Chapter 33 - Cyborgs, Critters and Chainsaws?
[Love Bites (So Do I) - Halestorm]
[Repeat 0:12 - 0:19]
The buzzing sound of the spinning blades and saws added extra weight when Shaård's weapon clashed against Piranha's glossy and lighter sledgehammer. There was nearly an outmatch of strength in this, with the little fish feeling the sparks emitted from the blades…and the bigger human pushing his feet against the floor. His yellow eyes appropriately widened in hopes the blade wouldn't touch his forehead.
"So I'm guessing that this 'Splaarghön' is a terrorist?" he retorted.
Shaård scoffed in disgust. "She talked to you as well?!"
Piranha decided to take three swings with his sledgehammer, all of which Shaård dodged effortlessly. The male cyborg's movements were as fast as a leaf fluttering. And on the fourth swing, he jumped upwards when Piranha tried swiping his feet…only for the little fish to let go of his weapon and flung himself forwards, headbutting Shaård in the face.
Shaård only acknowledged the throbbing soreness in his nose before shrugging it off, flipping in the air and landing on one foot, albeit dazed. On the other hand, Piranha, who had experience using his head as a weapon, landed perfectly and whipped out one of his guns.
"I thought she was just a creep!" squeaked the little fish. "She has a face like everyone else's."
He tried firing, but Shaård was quick to cover the barrel hole. The bullet fired, but when it hit his palms, the explosion of pink powder barely left a bruise on his hands. Shaård only nonchalantly walked forward, pushing Piranha by the gun's barrel.
"Typical," he grumbled as he slowly approached the holographic door. "I shouldn't be surprised she would chat privately with you. Maybe I should…but it would take more than a week-"
"Sike!" yelled Piranha, dropping his gun and headbutting Shaård's ankles.
Naturally, this caused Shaård to trip forward. Unnaturally, he quickly used his feet to press against the sides of Piranha's head, pulling him down as well. With enough time to perform a spin, Shaård used his lower body strength to swing his legs upwards, using his hands as support. And thus, he slammed Piranha against the floor.
By the time the little fish could see clearly through the stars spinning around his head, he was right next to the frightened Webs. Piranha groaned, gritting his teeth. This must be how a migraine felt like. From his upside-down vision, he could see Shaård coming close and squatting down.
Reflexively, Webs activated her weapon and her fruit cannon popped behind her.
Strangely, Shaård wasn't surprised. In fact, a wide grin appeared at the sight of this.
"We actually considered hiring you in our empire," he said, light amusement in his voice. "But we didn't make the official application yet!"
Webs didn't wait for him to say anything else before her catapult pelted Shaård with multiple berries. The rapid amount of berries fired could resemble a silly minigun. And Shaård just used his chainsaw weapon with the spiky side to chop the incoming berries.
He looked disappointed.
Webs took the chance to give Piranha a worried look. "Did she, Piranha?"
"She didn't," said Piranha quickly.
He hopped back onto his feet and pulled out his gun. The combination of his chalk powder bullets and Webs' fruit ammo invoked Shaård's thrill-seeking grin, clearly enjoying getting to spin his chainsaw weapon around to block their attacks.
In fact, the second Piranha fired, he hopped back on his feet in an attack position.
"This feels weird but fulfilling," Shaård lampshaded.
"What else did she say?" demanded Piranha. "Why is she hooked up with Snake?"
Shaård snorted, frustration hardening his eyes. "I don't know! You ask her! She just suddenly became friends with Mr. Grumpypants!"
Not willing to let Shaård come too close, Piranha charged again, heading towards his feet. Knowing how acrobatic the guy was, he embraced the feet tightly and used his strength to push the male cyborg down. He could hear Shaård yelping as he crashed, his chainsaw weapon flying off the bridge.
Piranha wasted no time, spinning the male cyborg before throwing him away.
Right in the crossfire of Shark firing clothes at his enemies. He was behind one of the display cases as cover, shooting nearby enemies.
And the flying Shaård was caught in pink dress, slamming him to the main platform.
Thanks to his spiky helmet, the pink dress was stuck to his head. He immediately tore the dress apart, shaking his head. Rabid.
He noticed the amount of broken glass around him as he got onto his knees. A good number of the glass cases protecting the weapons on display were broken; collateral damage of the ongoing battle.
An idea came to his mind, painting a maniac smile.
Back with Piranha and Webs, the former sat down, wiping his forehead. The latter went back to hacking. The decryption process was at 92%. She was close to finishing.
"Man, that reno is a tough cookie," said Piranha. "Was this a dream?"
"Honestly, I expect him to be a pushover," said Webs, smirking.
"And what do they exactly want?"
Webs sighed. "I don't think we'll be able to hear from them on that."
A door grill rattled right next to them, followed by Fuchsia face-planting on the floor next to the two. The red-eyed piranha bounced upwards and she immediately let out a childlike 'whoa' at the sight of the fiery battle.
That was when Piranha saw the fire in Fuchsia's lively and energetic eyes.
Oh no.
His attention was drawn to the new wave of cyborgs charging towards them. He immediately ran forward and began shooting again, leaving the two girls in their own discussion.
"What did I miss?" asked Fuchsia, grinning.
"Best not to ask now!" said Webs helpfully.
"May I join in the fight?" asked Fuchsia, adopting a maniacal grin.
"What?! No! You'll get yourself ruffled again."
"Pepe appears to be doing fine."
"That's because he had more street fights than you do," said Webs firmly. "We don't need more front teeth broken and scattered all over the place."
"…OK. OK. I see what you mean."
[Pause]
But the temptation sank in as a result of uncontrollable energy. " I'm going in!"
And she ran, pulling out her knife, all while Webs watched on in disbelief.
[Resume at 1:00]
Meanwhile, Shaård's right eye was glowing brighter, the purple color intensifying to a saturated shade. His hands were slowly rising, matching the glass shards hovering upwards. This time, the purple sparks were more noticeable as they zapped randomly around, endangering those close to them.
Immediately, the fight was paused as everybody watched all the shards pointing towards their target.
He grinned widely, repressing back a passionate chuckle.
Piranha slowly lowered his guns in confusion at the sight unfolding. "Uh, what is he doing?"
"Everyone!" called Wolf. "Get down!"
With the cyborgs distracted by the floating shards, the canine found Diane and pinned her to the ground. Meanwhile, Snake stopped whipping his electrical whip at Splaarghön, gaping at the floating shards around him. Before he knew it, the pink-haired cyborg tackled him to the ground and placed him behind one of the display cases.
"Ohh!" she whooped, sitting next to him. "He's doing the shard supremacy!"
Snake was baffled. "The what now?"
The only people who were exposed to the shards were Piranha, Webs and the rest of the remaining cyborgs still standing. The latter group had no problem since Shaård wasn't aiming at them. That couldn't be said the same for Piranha and Webs.
The tarantula gulped, slowly pulling her hood over her head.
Piranha was already beginning to back away, realizing how utterly screwed he was.
But he didn't expect Shark to immediately rush forward and grab him in a bear hug, his back facing against the hovering glass shards.
"Whoa! Chico!" cried Piranha. "Don't stand there!"
"Don't worry!" reassured Shark, grinning. "Do you have any idea how thick my skin is?"
[1:14]
FWOOSH!
PFT! PFT! PFT!
The wall was covered in glass shards, SOMEHOW poking through the metal walls. Webs tried shielding herself with her computer, but Shark's large body protected her.
Just too bad that Shark underestimated the glass shares.
When she lowered her laptop, she could see his eyes popping out of their sockets and his lips puckered in shock.
"...how thick, amigo?" asked Piranha blankly.
"NOT THICK ENOUGH!" yelled Shark. "OUCHIE! OUCHIE! OUCHIE!"
And so, he hopped around with a hedgehog back of glass shards. Like a rabbit trying to flee at the scene of a shooting, he bounced around aimlessly in great agony. The unfortunate Piranha was still in his arms, his face buried in Shark's warm chest.
Nearly every cyborg in the room began laughing at Shark's state.
Angered, Wolf and Diane hopped out from their hiding spots and the fight continued. A few cyborgs remained standing, watching Shark hopping around. But for those back in the fight, they still had the same stupid smile.
Already lost in using his power, Shaård slapped his knee and let out a hearty laugh…and a less hearty slap behind his head.
He twirled around, meeting the smouldering Oscar.
"You have to do this NOW?!" he yelled.
"What?" said Shaård defensively. "Wouldn't you have done that to your son? It's no hard feelings."
Oscar sighed, crossing his arms. "Sheesh! I'm not THAT kind of father."
This caught Shaård by surprise. He expected Oscar to be that kind of father. Though, at this moment, he wished the Great White Shark just do his job properly. Out of all the people, Shaård didn't have a right to tell him off, but this wasn't effective teamwork.
"…well, geez," he snarked weakly. "No wonder why you're being useless now."
Oscar raised an eyebrow skeptically. "You realize it's meant on purpose, don't you?"
"Oh, sure," scoffed Shaård. But on the second he looked away, he looked back. "Wait, what did you say?"
In the background of the chaos, an injured Fuchsia crawled back to the bridge that led to the desired storage room. She was covered in glass shards, but it wasn't just on her back. Webs could only watch silently as the red-eyed piranha pathetically dragged to her, hearing her whiny sniffles.
"Webs…I am down…" groaned Fuchsia.
Webs was about to say something, but the red-eyed piranha suddenly appeared revived and she lifted her head without a trace of angst.
[Pause at 1:42]
"Why did you tell me to go in there?"
The tarantula simply looked upwards with instant regret.
[Resume at 2:01]
Splaarghön slowly peeked her head from her hiding spot. Thank goodness that's over. But it didn't seem to have the right effect they wanted. Sure, the glass shards managed to hit Shark in the back, but all it did was convince him to hop around like a bunny and crash into many cyborgs. His large body shoved them off the platform, decreasing their numbers.
And if that wasn't enough, Wolf and the ninja fox were already tearing through her army. They seemed to realize their healing abilities, pushing them off the platform. The canine had to shoot a few or kick them away, while the fox was rougher in throwing her enemies over her head. They looked serious, but at least they weren't precisely killing anyone.
The remaining cyborgs still carried an air of determination and ruthlessness, continuing to attack. And this batch gave Wolf and Diane a challenge. Their laser projectiles hissing in rhythm, a flock of burning lights to avoid. The close-range fighters clashing their swords against the ninja fox's.
"Whoa, they're cooking fast," she said.
[2:13]
To prove that point, Snake wrapped his tail around her neck and slammed her body against a display case. This immediately snapped Splaarghön back into action and she pulled two spare spikes from her pouch. The two immediately got back into fighting, the spikes and electrical whip clashing with one another.
Snake's anger hadn't decreased in the slightest. Not even when he saw Shark suffering from a thousand glass shards. If anything, he was already seething that Splaarghön would have the nerve to allow her comrade to do an act that could have killed many.
He remembered back to David. The changed look on his face. The crazed experiments and machines he used. His towering figure shadowed over him when he tried to kill him.
"What do YOU plan to do with the Eden Apples?!" questioned Splaarghön.
Remembering the now scraped condition of David was enough to give Snake a reason not to feel guilty about beating down the pink-haired cyborg.
"Like I said!" insisted Snake, cracking his whip wildly to find a weak spot. "To dispose them from other criminals like you!"
"Oh, you're just gonna waste an opportunity much like that stupid meteor?"
"Of course, the old 'think of the potential' motive! That's what gets your mansion ruined."
"It's better than moping around, old man," snarled Splaarghön, deflecting to blocking with her spikes.
This utterly failed when Snake lifted the whip and slammed it into her weapons. This time, the spikes flew out from her hands. Splaarghön had already gone through this before, clenching her hands into tight fists. But what got her hesitating was that she was disarmed by the very person in front of her.
"At least I'm doing something sane!" yelled Snake.
Splaarghön scoffed, rolling her eyes. "So what does that make you now? What gives you the right to be righteous?!"
[2:44]
With that, she launched an uppercut, only for the whip to block her attack. A stampede of punches followed, relentlessly slamming against Snake's more coordinated whip. At some points, Splaarghön blocked whenever the whip got too close to her face, often using her spiked gauntlets. Each punch and hit caused sparks to fly.
After a series of hits without pain and grunts of frustration, Snake made the first move to swipe Splaarghön's feet. She jumped up, but that allowed the reptile to flick his whip the other way, slamming into the side of her body. A crackle of electricity rumbled through her body and this time, he made sure that it stung.
The pink-haired cyborg was thrown upwards, nearing the edge of the main platform. Before she could think of preparing herself for the blades below, the whip wrapped around her waist. This time, it didn't electrocute her. The slick blade gently pulled her away, back on the platform.
She didn't expect to be right at Snake's face so quickly. Hot air emitted from Snake's slightly hanging mouth, panting heavily from the burnt energy. His pupils were shaped in sharp lines, feral slits, a sign of danger to come. But in contrast, the two front fangs hanging from his mouth appeared soft.
"I thought you said I have the power to raise my voice," said Snake calmly. "But I guess you don't believe that, Adeline."
The delivery of his words stopped Splaarghön from considering fighting back. Just reading his worn-down expression made her heart sink. He didn't look broken, but the disappointed glare showed he had enough.
And enough to force Splaarghön to confront any wrongdoings she committed.
[End of Song]
The pink-haired cyborg's narrowed eyes slowly widened as if in self-realization. She already knew she left Snake and Piranha in the dark. But the thought that she looked like she was lying and being indifferent to how they might feel was the big billboard to her.
"You shut up, Adeline! You have no idea what you're talking about!"
"At least I'm not the crazy one! Now what? You're going to be like the rest of the cops?!"
"Oh, because my father only left a crumb on your shirt? Because I couldn't agree to your sorry excuses? Because I haven't done anything but try to be helpful for once today?"
A faint memory of Sharon echoed in her mind, engraved in a spot she never dared to look back on. No. Not again. Don't remember. She wasn't like that. Failing, Splaarghön was beginning to hyperventilate, feeling the walls squeezing her despite Snake's gentle hold.
Her knight in shining armor dropped right in and slashed his chainsaw weapon through Snake's whip. Both the reptile and Splaarghön jumped away before Shaård swung his weapon close to Snake in an attempt to hit him. However, in slow motion, Wolf immediately pounced right on time, jumping over a display case and taking the pose of the classic kung fu kick.
His boot connected with Shaård's forehead, sending him tumbling into Splaarghön. The two cyborgs had trouble getting back up and Wolf took the opportunity to slam a powder grenade right at their feet. An explosion of pink, purple and blue powder erupted from below, sending the two cyborgs flying away.
Shark was nearby to add salt to the wound, shooting the remaining cyborgs. He aimlessly shot two bundles of clothes at the soaring Splaarghön and Shaård. The impact made their fall much faster. At the speed of lightning, the two crashed right through the holographic door of another storage room, bullets intercepting another place they didn't want to enter.
The two cyborgs slammed against the wall, slowly rolling down onto the floor. Once again, Shaård struggled to rip off the pink dress stuck in his helmet. However, Splaarghön was too dazed to acknowledge the throbbing soreness in her back or the many jackets tied around her chest.
"URGH!" roared Shaård, slamming his fists into the ground. "OK, so we can't compete with them. No problem. We might come out tonight with nothing at all, buddy."
"Did you see the way he looked at me?" whispered Splaarghön, her voice a mile away.
Shaård blinked, turning to the pink-haired cyborg staring at nothing.
"Spla-I mean, Adeline," he said firmly.
"He really thinks that I lied to him," muttered Splaarghön.
"Look, we can sort that crap later. Pull yourself together."
In emphasis, he tugged on the jacket sleeve and pulled it back. Splaarghön spun around, landing on her back. Feeling free, she sat back up to watch the steaming Shaård holding the bundle of black jackets.
"R-Right," stuttered Splaarghön, forcibly trying to sound focused. "Wait, what about Oscar? Did he do anything?"
"Oscar says he has a 'surprise', so who knows what the dummy wants to do."
"But our soldiers need more time to put themselves back together in that pit."
"Damn, we're losing time." Shaård tilted his head, a crack in his neck muscle. "Want me to go dragon on them?"
"Now hold on a second, Dickie," warned Splaarghön. "It's not wise to escalate this fight. We shouldn't kill the Bad Guys."
In a normal place, Shaård would have agreed with her. But this wasn't a normal place.
In this room, a tank towered over the two to show off its mighty structure. Shaård's eyes widened in childlike curiosity, catching the shine of its metallic paint. But it wasn't just the tank's size that attracted him.
Several tendrils were attached to the sides of the tank, daring to whack anyone in the face who wasn't watching properly. There were even those…chainsaws attached to the metallic arms. An uneven pattern of spikes embedded all over the tank's shell. It looked like every camouflage's paradise.
Shaård's jaw dropped, gobsmacked. Splaarghön's pink eye turned a weaker shade in faith.
"Don't you dare," she hissed.
It was too late.
"Nee-hee-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…"
Shaård looked sheepish, his consciousness trying to pull him out from temptation. Despite the giggling, there was a sliver of humanity in his eyes.
His legs eventually had a mind of their own, guiding him to the nearest electricity switch.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
The smile on the cackling Shaård was so wide that it could tear his entire face in half.
"Dickie…Dickie?!" squeaked Splaarghön.
"AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
But her friend was no longer there, replaced by a maniac ripping the power lever down. Shaård was on an obvious high, his eyes sparkling as the room burst into light. The tank reacted as well, its large gun slowly poking upwards and its headlights blinking in purple.
Back outside, Shadow Squad G emerged as victorious. While the cyborgs were well-trained and armed, the experienced criminals proved more challenging than they looked. Soon enough, the central platform didn't have that many cyborgs left. Most of them were at the bottom of the pit, possibly trying to fix themselves if there was a safe bottom.
Wolf and Diane rolled across the floor to hide behind one display case. At the moment, the remaining cyborgs resorted to shooting them. Wolf briefly looked over his shoulder, a laser projectile passing him by an inch close to his eye. He yelped, pulling himself back into safety. A large boom from his left. Looking over Diane's tall ears, he could see Shark hiding behind a tipped-over display case, shooting bundles of clothes at the enemies.
"So…" started Diane, her bright eyes laced with cheekiness. "How many guys did you put down?"
"I think it was 40," said Wolf.
"I got 45!"
"What? No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did! I could see my targets properly."
"I was the one who fired bullets the most!"
"You're bluffing."
"Didn't you see how many people fell off this platform?"
"Hey, guys!" called Piranha. "Get ready!"
Sure enough, Webs received a ringing 100% on her computer.
It went unnoticed, but she heard a sharp hiss and the holographic door was suddenly no longer beside her. Immediately, Snake slithered right in to retrieve the jar of Eden Apples. The tarantula looked back at her computer, ensuring the decryption process was complete.
A new tab appeared, showing her the controls of the holographic doors.
"It's…it's done," she said. "It's done!"
She couldn't help squealing a little. She was worried it might fail, but the additional override protocols worked. It felt so good!
As she bounced up and down, she could feel Shark picking her onto his shoulder. Turning around, they soon spotted Piranha already defeating the last remaining cyborgs, using the current bullets in his guns.
Fuchsia was nearby, hiding behind one of the display cases. Wolf and Diane regrouped with them, already bouncing on their heels. Snake was nearly left behind, checking the Eden Apples in the jar. The turquoise orbs he recognized, but it already felt like carrying a mint jar.
With only a few unconscious cyborgs around, the crew immediately marched to the bridge leading to their exit.
"Do you think that the remaining guards of this place will come?" asked Snake worriedly.
Out of nowhere, a flying detached arm punched him in the face before nabbing the jar of Eden Apples. Everyone whipped around to see the detached arm returning to its owner. Oscar was in the middle of the central platform, the jar of Eden Apples in his palm.
"Actually, I think the right question should be if you can all face me," he growled.
Each member of Shadow Squad G gulped. Needing to get the jar out of the Great White Shark's hands. Oscar might have played dumb, but he did kill several police cops at Centralway Mall, not to mention nearly killing Hornet. They could only wonder what tricks he would pull off with a dozen weapons in him.
Shark, sweating, felt stunted. Now, he didn't know what Oscar could do. "Where were you during the whole fight?"
"I reckon that the kids slapping you would end up in the timeout square," said Oscar bluntly. "Another scientific observation! And you can't have a battle without a final boss."
Right, thought Piranha. Because this guy thought he was so good at everything. Gently pushing away the concerned Fuchsia, the angry little fish sped off. Picking enough speed to launch himself and bounce around the display cases like a pinball. But Oscar was prepared.
When Piranha was close, he immediately grabbed and threw him upwards. Oscar made the time to toss the jar of Eden Apples away, watching it land onto another display case further from him without breaking, and whipped out his signature sword. He grinned, preparing to chop the falling Piranha into sushi slices.
But he was surprised when Shark stepped in to kick him away and the perched Webs fired fruits right into Oscar's eyes. Boy, he did NOT expect that.
The Great White Shark wasn't used to feeling rumps hitting his sensitive eyes, eliciting a sheepish yelp as he hopped away. The distraction allowed Shark to grab Piranha and Diane to have the opportunity to strike from behind. But Oscar was a fast responder.
Sensing the many opponents and the space given, Oscar quickly turned his hand into a missile launcher and twirled around to meet Diane. He immediately leaned back and fired, grinning when the rocket successfully exploded below the fox's feet. However, Diane could hold her ground by forming an X shape with her swords to block the explosion for a little.
As she was pushed back, Wolf leapt forward and attempted to fire a rain of bullets at Oscar. The Great White Shark wasn't affected by this nor the smoke explosions, swinging around to throw a punch at the canine. Wolf proved agile, leaning back before swiping an uppercut on Oscar's chin.
As soon as Oscar stumbled backwards, Diane returned to the fight. The older shark found himself corned by the wolf and the fox, resorting to blocking their attacks. He could see the synergy between the two. Curious, he mused.
The ninja fox was more on the offensive, often trying to scratch his face, her bloody swords clashing with Oscar's clean red sword.
Conversely, Wolf was a bit far away, trying to distract the Great White Shark with his bullets. And at certain times, when Oscar faced his back against him, Wolf attempted to deliver a kick from behind.
One kick led to Oscar being thrown forward and Diane attempted to slam her fists into his head from above. The Great White Shark had his face slammed against the ground, but only for a while. Pain was only temporary and it just made him excited. Gave him enough motivation to use one foot to spin around.
This was what tripped Diane and Oscar immediately got up onto one knee. Facing Wolf, he opened his mouth to spew out a stream of red fire.
Yapping in shock, Wolf fell backwards, clumsily landing on his bottom.
The Great White Shark immediately pointed his hand at him, changing it into a minigun weapon. But before he could fire, Webs continued her assault, pelting fruits in Oscar's eyes.
Eventually, he steered his irritation towards the tarantula and slammed his fist on the display case she was standing on. Webs immediately jumped, missing the blow before she fired another fruit from her catapult.
This time, it was an explosive one.
A burst of sweet purple and pink painted all over Oscar's face, its sour sting in his eyes provoked a roar and another stumble.
That was when Shark, from behind, attempted to shoot a bundle of clothes at his father. It did manage to wrap Oscar around in an extra-large sweater, spinning him uncontrollably. But the Great White Shark was quick on his feet, spreading them out to maintain balance. Once able to regain focus, Oscar twirled around and the sweater uncurled itself.
Free from the itchy material, he grabbed onto one sleeve and whipped the sweater. Right at Shark's blaster, wrapping itself around the barrel. The younger shark gasped, feeling his weapon yanked out from his hands.
But uninterested, Oscar simply swung the sweater like a lasso and slammed the blaster at the charging Wolf and Diane, knocking them away.
But when he reached Snake, the no-nonsense reptile just used his whip to grab the blaster and tossed it aside. Snake threw his whip out again and Oscar simply grabbed it, pulling him right closer. But this was a trick as Snake immediately leapt upwards to curl himself around Oscar's mouth. At this, Piranha rushed forward again and headbutted into Oscar's back.
It wasn't just the fall that could have subdue the Great White Shark, but it was Snake using his entire body to slam Oscar's head right into the floor. The reptile expected to hear a loud skull crack, but after feeling the body bounce on the floor, Oscar's eyes were still open and healthy.
Snake needed three seconds to respond and Oscar immediately cost those seconds by grabbing the reptile's throat firmly.
"To be honest," said Oscar bluntly. "I didn't expect you were the aggressive type."
And it was too quick for Snake to escape when he felt Oscar's other hand grabbing his tail. Letting go off the throat, the Great White Shark proceeded to spin him around on the floor. Gradually getting back on one knee, Oscar let go of Snake and watched him crash into Shark, the two of them falling down.
There was a click and Oscar could see Wolf and Piranha with their guns from the corners of his eyes. Diane walked slowly to him, unable to keep her hands from shivering as they grasped the swords firmly. A shocked Fuchsia watched on while Webs remained close to her.
Looking ahead, Oscar could see Snake slithering off his son.
"Man, you're so heavy…" groaned Shark.
"I'm the weight of my height, thank you very much," grumbled Snake.
Oscar could see the apprehension. The knowledge of his foes already on edge. The scowling yet hesitant looks on Wolf and Piranha. The backup adrenaline rained over him. Oscar giggled a little. It was a familiar feeling when in a fight with worthy opponents. And he wondered if such an intense fight might kill him.
In a way, he missed this.
He laughed loudly, letting his amusement echo through the room. His way of showing appreciation. He immediately felt embarrassed by how goofy he was, but it barely distracted his enemies. It was so loud that he wondered why they didn't see his way.
Taking a breather, Oscar straightened himself and his stand told the others of how much he enjoyed this fight.
"I got to admit," praised Oscar. "I've seen some excellent brawlers in my career, but you should use more of that potential often if you pack a punch under those suits and ties."
"Working on it," growled Piranha.
"Well, you Bad Guys are still working in the karate classroom," said Oscar, turning his back at the little fish.
Piranha huffed.
As Shark and Snake slowly approached, Oscar casually marched over to his son. Shark's first instinct was to try to step back, only to freeze up when his father brushed his collar.
"Hey!" yelled Wolf, clicking his gun warningly. "Hands off him!"
Oscar stepped back, offended. "Whose son is this? Whose father is this? It would be a miracle if you can get far putting a bullet in my head."
"At least give me a reason not to sink my teeth into your little…" snarled Wolf.
"We know what you did!" snapped Piranha. "You nearly hurt one of us! Centralway Mall, remember."
Oscar huffed. "I didn't see any of you there. Look, I know you're trying to go good, but at least man up your personalities if you want to be there with the police."
"And now you're working with this youth life group," said Shark quietly.
Oscar hummed, his hand forming into a gun. But it was more of a tobacco for him, the barrel lightly tapping against his lip. His thoughts on the Mecha Empire swirled into a tighter circle, recalling the wrathful Splaarghön and the mood-swinging Shaård. But for some strange reason, despite feeling unnerved by them lying to him, he liked those two better than the Bad Guys.
And better than his son.
At that thought, he immediately turned back to his son. Shark stood there worriedly, his wide eyes telling him he knew the worst in him. But he kept his straightened posture, not wanting to show a crack of the stranger he became. Oscar frowned at this reflection. Even on how…he thought of his own son.
"I know that," said Oscar, dropping the smile. "But why go out of the trouble to getting rid of something valuable? You know it's eventually pointless as they'll find another way. The only thing productive is your status quo. I wouldn't want to walk around with the ID name 'the Good Pushovers'."
It was a basic insult to serve as an annoyance. Snake, Diane and Shark narrowed their eyes, knowing that Oscar would see them as this. Fuchsia was neutral, but she winced a little since she didn't expect the Great White Shark to be casual in delivering this 'fact'. In a way, it made her feel guilty.
However, this wasn't the case for the others.
Piranha and Webs looked uncomfortable, stepping back. A reality check of their 'street cred'. The little fish briefly got worried about his new behavior, while the little tarantula remembered when she tried raising her voice at Oscar.
For Wolf, it was another way of telling him he was letting his guard down. The same way when he believed Marmalade's lies and the snarmy attitude he was awarded with. Nearly the same way when he tried to let others in. The same way when he tried letting a girl into his life and it ended up framing him for a 'crime' he didn't do.
A flash of seeing red meat in his locker over his eyes.
However, this time, he responded quickly before he could feel sorry.
He grabbed a fistful of Oscar's cape and the gun in the other hand right poked into the skull. Wolf's fur stood up, imitating rocky spikes violently shooting out from the ground with no care on whose watching.
"You say that one more time," he growled dangerously. "And I'll print a new ID on your-"
Oscar responded with an annoyed eye roll and an elbow hit in Wolf's stomach. The Great White Shark didn't break a sweat throwing Wolf around. The canine, disoriented by the surprise attack, rolled across the floor, coming close to a bridge leading to a supply room.
Diane took a step closer, but Oscar raised his minigun weapon, warning her not to take a step. The seething fox growled underneath her mask, impatient by the Great White Shark trying to take control.
"Wolfy, Wolfy, Wolfy," said Oscar monotonously, facing back Wolf. "Still the aging tryhard, huh? Pride has always been your weakness. And I'm not responsible causing a trainwreck in your common sense."
Wolf was recollecting his thoughts, pushing himself up with one hand. The soreness kept his mind alert on what was to come. But it was Oscar's following words that evoked the whispers again.
These whispers told him Oscar was right. That he glossed over the trainwreck he caused before. And how that led to Stanley refusing to tell Wolf whatever mess he got into…
A growl went through the gaps of his sharp, gritted teeth.
Shark tried stepping forward, pulling Oscar close to him by the shoulder.
"Dad, please…" he started.
Oscar's next response was to throw a grenade point blank, which exploded at the other Bad Guys' feet. He didn't bother seeing if they were alive, only hearing the thuds and the groans when they hit the ground.
Shark was the only one still standing, but he was no exception. Oscar just kicked him in the stomach and he crashed softly into a nearby display case.
Shark didn't topple over, but his back was hurt from the impact.
At least he was far away…
"Big talk, huh?" grumbled Oscar.
"D-Dad," stuttered Shark, his eyes watery. "I'm begging you. Don't…"
"Son," growled Oscar. "I didn't ask you. But clearly, you're living a pipe dream like the rest of your friends."
Once again, his disdain flared up again and he chose to look past everything Shaård told him. His advice didn't resonate with how Oscar felt right now. Seeing the Bad Guys' degrading potential in confrontation swayed Oscar enough to reconsider them as unworthy.
Or maybe it angered him that they weren't choosing the beneficial way of joining the Mecha Underlords.
But based on what he felt, the Bad Guys were playing too safe and he hated it. They would just make his son weak.
Oscar turned back to Wolf, slowly approaching him with light footsteps. His footsteps weren't that loud, but the sound reverberated from his boots filled a sturdy and conformed rhythm to his unapologetic belief. A dissonantly calm march to the leader who influenced his son in the first place.
"And for those who do are burdened!" the Great White Shark spat. "Perhaps I should let the next responsibility crush you to just bones."
Wolf lifted his head, his yellow eyes glassy. Oscar noticed something different about the canine. His eyes before were egotistic, careful, always using the charm. Now? They bore hatred.
"Then bring it," snarled Wolf, getting up on one knee.
Oscar snorted, lifting his minigun weapon to aim.
Shark immediately hopped up, his hand going for his dagger.
BOOM!
All parties were close to firing on their own weapons when the dust of a large explosion blinded their vision. The air became thick in ash, stirring the urge to choke. With Oscar and Wolf being the closest to whatever exploded near them, they slowly looked up to face the storage room…and their confidence faded away.
And fading in was Shaård's maniacal laughter.
"AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The silhouette of his body on top of a tank in the dust. "I BRUNG IT! BWAH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Despite the uncertainty of what Shaård exactly bring, Wolf had the nerve to question this.
"Is 'brung' really a word?!" he squeaked, slowly trying to crawl away.
Shaård replied immediately, an edge to his chipper high-key pitch. "Who needs grammar when you have CHAINSAW HANDS?!"
On instinct, Wolf leapt away before he could be squashed by an incoming massive object. On the other hand, Oscar simply stepped aside without changing his expression.
Out of the dust revealed a menacing tank of a fortress. In full light, it caught the reflection of its gray shell. The chainsaw arms were swinging erratically to match Shaård's lunacy.
And on top of it, commandeering the open cockpit, was the laughing Shaård himself with two open hands in the air in the classic villainous laughter pose.
His smile was much wider, exposing his sharp canines. His purple eye had a sharper glow and an unnatural glitch over his yellow pupil.
The tank was slow-moving but quick enough to drive over the bridge it was balancing on. It just ripped through the bridge roof and barely stopped when rolling down the nearby display cases once it got onto the central platform.
As Shadow Squad G slowly backed away from the tank, they realized the unconscious cyborgs left on the platform were waking up. Once they saw Shaård…they screamed and ran away. The tough-as-nails cyborgs were replaced by frightened children scrambling to exit.
"Now that's hardcore!" complimented Fuchsia with a wide grin.
"Time to go!" demanded Snake, dragging the red-eyed piranha away.
Shaård's laughing developed into a sinister chuckle in the manner of mice chittering, his foot slamming against a button on the control panel. In response, the chainsaw arms immediately spun around, forcing everyone to duck. The display cases in proximity were unlucky, cut clean.
Wolf, still on the floor, stared at the spiky chainsaw arms. They looked like the big needles often seen at the hospital.
Much like Fuchsia, Piranha broke into a stupid grin. He would rather take the chainsaw hands than Oscar.
Shark wanted to be scared by this, but he noticed how insane Shaård appeared in his spotlight.
Webs was mostly staring at the male cyborg, confused by how he suddenly went psycho like this. This wasn't the level-headed leader she had seen ten minutes before.
Even Diane was baffled by Shaård's behavior. "Seriously?! This is the way to go?!"
"Child, this is eight levels of hypocrisy above me!" scolded Oscar from the side.
He received a chainsaw arm that nearly stabbed him in the head. The Great White Shark immediately covered his mouth, slowly backing away.
Shaård was already driving the tank close to him, blindly chopping everything in his path.
"SILENCE, YOU RAVENOUS RABBLE!" he shouted gleefully. "Everything in this world belongs to me!"
Meanwhile, clinging to the back of the tank, Splaarghön repeatedly stabbed the wall.
Multiple holes were already created with wires sticking out, but despite the electricity sparks around her, it didn't do much to stop the tank. She looked behind her to see a good portion of the display cases turned into paste.
"Shaård, I swear to God!" she hissed. "Do NOT make me go full kaiju on you!"
"You puny ants are no worth against the GIANT GARDENING SHEARS!" carried on Shaård, oblivious to that threat.
Despite Splaarghön's more merciful threat, the cackling Shaård was out of his mind as he chased after the deadpanned Oscar. The Great White Shark ran but barely screamed.
The tank wasn't that quick but fast enough to reach from one end of the central platform to the other. Its chainsaw arms chopped the empty air and some potential heads that came in their way. Not helping that he began firing bombs out from the tank's main gun.
With Oscar trying to move away, Shadow Squad G slowly approached the bridge leading to the main entrance…
And then, Snake realized they had forgotten something.
"The Eden Apples!" he screamed.
For some reason, the reptile grabbed Wolf by the wrist and pulled him forward. Eventually, Shark and Piranha came along as well. Realizing what to do, Wolf, Shark and Piranha spread out, trying to use their weapons to shoot right at Shaård. This caught the male cyborg's attention, hissing in delight as he slammed another button with his foot.
Some of the chainsaw arms extended close to Wolf, Piranha and Shark. The three Bad Guys had to duck, trying not to lose their heads. But it wasn't just those three Shaård focused on.
As Snake tried to slither away, getting close to the jar of Eden Apples, he went unnoticed and the main gun targeted him. The reptile yelped, jumping upwards on the rumble of a nearby explosion an inch near his tail. He reflexively held onto his hat, dodging the fired bombs.
"Where are you going~?!" shrieked Shaård, looking like he hadn't slept for ages. "I haven't even started making you part of my HORNED TAIL COLLECTION!"
"If you want to, stop chasing me!" yelled Snake. He let out an undignified girly scream when one chainsaw arm slammed into the ground in front of him.
"You little, sweet serpent, you're the one making things harder," cooed Shaård.
A bullet hit his helmet, but it was only a smidge.
And he immediately responded by snapping his neck to the sharp-eyed Wolf. "Oh, come here, puppy! I have a nice little BONE FOR YA!"
The stone-cold Wolf shot a few more times at the tank, just enough to convince Shaård to chase him. He immediately tried running, seeing the numerous chainsaw arms trying to hit him. He stopped and ducked before standing right back up to try shooting again.
One bullet was directly at Shaård's face, but he casually deflected it with his arm.
"Your puny little bullets are no match for my chainsaws!" bragged Shaård, slamming his foot against another button on the control panel. "CAUSE THEY ALL BELONG TO UNDERLORD SHAÅRD!"
Two sets of explosions around Wolf and Shaård threw his head back with a demented look.
"AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The canine had to take a few steps back, watching the psychotic Shaård laugh his head off. His raspy high-pitched laughter echoed throughout the entire chamber, showcasing his true danger to technically EVERYONE. His unashamed insanity shook these walls.
This guy was beyond crazy, thought Wolf.
Against all odds, he, Shark and Piranha resumed trying to shoot down the mad Shaård. From a safe distance, Oscar could only watch on. To the Great White Shark, it was really overblown that the male cyborg went from calm to extremely excited. He should feel entertained, but it was shockingly uncanny to see Shaård's savage side.
Either way, Oscar was going to have a chuckle about this later on.
But not when he saw Shark attempting to fire Shaård from behind and a chainsaw arm flew straight at him.
"Lou!" Oscar cried.
Before Shark could react, his face was nearly met with the sharp cutters of a chainsaw arm. He would have relied on his thin shield for survival, but his father immediately tackled him. Lying on the ground, the two kept their heads down to avoid the swinging chainsaw arms.
Shaård no longer had his attention on them, now focusing on Piranha, who took the distraction.
Shark blinked a couple of times before immediately breaking himself out of his father's grip.
"You see this kind of guy?" said Oscar, still lying on his chest. "He's a bad example….he couldn't spring for a dispenser to collect the Eden Apples."
Shark sighed, shaking his head. "Dad…"
On the other side of the platform, Snake managed to retrieve the jar of Eden Apples. Piranha rushed in, standing in front of the reptile as he loaded more bullets into his guns. Wolf already took his turn to be the distraction, but it wasn't enough as Shaård drove the tank right towards Piranha and Snake.
The little fish growled, firing a couple of bullets. But he was unsuccessful. The bullets that did hit Shaård barely fazed him, not even when he got a smoke of pink in the face. The male cyborg just continued to laugh his head off, even inhaling the smoke!
As soon as the main gun started firing again, Piranha slowly backed away with the shell-shocked Snake following his movements. The little fish gritted his teeth, his eyes blazed in determination. The reptile was wildly looking around for an angle for a quick escape. There wasn't an easy way out of this.
And seeing Shaård like THIS reminded them greatly of how Splaarghön presented herself to the two of them earlier. It told them a lot about what this empire was about.
The thought of it got Piranha growling like a dog.
"STOP COPYING ME, YOU PEOPLE!" he roared.
"Piranha, flank left!" hissed Snake.
The two Bad Guys immediately split off, with Snake trying to run on the right. Unfortunately, Shaård still carried enough sense to notice the Eden Apples. He immediately steered the tank around and fired the main gun several times. This time, Snake wasn't lucky enough as bombs crashed around him.
The reptile screamed as he was flung upwards by the impact. The jar of Eden Apples also flew away, its content crashing against the platform. Snake could land but gasped when he saw the Eden Apples hitting the ground.
On impact, electricity sparked from the orbs as they bounced around. A provocation of eruption that dared to burst through its glass shells. Snake remembered the last time that happened and broke into a cold sweat at the thought of the entire platform collapsing…
He nearly thought of going forward. The Eden Apples were just right in front of him. But he saw a chainsaw arm swinging close to his nose and Shaård's tank driving towards him.
The male cyborg was still laughing, chained to his wild fantasy.
That was until the tired Splaarghön leapt right into the cockpit. She gave a good slap over Shaård's face before shaking him by the shoulders.
"UNDERLORD SHAÅRD!" she roared, her face red in frustration. "FOR THE LOVE OF…" She paused, clearly unable to form sensible words. "GRR! DO YOU WANT ME TO EXPLODE THIS-?!"
The distraction unintentionally led the tank aimlessly crushing over the first set of Eden Apples. On first looks, it looked more like stepping over tiny rocks.
Except that they weren't.
This created a chain reaction with nearby Eden Apples and Snake immediately held his tail over his eyes.
He went flying from the bright explosion, evaporating the tank.
To Snake's luck, he landed in the arms of Wolf. The canine sighed in relief while the reptile wrapped himself around Wolf's body. Snake closed one eye to not be blinded by the explosions in loud, awful rhythem. A fiery ball of bright turquoise and white stole the show on the central platform, sending the tank flying upwards.
Judging by the burnt bottom and dented chainsaw arms, it seemed that the tank absorbed most of the impact. Those remaining standing watched the tank inevitably falling into the pit, followed by the dumbfounded Shaård and the pouting Splaarghön. None of them were quick enough to see their fate, but they heard another explosion that shook the central platform.
And then, it was all silence.
The sound of the spinning turbine blades came to a stop.
Oscar, the nearest to the fence of the platform, looked down the pit. The turbine blades, or what was left of them, were coming to a slow halt. Several blades were chopped off, with the remaining covered in soot. There was no sign of the wrecked tank, but it could be seen burning at the very bottom.
Everyone was surprised that the platform was still standing. Most of the display cases were caught in the crossfire, turned into ash or useless stumps. The rest of the platform was burnt in black.
But there was no sign of any other Eden Apples.
In a mix of emotions, Snake found the courage to slither off Wolf, looking around the empty space in disbelief.
It happened…again.
He could see Diane and Webs coming close, sharing the same surprise.
He spotted Piranha and Shark slowly standing up on their feet. The former was coughing, thinking he had inhaled some of the smoke. The latter was covered in some soot, brushing them off his jacket.
Snake sighed in relief, glad that his friends were alright.
When he turned back to Shark, he found Oscar trying to brush his collar. Shark immediately jumped back.
As they stared at each other, both sharks were speechless, unable to bring up anything good to a conversation. Oscar thought of saying something, but he remembered his son flinching when he tried cleaning his jacket. Shark barely blinked, his hopeless eyes telling him he was seeing a stranger again. The exhaustion left from their battle influenced them to feel that there was nothing worth talking about.
Oscar looked over Shark's shoulder to see the Bad Guys approaching. An agitated growl from Oscar's lips out of protectiveness. His conscience kicked him in the head. He did have intentions to kill the Bad Guys, especially Wolf. That explained his son's current hesitance.
The Great White Shark suddenly felt sick.
On Shark's side, his eyes directed at his feet in shame. If he should listen to his father, the whole mess could have been prevented. Maybe stopping the Mecha Underlords from the inside out. He was still weighed down from fear. He knew he couldn't amount to Oscar's wants alongside Splaarghön's, but he couldn't just let his friends down.
A voice hissed in Oscar's head. The Great White Shark took a step back. The regret was becoming stronger. Knowing there was no point in trying to convince the Bad Guys one last time to man up for once, Oscar gave his son one last longing look before jumping off the balcony with a graceful somersault.
Immediately, Shark felt guilty for not saying anything. As the others arrived, Webs and Piranha were the closest to him. The tarantula immediately hopped onto Shark's shoulder, rubbing him on the shoulder to comfort him. A despondent Piranha looked down, his hope of not running into any conflicts shattered.
Wolf and Snake looked over the platform's fence, watching the falling Oscar disappear into the darkness below.
It turned out not to be fully dark at the bottom.
When Oscar landed, standing up, he saw the glowing neon lights from the dispatched cyborgs. It was a total wasteland here. Several mechanical parts rested around, resembling a junkyard. Many detached arms, legs and bodies of the cyborgs were scattered, but they were still moving.
It wasn't just the blades that injured them, but the glass shards that covered their faces like pimples.
Half of them were groaning away, conscious to feel the pain they suffered. The rest of them were actively trying to put themselves back together, having a scavenger hunt to retrieve their parts. They didn't seem mentally hurt, only complaining to themselves like grumpy teenagers.
Oscar looked to the side to find the burnt tank. Most of its chainsaw arms were chopped off. The main gun was crumpled, looking like a dead elephant's trunk. And resting his head against the tank's wall was a legless Shaård with the lower half of his body seemingly cut clean.
The Great White Shark immediately spotted familiar purple boots sticking out from the trash pile.
"I knew you were a dangerous knight," he commented dryly. "But you surprised me right there."
Shaård's response was a deep growl of a lion, whipping his head around with pupils formed in silts.
One hand clawed the metallic shell, leaving claw scratches on it.
Oscar simply raised an eyebrow. The male cyborg was no longer human.
However, Shaård regained his sanity and his pupils returned to the normal circular look. His shoulders sagging in guilt.
"S-Sorry!" he choked, his voice still raspy. "I-I didn't mean, I was…" Signs of his previous self growled in his voice as the worrisome Shaård pulled on his helmet. "There was this bright flash and now I woke up in…this…erm thingy spacey…t-there was a sharp blade…a…a BIG blade in front of me!"
Oscar sighed in relief. He might be insane, but at least he wouldn't need to worry about Shaård becoming feral.
He simply grabbed Shaård's lower half and reattached it back into the stump. The healing ability kicked in and Shaård felt wires stabbing each other inside to reattach themselves. He sighed as he collapsed into a messy sitting position, glad to feel normal.
"Just take it easy, kiddo," muttered the Great White Shark.
Splaarghön popped out from one trash pile. She looked no worse for wear but was holding onto her detached right arm. She chuckled a little, grinning over how stupid the entire mission was tonight. But when she looked up, she saw Oscar's face darkening.
"You seem quite upset, Oscar," she said dumbly.
The Great White Shark grunted, his eye twitching. She better give him a good excuse for not alerting him about his son.
AN: This is another favorite of mine and I really like the inspiration from the Lackadaisy pilot. Namely, Shaård losing his utter shit and steamrolling everything in his path while Splaarghön was left scrambling in her attempt to stop him. Yeah, I had Shaård's potential VA to be Michael Kovach for THIS reason: that man can enact a really good laugh! It matches the antagonists as well since they are all crazy.
Continuing with taking inspiration from Nimona, you can see that Snake nearly physically hurt Splaarghön, but at the last second, only drew her back in to spell out the message in a tired tone. Keep in mind that Snake hasn't recovered from the discovery and trying to make sense of the situation. And Splaarghön's reaction shows her thoughts towards failing to help someone she just befriended, let alone letting one down.
Oscar's conversation with the Bad Guys is something that I really need. However, I wish that Hornet would be part of this as well, so that he could speak directly to all of them. For now, this really shows how Oscar takes them for granted, even setting the contrast explicit. And once again, despite holding disdain, Oscar had to walk away again but without tying loose knots.
Thanks for reading this chapter! What do you think of the first grand fight between the heroes and villains? And what do you think of Shaård losing his mind? Let me know in your reviews. 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!
