Return Of The Dragon

Chapter 23

Suzu opened her eyes. She felt groggy, almost as if she had been drugged. 

She looked around. She was in U, in  the ruins of the Dragon's castle, knew that right away. All the furniture and decor was ash, consumed by arson ten years ago. 

Suzu lifted her arm, long, pale in the dim light. She ran her hands through her long tresses, saw the rose-colored strands sifting through her fingers. 

The U-niverse was empty. Everyone's feed was out – except for Belle and the stranger.

A voice spoke from the shadows, making her jump out of her skin. "It's just you and me, Belle. I've waited for this moment for so long."

"I'm not Belle. There hasn't been Belle for ten years."

"Then why are you still her? Don't you think in ten years your avatar might have changed? But it hasn't. You are who you are, and you can never change that."

The last line, it seemed the person was speaking lower, thoughtfully, almost to himself.

"Come out of the shadows," Suzu coaxed. Come where I can see you."

The figure was quiet. Then, Belle saw one of the shadows moving.

The avatar that walked forward had a human body and a fish head. The eyes stared unblinking.

"You don't have to do this. You can stop."

The fish person's eyes finally blinked. "What? You think I'm going to hurt you?"

"You tried to ... tried to kill me in Yokohama!"

"That was only to draw out the Dragon. I would never hurt you." he said reverently. "I love you."

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"DAMN! DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!!" roared Kei, having discovered Suzu pale and unconscious, wearing U headphones.

Kei breathed hard. He had had her right under his nose, where he could keep her safe, and they had still gotten to her. He had never hated himself as much as he did now.

His hands clenched and unclenched helplessly. He said, through gritted teeth, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I want her. "

The others came to the bedroom, brought by Kei's shouts. Not taking his eyes off of Suzu, he held up a hand. They halted, piling up in the doorframe.  The looks on their faces were of deep concern.

Kei stared, his eyes burning and watering. She looked like a coma victim. She was in U, alone. With that madman. If he went in, would he be trapped?

Kei took his eyes off of her and at last saw the concerned faces – Daichi, Otto, and Hiruka. He tried to convey with his eyes that he had no choice. Kei got up, shut the door and locked it, despite their protestations. 

He lay down carefully next to Suzu and took her hand.

He passed his hand over his headphones.

A "JOIN NOW?" screen appeared in front of him. He jabbed it sharply.

The world of U was suddenly all around him. He felt the weigh of his horns, saw his tattered black cloak brushing a few inches off the floor. He was back.

"Hmmm," said the voice cheerfully, startling him. "You really are even more impressive, now that the bruises on your back are gone. I had a feeling that might be the case."

"WHO ARE YOU?" roared the Dragon. "HOW DO YOU KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT ME?!?!"

"I suppose you've the right to know that much. I call myself Black Angel. And I'm the one who just bought U."

The voice laughed mockingly. Kei wanted to rip out their throat, to hear the laugh dying as the vibrations of their larynx ceased in his claws.

But right now, their enemy had no physical form. But Kei would still fight. He would find Belle, as his former alter ego – and he would fight.

The Beast didn't have to ask where Belle was. He simply crouched and blasted off toward where the ruins of their castle were last.

Shooting through the sky, things looked different. Deserted.

I'm alone here, he thought. There's no one here in U except me and him, and Belle. The U-niverse was empty.

He banked sharply into the corridor between two skyscrapers that led to the route to his castle – or what was left of it, after it had been ravaged by flames. His cloak flapped loudly, rippling in the air.

He traced the path he had taken for what he thought was the last time ten years ago.

He landed, scorched stone crumbling beneath his huge, clawed feet. It was dim, he couldn't see. He waited for his eyes to adjust.

The voice was back then:  jubilant, triumphant, with a childish glee.

"The black beast. The bête noire. The Dragon. "

The lights in U went off, one by one. Each panel that went dark was accompanied by a final-sounding thud. The sound of doom.

A spotlight lit up Belle. She was in her white dress with flowing pink.

Kei's heart caught in his chest. Suzu was in trouble, and it was his fault.

"Let her go," he growled, his voice menacing. The growl hung on the air long after the last word had faded. "If it's me you want, let her go. I'll do anything."

He winced. Did he seriously say that? He showed his whole hand, which was empty?

The fish person laughed, a burbling sound like water going down the drain. But it wasn't pleasant, it felt like they were draining the oxygen from the air.

The fish person snapped their fingers. Pretty little NPC's floated, wearing chains. They carried tea and cookies and set them down on a table. From this distance, Kei saw that they were bruised, glitching in those places.

One of the NPC's pulled out a chair at the table. The fish person sat and gestured for Belle to join him. Belle went and sat, and looked at Kei. Kei noticed that unlike Suzu's eyes in the real world, Belle's eyes were wide, kind. Just as they always were ...

He shook his head, feeling the weight of his huge horns. Snap out of it. Now is not the time for this.

Belle watched as the Dragon approached the table. An NPC came to pull out his chair, but he waved it away and sat down himself.

"Now," said their piscine host. "This is as it should be. Please, have some tea and cookies."

They all sipped some tea after the chained NPC's poured it. "We will be unstoppable. The three of us. I as king, Belle as my queen, you as my knight and bodyguard. We will rule U. And rule the world. I can reverse engineer all these headsets to control anyone that I want. I can get them to do anything. We can have anything we want."

He sipped his tea and nibbled a cookie. A tiny AI floated near him, wiping crumbs off his mouth.

"You have 24 hours to figure out who I am. Then I will know you are worthy."

"And if we can't?" Kei and Belle spoke together.

The fish headed person's facial expression did not change. The only indication they had heard was the shaking of the teacup in their hand.

"It just changed to 12 hours. And more will die. Here, and out there."

He lifted Belle's hand to his fishy lips, pressing a kiss. Kei saw her struggling not to retch.

"Goodbye. I have faith in you. Don't let me down." He waved his hand and -

- They were back in Kei's bedroom.