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Unwanted Wearing red armor decorated with dragon carvings, the Dark Fiend of the Inferno threw fireballs at the unadorned Dark Fiend of Doom. It was surprising how quickly the Doom Fiend could move. Before Vince's fireball flew even got close, the Doom Fiend had cleanly dodged it, leaving a blur of reality behind him. "If fireballs won't work, let's try a shockwave," Vince thought. Vince knelt and called forth a fire aura, burning bright orange-red. Then, stretching out, he gave a warcry and the flames expanded in a spherical shell. However, just before the flames reached the Doom Fiend, he disappeared. "What the--" Vince began, startled. "Where are you?" "In a pocket of reality," came the reply, "folded away from your existence." Vince was suddenly pulled off the ground. All around him, there was an enormous blur. Not only did this invisible hand hold him up, it also crushed him, bringing Vince a tremendous amount of pain. "However, the ether is still connected," said the Doom Fiend, who reappeared in front of Vince. "Any last words?" "You... goddamn..." Vince swore at him. Before he could say any more, the Doom Fiend waved his hand. Reality twisted itself into a long, sharp point and flew straight at Vince. It tore through his chest plate and through his torso. Vince screamed as a huge portion of his blood was spilled, and he fell to the ground, groaning in pain. "What a pity," the Doom Fiend said. "Nowhere near as strong as I am." A ball of Holy energy nearly hit the Doom Fiend from the side, but at the last second, he raised his arm, and the Holy Shot curved its path and hit the ground. "More attackers?" the Doom Fiend asked. Down the street, several Paladins, Mystics, and Priests had gathered. There were at least twenty of them. One of them shouted "Charge!" and the entire group ran toward the Dark Fiend of Doom. Vince slowly dragged himself to the nearest manhole cover. The Doom Fiend passed through the group of Alliatus warriors. Right away, almost half of the warriors fell to the ground, their bodies broken and bleeding profusely. Vince was almost at the manhole cover... The Doom Fiend made another pass, and another handful burst open, spilling gallons of blood and buckets of entrails. Just a few more feet... All that was left of the Alliatus brigade were two Priests and a Priestess. All three of them had just cast Scales of Justice, and now, three bright, white beams sped straight toward the Doom Fiend. However, right in front of the Doom Fiend, the three beams bent away and missed him altogether. He made one hand motion. One of the Priests' head twisted off. He made a second hand motion. The other Priest was torn in half down the middle, separating his left side and his right. He made one final hand motion. The Priestess was snapped in half at her waist. Vince placed a hand on the manhole cover, melting it. Then, he dropped himself into the slimy waters below, and let the sewage current carry him away. Once again, he was escaping through the sewers. Vince didn't remember anything. After falling into the sewers, he must have passed out, but how did he get here? He was still in the cold, damp tunnels of Trioustan's underground sewage system, but there was no river of dirty water running through here. He couldn't have floated to this place. Vince soon noticed a dog licking at him, only it wasn't a dog. It seemed more like a giant, mutated rat. Remembering another mutated horror he had met in the sewers, Vince quickly raised his arms in defense, but as soon as he did, they ached painfully. The rat gave off a prolonged squeak. "What is it, Fido?" came a sickly voice. A man entered into the area. "Oh, he's awake." The man had greenish-blue skin that hung loose from his body, as if it were too large for him. "We found you floating in the waste river. You were injured pretty badly, so we treated your wounds and set you here in a dry spot." Vince looked at his chest. It covered with a green substance, apparently medicine. He also noticed that he was no longer in his Dark Fiend body. Apparently, when he fell into the sewers, he had reverted to his human form. "Is he awake?" came a feminine voice. A woman with blue skin and webbed hands and feet just walked in. "What are you people?" Vince asked. "How many of you are there?" "We're mutants," the strange man replied. "At the beginning of the war, we sought refuge in the sewers. Some time later, there was a chemical spill at a government research facility, and after prolonged exposure, this was what happened." "We're not the only ones," the mutant woman replied. "In these sewers, there's a whole society of us, as well as mutated animals, like Fido." She pointed at the mutant rat. Despite his aching legs, Vince managed to climb to his feet. "You need more rest," the mutant man urged. "No, I have to find someone," Vince said. "Do you know Carl and Megan Zeng?" "Yes, the Zengs," the man replied. "Just go down that tunnel over there. Take the sixth tunnel to your left. Then, take the third ladder you find. It should bring you right in front of the house where the Zengs live." Vince nodded, then followed the tunnel the mutant had shown him. His whole body ached, but he had to go. As soon as Vince walked into the tunnel, he saw that the mutant woman was right. There was an entire community of them, filling up the tunnel, crowding it much like people filled a street in a major city. Vince also suspected there were more mutants in other tunnels. Some of them were simply discolored, but others were badly disfigured. Still others had bizarre mutations, such as extra limbs. Vince tried not to look at them as he walked down the tunnels. He didn't want to cause any trouble. Vince easily found the ladder. When he climbed onto a street, he saw only one building. Vince hadn't wondered why the man didn't specifically tell him which house, but there would obviously be no confusion. He walked up to the door and rang the bell. While he waited, he heard footsteps within, then quiet voices, but they were muffled by the door, so he couldn't tell who was talking nor what they were saying. Suddenly, the door opened, and Vince's father stood in the doorway, pointing a pistol at him. "Leave this place," his dad shouted. "You're not welcome here." "Dad, it's me," Vince said. "Vince, your son--" "I know perfectly well who you are, Dark Fiend," his father replied. "You've caused us enough trouble already. Now, go." Vince could see Stephanie's mother and father in the hallway behind his own father. Were they here visiting, or did they share a home now? "Dad!" Vince pleaded. "Carl, let me handle him," came a woman's voice. "Megan, he's dangerous," Vince's father turned his head and replied. "Not to his own mother," the woman responded. Smiling, Vince's mother squeezed threw the doorway, took Vince's hand, and walked them a ways down the street. "Please forgive your father," his mother said, "and Stephanie's parents, too. They blame you for bringing the war to Trioustan, since you're a Dark Fiend, and for taking all our children away." Vince spoke up, "Mom, it's not--" "I know it's not your fault," his mother continued, "but some people can be very unreasonable. For some reason, they also think you're in league with the Dark Fiend who's been killing people in the park." "I'm not!" Vince shouted. "I know you're not, son," his mother said. "You're not someone who would kill." These last words reminded Vince again of Tina, falling to her death. "Where are the others?" his mother asked. "Well, Stephanie and Alice are with Robert in Sacrinia," Vince said. "What about Tina?" his mother asked. "Oh, um, she's with Stephanie," Vince said, which was only half true. Vince's mother was scribbling a note on a piece of paper that she had taken from her purse. Then, she signed the paper and handed it to Vince. "Here, Vince," she said. "Take this to the New Trioustan Headquarters, and they'll give you the medical attention you need." "How did you know?" Vince asked. "I could tell by the holes in your shirt and the green goo leaking out," she replied. "I can also tell by the stiff way you were walking down the street with me. You were just in a fight, and now, you're severely injured. Run along, now, Vince. They'll take care of you. I have to go back and deal with your father now." Vince, still surprised at how well his mother knew him, nodded and walked down the street. After reaching an intersection, he realized his mother hadn't given him directions. He looked at the note his mother had handed him. Then, turning it around, he saw directions to the New Trioustan Headquarters. Smiling at his mother's incredible planning skills, he read them and followed them. He found the building pretty easily, although by the time he arrived, he was extremely tired, and his body was aching tremendously. He stumbled through the glass automatic doors and handed the letter to a clerk. Then, he collapsed and blacked out. Vince woke up. He lay on a white bed in room whose walls were painted white. All around him were metal instruments of various sizes. "Where am I?" he groaned, but there was no one there to hear him. In a few moments, a man opened the door and came inside. He was balding and wore a white jacket with red cross engraved on it. "Ah, you're awake," he said. "Where am I?" Vince groaned a second time. "You're in the New Trioustan Headquarters," he answered, "hospital wing. You were lucky to have made it into the building before collapsing. Just a few hours ago, your condition was critical, but now, you're going to recover. It's a good thing you had that note with you. I doubt anyone would have cared for you if you didn't." "What did that note say?" Vince asked, curious. "It basically described who you were and your condition and asked us to treat you," the doctor replied. "You're mother is a very influential person here in Trioustan." "Really?" Vince asked, surprised. "Yes," the doctor continued. "After the war left the city, she single-handedly organized reconstruction and assembled a volunteer militia to defend our city if there was ever trouble again. Most citizens of Trioustan respect her highly." Vince had a disturbing headache that made it difficult to process any more of this conversation. "You look tired and stressed," the doctor said. "I think you should get some rest. Ring the buzzer if you need anything. Someone will come." The doctor walked out the door and left Vince to himself. Within moments, Vince fell into a deep sleep. Vince could only remember one other time in his life that he was this badly injured, and that was after the fight against the spined alligator in the sewers the last time he was in Trioustan. Only, last time, he still had a weaker Dark Fiend body, and he was able to defeat the alligator. This time, he had new Dark Fiend body, but was critically wounded in a single blow by someone who had a weaker Dark Fiend body. Why was the Dark Fiend of Doom so powerful? He thought back and remembered the library. That book had told him about all seven fiends, and one of them--the author called him the Ether Fiend, also known as the Chaos Fiend or the Ultimate Fiend. Ultimate Fiend... that meant... how could Vince hope to beat him? It was almost a week later before Vince became fully aware again. During the last week, he had been awake for a few minutes at a time, but now, his head could think clearly. Shortly afterwards, he became aware of a couple of doctors talking outside. "Vincent Zeng has almost made a full recovery," a doctor said. "A few more days and he'll be able to walk out of here." "Yes, but I'm worried about Ragnarok," the second doctor said. "You know how there's been a Dark Fiend going around killing people here? Well, Motarius himself came to Trioustan to try to hunt down this Dark Fiend." "Well, it can't be Vince," the first doctor replied. "He's been in the hospital the whole time." "Still, if Ragnarok finds him..." the second doctor didn't finish the sentence. "Um, hello? I'm looking for Vincent Zeng," said a girl's voice. "Stephanie!" Vince shouted. There was the sound of a hustle outside, and Stephanie, Alice, and Robert came running through the door. "Vince!" Stephanie shouted, rushing to his side. "Your mom sent a guy to Sacrinia to look for us, and she told us you were here." "Yeah, but we had to borrow an armored jeep to get here," Robert said, looking slightly upset. "Hey, Vince, where's my car?" "Destroyed," Vince answered simply. A look of horror appeared on Robert's face. He uttered a single four-letter word. "So, why did you come back?" Alice asked. "Yeah, why did you leave us behind?" Stephanie asked. "There's a Dark Fiend here," Vince responded. "I saw it on the news in Sacrinia. He's been going around killing people. It's a new one, not someone I've seen before." "And it was he who gave you all these injuries?" Steph asked. "Still, that doesn't explain why you would leave us behind--" "Wait!" Vince said, silencing them. He felt something. Very near to them, there was a threat, no, an imminent danger. "You've been followed!" he shouted. The door burst open again, and in came three people. The first was a male Mystic, who wore heavy silver armor and kept a heavy sword at his side. The second was a female Mystic, who carried several small knives in her belt. The third person, as Vince had expected, was Thalloric Motarius. Stephanie pulled a gun from her purse and pointed it firmly at the Mystics. "Don't you come another step closer!" she shouted. "Now, now, dear Stephanie," Motarius said. "You don't want to fire that thing in here. You might cause an accident and injure one of the patients here. You wouldn't want that, would you?" "You're not taking Vince!" Stephanie shrieked. "Please, don't cause any trouble here," a doctor pleaded. "This is a hospital." "Stephanie," Vince said. "Let them take me. I'll be okay. Trust me." Reluctantly, Stephanie put down her gun. "That's a good girl," Motarius said as the male Mystic lifted Vince up and the female Mystic strapped handcuffs on his wrists. The three Mystics led Vince to an open elevator. Vince didn't look back, but he was sure his three friends were following him at a distance. After he got on the elevator with the Mystics, he was sure Stephanie and the others were waiting for the next elevator. After reaching the ground floor, the Mystics led Vince through the glass sliding door and into the courtyard in front of the New Trioustan Headquarters. Professor Mandragon was already waiting outside for them, wearing a machine on his back attached to a cannon he held in his hands. A large truck was parked behind him. "All right, we're outside now," Vince said. "We don't have to worry about the hospital patients anymore." "What do you mean?" Motarius asked, although he already knew the answer. The handcuffs suddenly melted and broke from Vince's hands. Magma formed from the air, covering Vince's body as his skin became black hide and his hair became long and red. The magma hardened, forming his dragon-carved armor. "I'll fight," said the Dark Fiend of the Inferno. |