Chapter 18 - Bomb Bomb Blow Your Mind
Snake's eyes widened, unable to recognize the jackal he knew from his high school. It looked more like a robotic replica of him. He dumbly watched the jackal kick the door down easily, ripping it from its hinges. David had never had that kind of strength before.
As if David's new facial features weren't enough, he was already foaming by the mouth. The salvia was YELLOW, blending with his horrible teeth. In fact, it made the stains darker and dirtier. How much could his gums take before they bleed? With Snake backing away, David marched through the archway, waving his gigantic drill around like an umbrella. Too carefree. A giant drill wasn't a safe toy to play with.
"Well, well, well, well, well," said David in a disconcerting sweet voice. "Guess I should have known you're after THIS too!"
In emphasis, he flicked on the lights, nearly blinding Snake. He thought David would use this to distract him, but the jackal only showed off what he had in this room. When he cleared his throat, this prompted Snake to look behind at the secrets he kept.
It wasn't just the Eden Apple he was surprised about. Sure, it was floating in the middle of mechanical tentacles to emit a light turquoise force field with electrical sparks flying out. And sure, it was connected to a machine that tested its true power. But Snake was awed by the massive weapons and equipment stored in this room. It no longer looked like a dental place and more like a crazy science lab.
Multiple sharp tentacles, shiny machine guns and massive machines rested on the tables near the walls. Ranging from different types of dental equipment NOT safe to use to actual hospital tools that weren't used in local dental clinics. All of them were gigantic and still rumbling, still on. Some of these tools looked like they were for surgeries and not the safe kind. These weapons David couldn't build on his own with little money.
"You're still a slippery snake, aren't you, Stevie?" asked David with a sick grin.
Snake chuckled. "What? You can't prove that, bud!"
CLANG!
POP!
CLANG!
The laboratory room also had a couple of vents in the walls, so Snake's jelly snake robots figured out how to get in. As if the noise wasn't enough, they pushed the grills off their hinges, revealing the Eden Apples in their bunched-up tails.
Snake's grin tightened. "I retract my statement."
"So you're just gonna throw this opportunity away, aren't you?" questioned David. "Burn them to the ground, right?"
"OK, now I know how this looks, David," said Snake, holding up his tail in defense. "I actually didn't expect you would be doing…well, this! I mean, you have so much to live for. Not this!"
"Oh really?" interrupted David darkly. He was no longer smiling. His sharp teeth were clenched in an ugly snarl. An ugly, bitter snarl. "Do you know how long it took for me to have THIS power? To have the right to develop my business? This empire allowed me to be powerful without the easily discarded hard work. I thought you knew that well."
Snake glanced back at the Eden Apple. He remembered the Love Crater Meteorite. It looked 'special', but it held dangerous power. And now, David was abusing it or at least possibly. The look on his face told him a million things he would be using on people. The jackal was off-the-walls, but Snake didn't believe David had the heart to use it just to hear screams.
The reptile was already scared. Right now, David could use the weapon to blow everything into smithereens.
"This is a dangerous weapon you're using!" he blurted out. "It's not meant for some uprising!"
David snorted. "Oh, please. Humanity keeps doing questionable crimes every day, 24 hours, 7 days straight. You are a part of a criminal gang AND now, as a mercenary. Why should I be different to create what I should have in the first place?"
Snake winced, nearly scowling at this ungratefulness. "You weren't living in a rut. Look at what you've done to yourself, David."
The jackal remained oblivious to how his appearance disgusted Snake. "Your loss, not mine. Now, with this power, I can achieve my greatest dream! My glorious fate! And what's best is that I'm going to work with the people with the right mindset to survive in this world."
Snake was already scared. REALLY scared. David stepped forward, not changing his maniac grin. His teeth stood out, but his left orange eye gave Snake the chills. Unnaturally glowing brighter than even Wolf's gold eyes. The orange eye that told Snake the person David became today. The reptile was beginning to tremble in great emotion but not in vulnerability. Not to a person who despised him.
Here, a jackal who treated him with some respect when they were younger. One who made his life easier to breathe a little. Now he turned into THIS. The only thing that wasn't clear was if David was already a monster. The reptile couldn't assume that, but the jackal helping this empire use the Eden Apples for something that would blow a chunk in this country…it made Snake feel terrible. Even sad that someone would be this dangerous to use a weapon that could even hurt them more than they want.
David smirked, noticing Snake's visible fear. A part of his subconsciousness felt bad for scaring his old classmate. In hopefully his last moment, Snake received a gentle pat on the head.
"You've grown a little soft, don't you think, Stevie?" said the jackal. "The point here is that I get it. You endured many tears, sweat and betrayals to get to where you are now. But the pain never leaves, right? You're headstrong but smart. You know what should be the right way to live."
His hand slowly travelled to near Snake's neck, his fingers pressing against his scales. Snake shivered, trying to wiggle out. There was so much distance he couldn't cross at this point.
David's eyes glowed brighter than the sun.
A couple of machines suddenly grabbed the jelly snake robots with giant tentacles, extracting the Eden Apples from them. Then came the unmistakable sound of squishing and squashing and ripping the jelly snakes to pieces.
Snake clenched his teeth, not needing to see what happened. He knew he was next.
"Now, I can give you this decision," explained David, his palm already touching Snake's scales in preparation to throttle him. "You either join me and Overlord Splaarghön in our conquest…or I'll report to whoever you're working with about your latest appointment. Didn't I mention that I'm a dental doctor?"
David could feel Snake hyperventilating. Even when restrained, his heavy breathing could still be heard. Snake's heart was pounding like crazy in his chest. David could just strangle him or snap his head immediately. The jackal wouldn't even want to lay his little dental equipment to waste.
Snake's earpiece rang again. It was Webs.
"Snake?" called the tarantula's voice. "Snakey? Are you there?"
"Go ahead," growled David. "I want you too."
"C'mon, Mr. Grumpypants," called Webs teasingly, not knowing the situation. "I know you're not trying to ignore me."
Webs' voice wasn't making Snake better. If anything, it only convinced him that it wasn't worth giving to David's sick wants. He didn't want to be vulnerable again. He slid out of his grip and shook his head in disgust.
"You want to waste your time relying on these marbles?" he said, trying to sound angry. But there was no anger left. Just pity. "It's a burden to you now. This ISN'T the kind of change I want."
Snake was prepared to see the betrayal in David's eyes. But there was none. Only exasperation. This explained the way the jackal acted. He slumped, looking like an impatient kid in the line.
"How cute…" said David lowly. "But I'm not going to waste any more time! Now, where was I? Oh yes!" He lifted his drill again, turning it on. "How about you turn on your communicator to have your friends hear you scream? Open wide and say my name!"
WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
David's eyes suddenly glitched.
Many machineries turned back on, turning their tentacles on Snake. Extending closely, the tips formed into drills that appeared to fit more for JACKHAMMERS.
"ARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!" screamed Snake, slithering away.
"Now you're getting it!" cackled David loudly as he swung his drill around like a maniac.
Snake had no idea where to go. The machines around him had already snatched the Eden Apples his baby bots stole from this apartment. And their tentacles could draw in close despite how skinny he was. For some reason, he went straight to the Eden Apple carried by the force field, only for one of the mechanical tentacles to attempt a swipe.
"Snake?!" cried Webs' voice. "Snake! What's going on?!"
Snake immediately fell back, finding himself running towards David. The jackal was laughing his head off, enjoying Snake's panic. He continued swinging the drill around, hoping that he could be able to land a hit. Noticing that between the jackal's legs was the way out of this death trap, Snake quickly activated his thin shield.
His entire body turned jade green, with lighter stripes crossing his face.
And just in time as the drill touched his forehead.
Snake bit his lip hard to the point he wondered why his teeth didn't stab inside his lips. He tried not to flinch by the sensation of the drill crashing into his invincible scales. He managed to get to the other side, acknowledging that it didn't break into his skin.
Regardless of the protection, the panicking Snake crashed into the wall upon going too fast, his tail whipping at a leg of a nearby table. The stereo on top fell and landed perfectly. And just in time, music began playing.
[Entertain Me - Ylona Garcia]
[0:00]
And this excited David more as he stepped out of the room. An enchanting pop song began playing, starting off with a gentle intro. This matched the jackal's slow march as he waved around his gigantic drill.
"Oh man, wouldn't this be a party?" he said. "And it wouldn't start with some perfect teeth to look handsome for the show! HA HA HA!"
Snake yelped as David came forward to try slashing the reptile in the stomach. It was already clear that the jackal was more than happy to try seeing his insides. Snake didn't know why he used his tail to block all attacks since that could have been cut off. He wasn't sure how long the thin shield could protect him for, even by the lightest of scratches.
He kept leaning back, slapping the drill to the side. Slowly backing into the living room with his back pressing against the couch. He nearly lost his guard when David went towards trying to scratch his face. This was enough to convince Snake to slide underneath the couch…only for it to split in half within a second, revealing David's menacing eyes.
Seriously?! What was his drill made of?
Snake scurried out from the destroyed couch and the jackal attempted a stab, only for the drill to stab too deep into the wall. This didn't distract David, as when Snake tried to slither away, he grabbed him by the tail.
"Come here, Stevie!" shouted David.
The response he got was Snake spinning his body away and slamming him to the wall. That gave Snake enough time to wrap his tail around David's wrist. He thought of slamming him upwards into the ceiling, only for the jackal to slam down onto the ground. With the upper strength, he spun the reptile around and threw him right into a coffee bench.
[0:37]
The reptile let out a cry upon impact, nearly fearing that he might have broken his bones. He opened his eyes just in time to see David delivering an incoming elbow drop, screeching like an actual wrestler.
Snake quickly rolled out of the way, watching the jackal crashing into the coffee table. This time, the table broke. Naturally, the contents on the table and broken wooden splinters flew everywhere and coated onto David. The jackal let out a howl. Hopping upwards, his face was covered in wood splinters, hysterically shaped like pimples.
"Oh, you've done it now!" David yelled.
"Well, wait until I'm the one doing the defanging," hissed Snake.
The jackal smirked before his orange eye turned a reddish shade.
In the blink of an eye, he ran in an orange blur and swung his fist into the unprepared Snake. Snake missed every punch, trying to use his tail to grab one fist. The reptile tried to launch himself forward for a headbutt, only for David to grab him in mid-air before slamming it to the ground.
Snake could have cracked his skull if it weren't for the thin shield. However, while his head was saved, it didn't save him from a nasty headache. He groaned as he tried to stand up, rubbing his eyes. David must have become stronger when he became this.
[0:59]
To prove that, the jackal spun around to perform a roundhouse kick in Snake's stomach, sending him flying to the other side. This worsened the headache, nearly not having enough time to react when the roaring David tried charging again. Fortunately, Snake quickly dodged the incoming fist and grabbed his foot, tossing him right into the bedroom.
The jackal wasn't defeated, simply rolling on the floor before stopping on all fours. He cracked his head upwards at the incoming Snake, grinning at the delightful thought of having him for dinner. Drooling, he crawled to Snake, looking like a feral animal.
The reptile tried to throw every single thing he could find at David.
First, an old-school trophy. It simply bounced off David's forehead.
He tried using a computer. It crashed into David's neck, but that didn't deter him. If anything, the invincible jackal was enraged, roaring.
Snake resorted to trying to tip over a grandfather clock, but this time, it didn't knock David out, who pushed it to the side.
Desperately, Snake tried reaching into his pouches and pulled the item out.
"Sorry, David!" he yelled as he pressed the trigger.
David closed his eyes, but instead of a bullet, he only felt a mist of minty liquid spraying over his eyes. Unharmed, he blinked. He even poked out his tongue to taste it, spitting it out when he confirmed it was sour.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Oh, it's perfume," said Snake quietly. "Erm…Wolf wanted to buy that for Hornet…"
"Oh, OK. GRRAAAAAARGGHHH!"
Snake screamed again as David pounced onto him. The jackal then rolled onto the bed and slammed a pillow over Snake's face, intending to suffocate him. Snake could only scream, muffled in a fit of panic. It was becoming difficult to breathe with the pillow stuffed in his mouth and his face becoming too warm.
He didn't know if the thin shield would protect him from that.
[1:35]
Desperately, he began flicking his tail around, trying to grab onto David. He couldn't see well, but he grabbed a body part…and heard the high-pitched scream from the jackal when he pulled it down like a bell string. With David distracted by the agonizing pain, Snake ripped the pillow off and exhaled loudly, taking in the fresh air.
He slowly slithered away, trying to make it to the door. Unfortunately, David got back up, grabbed him by the tail and swung him around. His head bumped into the door frame, the growing headache degrading his concentration. He tried biting into the wooden floor, only to be dragged back into the bedroom.
Outside, you could hear Snake screaming in horror.
CRASH!
And then, you could see Snake's body crashing through the wall. This left a massive hole in the wall, revealing the foam between the planks. A chorus of groans and coughs resounded the place. Sore, dizzy and exhausted, the reptile wearily looked up to see David slowly exiting the bedroom with a creepy grin.
Snake could only stare at the jackal's eyes. Once, they were filled with childlike, kind and annoying light. Now, they revealed nothing but feral hunger. David sniffed the air, sensing Snake's fear. This sent a tingle right through the jackal's body before he pulled out another drill in his hand.
Snake briefly stared at the hanging foam from the gigantic hole. He couldn't win this fight. At least when alone.
With no other option, Snake slithered away. The jackal didn't bother running after him, slowly walking behind him with an eerie coolness to this attitude.
The reptile couldn't defeat David, but the least he could do was to get the Eden Apples and scram. He knew that the machines back in there were still active, but at least he tried to get something out of this rather than going back empty-handed.
[2:03]
Just as he made his way into the middle of the laboratory, David arrived and simply threw the drill forward.
Snake ducked, but the Eden Apple held in the force field was unlucky.
There was a terrifying change in David's look. Not him looking like a nightmare. But when the drill's tip crashed into the Eden Apple, his face went from malicious to absolute horror, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.
He didn't focus on Snake or the drill dropping clumsily on the floor.
Just on the Eden Apple.
With a nasty crack on the glass shell.
When Snake looked up, his first response was to slither back. The force field machine was sputtering. Its alarm suddenly went off with no control. His fear came true when the limit indicators went off the charts, the red arms clicking against the extreme numbers. The mechanical tentacles were even having difficulty stabilizing the Eden Apple in the center, unfit to control such a leakage.
To make matters worse, twitching the twitching machines were coated in electricity. The electrical power couldn't be tamed. Steam was starting to emit from the gaps. Something was happening to the circuitry.
Meanwhile, David didn't back away. He waddled towards the machine as he dared, not caring if Snake was walking away. He needed to see if the Eden Apple was intact.
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
The crack enlarged and the inside glowed brighter. A promise to greater power than David could ever receive.
Its hiss made the massive glow intimidating.
He casually turned to Snake with a sheepish grin, his ugly teeth not hiding his fear.
"David…what's going on?" asked Snake.
"It's gonna explode," squeaked David timidly.
"WHAT?!"
[2:23 - End of Song]
Snake nearly had no time to take cover as the Eden Apple blew to smithereens, causing a chain reaction with the rest of the Eden Apples he accidentally brought along in here.
The only sound anybody could hear was the pulse emitted from the Eden Apples, loud and high-pitched enough to break eardrums.
Snake found himself engulfed in a bright ball of turquoise light.
One would have mistaken it for a cool light show rather than a deadly explosion.
Fortunately, it only lasted for a few seconds.
When Snake's hearing returned and his vision darkened, he was pinned against the wall. His clothes were coated in soot, but the thin shield over his body protected him from any severe burns. He couldn't feel how sore he was, restless, numb.
Once the blinding light cleared, he got a good look at the aftermath.
All machineries David created were burnt and ripped to a crisp. Many parts ripped apart to reveal useless burnt stumps. A crater dominated the small room, covering the walls and earth black. There was a small flame in place of where the force field machine used to be…and it was colored turquoise.
It vanished before he could think of getting a closer look.
He found David's detached head. He looked to the side and felt sick.
And oh, so were the rest of his body parts. Snake never knew he would get a close-up surgery of a burnt body and its insides.
Wait, they looked too lovely.
Snake thought he was dreaming, narrowing his eyes.
That was weird. In place of what should be David's flesh, bones and blood was wires and hard plastic material with decorations Webs would only recognize. Some parts even looked like they were in the shape of normal bodily organs. Snake inspected the detached head. The stump of the neck revealed to have the wet flesh removed and replaced by plastic machinery.
The reptile was baffled. "What was-who is? Was that…even David at all?"
He slithered closer to the head. The eyes were marked with Xs over them and his tongue was sticking out. He tried opening the eyelid of the left eye, revealing itself to be the orange eye with the yellow pupil. The pupil suddenly moved, staring at him.
Snake yelped, dropping the head. "WHA?! You're-you're still alive?!"
David opened his eyes. "Look, I'm not happy either, OK?!"
And he closed his eyes again, pretending to be dead.
Snake gulped. Yep, he was dreaming. "Well…guess that I did the world a favor."
"THERE'S A LOUD EXPLOSION!" screamed a voice outside. "EVERYONE! PANIC AND RUN AROUND IN CIRCLES!"
Cue loud screaming from the above.
Some Rich Guy's Mansion, Melbourne Suburbs
It turned out splitting up wasn't the best idea for Oscar and Shaård. Despite being able to cover more ground, by the time they met up in the 'secret' underground laboratory, they were wandering aimlessly like toy dogs ordered to stroll around.
The family was still in the same dining room, blabbering away with their arguments.
Oscar grunted as he tossed away yet another box filled with flasks. "Man, never thought a heist like this would provide a plan. Please tell me we didn't miss a single room."
There was nothing much to admire in this laboratory. It once was in perfect order. Shiny white decks, boring education posters hanging from the walls and fancy glass displays that presented recent chemical vials and inventions created lately. The ceiling lights weren't that good since at least one or two were flickering non-stop. It was annoying.
With the door locked (and a table pushed to block it for good measure), the two cyborgs had already left it in a sorry state. Many cabinets were opened, spilled chemicals ruined the carpet with a green stain and different equipment was scattered around in pieces.
The boxes and containers taken out were the only ones in 'neat order'. Shaård preferred to pile them up on top of each other.
Oscar groaned, resting his head on a nearby table.
"Stop complaining and continue searching, Watson," said Shaård, cutting open a ceiling tile. He was currently standing on a table, now covered in wooden bits. "Did you even search every single room?"
"Like you do the same thing, kid?" sassed Oscar.
"I told you that I looked through every room I scratched. If this is the last room, it must be here…"
Removing the tile, the human cyborg checked through the hole in the ceiling, his head poking through to see anything from the inside. Oscar thought that his head might accidentally pop right through the floor of the ground level. That would be funny. After a few minutes, Shaård groaned and bent down on his knees.
"There's nothing in here," he said. "No hidden boxes…though, there were some nice-looking cheese traps with the finest cheese."
"Don't touch them," said Oscar matter-of-factly.
"What? No. I'm not that crazy to take the cheese…" Shaård grinned. "I would rather take the trap! It's a beauty!"
Oscar raised his eyebrow. "Whoa, kiddo. Your friend is right about you."
"Just please let me have it," said Shaård, trying to reach closer to the designated mouse trap from the ceiling hole.
Oscar groaned, tossing away another useless box of junk. The table cabinet was already empty. Whatever, it was the researcher's problem, not his.
He was nearly thinking of giving up when he decided to turn his eyes to the nearby computer. It was currently off with folders surrounding it. This researcher must be busy due to the rushed way the folders were left messily.
The Great White Shark was intelligent, but there were times when he couldn't concentrate. He had a reasonably good IQ, which was how he created weapons and special chemicals in the past. However, his mind would wander far, far away. Occasionally, fixated on the action. Seeing the titles on these folders nearly made him tune out from the rest of the world.
Sometimes, he wished that he could concentrate more on other things.
And then, he managed to concentrate on one folder.
It was listed as 'PROJECT LIFE'.
Curiously, Oscar opened it and the first page revealed an image of the Eden Apple. Immediately, he scanned through a few pages, quickly reading the paragraphs.
This…this was actually the history of the Eden Apples! When they were made back at Sunnyside Labs!
Maybe the Mecha Underlords already knew about this, but the Great White Shark found this interesting. With no one looking, he placed it in his back pocket.
Shaård finally finished his search, triumphantly retrieving the mouse trap.
"Yes!" he said, holding the mouse trap up like a trophy. "Now this belongs to the one and only Underlord Shaård!"
Oscar chuckled softly. "Yeah, yeah. We all know. It's good. But should we get moving? My money is still on your bet."
"Right, right, I'll get to the other side of the ceiling."
Keeping the mouse trap in his pocket, Shaård opened his cape and jumped off the table, gliding to the other side of the room. Oscar was bewildered at the sight of the young cyborg flying like Batman. He gracefully landed on the next table despite going nearly too fast and pulled out one of his chainsaw weapons. He did it like it was nothing.
Oscar briefly forgot that the human cyborg used the cape to reach the window outside earlier. "Wait…you can fly?"
"Nah," said Shaård calmly, cutting through the next ceiling tile with his chainsaw. "It's more for me to glide through the air. I prefer flying like a kite than a straight space rocket."
"I thought you would have jet feet like me since you like things rough."
"Not in travel."
Oscar bent down on his knees, trying to find another cabinet to look through. However, the one he turned to was also empty.
"Damn it," grumbled Oscar. "What are the odds now? How much longer?"
"The energy ratings from my tracker were pointing to here," said Shaård. "It's stronger in these rooms."
"Are you sure that it's strong in the entire mansion? The readings are everywhere!"
"Apparently, all of his inventions here have equally strong ratings. It's like they have the same power as the Eden Apple."
Oscar gulped. "Great. Every molecule we kept missing out."
Shaård sighed. "Why did we pick this place to search through?"
A loud beeping blasted from Oscar's pants. He pulled out his device. Turning on the device, it presented a footage image from a camera he managed to intercept.
The family was already descending to the ground level. Fortunately, they weren't coming down to the underground laboratory. At the moment, the large group of people gathered in the living room with the snobby researcher making his way to the middle.
From underneath his collar, he whipped out a large necklace. However, it wasn't an ordinary necklace.
He ripped the stone out for all to see. In the form of a bright turquoise orb.
"Shaård!" barked Oscar in excitement. "Shaård! You gotta see this!"
The human cyborg immediately zipped behind him. "You found it?"
"It's right there!" said Oscar, grinning. "The Eden Apple is actually with the researcher the whole time! He hid it as a necklace!"
The Great White Shark didn't expect Shaård to groan in exasperation.
"Yep, there's nobody dumb enough to pay attention to a cheap, plastic necklace around their meaty neck," complained Shaård.
"Oh yes, there is," teased Oscar, pointing at himself and Shaård.
Shaård narrowed his eyes. "And yet, I thought that you're the stupid one."
"I'm just still under construction," teased Oscar. "Cause I'm still working on it!"
If it was meant to be a joke, then Oscar must have meant to save it for a different audience. He lifted his hands up, imitating shotguns. The dad joke was so awful that Shaård was TREMBLING with all the human strength he had to muster to make a good snarky comeback.
"I'm starting to see now why Mr. Shark is your son," he could only sputter out.
Oscar grinned sarcastically. "OK, so what's the plan? Shall we rush right in and steal it?"
"I'm not sure. This mansion has a lot of weapons hidden around the place. It might even have a stronger security system, depending on if they turn it on manually. I say that the best way is to try to corner them long enough to take the Eden Apple and escape the mansion."
Oscar thought about it. That sounded like a solid plan! "Hmm, simple enough. I'm taking your advice. I'm guessing that killing them might cause more dangerous weapons to aim at us. But…shall we scare them?"
Shaård shrugged. "I'm good with intimidating people. And if there are bodyguards, they're expendable. And how will scaring the family work exactly?"
"If you say this place has a strong security system, then does it mean the mansion has a lockdown program?"
"...I'm starting to see where you're coming from. But we must remain in control of the doors and windows since they might have an override switch from…anywhere. Unless we're able to create a wall in the iron gate. I haven't tested breaking through walls yet. And where to use the lockdown program?"
"There's an emergency lockdown button nearby," said Oscar, pointing to one close to the computer.
A big, red button covered in a glass covering.
Shaård felt deja vu again, his eye twitching.
"Anyway," said Oscar. "Once we hit the lockdown program, we can confront them. Now, I can scare them long enough, but I'm wondering about you…" His grin turned friendly, inviting. "Maybe you can join in to do the main show! You can glide with your cape, swing around your chainsaw toys and, if I remember clearly, don't you have this 'super-cool shard supremacy' ability?"
Shaård's eyes sparkled at the sound of this. "Patent pending."
"Pending?"
An excited grin crossed over Shaård's face, wanting to do this in such a long time. "Oh…yeah!"
Back up on the ground level, the snobby researcher continued to show off his Eden Apple.
As enchanting as it could be, his family and guests had little to no interest in learning about his life-saving orb before their eyes. To them, it looked more like a plastic toy for Christmas time. Still, the researcher thought it should be worth showing them.
"This is the future I'm telling you!" he declared. "Oh, you'll all see here. Once we crank this up and connect it with a body, then they'll live forever. Maybe even getting to be the president for the next million years!"
He was utterly oblivious that nobody cared about this useless invention. His wife was busy rocking their baby. The girl looked like she wanted to jump onto one of the couches to sleep on. And the guests seemed more interested in looking at their phones.
All the windows suddenly broke around them. Every glass and china shattered in seconds as if they were already decaying. All the humans gasped, covering their ears at the noises. It kept going until the entire floor was coated with glass shards. A crime scene in the making.
"NO!" wailed the wife. "My babies!"
"But we're your children!" pointed out the girl.
"Yeah, but these are the children I had to buy from the richest."
To make matters worse, the iron gates outside covered nearly every single window in the house. All entrances into the house were double-locked automatically, including the doors and chimney hole. And with the windows closed, the whole room was soon blanketed in darkness, away from the light of day.
Nobody dared to say a thing, too nervous to speak up.
"...great," grumbled the researcher. "Now I have to fix the fuses again. Has the baby been sucking on them again?"
"No, his lips were just black today!" said his wife. "...sweetie, please stop holding my hand."
"But I'm scared," whimpered the girl.
"Don't be a sissy," grumbled the researcher, walking forwards cluelessly. "I'll just turn on the lights."
"May I turn on the lights?"
"Oh, yes, of course, dear."
"Wait," spoke up the girl. "That…didn't sound like me."
Once near the light switch, the researcher was greeted by the person who turned on a single light.
Oscar.
The researcher loudly screamed as the room lights flickered to life dimly. Presenting the grinning, psychotic shark in front of him. This scared the researcher so much that he jumped into the arms of another guest, hugging them tightly. It continued like this until he stopped squealing like a girl. He was left in stupidity.
"Man!" yelled the researcher. "Who allowed you to dress up like this?"
"Erm…I don't think that's a costume," muttered one of the guests.
Oscar grinned, narrowing his eyes. He didn't notice that his yellow pupil was beginning to glitch in response based on his delight. The guests were slowly realizing who they were up against. Even if they might not know who he was, they all could tell he was an animal to be feared. He wished to see them tremble soon since he towered over them.
"Oh yes, it is," taunted Oscar with a chuckle.
"BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"
That came from the girl.
Laughing insanely. She was holding onto her stomach, needing to lean downwards to catch her breath. When she looked back up, she pointed right at Oscar with a sickening laugh. It sounded more like a hyena with a really bad sore throat and an inhalation of drugs. For such a girl who appeared harmless!
Everyone in the room was shocked by the girl's response to this hulking shark. They slowly turned to Oscar, fearfully looking at his reaction.
Oscar's expression barely changed, but his eye was twitching. He was growing sick of her.
The girl started pulling on her mother's free hand to invite her to join the laughter. But instead, her mother leaned down and…
SLAP!
It was the baby who slapped the girl in the face, annoyed with her donkey-like screeching.
"...what?" argued the girl innocently. "There's like one hundred of us and one of him!"
"You mean fifteen of us?" asked the researcher.
"Well, I can take you all down here," said Oscar flatly. "All by myself."
"Oh, I'm afraid that you underestimated us," said the researcher, slowly losing any trace of cowardice.
Good proposal, thought Oscar. "More like you underestimated me. At least have a better key to unlocking your security system next time for a real challenge. And I'm betting none of you are prepared if anything falls apart in this mouse cage." Oscar sniffed slightly before leaning back. "Oh, and god, that cheese perfume would definitely kill all of you before I even reach you."
"Hey!"
"So what are you gonna do about that?"
What Oscar didn't expect was that every single person in the room pulled out gadgets from NOWHERE. It looked like the kinds of sci-fi ray guns you see in movies. Among the family, one guest pulled out a nunchucks, the mother pulled out a frying pan with a spiked ball chained to it, the baby pulled out a grenade and the girl pulled out a freaking bazooka larger than her.
"Oh no, you don't!" hissed the researcher, taking the bazooka away.
"Aww!" whined the girl. "But I want to try that out!"
"No. You're not allowed to. Because you don't know how to build one!"
"But aren't we sharing?"
Oscar blinked sheepishly. "Well…this suddenly got more intense. Can someone tell me why I'm concerned about this?"
"The only thing you should be concerned about is picking up the wrong fight!" snarled the researcher. "Now get moving or we'll have shark sushi tonight!"
Oscar scoffed. "OK then. Strong family. Strong heart. I can respect that. But you're forgetting one more detail, human."
"I'm all ears."
"Then listen. I have a backup."
Then they heard it.
The glass and china shards trembled.
All eyes were on them, noticing that they were becoming animated. First thought was of an earthquake. However, the objects seen in the range of the light weren't moving at all. It was only the shattered shards that were trembling. If the seismic waves weren't strong enough, every sharp glass shard slowly hovered in the air.
Floating, spinning. There was no gravity for them.
All of them pointed towards the humans.
The researcher gasped when he noticed another person in the mansion, far away from them.
In a further room with the light flickering above stood the shadowed figure. He could identify them as human, but the outline of these…heavy clothes and helmet didn't look right. They didn't look human, actually. It was hard to see them properly due to the flickering light. Only brief seconds to see their colors correctly.
The figure remained standing, slumped. He looked tired but refused to drop dead. This was what creeped the researcher out. A haunting purple aura glowed around their body. It was nearly up in flames. This was surreal. The glass shards were engulfed in a matching purple glow, circling around the figure. A sorcerer indifferent to this land.
Shaård grinned widely to reveal his sharp teeth alike a demon. When he lifted his head, the visor revealed two bloodthirsty eyes. The right purple eye glowed brighter than the other. His hands slowly raised upwards, leading the glass shards hovering around under his control. Purple sparks flew from these shards, even connecting to each other as if sharing the same synergy.
"W-What?" stuttered the researcher. "What is this sorcery?"
Shaård didn't even need to explain, tilting his head. There was barely a change in his grin. It was frozen, with only the pupils able to move. He took a menacing step forward with one hand slowly spinning in a circle. In response, the shards floated around him like the rings of a planet.
It was his own barrier. His own shield. His own domain.
As he marched slowly towards the terrified people, a small drool drip trailed down his chin.
But the saliva was YELLOW, matching his cyborg eye.
"Easier to assimilate than explain," chuckled Shaård. His demeanor changed, now relishing in the satisfaction promised.
"What do you want with us here?" demanded the researcher, narrowing his uneasy eyes. "What is it that you exactly need?!"
One of the guests tried to slink away, only for a glass shard to come flying at her. She screamed when it stopped just close to her eye. The sharp glass piece could pop her eyeball.
"Look here, show-off," sneered Shaård with a dissonantly calm voice. "I'm not here for mass murder. We're looking for a way forward. Now, I suggest you give us your precious Eden Apple or you'll be living as Edward Scissorhands for the rest of your life."
The researcher gasped. "How did you know that?"
"It's in your hand."
The researcher glanced down at the turquoise weapon in his hand and back at the cyborg. "How did you know that?"
"Your secrets are pathetic to hide," said Oscar, smirking. "Now, be a lamb and lay down your guard you want US to."
One glass shard floated near the researcher, right underneath the Eden Apple he was carrying. He looked down at it, considering giving it away. For the sake of his friends, family and life…but, no.
Pride took over and the fact that his weapon had a bounty on its head. They might be more dangerous than him.
"Not happening," he snarled.
Shaård laughed and casually placed his hands on his hips. "Guess that you're like the rest of them. But let's not kid. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours."
In response, the girl ripped the bazooka from the researcher's hands and aimed it at Shaård.
"I'm gonna blast the heck out of you!" she threatened. "And then, I'll take a slice of your cake hat!"
"I see you're doing this the hard way," said Shaård, waving his hand tauntingly. "No offense taken."
"And your superhero outfit stinks! It looks like you only grew up designing through MS Paint!"
Shaård's left eye twitched. "...FIRE EVERYTHING!"
Oscar cackled as he whipped out a long sword. Without a cackle of his own, the enraged Shaård's glass shards flew everywhere. Fortunately, they didn't hit anyone but aimed to tear apart the humans' weapons. Surprisingly, when Shaård tore down a weapon, it got replaced by new weapons the people pulled out from their coats. Seriously, how many did they have?
This told Oscar and Shaård that these guys were well-prepared. A real challenge.
Every single human immediately scattered, searching for cover. Once again, the researcher yanked the bazooka from the girl's hands and jumped behind a couch. His daughter was flabbergasted before chasing after him. Everybody else wisely took cover by tipping over tables and couches like fences while trying to fire back. It was already a warzone.
Just because the security system was shut down didn't mean the humans were defenseless. A couple of guards busted into the living room, wielding batons.
The sharp-thinking and cunning Shaård managed to block all projectiles hitting at him. Without needing to think much, he ordered several glass shards to disarm each of his enemies, no matter how many times they kept bringing up ridiculously large weapons. He didn't even need to pause this action when the guards tried rushing up to him.
Being a master of glass, he could just put his power on autopilot.
With a thrilled grin, he casually leaned back when one guard tried taking a swipe at him. He then spun around the floor and kicked the guard's feet. He landed another kick in the falling face on the second spin, sending him away.
Another guard tried to catch him from behind, but the glass shards immediately formed a wall to block him. They then broke to reveal Shaård delivering a mouse trap over his nose.
Meanwhile, Oscar walked across the space between him and his enemies. Glass shards and projectiles flew over him, but they barely left a scratch on his body. Nor did the loud girly scream of a guard suffering a nose caught in a mouse trap distract him.
He heard one guard trying to come in, but he lifted his hand and formed it into a gun. Despite making the promise not to kill, he shot the guard point-blank, not caring to see them dropping to the floor.
Another guard tried to pounce on him, but Oscar nonchalantly grabbed and tossed him upwards. His throw was so strong that it left a hole through the ceiling where he descended to.
Then, the researcher's wife decided to try to get out in the open. She ran forward to the Great White Shark, swinging around a fencing sword. However, he moved away at the speed of light. The wife tried again, aiming for the face. However, he kept dodging her with the same smug smirk on his face. He finally caught the sword between his hands before breaking it in half.
His right hand formed into a paintball gun. However, the wife was smart enough to lean backwards to avoid the paintballs. But her feet weren't moving, allowing Oscar to kick her in the shin. Once she was down, he leapt upwards and slammed his feet onto her back. She let out a scream, fearful that her spine would break.
Meanwhile, in their hiding spot, the researcher and his daughter were in a petty tug-of-war over the bazooka. All while the former held onto the Eden Apple, his fingers nearly losing it.
"I told you that you cannot own weapons unless you build them yourselves!" shouted the researcher.
"Well, maybe I don't want to!" shouted the girl. "You know you act bossy as well!"
"Well, I didn't give you that attitude for your superiors!"
"You cannot tie your own tie, mister!"
"Oh yeah? Well, at least I make the best shoelaces like they're present bows!"
"Good lord," said Oscar, stepping between the two. "You two are TOO loud!"
He snatched the Eden Apple from the researcher's hand and threw him over his head. Somewhat casually, kind of. Oscar didn't hear him landing roughly, only a little surprised that the researcher got back on his feet. Now possessing the bazooka, she aimed it at Oscar's head. But alas, he only threw it aside and grabbed the girl firmly by the arm.
"This is what you get for talking in a fight," snarled Oscar, unsympathetic towards the girl.
"Tell her that!" insisted the researcher, ducking out of the way of an incoming glass shard.
"AT LEAST I'M NOT GONNA BE AS SENSELESS AS YOU ARE!" yelled the girl in defiant anger, trying to lean forward to wrestle out of the giant shark's grip. "YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS TIME MAKING THESE GASSY ENGINES!"
Oscar groaned, hating hearing those words again. The kid still had a mouthful despite putting in a lot of energy to squirm out. It was already irritating. Why couldn't she shut up?!
"Kid!" he growled. "This is not the time now to be-"
The girl spun around to face him and landed a jab on his cheek. Oscar closed his eyes, the hit more like a pillow slapping him. Before he could decide to let the girl meet her end, he opened his eyes to find the young Lou in her place.
"Just…don't expect me to go to your empire, OK?" said the young Lou dejectedly. "I don't think the two of us will survive anyway iF wE aLl jOiN."
Oscar's eyes widened. He blinked. He blinked again.
He tried looking away before looking back. He swore that he caught the girl in his grasp. But instead of her was his son years ago. The last time he ever saw him before he left home. The young shark stared at him with fearful eyes and a depressed look.
"Lou?" whispered Oscar, his voice lacking the previous menace he had built up.
The young girl slowly became confused, speechless. Seeing the giant shark saying another name scared her. What was going on? She tried wrenching her hand out from his, but he was too…lost in the moment to let her go.
All he saw was his son.
An unpleasant sensation rocked his entire body. His mind grew confused as irritation towards his son's ways and guilt towards not knowing them rained all over him. Memories flickered through his vision, some of which he couldn't recall. He tried to remember another memory. But they were all on his son. Something wasn't right.
He wasn't in control of these memories.
They were so vivid. So real.
So…harrowing.
"Nothing to worry about? This…this is the same place my mother loved to visit! The place where she felt like a dream. I thought you shared that dream with her."
"She ain't here anymore!"
Visions of every interaction he had with Lou flashed in front of his eyes. The first vision was when he showed him the prison cell where they tested on those prisoners. When he explained the use of the brainwashing chemical to intoxicate them. When his son got a taste of how he should handle indestructible prey.
"It's a win for us and a loss for them anyway!"
"And? Does this…last long?"
And then, the memory of seeing his son getting his head bashed into the cell bars repeatedly by that blonde monster played on and on. The red blood splattering out from his son's decaying head turned turquoise. His breathing was getting shallow, his chest was tightening. He wasn't breathing at all. The body felt like exploding.
"But we can show that we are not a threat. Then, they won't be after us anymore."
Oscar felt like he might drop dead. He could only see the young Lou staring at him like a stranger. Time seemed to slow down. He couldn't comprehend everything progressing around him. And the more he stared at those sad eyes, the more he felt like he was in his place of being yelled at.
He found himself understanding the current expression crying out to him.
"As your father, I find your attitude disrespectful. But I can SEE why you're upset about me ruining your mother's special spot."
"You want to be feared? Then, bE fEaReD!"
The girl could feel Oscar's grip loosening and wrenched her hand free. However, as soon as she began running, the Great White Shark reflexively formed his hand into a gun weapon and shot at the girl's shoulder. She didn't scream, shocked. No words as she slammed on the floor, face-first. One of the guests rushed up to her, checking the wound.
Oscar placed his hand over his head. He didn't care if he used a lethal bullet. His breathing was getting worse to the point that he was trying not to cry. It was pathetic. He was disgusted by the sob running through him. A glass shard nearly hit him in the eyes. He felt its tip causing a small prick on his skin. Were they even real? Were they gonna hurt him? He never felt this exposed to such danger! What was wrong with him?!
As the guest fled away with the shell-shocked girl on their shoulder, her mother was shocked at what happened. She was just recovering, only to see a large burnt bruise on her daughter's back. For a moment, it nearly looked like it was shot right where her heart might be.
She looked to the side to see her husband trying to get closer to Shaård. She looked back at the hyperventilating Oscar. Something snapped within her. But it also came from the remorse for not protecting her daughter in the first place.
She howled and tried rushing towards Oscar.
The Great White Shark noticed this and labelled her as a threat. Devolving into a state of madness, he screamed as he switched his gun to real razor bullets. Wildly firing his gun around the room. The mother took cover alongside her family members and the guests. The guards were unlucky as the spinning Oscar shot them down.
He kept screaming, saliva drooling from his teeth. He didn't even notice his lips feeling wet.
In his blind rampage, Shaård failed to notice the bullets coming from him. He yelped when one hit his shoulder before reflexively trying to shield himself with his cape.
Losing concentration, all the glass and china shards dropped to the floor harmlessly.
The warzone looked finished.
After what looked like a long time, Oscar finally got all the stress out of his system. He slowly lifted down his gun weapon, staring at the floor. Bodies of guards rested around him, their fates unknown.
For once, he didn't feel satisfaction for what he did.
"Let's go!" shouted Shaård, grabbing him by the hand. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"
Oscar barely responded to the human cyborg chucking him through the wall, creating a massive hole. He barely responded when he followed after the gliding Shaård, fleeing from the mansion. He barely talked once they were at another hill, far from the mansion.
By the time he could continue with the cold breeze and the sunlight, police cars were already arriving at the property.
Shaård pulled the Eden Apple out from Oscar's hand. Oh, and pulled his head close to his unhinged eyes.
"I thought we agreed on not killing people!" the human cyborg roared, spitting yellow from his lips. "You were supposed to take away the Eden Apple!"
Oscar just snorted, his mind in another world.
Shaård gritted his teeth, his patience wavering. "What's wrong with you?! I'm already considering firing you!"
"It wasn't a dream," muttered Oscar.
"What?"
Oscar blinked, finally maintaining his sense of reality. Seeing the angry Shaård in front of him relieved him for ten seconds. It didn't last long. He was in paranoia. Something was clawing at him. It must be his son. He looked around on the hill. But Lou was nowhere in sight.
"No," he said to himself, slowly looking away. "He's not here. He's…already on the other side of the world."
Shaård's anger shortened once he saw the unnatural look on Oscar.
The Great White Shark didn't bother to put back on the maniac smile he loved to wear. His eyes were glassy, unlike the confident shine they had before. His whole body looked like it could melt to the ground compared to how he usually stood his ground. And as he twirled around, he could see the growing confusion weighing his shoulders down.
It was haunting to see Oscar in this state.
Yet, Shaård wasn't letting up easily, crossing his arms. "What's going on?"
The Great White Shark turned to him, tilting his head. "Say, how did you ever turn to crime? Your parents trained you, did they?"
Shaård wiped his lips, incredulous. "What? N-No. They didn't…"
"And if so, then was their advice helpful?"
It was official that Oscar wasn't acting like himself.
For once, it worried Shaård. "OK, this is creeping me out now. But I don't think they would encourage me to do such thing. I mean, it's me who decided to…act out?"
Oscar huffed, unsatisfied by the lack of relatability. "Another kid who wants to be independent. Is there even a good book out there that teaches kids the right way to live?"
"What the hell is wrong with you? What happened?"
Oscar noted that Shaård had dropped his previous frosty act towards him. However, kind or not, he would never reveal that moment of weakness. He didn't want to see his son's face again. Not in this state.
"Just curious," he lied, his voice quiet. So quiet that even Oscar was disturbed by it. His fists clenched, trying to keep up the intimidating facade. "I mean, isn't it weird that your child always has different ideas towards survival? That's how they always fall behind."
Shaård's apprehensive look slowly changed into a more understanding one. One out of genuine concern. This must be related to Mr. Shark, his son. Everybody already knew their blood connection, yet it was barely thick. People used to think that Shark was like his father, but the differences were too clear than what the papers said.
What wasn't accounted for was how those differences put a wedge between the two sharks.
Shaård rubbed his arm, awkwardly trying to come up with something comforting. In this position, he first tried to understand Shark's choices of being a criminal.
"Well…Lou would have his own preferences for crime," he mumbled. "I mean, not everyone is the same. You know me and Splaarghön don't go in for the kill unless necessary. We don't want to cause too much attention."
Oscar rolled his eyes. "That still sounds like for wusses."
"But if we survived for this long, what else can you prove that we can't survive? I mean…your word is not wrong. We can debate long on your son's talents, but if it's manageable for him to build his own 'sustainable' empire built by what he wants to be, then it's his choice in living. Not yours."
"And?"
"And he'll survive. He did and did not back down. He'll know what to do, especially from your teachings. He'll come to you when he's ready."
He could have said that Lou would only need his help whenever he couldn't do the job, but Oscar decided to hold that back. While his mind felt heavy, he considered this advice. A way of acknowledging how he felt without feeling he was gonna be killed.
The same knots in his stomach were the one thing that reminded him where he went wrong. The same regret as when he nearly got his son killed long ago. It told him a lot of how much danger he could place him due to wanting him to learn immediately. Remembering his night talks with him, Lou tried to say that he was alright with his friends. He looked healthy.
Who knew how much Lou learned from him to continue being resilient in a world that could scar him?
Oscar weakly smiled. He still didn't like the Bad Guys, but there was a slight urge to accept them.
AN: We get two sides of the coin that show the genuinely unhinged and the devastating unhinged. And now, I feel unhinged from trying to check through all of this!
The scene with Snake and David is another moment where we see Snake against true power. It's massive and Snake doesn't want to play with it. This makes them different since David is more than willing to risk his life to gain that much power. I can't really say if Splaarghön corrupted him. The entire fight is inspired by the fight scene seen in the first episode of Peacemaker, backed up with some awesome music! :3
And back with Oscar and Shaård, what a scene! The fighting sequence was inspired by Murder Drones and Arcane, especially when the two appear to scare their enemies first. And much like Wolf, Oscar gets an intense hallucination state similar to Jinx's whenever triggered. This is where Oscar is beginning to crack and it won't be pretty.
Next chapter, we'll be seeing what's going on with our Mr. Grumpypants. And how Wolf is doing so far…
Let me know in the reviews of what you think so far. Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story so far, be sure to favorite or follow. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but if any flames, then it's down the drain.
Until next time, keep on rocking!
