going to devour his soul for dessert when he's all done," Kid said.
"What about Tsarevich and Nail?" Merios asked.
"They're currently working their way through a booby-trapped labyrinth Dahmer set up in the sewer system of the city, trying to get to Hammer before anything happens to him," Kid answered.
How could things have gone this badly?
"But they are still alive?" Merios asked.
"At the moment, yes. What I want to know is what you were thinking sending your students on a mission that is far too dangerous for their skill level. For crying out loud, one of them doesn't even have a Weapon partner!" Kid said.
"I must say, Merios. I've been wondering that myself," Death added. All eyes were on him now, and he would have to find a way to word this tactfully.
"Honestly, I'm not worried. Even though the situation looks dire, Tsarevich and Nail should be able to rescue Hammer in time and still be able to defeat Dahmer," Merios said.
"Are you certain?" Death asked.
"Yes," he said resolutely, "my students will not fail."
"Well, that settles it then. We might as well keep a close eye on them just in case," Death said.
"Father, you can't be serious! You're going to gamble with students' lives on one professor's hunch that they'll be able to handle the situation?" Kid demanded.
"Merios has always had trustworthy intuition when it comes to things like this," Death said.
"How often do you allow students to get themselves into situations like this?" Kid demanded.
"Oh, Kid. You remember how it was. It wasn't that long ago that you were a student yourself. You got yourself into all kinds of trouble in those days," Death said.
"I am a Grim Reaper. They are drop-outs and outcasts who barely make the cut for Meisters as it is," Kid replied.
"I can vouch for their skill. Hammer is as strong a Weapon as they come, and Tsarevich has more potential than any Meister I've ever seen in my time here at the Academy," Merios pointed out.
"You've been teaching for only a few years. I don't think that your faith in your current students is a good enough judge to decide whether or not we leave them in a life-threatening situation," Kid argued.
"Aw, come on, Kid! Cut the guy a break. This is no worse than the stuff that Stein used to put us through," Soul suddenly spoke up.
"You're right; it's not. We could have handled a mission like that with ease. The three of them have already managed to almost get themselves killed. That alone should prove that they're not ready. We should intervene before anything worse happens," Kid suggested.
"Just wait and see; they'll come out ahead just like I said they would," Merios replied.
Hammer tried not to watch as Dahmer devoured the meal, but he could not take his eyes off of the pieces of meat dripping with gravy that he knew had once been a person. He had to get out of these restraints. He had been trying to slip his hand through one of the cuffs very slowly. If he could break or dislocate his thumb he might be able to do it.
There was no way that he could do it without Dahmer noticing. All it would take was another syringe-full of whatever concoction he had injected him with and he would be out cold. He doubted that he was going to be able to talk his way out of this one either. He was dealing with a murder-rapist-cannibal-madman after all.
It would do no good to call for help this far underground. The only thing above them was the night club. He could hear the low, rhythmic rumbling of the bass. He knew that no one there would hear him either. He was stuck. The only thing that he could do was wait helplessly until Nail and Tsarevich came to is rescue.
If they come…
"Watch out!" Nail yelled. Tsarevich had just enough time to jump out of the way before a saw blade took his head off. He landed on another trap sending syringes flying through the air. He dove forward and rolled, setting off several more traps.
Chains, blades, flying syringes and even spires of fire started going through the air. Tsarevich was tumbling around like an acrobat trying to avoid getting himself killed. For this particular stretch, he and Nail had decided that he would go first because it looked particularly precarious.
Tsarevich found himself thinking of Vyse in this moment. At first, the thought seemed so out of place. But he knew that Vyse was faster and more mobile than he was. He could fly right through these traps with ease. Tsarevich was plenty capable of avoiding the traps if he tread carefully, but all of this wasted time was a ticking clock for Hammer.
When he finally managed to get out of the path of the traps Nail was beside him. They waited until the syringes stopped flying, the saws stopped buzzing and the spring-loaded, rusty, steel spikes stopped clanging off of the halls and floor. Tsarevich looked up at Nail and saw the expression on his face. It was worry mingled with determination. He could overcome the fear of the traps because he had to save his friend.
"Hammer's lucky to have you," Tsarevich said as they started inching through the sewer again. It was hard to move quickly when any brick on the floor could trigger a deathtrap.
"No, Tsarevich. You don't understand. I'm lucky to have him," Nail replied.
"Do you think if the shoe were on the other foot—," Tsarevich started.
"Absolutely. Hammer would be smashing through things, rushing in like Galahad to come and save me. Ashura himself could be resurrected and he'd run in without thinking about it," Nail said.
"Under those circumstances he'd probably get himself killed," Tsarevich pointed out grimly.
"It doesn't matter. I'm his Meister and he's my Weapon. We stick together no matter what. You don't have a Weapon partner yet so you can't really understand. When you find the right one, you'll know exactly what I mean," Nail promised.
"You mean if I find the right one," Tsarevich corrected.
"No. Remember our deal. You have to find a Weapon partner by the end of the semester. At first I didn't want you on my team—," Nail said.
"Because you thought I was a dweeb, right?" Tsarevich interjected.
"I still think you're a dweeb, but that's not really the reason I didn't want you on my team. I thought that there had to be something off about a Meister without a Weapon. How could he possibly fight or have anything to offer. I couldn't have been more wrong about you," Nail said.
"So my skill with my wavelength changed your mind?" Tsarevich asked.
"That was only a small part of it. I saw the look in your eyes when I was bringing the soul resonance attack down on you. You were scared shitless," Nail pointed out.
"Who wouldn't be? I don't think you realize how intimidating a big, burly Meister swinging around a big, burly axe can be," Tsarevich said.
"I'm not criticizing. You're right to be afraid of me. I possess the power to destroy you with a single blow. You got lucky with your wavelength reversal technique, but what impressed me about you was that when it came right down to it, you didn't cower and run away or give up. You stood there facing a powerful attack you'd never seen before and held your ground. You got guts, and anyone like that I would welcome as an ally."
The exchanged looks of respect with each other as half-smiles crept onto their faces. The meaning was understood. They were part of the same team now and they would look out for each other no matter what. Right now, the third member of their team was in trouble. In the distance, they heard the sound of screaming. It sounded like Hammer crying out for help.
"What do you say we stop all of this creeping around and do this thing Hammer style?" Tsarevich asked.
"I thought you'd never ask," Nail replied.
"You ready?" Tsarevich asked.
"No," Nail admitted.
"Me neither," he added.
"—Let's do it!"
"—Let's do it!"
"What could they possibly hope to achieve by this course of action besides a grisly death at the hands of those traps?" Kid asked rhetorically. It was everything he could do not to jump on his board and take Liz and Patty to go and intervene. He could be there in minutes.
"They're taking a chance. They have to hurry if they're going to save Hammer. They've weighed the consequences and their risking setting off the traps," Merios explained.
"Father, please let me go. I can be there in minutes, go faster than all of the traps, destroy Dahmer and save Hammer and still be back in time for tea. Why are we all just watching these students get themselves killed?" Kid demanded.
"This is what tests and tries them. After all, only the very best are cut out to be Weapons and Meisters. I'm starting to see the potential in them that Merios has been talking about," Death replied.
"Potential? You're banking on their potential? All of this is so reckless and when I have an Academy of my own I'll—," Kid started.
"When you have an Academy of your own you'll understand what it really means to put your students to the test. Without trials, without fire, they cannot be refined. Trust me on this one, Son. Right now, this is the best thing for them," Death interjected.
"Lord Death can we see how Hammer is doing?" Merios asked.
"Your Meisters are running through a labyrinth of booby traps and you want to check on your Weapon?" Kid asked. People just did not make sense to him. Especially professors. There was something about this Merios Aurion character that just didn't seem right. It reminded Kid of Stein, and not in a good way.
"Hm! Yes, I supposed we can. Let's see," Death said. His mirror rippled as one imaged blurred out of existence, bringing in another one. Hammer was still restrained on the table and Dahmer was now hovering over him.
"You look a little tense. Why don't you let me give you a massage," Dahmer said. Hammer squirmed and screamed as much as he could, but it was to no avail. He was stuck on that table at the mercy of a very deranged individual.
"Nail! Nail, help me!" Hammer pleaded. Kid looked away for a moment. This was getting hard to stomach.
"Just sit back and relax and try to enjoy yourself. There's no need to spend your time here all tensed up like this. Oh! I know! Silly me. How could I have forgotten? I'll go get the massage oil. That will make this much more pleasurable," Dahmer said.
"I've seen enough of this!" Kid screamed. All eyes were on him now.
"The rest of you can leave their survival to chance, but I'm going to take care of this. Liz! Patty!" he said.
"—Right!"
"—Right!"
They transformed and fell into his hands as his skateboard appeared beneath him. He propelled up into the top of the Death Room and burst through the roof, sky-rocketing his way to where the students were. It would still take him several minutes to get there even at the velocity that he was travelling. He had to hope that it would be enough.
"Lord Death, is your son always so—?" Merios began to ask.
"Serious?" he offered.
"Intense?" Soul added.
"Neurotic?" Death pondered aloud.
"Obsessive?" Soul said. Merios looked back and forth as the two of them continued. He was starting to get a better scope of who Death the Kid really was.
"I suppose I was going to say one of those things. It's hard to remember what I was going to say at this point," Merios said, and then added, "do you think he'll make it in time?"
"Oh he'll get there with time to spare but…" Lord Death trailed off.
"He'll never make it through the sewer," Soul said shaking his head.
"Why do you say that? He's a Grim Reaper after all, and all of the traps have already been sprung. I'm sure he breeze right through it," Merios said.
"Come on, Kid. This is getting a little ridiculous," Liz complained.
"No! I just can't do it. I can't climb down a ladder that has seven rungs. Seven, Patty! Seven! It should be eight. Eight is—,"
"—Perfectly symmetrical in every way."
"—Perfectly symmetrical in every way," they interjected.
"Kid, I thought we agreed that after you turned Patty and I into Death Weapons you were going to stop this nonsense," Liz said.
"Nonsense? How can you say that? How can I go on living in a world when I know that such asymmetrical garbage exists?" he asked.
"Garbage! Garbage! Hahahahaha!" Patty exclaimed excitedly.
"Kid, don't forget that there are Academy students in danger right now. They need our help. We can't waste time worrying about symmetry," Liz pointed out.
"Wasting time? How dare you! After all the time we have spent together. After how much you know that it means to me!" he said, tears streaming down his face.
"Kid! There's a cannibal getting ready to molest a student and then eat him alive. You're telling me that someone's life is not more important than symmetry?" Liz demanded.
"Molest! Molest! Hahahahaha!" Patty said in a sing-song voice. Liz raised an eyebrow and looked at her little sister.
"What about that could possibly be funny? That's a little over-the-top. Even for you," Liz pointed out.
"I have a solution. We'll just search the city until we find a manhole that has a ladder with eight rungs. I'm sure there's at least one here in this great big city," Kid suggested. Liz had had enough. She clobbered him, grabbed him by the belt and started dragging him into the sewer. He protested like a baby.
"That's it! You've reached my limit again, Kid. That's all the crazy I can handle for today! C'mon, Patty!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Such a beautiful muscle structure. You're going to make some fine steaks," Dahmer said as he continued to rub his filthy hands over Hammer's chest and arms. He had given up on resisting. He just closed his eyes and tried to go somewhere else. It looked like Nail and Tsarevich weren't going to be able to save him after all.
Still, the only regret he had in life was that he wasn't able to become a Death Weapon. And everything was going so well.
Slam!
"Get your hands off of my Weapon, you sick-o!"
"Nail!" Hammer exclaimed, tilting his head up to see that his Meister had showed up in the nick of time. Tsarevich was right behind him. He knew he had never been so happy to see his friends as right then.
"Well, well, well…you managed to make it past my traps. That's pretty impressive. I guess I should expect no less from DWMA Meisters. It's no matter though. That's as far as you come," Dahmer said. He stepped away from the table and walked towards the two at the door, standing between them and Hammer.
"Let me make my intentions perfectly clear, Dahmer. My name is Nail. I'm a one-star Meister from the Academy. I'm going to kill you in the name of Lord Death and then I'm going to feed your wretched soul to my Weapon, you hear me?"
"I'd love to see you try," Dahmer taunted. And the battle began.
Nail charged ahead at Dahmer and prepared himself for his hardest punch. He was somewhat disconcerted when the fiend didn't even try to dodge or block, but when his fist connected with his ugly face, he started to realized why.
"Ah!" he yelped, holding his wrist. It was likely that he had just broken every bone in his left hand. Had he reacted a second later, Dahmer would have drilled a hole into his heart. His hand transformed into a power drill and he punched at Nail. He had just enough time to move so that the blow hit his shoulder and not his heart. He felt the bit go it, rotate at high-speed, burrowing through skin, muscle and bone. Dahmer kicked him in the gut, sending him stumbling back, cradling a bleeding arm.
"What the hell? This guy's a weapon?" Tsarevich said out loud, coming to Nail's side.
"I've eaten enough Weapon souls that I was able to change my soul into a Weapon as well," Dahmer boasted, the motor in the drill turned off and the wicked, barbed drill bit came to a rest.
"You're a monster. And you'll never be a Weapon. You're some twisted abomination made the way you are buy devouring the bodies and souls of others. You don't get the right to call yourself a Weapon," Nail spat.
"Nail, are you okay?" Tsarevich asked.
"Yeah, I'll live. My punch didn't even phase this guy," Nail pointed out.
"That's right. I've devoured so many souls I would doubt seriously if even Lord Death could penetrate my armor. Little Meisters like you don't stand a chance. Now! Get ready to die!" he said.
"We take him together," Tsarevich said. Nail nodded and rolled to the side to avoid being skewered by the demon drill bit. Tsarevich rolled to the side too and the fight was on.
Nail dealt him a punch with his right hand to his face, while Tsarevich kicked at his knees from below. Nail held back this time in case his armor proved to be as formidable as he boasted, and he found similar results. It was like punching a steel plate. Tsarevich kicked off of his knee and jumped back to take stance again.
They went in for a second assault, Nail punching and kicking everywhere he found an opening. Dahmer was lazy when it came to blocking, allowing for punches and kicks to hit him so he could focus on his own attacks. They could only steal in a few blows before they had to block or dodge the deadly drill that threatened to bore a hole straight through them.
Nail decided to try a different approach and instead of punching he gave Dahmer the shove of a lifetime. To his surprise, it sent him flying into the brick wall inside the tiny hideaway. The shelf in front of the wall stocked with jars filled with picked pieces of human flesh, no doubt for later consumption crunched under his weight sending the jars crashing to the floor.
"You ruined my canning collection!" Dahmer yelled. Nail choked back bile as the sent of pickled human flesh invaded his nostrils. Still, he proved to have a vulnerability. He wondered if Tsarevich had caught on.
"You see what I saw?" Nail asked.
"Yep!" Tsarevich confirmed.
"Then let's get him!" Nail said.
The two of them assaulted him from either side, taking turns shoving and vaulting him all over the room. He smashed into brick after brick, cracking them under the force of his inertia. It became a sick game of monkey in the middle as the two of them bounced him around like a ping-pong ball.
They threw him around with such force they soon became exhausted and ran out of breath. They did a finishing attack sending him sprawling through the room and into the wall. He slumped down onto the floor, not moving. It seemed like he had finally given up.
Nail put his hands on his knees and took in deep lungfuls of air to catch his breath. He couldn't even think about moving to go help Hammer. Not yet. He looked over at Tsarevich and saw that he had barely broken a sweat.
Looks like all that time away from the Academy got me more out of shape than I realized.
To his horror and surprise, Dahmer began laughing, slowly, lowly at first, and then loudly and maniacally. He picked himself up and brushed some dust from a broken brick off of his shoulder. Nail's mouth fell open. The beating they gave him would have killed any normal person.
"Oh you boys are just too funny. That tickled. What's the matter? Did you think that a little rough-and-tumble was going to do me in? Oh! You did. My-my-my, you two are going to make for a hilarious meal," Dahmer said.
"No, thanks. I like my meat on my bones where it belongs," Tsarevich shot back.
"You're a freak, you know that?" Nail asked.
"Freak or not, you're never going to beat me. I was going to entertain the two of you as guests for a while, but you've spoiled my appetite with your bad manners. I'm going rip the flesh off your bones!" Dahmer said, transforming both of his hands into power drills again.
"Nail, listen to me," Tsarevich said, "go help Hammer out of his restraints. I'll keep him busy in the meantime."
"You sure you can handle him on your own?" Nail asked skeptically.
"I only need to buy you enough time to get Hammer in your hands. He might be able to withstand our attacks, but I doubt he could stop an axe-hammer," Tsarevich pointed out.
"Be careful," Nail said.
"You too," Tsarevich said.
Tsarevich charged towards Dahmer and noticed that Nail was doing the same thing. At first he thought he was not going to listen to the plan and then saw him dive out of the way and past the fiend.
"Oh no you don't," Dahmer said, reaching out to catch Nail by the foot. Tsarevich could have glided past him with ease. To a normal person Nail would seem incredibly fast, but he couldn't compare with Tsarevich.
While Dahmer was turned away, Tsarevich performed his signature kick-flip, twirled in the air and gave him a double hammer punch, flinging him into the wall with all his might. He decided to play this round a little differently. He was going to stay completely on the defensive, forcing Dahmer to make an attack. This would stall as long as he needed for Nail to get Hammer in his hands.
"Silly boy! You're testing my patience! Now die!" Dahmer dove at him, both drills held out. At the last possible second, Tsarevich jumped and aerial flip, got his feet behind Dahmer and kicked him in the back of the skull, forcing his face into the brick floor with such force he felt it buckle beneath him. He back-flipped, landed on his feet, took stance and waited for his foe to pick himself up.
Dahmer came diving for him again and Tsarevich wriggled around him with a submission hold, used his own momentum to fling him into the opposite wall. He rolled to the ground taking a crouching stance and waited. Even the time it took for Dahmer to close the distance between the two of them was more precious seconds Nail needed to get Hammer.
Tsarevich did not dare to steal a glance at his friends. He trusted they would figure out the restraints and come to his aid as soon as they could. He needed to keep focus on his task: keeping Dahmer occupied.
There is one thing that's bothering me though. How come I can't see his soul. There's no doubt that it's a Kishin egg by now. You can tell that just by looking at his physical appearance.
Is there some sort of ability that allows someone to hide their own soul?
His pondering ending quickly as Dahmer came in for another attack. Expecting the dodge he lashed out and the side of the drill bit caught Tsarevich on the ankle. It was a minor wound, but still it was uncomfortable to feel warm, wet, sticky blood soak his sock and fill up his shoe.
"I see. You're deliberately dodging my attacks to buy your friends time. Clever, but it's not going to work. Eventually I will catch you, and when I do, I'm going to drill a hole into your forehead. Right between your eyes," Dahmer taunted with a bone-chilling grin.
"I'd love to see you try," Tsarevich said, mocking Dahmer. His grin was erased and he came at him, drills rotating as a mad roar of malice and rage escaped his lips.
"Alright, that ought to do it," Nail said, breaking the last restraint. Hammer got up from the table, and threw his arms around Nail. Nail was taken back by this. His friend started to cry. He put an arm around him and then released the embrace so he could look in his Weapon's eyes. He looked like a scared little boy.
"Hey. There's no time for that right now, okay? If you want to talk about it later we can. Right now, I need you transform so we can kill this son of a bitch, okay?" Nail said, resting his hands on Hammer's shoulders. Hammer sniffed, wiped his tears and nodded resolutely.
"He gave me a drug that keeps me from transforming but he told me there was an antidote. We have to find that first," Hammer explained. Nail looked around at the broken mess and general state of things. It would be just his luck that they broke all of the vials and syringes that had the antidote.
"Well, let's hurry up and find it because Tsarevich is taking that thing on by himself right now," Nail said. They began to look on the shelves, at the vials to try to make sense of them. They were all medical words that were too big for Nail to even drea about pronouncing, let alone know what it was.
"What color was the fluid of the shot he gave you?" Nail asked.
"Yellow," Hammer confirmed. Almost all of the vials were yellow. The only other color of liquid he could find was a blue-purple color. He grabbed an empty syringe and filled it full of the liquid.
"How do we know that's the right one?" Hammer asked.
"We don't. We're just going to have to risk it," Nail said.
"What if it puts me to sleep or kills me?" he asked, panic rising in his eyes.
"Don't think like that. This is going to work. It has to," Nail said resolutely. Hammer nodded and held out his arm. Nail stuck him with the needle and pushed the plunger down, pumping him full of the liquid.
"Thought you could get away from me forever, did you?" Dahmer taunted. He had Tsarvich in a death grip by the throat. He held him up, pinned against the wall and was holding the drill bit inches from his face. Tsarevich knew this was the end. He hadn't given Hammer and Nail enough time to regroup.
"Ready to die, little Meister?" Dahmer asked. He held his eyes shut as he waited for the drill bit to start burrowing through his forehead. When he did he instinctively threw his soul perception up and saw something that gave him hope. Just past Dahmer, whose soul he could still not see, was a huge soul. It was undoubtedly Hammer and Nail doing their Soul Resonance attack: Divide Asunder.
SMASH!
Tsarevich opened his eyes and saw the energy crash into Dahmer like a freight train. His grip loosened and Tsarevich kicked off of the wall, to the side and safety. They had done it. They had hit him with their most powerful attack. They had won.
Low giggling came from Dahmer as his shoulders bounced up and down. The crescendo of his laughter filled the tiny room, bouncing and echoing off the walls. How could he still be standing after a direct hit like that? What was he? How was this possible? Nail took a step back and just stared at Dahmer as he slowly turned around.
"That was your plan? Get your weapon and hit me as hard as you could. I told you my body is indestructible. No physical attack is going to hurt me. Are the three of you ready to give up yet? Or are you going to make me work to kill you?" he asked.
"Come on, Tsarevich! You know what needs to be done! Stop standing there like a statue and use your brain!" Merios shouted at the mirror. He knew that he couldn't hear him, but he was getting frustrated. They had already come so far. His foe had given him the answer that he needed without realizing it. Now if only Tsarevich could figure it out.
"No way…we hit that thing with everything we had," Hammer said. Nail was speechless. Never in his life did he think he would encounter something that was literally indestructible.
"I guess the hope of victory that you were so desperately clinging to is starting to diminish with each passing second," Dahmer taunted.
"Hammer! Nail! Get your Soul Resonance attack prepared again," Tsarevich said.
"We already tried it and it didn't work," Nail protested.
"Just do it!" he shouted. Nail shrugged and did as he was told. It couldn't hurt, he supposed.
"—Let's go! Soul Resonance!"
"—Let's go! Soul Resonance!"
"You know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results—and you said I was insane," Dahmer taunted. Tsarevich had had enough. A smile crossed his face. Dahmer had given him all of the information that he needed to beat him. Also, whatever serum he had injected into himself was wearing off. Tsarevich was starting to see Dahmer's wavelength. It was undoubtedly a Kishin egg.
"Shut up. You're about to die so make your peace with whatever god you believe in," Tsarevich shot back. His confidence threw Dahmer for a loop. He started attacking him. Tsarevich kept up the game of cat and mouse, mostly dodging, but throwing in a punch or a kick to make his ruse believable.
"Foolish boy! You'll never defeat me. Even if the hit me with another attack like that, my body is completely indestructible. You couldn't hurt it if you tried!" Dahmer taunted.
"I know that. I can see now that you're obsessed with image. You've coveted the strength and handsome features of other men your entire life and so you've been consuming them, fortifying your body into your own twisted form of perfection.
"The only problem with that is: you neglected to fortify your soul! Nail! Get ready!"
Nail prepared the attack and was charging through the room. Meanwhile, Tsarevich got in close, dangerously close. He had one shot to get this right and he'd be damned before he'd screw it up. He adjusted his wavelength, making hit as deliberately different to that of Dahmer's as possible and allowed the energy to surge through him and into his fist.
"Double-fist Soul Pulsar!"
He forced his wavelength into the Kishin in as slow a frequency as he dared without cutting off the flow entirely. He needed to keep him immobilized for as long as he could. Dahmer stayed suspended in the air, blood leaking out of his eyes, nose, mouth and ears.
"What did you do to me?" he managed to say.
"I hit your soul wavelength directly with my own. You're temporarily paralyzed and vulnerable. Enjoy your last seconds of existence!"
"Divide Asunder!"
Dahmer screamed as he died. Nail killed him in a single blow, Hammer's axe-head smashed through him leaving nothing in his wake except for a floating red soul. He transformed from the torso up and snatched the soul, wasting no time to swallow it hole.
"We did it," Tsarevich said.
"You did it. You saved the day. I would have never thought to have you hit him directly with your soul wavelength. And I definitely wouldn't have guessed it would have made him temporarily vulnerable," Nail said.
"That's why we make a good team," Hammer said, "he's the brains and we're the muscle."
"Now all I have to do is find a Weapon partner," Tsarevich said. Hammer transformed and held him hand up to give him a high-five.
"You'll find one. Any Weapon who could refuse you as their Meister would have to be an idiot," Hammer said.
"Totally," Nail agreed.
"Thanks guys" he replied, blushing. Then he added, "Let's head home. We'll stop by that burger place I saw on the way here. Dinner's on me."
"Free food? Whaaaat?"
"Whaaaat?" Nail joined in. Finally Tsarevich succeeded.
"Whaaaat?"