Desutoroia had
been leaving messages on Jennifer's answering machine all day, trying to
contact her. He was back home and called to her but she was not there.
He started to get a little worried about her as he hung up his coat and
found a videotape on his living room floor with her name written on it.
Curiosity drove him to put it in the VCR to see what it might be. The background
was black and there were words on the screen.
If
you ever want to see Jennifer alive again, come down to the old alleyway
by the docks!
-Signed,
Comedy and Tragedy
Desutoroia nearly
had a heart attack, grabbed his coat and ran out. He stormed down the street
towards the dock area. Khandejifer, who had been lurking outside, decided
to follow him.
Meanwhile Rez0007
and Space Varen had donned masks; Rez had a sorrowful sad one and Space
Varen a happy face. They dragged Jennifer into one of the abandoned buildings
and tied her to a chair. Rez joked about kicking her down the stairs while
being tied up and how much fun it would be to see Desutoroia's face when
he saw it happening. He went outside while Varen placed her next to the
window but soon shouted up to him.
"I've got a better
idea! Bring her down here!" Soon, they had everything set up. Jennifer
was strapped to a chair, sitting on the dock. When Desutoroia arrived in
the alleyway, he could see her at the far end.
"Jennifer!" he
whispered. Rez0007 appeared beside him, aiming a gun at his temple.
"Uhh uhh uhhh.
Not so fast!" he demanded. Fog started rolling in. The area was dark and
scary looking and none of them saw Khandejifer behind them in the shadows,
spying on Desutoroia.
"We're going to
play a game!" Rez said, holding the gun to Desutoroia's head. Even with
the mask, Desutoroia recognized the voice. "A fun game too!" He shoved
Desutoroia to the ground. When he got up, he was being shot at by Rez who
was missing on purpose before vanishing into the fog. Space Varen appeared
out of nowhere and they began playing their games!
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"
Rez laughed like a lunatic. He was shooting at Desutoroia with the intent
on missing to teach him a lesson. Varen was also coming out of nowhere
and attacking from behind. The duo had their worst enemy on the run for
his life and were enjoying it! Now all they had to do was make him cry
and it would be over, but this was too much fun! They had chased Desutoroia
all over the alleys by the docks and even lured him away from Jennifer.
It had gotten to the point where he was running through the abandoned buildings
and jumping from window to window. But it didn't matter because their booby
traps were set up all over so if they couldn't get him, the traps would.
Desutoroia was going to barely make it out alive, he figured. He wasn't
tough enough to fight back and was just lucky that he had enough athletic
skill to flee without being really hurt. And that's when he was jumped
by Space Varen and had no chance but to fight back. He discovered he was
stronger than he gave himself credit for and knocked Space Varen unconscious
with his fist. Rez came to help and this gave Desutoroia the advantage
to make his way back to Jennifer.
"It's all right,
baby! It's all right," he said. He was going to save her, no matter what,
and within an instant, she was freed. Rez and Space Varen stepped forward
and pulled off their masks. Desutoroia was shocked. His suspicions about
Rez0007 were right, but Space Freak? Good old Space Freak? Now the past
was truly back to haunt him. "What madness is this?" Desutoroia demanded.
Rez aimed at Desutoroia with his gun and Space Varen charged with a crow
bar!
"Hahahahahahahhaha!
No, at least we weren't planning on killing you, Des! Just teach you some
morals! But now, I think this place will make a perfect burial ground for
you and your bimbo!" Desutoroia pushed Jennifer out of the way and dodged
the bullet. He then kicked the charging Space Varen, helped Jennifer onto
her feet and started running.
"Run all you want,
coward! You cannot hide from me!" Rez screamed in hatred. Desutoroia led
Jennifer into one of the old buildings in the area, his plan to hide it
out until Rez and Space Varen assumed they had escaped. But they weren't
like that and going to search, even if it was a thousand times until they
found someone. They had waited so long to get back at Desutoroia over this
nonsense, it was now or never. Desutoroia and Jennifer had been hiding
behind some boxes by a couple of propane tanks when Desutoroia spotted
someone peeking in at him through the window. He watched as the shadow
hid in the corner of the room opposite but it was too dark to see anything.
After a while, Desutoroia started to think he only imagined seeing someone's
shadow but soon came the loud sounds of Space Varen and Rez0007, shouting
and cursing outside as they smashed the door down.
"Desutoroia? Come
out, come out wherever you are!" Rez shouted as he started to fire his
gun. Space Varen started to feel nervous when he saw the propane tanks.
Rez just reloaded and fired some more but even that got tiresome and he
decided to spice things up a bit. After spotting the propane tanks, he
took out a match and lit it!
"Will you come
out now, Desutoroia?" Rez called. Desutoroia stood up, knowing he could
risk it, and at that moment, he could feel his life slowly slipping away.
He was stunned, sick, afraid, shocked, surprised, nervous and sweating
like a rain storm. Rez and Space Varen couldn't see what was behind them
but Desutoroia was staring into the eyes of the Comedy and Tragedy Killer...
The way the killer moved, Desutoroia felt like he was in a trance... Time
seemed to slow before his very eyes. He fell back and he and Jennifer kicked
out one of the boards in the floor and crawled through. An angered Rez
began to fire his gun again but was grabbed from behind by the Comedy and
Tragedy Killer, the match fell to the ground and the gun fired one last
bullet that hit the propane tank. Outside, Desutoroia and Jennifer had
escaped and watched the place go up in flames. Out back, the killer was
running down one of the alleys. Khandejifer followed but lost sight of
him when he found the killer's costume laying on the ground by a garbage
can. He turned at the sound of footsteps and thought he saw someone he
knew but no one was there. Khandejifer then fled the area.
Moments later,
firemen, medics and Mods arrived at the docks. Rez0007 and Space Varen's
bodies were taken out on stretchers shortly after the fire trucks had arrived.
Rez' chest and stomach were bleeding badly. When the medics removed his
shirt, they found a message from the Comedy and Tragedy Killer carved into
his body:
Can
the Mods stop me before another person dies?
Desutoroia got
a glance at it and was sickened, as were the Mods and Medics. He looked
over at Space Varen who was temporarily blinded by the accident and being
hauled away in another ambulance.
"Jesus Christ,
I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I never meant to drag it this far! You gotta believe
me, Mods... mercy... please!" If Space Varen could walk he'd be on his
knees. "Desu, Jenny, forgive me... I was... whacked... I didn't know what
I was doing... I was out of it... Oh God, hear me, hear me please! Forgive
me!!! If I could, things would be different I swear, God, I swear... Can't
you hear me?!" Those were his last words before passing out. Desutoroia
noticed Sauron and Johnathon Webster had arrived and were questioning Raptor,
who had come to represent the Sheriff. They didn't seem too eager to ask
Desutoroia anything. Nobody noticed Sauron shed a tear watching the firemen
as they put out the last of the flames.
Desu put his arm
around Jennifer's shoulder and said, "We're going to catch you soon, you
murdering bastard."
*****
Having barely
made it out of Hellspawn's Mansion, Rodan2000 and his friends didn't think
they'd need any more adventure for a long time. Looking around, they noticed
smoke in the distance. Some inner feeling gripped the pterodactyl and he
couldn't help but go there.
"Oh no, please
no! I just want to get home..." pleaded Prince of Space piteously.
"No, we've gotta
go check it out," the barkeeper insisted and already had his mind made
up. There was no stopping him so the gang headed for the docks.
"What's going
on here?" Rodan asked, tapping Raptor on the shoulder. She looked blankly
at him, then embraced him in a tight hug. She called the rest of the Mods
on the scene over.
"What's happened?"
he asked, confused at this warm greeting.
"You're back from
the dead! All three of you!" she said, shaking Prince by the hand heartily
and embracing Yuri.
"Huh?!" Now Rodan
was really confused.
"The Killer! Comedy
and Tragedy left a note that he killed Rodan and Yuri! He had photos of
you dead! Then he blew up the Mod Station." The three were shocked, even
more so about the bombing, knowing they themselves were alive.
"Come on, though.
I just got word that Gamingboy's been attacked. We better check it out.
You three can tag along if you want." She was ready to leave in her cruiser.
"Wait! Has anything
happened to the club?" asked Yuri, sensing something dangerous and terrible.
"The killer left
a package with some stuff about Desu but not about the club or anyone else,"
she replied.
"Uhh, Rodan. When
we just left Desu's, I found this..." Prince handed him a package that
said:
To
whom it may concern:
Jalepino
Club eviction notice
Opening it, he
found a note which he read aloud:
We regret
to inform you but the residents (and frequent customers) of the Jalepino
Club of Roostville, located in the Titanosaurus Terraces district, have
until the evening of February 23, 2015 to leave the building or they will
be exterminated.
Signed,
the Comedy and Tragedy Killer
"Oh no!" Rodan
shouted. "Quickly! We gotta get to the club!" Raptor drove them there as
fast as possible, only to find the Jalepino Club the same as always and
completely fine. Or so it seemed.
"There's something
coming..." Yuri said and quickly pointed out a shadow creeping along the
wall. It stalked its way to the door, then opened it, seeped in and disappeared
into the light.
"Okay, we gotta
get in there!" yelled Rodan, and before anyone could stop him, he ran inside.
He looked around but there seemed to be no one there other than the sound
of Kiryu and Godzilla Guy upstairs.
"Hey, guys..."
he yelled, keeping his back against the wall so he wouldn't be snuck up
on.
"Hey... is that
you?! Rodan2000?!" yelled Godzilla Guy's easily distinguished voice. The
two of them looked over the second level that ringed the sides of the building.
"Yes, it's
me..." he said. They were about to run down the nearest stairs to get to
him when Rodan noticed the shadow slinking toward the bottom of the stairs.
This killer really knew how to move without being noticed by nearly anyone
and was practically invisible.
"Wait, don't come
down," he warned. His two friends looked seriously nervous.
"What is it?"
Kiryu asked. The glint of a blade shimmered swiftly along the walls as
the two stood at the top of the stairs.
"Wait for it..."
Rodan whispered to himself. With a shriek of fury, a relentless atomic
breath beam tore from his mouth, bringing its swift judgment upon a quick
shimmer of blade. With a moan, the figure came crashing out from behind
some boxes.
"There you are,
you murdering scum!" Pure rage swept over Rodan2000's body as he flew straight
for the vile creature. Ramming into the villain's body, the murderer flew
across the room, slamming into a wall. Struggling to move before the barkeeper
reached him, he pulled a bottle from his suit. Throwing it to the ground,
the killer's voice hissed.
"I'll be back..."
When the smoke had cleared, the evil was gone. Raptor entered the club
and was surprised to see Rodan2000 on the floor, next to the wall with
Yuri trying to bring him to.
"What's going
on here?" she asked the surprised looking Godzilla Guy and Kiryu Goji.
They just shrugged, themselves wondering why R2K had blasted a smoldering
hole in the wall with his breath weapon, dashing about and then apparently
collapsing.
"I sensed something
- a shadow coming in the door when we arrived," Yuri explained.
"Did you all see
anything?" Raptor asked the customers. They hadn't, just R2K, Yuri and
Prince finally showing up.
"Where have you
folks been?" Godzilla Guy still wanted to know. Raptor did also but that
would have to wait. The proprietor's eyes finally opened and looked about
as if he didn't really know where he was.
"What did you
see?" Raptor asked when he was able to focus and determine how many claws
she was holding up.
"It was him...
the killer," R2K insisted. "I saw his knife flashing. And he said he'll
be back..." A moving van rumbled by outside and he jumped to his feet,
looking all around the club. "The knife! He's still here! I saw his blade
flashing!" Raptor looked about and saw the play of passing headlights outside
through the windows. She went to open the front door where they could see
the traffic on the nearby street.
"We'll analyze
that 'eviction notice' but I'm guessing it's a copy-cat prank of some kind.
You having any problems with anyone, maybe a customer you had to throw
out or a competing bar that might think you're stealing their business
or something?" Rodan couldn't think of anything like that at the moment,
being too wound up from their little adventure at Hellspawn's Mansion and
now, his concern for the Jalepino Club. Raptor looked at Tigerlily who
was curled up on a table, sound asleep and softly purring to herself.
"I think SHE has
the right idea!" Raptor grinned. "It's been a rather stressful day for
everyone." Yuri looked at her and frowned, wondering if seeing that shadow
hadn't been merely a premonition that the killer was still out there and
planning to strike again.
FEBRUARY
29th
When Raptor finally
got around to speaking with Sauron again, she asked to hear his profile
on the Comedy and Tragedy Killer. He explained that it was someone who
most likely didn't have it easy in his personal life or career and couldn't
cope with it; someone who suffered from a mental illness or depression.
He also told her that in the killer's mind, each of his victims was the
same person, over and over again in a repetitive cycle.
"If the killer
really is targeting Desutoroia Khandejifer for vengeance, I strongly believe
he has connected his killings with the TV series to disgrace it.
The show is what made Desutoroia popular so he's trying to bring down its
image. This killer is clearly a professional and has killed before." Raptor
was stunned as this was a most unique theory. The Sheriff had at first
merely concluded that the killer was an overly obsessed fan of the show.
But this was more solid. Sauron was also better grounded in human psychology
than the Sheriff was.
"Thanks for your
help," Raptor said sincerely. She left the Roostville Bureau of Investigation
headquarters, focusing only on the killer and who could be next. Sauron
had practically lived at the RBI lately and decided it was necessary for
Roostville's protection to dedicate himself to the case. At this late hour,
all of the lights were out and only two people remained in the building.
Johnathon Webster was in his cubicle down the hall from Sauron's office.
Webster also worked late hours, trying and crack the case. But no matter
what he did, the evidence only led to another dead end and every question
led to a bigger one. Webster didn't know if this killer would ever be caught
but his determination after the death of his wife made him stronger. Admiring
a photograph of her, he realized that this was something he had to do,
no matter what the cost. Because she that died at the hands of the killer
now stalking Roostville, everything was consistent. He heard a large thud
and got up out of his cubicle. Crawling on the floor, covered in blood
was Sauron, who was trying to get to the office. Webster quickly came to
his aid and found him soaked in his own blood.
"The killer...
he's... here," Sauron said as he died on the spot. Johnathon Webster could
feel that sick sensation in his gut and drew his 9 mm and made his way
down the hall into to the Brandon's office. It was a pretty big place and
there was a bit of blood on the wall. Johnathon heard the sound of footsteps
behind him but there was no one there so he made his way back into the
hall and peeked into the office just across the hall. It was pitch black
and Johnathon couldn't see a thing but swore he heard the sound of breathing.
When lightning flashed outside of the window, it lit up the room for a
quick second and he saw the shadow of a man, an everyday person, not someone
hiding behind a mask. The lights flickered on and he saw the killer standing
a few feet away from him.
"No... this isn't
possible... this can't be real. This isn't happening!" Webster said in
shock. Hours later when other agents showed up for work, the Mods were
called in to help investigate what was found. Both Sauron and Johnathon
had last been seen here and were missing and the Mods suspected this was
another murder. At the spot where Brandon was left for dead by Webster,
a happy expression theater mask was on the floor and the carpet was stained
with blood. Where Webster had been murdered was a mask with a sad expression
and blood all over the carpet. The Mods and Agents who worked there searched
the entire building but the bodies were no where to be found. A note was
taped inside the mask left at Sauron's place of death. The Sheriff read
it:
Johnathon
Webster and Sauron are dead as you have already concluded.
Don't bother
searching for their bodies as I made sure they were burned to ashes and
no evidence was left behind.
The Sheriff was
angered now. Sauron had been a good friend of his and a good friend of
everyone. It was he who co-founded the City of Roostville with the Mighty
Morgoth. Now he was dead because it was his job to put a stop to serial
killers like this one. If the Sheriff were any more human, he would have
had a fit! And James Webster was also terribly angered. Not only did he
lose Sauron, a friend, but also his father, Johnathon Webster. Both were
killed the same night and there wasn't even a body for a funeral or wake.
Life in Roostville was beginning to go down the drain.
"Hey, Sheriff,"
Bato-Goji said. "We've checked the surveillance cameras as you suggested."
"And?"
"The cameras and
the security system... it was all shut off last night. The cameras got
no one. Nothing. Whoever killed them must have had access to this place."
The Sheriff slammed his metallic fist into the wall.
"Dammit!"
he yelled furiously. Secretly, he longed for the day he could be his funny
self again and not have to deal with crazy killers like this one. But Jet
started to wonder who did have access to the surveillance equipment?
CHAPTER
10: White Rikku |